Break and Enter and the Recommended Operational Police Strategy - Essay Example

Break and Enter and the Recommended Operational Police Strategy Student’s Name Institution Break and Enter and the Recommended Operational Police Strategy Introduction It is has been noticed that the most common neighbourhood crime and disorder problem in my area of jurisdiction, where I am the sergeant, is break and enter. The crime of break and enter involves dwelling premises such as private houses or commercial places such as offices and business premises (Weatherburn, 2004, p. 3). In most cases, the offender of break and enter is taken to have entered a place without permission and with intension to commit an indictable crime such as theft. The crime does not only encompass a forced entry into a building, but also accessing a premise without permission (Weatherburn, 2004, p. 4). The most effective operational police strategy that can be resorted to in dealing with this disorder is increasing the number of police officers to keep watch of critical areas (Doran & Burgess, 2011, p. 102). This paper will describe the crime of break and enter into details. The paper will outline some of the factors that lead people to commit such a crime. It will then recommend a police strategy that can be used to deal with the crime, which has now become so common in the area. Lastly, the paper will critically evaluate the effectiveness of the recommended police strategy and give some of the ways that can be used to improve the weaknesses associated with the strategy. Break and Enter The crime of break and enter is defined by the name and simply involves unauthorised entry into someone else’s property or premise. Breaking in this case may be constructive, such as by threats or planned fraud, or real like opening a door forcefully (Harrison, 2005, p. 81). Breaking does not necessarily require that something is physically broken provided that it is an unauthorised entry into a premise. It is also considered a crime when a person who is authorised to enter one part of building ends up entering another part or room of the same building without the owner’s permission (Weatherburn, 2004, p. 4). On the other hand, entering may involve insertion of a device to remove an item from the premise, or physical entry by the accused. However, in some cases, the use of a device to remove property without breaking in may not be considered as a crime (Lanham, 2006, p. 505). Common law requires that the crime is only treated as break and enter if the entrance is done as a consequence of breaking. In other words, breaking that is not followed by entry or entry without breaking is never treated as burglary by most criminal justice systems (Harrison, 2005, p. 81). Break and enter can either result in trespass or burglary; unlike burglary, trespass only involves breaking into and entering another person’s premises without his permission. Trespass does not require that the offender breaks into and enters a premise with the intention to commit a criminal offence (Doran & Burgess, 2011, p. 104). Therefore, a person who breaks into and enters another person’s premises without his permission can either be charged with burglary or trespass depending on his intention. Every jurisdiction treats breaking and entering as either a trespass or burglary, both of which are criminal offences that are punishable in civil and criminal courts (Doran & Burgess, 2011, p. 105). Break and enter has become a serious problem in my area of jurisdiction due to several reasons. Firstly, many residents of the area are now living in fear of their property and premises being broken into. As a result, the residents take much of their time offering security to their property; the security measures they take include the installation of security gadgets such as closed circuit television in the premises, which is very expensive. Secondly, the ever rising incidences of break and enter have resulted in most investors withdrawing their investments from the area (Lanham, 2006, p. 506). This has in turn resulted in high levels of unemployment in the area. It is feared that if the trend continues, the rate of unemployment may increase greatly, which may result in social problems and other crimes (Harrison, 2005, p. 83). Recommended Police Strategy to Deal with Break and Enter Increasing the number of police officers directly affects how the law enforcement officers carry out their duties in the area. Even though not many researchers have empirically determined this proposition, the bigger the number of police officers in an area, the better the services they will offer the residents. The major functions of the police, which are likely to be affected by increasing the number of law enforcement officers, include patrol, investigation, proactive procedures and special operations (Siegel, 2013, p. 98). Police patrol is the main function of the police in reducing crimes in an area. Most of the police resources are allocated to patrol. Patrol is either done by cars or on foot, with each having their own benefits and shortfalls (Siegel, 2013, p. 98). For instance, car patrol is efficient as it covers a larger area in a short time. The main disadvantage of car patrol is that reduces police contact with the common citizens (Siegel, 2013, p. 99). When the number of police is increased in an area, it is likely to increase police efficiency in probing suspicious acts, answering calls, and maintaining police presence within their jurisdictional area, which will certainly reduce crime. Preventive patrol has a direct link with increasing the number of police officers (Lott, 2010, p. 124). Increasing police numbers means increasing the number of officers patrolling on foot and the ones patrolling by cars in a particular area. This will in turn create the notion that police are everywhere by this means preventing cases of break and enter as well as other criminal offences (Siegel, 2013, p. 101). Investigation is another function of the police force that is directly linked to the number of officers. Investigation involves finding clues from the citizens and working with them to prove that crime was committed or is intended to be committed (Stucky, 2005, p. 90). It is obvious that when the number of officers is increased, more investigations will be conducted, which will lead to more arrests of the suspects and their arraignment in court. When more cases of crime are put under investigations with successive arrests and convictions, the rate of crime is likely to go down in an area (Lott, 2010, p. 124). Police also rely on special operations to deal with cases of criminal offences in the area they are assigned. Special operations involve giving much attention to a particular crime or specific individuals in an area (Stucky, 2005, p. 90). For instance, if police officers in an area realise that break and enter has become a threat and that cases that are related to the crime are on the rise, then they can dedicate most of their efforts in handling the problem to ensure that it does not turn into a disaster in the region. Consequently, increasing the number of law enforcement officers implies that the police force will have a bigger number of detectives who can handle such special cases (Stucky, 2005, p. 91). The other function, proactive operations, when combined with intense patrol, can also help to reduce crime rate in an area. Proactive operation also depends on the number of police officers who are expected to concentrate on specific offenders, their victims and the places in which such offences are rampant (Lott, 2010, p. 125). Increasing the number of police officers means increasing the number of detectives who stop and search suspects, go undercover, liaise with citizens to obtain information, raid suspects’ residential areas, and deal with repeat offenders (Stucky, 2005, p. 92). Evaluating Effectiveness of Increasing Police Numbers in Dealing with Break and Enter In has been proved that increasing police numbers enhances police efficiency in dealing with the neighbourhood crime and disorder problem of break and enter. As stated above, increasing police numbers means increasing the number of law enforcement officers who patrol a certain area (Siegel, 2008, p. 14). The crime of break and enter occurs in the absence of police officers and mostly in parts where there are few law enforcement officers. Consequently, if the number of police officers is increased in the area, the criminals find it difficult to break and enter people’s premises or residential areas (Mitchell & Casey, 2007, p. 77). The efficiency of police officers, who patrol an area to reduce incidences of break and enter, directly depends on their numbers. When the number is increased, more police officers answer the residents’ calls and even more of them are able to coordinate operations of their colleagues on the field (Mitchell & Casey, 2007, p. 78). Secondly, it is easier to maintain a large number of police officers to deter break and enter from taking place rather than to investigate such crimes after they happen. Lastly, there should be enough police officers on the ground to probe suspicious circumstances of break and enter, make arrests and take the suspects to court to answer to criminal charges (Barclay, 2007, p. 116). Increasing the number of police officers means increasing the number of detectives who are charged with the responsibility of finding and acting on clues from the local residents to help investigate and prevent cases of break and enter. There are several cases in which break and enter are planned in advance and the residents are well aware of them. In such cases, increasing police numbers may enhance police efficiency in working with the residents to prevent the crimes before they happen (Barclay, 2007, p. 117). Increasing the number of police officers certainly leads to more investigations of suspected cases of break and enter, which in turn leads to identification and arrests of those planning to break and enter other people’s premises without their consent. If necessary, the detectives can even go undercover to extract useful information from the local residents; this can help them arrest the suspects of break and enter, and also assist them in preventing such crimes before they take place (Siegel, 2008, p. 16). Dealing with break and enter in an area may also require setting up special units to deal with the crime as a special case owing to the fact that such offences have become rampant in the area. This involves putting more effort on specific suspects of the crime, their victims and the areas that are prone to cases of break and enter. In most cases, the repeat offenders of break and enter are people with a past criminal record and as a result, they need to be treated as a special case (Mitchell & Casey, 2007, p. 79). It is only by increasing the number of police officers that the department can find more personnel to assign to the area to work as detectives. With more police officer on patrol and investigation, the victims and other citizens who associate with the police to help catch the criminals, should be accorded maximum protection. The criminals may also find it difficult to continue with their criminal activities as police officers are able to guard almost every part of the area (Barclay, 2007, p. 119). Conclusion Break and enter is the most rampant neighbourhood crime and disorder problem in my area of work. The disorder problem involves breaking and entering someone’s premises or dwelling in it without his permission. Break and enter can be treated as either trespass or burglary depending on the intention of the suspect. Both trespass and burglary are regarded as criminal offences in most jurisdictions. The most efficient way to deal with the crime is by increasing the number of law enforcement officers. This involves increasing the number of police officers who patrol the area and deal with the crime. The police strategy also results in the increase of the number of detectives who investigate cases related to break and enter and help to prevent the crimes from getting worse. References Barclay, E. (2007). Crime in rural Australia. Annandale, NSW: Federation Press. Doran, B. J., & Burgess, M. (2011). Putting fear of crime on the map: Investigating perceptions of crime using geographic information systems. New York, NY: Springer. Harrison, C. (2005). Break and enter. London: Bloomsbury. Lanham, D. J. (2006). Criminal laws in Australia. Annandale, NSW: The Federation Press. Lott, J. R. (2010). More guns, less crime: Understanding crime and gun-control laws (3rd ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. Mitchell, M., & Casey, J. (2007). Police leadership and management. Annandale, NSW: Federation Press. Siegel, L. J. (2008). Criminology: The core (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Siegel, L. J. (2013). Essentials of criminal justice (8th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning. Stucky, T. D. (2005). Urban Politics, crime rates, and politics strength. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly Pub. Weatherburn, D. J. (2004). Law and order in Australia: Rhetoric and reality. Annandale, NJ: Federation Press. Read More