Foundations of the Development and Functions of Police - Assignment Example

Foundations of the Development and Functions of Police The daily policing practice in United States is undoubtedly interesting considering the milestone and evolution it has undergone to be what it is today. Although, not contemporary, the early eras of police practice-the political and reform eras presented unique differences in the policing approach and operation. The political era fowls led to the reform era generation. Both systems embraced three characteristic styles of policing whose implementation brings out the differences between the two, which included the watch-man, the legalistic, and the service styles of policing. The political policing era of policing embraced the watch-man style, which embodied police discretion, and control rather than prevention a system, which is distant from society. In terms of discretion, police chose whom to serve and protect at their judgment with reference to politicians who had immense control over them. The approach of dealing with crime was often questioned because of its reactive nature. The control of crime was based on controlling rather than prevention and this hugely led to crime escalation (Matrix Group International, 2014). Second was the legalistic style, which made law enforcement the only concern of the police at the expense of social problems; by advocating only for the enforcement of the law to the letter. Politicians enacted several Legislations to establish full-time control over the police. A good example is the 1844 law in New York City that aimed at putting police under the control of city politicians and the government (Matrix Group International, 2014). Such laws disregarded public view, as they were the preserve of the political class. The police had no interest at all about the social problems in the country. The main agenda was to enforce and implement the law to the letter. Finally was the service style whereby police conceptualized themselves as helpers of the country when crime or war occurred. Service delivery was considered as a favor to the society rather than an obligation. Reform era. It is often well-known as the systematic policing practice whose mandate was to reform the political-oriented police practice. It embraced the three styles but implemented each of them completely different from the political approach. Discretion exercised early was limited by far. The police schedule became standardized, as officers were now required to enforce the law and make arrests based on the crime committed lieu of the political power-play (Matrix Group International, 2014). More efforts were evoked to prevent crime rather making injunctions only after crime has already occurred. Police entities became a law enforcement outfit with the sole goal of controlling and preventing crime. In the full bloom, the police became one of the most independent agencies in government and often embraced research policing. However, the emphasis on quantity of the reform era cannot be disregarded. This is because crime rate became the key gauge of police effectiveness. Police were over-worked as they were judged on the number of miles driven, tickets written and how many arrests made in a visit. The populations’ accountability in crime control became limited (Matrix Group International, 2014). While there is a huge disparity between the two eras of policing, one factor though reconciles the two. The mission of both policing was to protect the community through listening to their appeal, but the two eras of administration narrowed police mission to only fighting crime. Knowledge imparted to police trainees in academy. Police training entails a systematic approach of developing and widening professional knowledge, skills and inculcating right attitudes in police trainees to grow holistically and ready to serve the community. When well set and executed, police training academy imparts a lot of skills and knowledge to trainees that are not only essential for individual growth but also to the society. The application of such skills to real life situation is enormous (White, 2008). The skills include leadership, ethics and integrity, innovation, and communication skills. The most significant skill that trainees gain in the academy is the ability to lead or simply leadership skill. Whether at individual level, professional or family level, this attribute has a tremendous role in all real life situations. A well-trained leadership-oriented police officer can influence a lot with cycles of police operations. The common technique employed in police training is the “Be Do Know” style. The BE part represents an individual’s trait; Know stands for individual’s competence and DO ensures that combined individual trait and competence are put into action (Allen, 2011). This approach offers to the society a well-trained police officer who is ready for real life situations. Ethics and integrity goes hand-in-hand and is a core unit in police training. The training teaches trainees on how to develop ethical character not just for particular parts of their lives but also to their entire lives, both in private and public. Such ethics are vital in making rational decisions about their choices and the need to take responsibility for their actions. Integrity is also imparted in length as both because every individual fulfills a range of complementary yet habitually conflicting roles. Having such knowledge then, the police officer can be able to control emotions and avoid unhealthy argument. Considering the ever changing trend in crime activity, the trainees in the police academy are given space to be innovative. Innovation, especially on a professional level is what drives the modern world. Finally, it is communication skill as the tool for progressive professional growth. Police training academy opens up an opportunity for individuals to meet different people from diverse backgrounds whom in the long-run over premise to understand how distinct society is. Thus, the ability to interact with fellow trainees and be able to establish a relationship prepares police officers for the real life situation out in the community. Elements of Implementation and Evaluation of Community Policing Community policy is a new approach adopted by US to overcome the demerits of early eras of policing whereby the police service was considered a favor to the community rather than an obligation. The major difference between the former eras and community policing is that the latter is population friendly and tends to give ear to the community’s voice. However, its implementation follows three generations that have an equal share of critique. The first is innovation that includes trials through experiments and test that mainly focused on large cities. Such approach made the policy narrow its focus to foot patrols, investigative methods, or community substations. The second generation is diffusion. The practice throughout this generation was still commonly restricted to large metropolitan and mid-sized metropolis, and the strategies mainly targeted drug traffickers and associated crime issues while improving police-societal relations. It never presented the whole aspect of crimes. Finally, the third generation is institutionalization, which began in 1995, and continues to the present. It has continued to receive tremendous adoption but with little criticism. Evaluation is on whether the policy has succeeded or not. Currently, the policy has made entries in all manner of problems crime regalia such as crime mapping and crime deterrence measures such as situational crime deterrence and crime prevention through ecological blueprints. This is contrary to the initial intention of the community policy; it was to be a policing strategy not only focused on police devotion to societal replica and the problem solving policing viewpoint, but also to offer direction for the better utilization of scarce resources as well as appraising police performance, hence failing the framers of the community policy. Detective and undercover qualities. Detective and undercover officers are entitled to the duty of detecting criminals and criminal activities through in-depth examination and investigation. They conduct tedious criminal investigations that aim to collect facts and data to help in determining the truth needed in attempts to solve crimes. Therefore, the main assignment of detectives is to collect, organize, and utilize information about any crime scenario to be able to find liable culprits. To effectively carry out fruitful investigations, both detectives and undercover officers must own certain characteristics such trustfulness and confidentiality, intellectual, psychological, physical, and perseverance traits. While acknowledging that two units must work hand-in-hand so execute a prolific investigation, a trait of confidentiality must come into play. There must be trust between the two. They may carry investigation together or parallel, but they must confine themselves within the span of information gathering task and sustain the whole mission. Investigating crime mission is obviously dangerous especially for the undercover because when blended may be mistaken for criminal by other officers examining the crime (Dempsey, 1994). Thus, it is completely vital that the two be taught on the need for trust and confidentiality during the exercise. The second trait is Intelligence. The detectives and undercover officers must always prove their intellectuality in integrating written policies and statues that are imperative in carrying out efficient exploration of crime. It is important to note that not only is the task of gathering, organizing and making use of data enormous, but the ability to interpret and fit the data within the law is also important. Therefore, they are required to provide backing, carry out raids and all undercover tasks, as well as be witness in court. Thirdly, both units must possess certain psychological expedience. Their job requires tough considerations some of which are not obvious physical, but psychosomatic. Analysis of behavior of individuals investigated reveals a lot to the undercover officers than just expressed words because the interviewee may lie to detectives. Nevertheless, when equipped with psychological attribute, the investigator is able to read the mind of individuals and reveal some truth. Further, the officers must also be able to detach and desist from falling to victim-play and emotions of suspects as this may compromise the investigation. Physical looks in terms of health and energy level of the investigator is also important because the mission sometimes may involve long, strenuous, and demanding hours. The investigator must be tested for sanity to establish that he or she is of sound mind and judgment. Finally, it is the ability to persevere. It is notable that the investigating exercise is tedious and sometimes very dangerous. The goal of any detective or an undercover is to complete the task and come out unhurt hence providing an explanation why the job is adored by a few thus necessitating that the practitioners must exercise perseverance at all times (Dempsey, 1994). Therefore, of all the five qualities of detectives and undercover officers, I believe both are significant and necessary but the ability to psychologically read the mind of interviewees and suspects is surmount. I rationale or base this on the fact that, many investigators exist in crime scenes but what makes one an outright winner in an investigation is the ability to get more information through psychologically-reading peoples’ minds. Ultimately, every investigator can be intellectually well, able to persevere, be physically fit and full of energy but not each can own the psychological ability, which plays a critical role in criminal investigations and justice delivery during suspect interrogation. References Allen, B. (2011). Be-Know-Do, the Army’s Leadership Model. BG Allen. Retrieved 2 October 2014, from http://bgallen.com/2011/03/07/be-know-do-–-the-army’s-leadership-model/ Bichler, G., & Gaines, L. (2005). An examination of police officers’ insights into problem identification and problem solving. Crime \& Delinquency, 51(1), 53--74. Dempsey, J. (1994). Instructor's manual to accompany Policing, an introduction to law enforcement (1st ed.). Minneapolis/St. Paul: West Pub. Co. Matrix Group International, V. (2014). Police Chief Magazine - View Article. Policechiefmagazine.org. Retrieved 16 October 2014, from http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1054&issue_id=112006 White, M. (2008). Identifying Good Cops Early Predicting Recruit Performance in the Academy. Police Quarterly, 11(1), 27--49. Read More