Organization of the London Metropolitan Police - Essay Example

?London Metropolitan Police Introduction London Metropolitan Police was established in 1829 by Sir Robert Peel with an act of parliament. The act wasaimed at improving police service within the periphery and the outskirts of the metropolis. This act later came to be known as the Metropolitan Police Act. Robert believed that a strong, successful police organization should be grounded on the principles of fairness, truthfulness, and honesty. To him, policemen and women are the mirror through which the acts of the general public are reflected. There was to be no difference between the police and the general public, a spirit that drove him into forming a police unit for combating crime. Since then, many police agencies with the same mission continued to develop in the United Kingdom. Organization of the London Metropolitan Police The London police force members were known as Bobbies led by two magistrates who later acquired the titles of commissioners. Bobbies underwent many challenges including corruption emanating from the influence of wealthy men - a vice that contributed to the failure in combating crime. As a result, the metropolitan police administrators worked so hard to overcome the Bobbies’ misdeeds which led to loss of jobs for the corrupt Bobbies. The administrators were then authorized to form domestic police forces by another act of parliament that made every district and county in England to form its own police force (Siegel, 1994) Sir Robert operated on several principles which should guide the police force in their work. First, the mission was to end crime and disorder as a relief to the criminals that underwent extensive punishment; same for the legal authorities and military police. The police were required to attend to their duties as expected by the public as well as respect them. In maintaining respect, the police were required to cooperate with the public in abiding by the law. If there was little or no cooperation, the police were allowed to use physical force in executing their work. The police were expected to lead by example in the observance of law and avoid discrimination when offering service to the public. In the event of a breach of the law by the public, physical force is only allowed after persuasion, warning, and advice have failed to work. To actualize the slogan that the police are the public and the public are the police, the police were urged to maintain good relations with the public at all times. The police were not allowed to abuse powers of the judiciary by committing extra judicial crimes such as judging the accused in an authoritative manner. The police were recommended on the basis of reduced or no cases of crime and disorder in the society and how they generally dealt with crime (Kasper, 2010). Later, the most significant law enforcers known as sheriffs were established. They were involved in peacekeeping activities, collecting taxes, overseeing elections and dealing with other legal businesses in the country. Today, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is charged with the responsibility of organizing and dealing with counter terrorism matters as well as protecting the British Loyal Family and senior figures of Her Majesty’s Government. The MPS is headed by the Commissioner of Police of the metropolis, known as the Commissioner which is divided into numerous Borough Operational Command Units .The police areas are headed by the metropolitan district (MPD). The MPS is headed by the Commander, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Commissioner in order of ranking. The body is also organized into territorial policing, specialist crime directorate, specialist operations, central operations, administration, and support, each headed by An Assistant Commissioner to perform different functions (Loftins,1982). Entry Requirements Key to the performance of the police include: law and order enforcement, prevention of crime and provision of safety to the public. This goal is unachievable if the relationship between the police and the people is characterized by mistrust and unfairness. To better enforce the law, the Police Department established recruitments for the candidates which involved a series of tests and screens aimed at determining their ability to perform. The London agencies require that a police officer be a UK citizen, not have been convicted for criminal activity, has a driving license in the state where the department is, be at least 21 years of age , must not be visually impaired, and must meet weight requirements. Apart from these requirements, candidates undergo various checks including drug tests, education background, military and driving records, and interrogating spouses, close friends, and previous employers to detect criminal records. Under educational requirements, the candidate must have a high school diploma or a degree from a two year college at the least. Recruits with university education are in a better position for hiring and promotion. If the candidate qualifies through the application process, he/she is hired on probation, a training duration of six to eighteen months depending on the department to which he/she is attached. During this period, the recruit is expected to show perseverance to the challenges of police work failure to which they may be sacked. The training comprises of police academy and field training overseen by police superiors where the basics of police work are taught. In the academy, the policemen and women are taught various skills such as when and how to us weapons, interviewing witnesses of crime, first aid, self defence, and response to terrorism incidents among others. They are graded based on their performance after which the results are submitted to the police administrators. These skills are then applied to the field under the guidance of field training officers (Gaines & Miller, 2011). The Economic Theory Society produces an unlimited array of things and members acquire them as they like. Workers produce everything but the consumers specialize on what to consume. An economic interdependence is created whereby members of the society depend on others’ efforts for survival. A material is believed to pass through many hands before it reaches the intended consumer. Bates in his book Essentials of Economic Theory argues that labourers, irrespective of the industry they work in display a similarity in the way they are placed in various positions. On the same note, the investors’ freedom to invest their funds as they like reflects a certain amount of ids dedicated to each branch of the businesses. Thus, groups working together produce different kinds of goods in appealing qualities and quantities as required by the consumer. Unless there are divisions in the working groups, the end products cannot be perfect as they are. Each group makes as much effort as possible, with no force applied, and unlimited freedom in order to perfect its output. Division of labour determines individual responsibilities and makes the work done better than that which is done without division. Industrialization cannot be a success if the raw materials are not protected. Similarly, production increases in its quantity and quality if labourers or workers perform the same operation severally. Where extraordinary skill is required, those with much better skills do the activity to produce a good product. Economy is also organized into capitalism and communism. Capitalism is grounded on the principles of private ownership, competition and profit maximization. Some individuals control the resources and own the industries in which goods are produced. They also keep a huge share of the profits from the industries, and pay their workers less than the value of what they produce. In communism, the state owns the means of production. Natural resources are controlled by the state and workers are not exploited (Bates, 1994) Some economic theories of crime indicate that crime rates and police strength go hand in hand. Potential law breakers tend to be paralyzed by the threat of punishment and their criminal activities are encouraged by the fact that they can give bribes. On the other hand, police forces do not punish the offenders for fear of victimization. Therefore, as the degree of law enforcement increases, criminals continue to engage in more illegal activities with the aim of maximizing their benefits. When crime rate increases, these offenders tend to increase public resources for law enforcement. The resources allocated for combating crime positively relates to the level of crime while the level of crime is negatively related to the resources allocated for combating crime. Capitalism influences crime punishment since the wealthy ones will corrupt the police force using their wealth while the have nots suffer behind bars since they have nothing to corrupt. Hence, capitalists are the destroyers of the relationship between the police and the public. While police recruitment processes are supposed to be conducted fairly, capitalists impede these operations when they bring about corruption making the process unfair. They bring in fake academic documents and lure the police administrators with money in order to qualify for the training (Cumbler, 1989). Dual Labour Market Theory The Labour Market is divided into primary and secondary sectors. The primary sector is characterized by high wage with good working conditions, secure, permanent and pensionable employment, high level of education as well as expertise. Primary jobs are rationed in that not all qualified ones can obtain the job. The secondary sector is characterized by short term employments with little or no hopes for promotion. Jobs are usually low skilled ones whether or not they are blue collar or white collar meaning that they require low skill levels, low earnings, low returns and low academic qualifications. The dual labour market theory is concerned with how individuals migrate across national boundaries to seek for employment in those nations. It fails to address the individuals’ reasons for migration such as cost benefit analysis. Due to the labour segmentation patterns, unemployment sets in leading to influx in crime. There exist a relationship between employment opportunities and rational crime decisions. In the long run, when the level of crime increases, there is pressure from the government to employ more qualified security forces. More law offenders come into play using sophisticated methods of robbery and violence. The government then regulates the entry requirements for getting into the police force (Dickens, 1988). Conclusion The main duty of the police force is to maintain law and order through crime prevention. Thus, they need to undergo extensive training on how to perform their duties. That is the reason why entry level requirements are so much demanding to produce quality skilled personnel worthy of executing their job. Unfortunately, the existence of corrupt individuals in the society and capitalists impede these operations eventually making the police department to seem unfair. Candidates are graded in terms of the economic resources that they contain. On the other hand, cases of unemployment lead to increases of criminal activities in the quest for survival. As a result, the police force is challenged in its crime prevention efforts. References Bates, C. (1994) Essentials of Economic Theory, Ludwing, Vos Mises Institute. Cumbler, J. (1989) A Social History of Economic Decline, Rutgers University Press. Dickens, W. (1988) The Re-emergence of Segmental Market Theory, American Economic Association. Gaines, L. & Miller R. (2011) Criminal Justice in Action: The Core, London, Cengage Learning. Kasper, J. (2010) Progressive Police Supervision, New York, Looseleaf Law. Loftin, C. & McDowall, D. (1982) The Police, Crime And Economic Theory, American Sociology Association, University Of Michigan. Siegel, L. (1994) Introduction to Criminal Justice, London, Cengage Learning. Read More