Police as Crime-fighters - Essay Example

Absolute transparency in policing is a pipe dream and it might endanger the operational efficiency of the police. At the same time to leave, police activities totally unleashed can vitiate the very purpose of a police service. The task of combining the right degree of control over the police with sufficient elbowroom for them to achieve operational efficiency is a feat and a few countries have achieved this formidable task. The police performance, the world over, has not only failed to achieve this delicate balance, but has, in many countries, totally lost the focus of citizen centered service.

The sense of security that the citizens in a country feel is an incalculable asset. However, this sense security in most countries has become a mirage. In many countries the guardians of civil security, themselves are often the ringleaders of an undesirable criminal nexus. This paper analyses the complex problem of analyzing the police activity in modern times. The study has accepted the complexity of the problem and would like to offer an integrated approach to remedy the problem of policing relying on the strength of knowledge gained over the years.

Various disciplines like Sociology, Psychology, Politics, Philosophy etc will aid in our search for a solution. However, the ultimate force in this attempt is the civil sense of the citizens of a country and their will to build a just society.The important question that lies at the core of developing any adequate measure of police performance is for citizens and their elected representatives to decide what it is that is intrinsicallyvaluable, or what it is that we as a political community value in the activities and operations of a public police department.

(Braga and Moore, 2004)The Historical Evolution of the Police ForceThe idea of modern police force has evolved over many years. However the basic mission of the primitive police and the modern are the same, the mission of keeping public order by enforcing the rules of civil conduct has not changed much in the conceptual level. Like so many noble gifts to the world, the idea of modern police force is a British product. The man behind the organizational set up of modern police force is Sir Robert Peel, the founder and leader of the Conservative party.

However, the idea of policing the country is somewhat old. The Praetorian Guard of ancient Rome is the rudimentary form of the modern police. The Romans achieved a sophisticated system of law enforcement. This remained in force until the disintegration of the empire.With advent of Middle Ages and the manorial system, the policing job was the responsibility of the local nobles. The nobles appointed officials called the constables. They carried out the law. The constable's duties included arresting and keeping away forcefully the criminals.

For a long time the constables were voluntary citizens, who were not paid anything. In the passage of time, this became burdensome. By the middle of 16th century, the rich citizens often sought the help of paid helpers. Soon this practice became widespread and the quality of policing by these constables came down.The French Monarch King Louis XIV kept a small police group consisting of forty inspectors who