Safety Inside the Police Stations - Research Paper Example

Safety Inside the Police Stations The US government has been much concerned about the safety of its countrymen post 9/11. It has strengthened the security of the country in a much upgraded manner. Pentagon and the New York police department and the Federal bureau of investigation have efficiently carried out its task over the last decade. The police forces across The United States have set its own standard in respect to their performance and in handling matters of crime and terror. The promptness and the readiness of the police force have been praise worthy. The US government has been spending dollars behind strengthening matters of security in its homeland. The government should also be concerned with the security of the police department. The government should provide adequate safety measures for the people who are constantly risking their lives for the sake of the nation. It is very true that the security forces have to take the additional risk in carrying out their tasks. The security forces needs to be well prepared if a sudden attack of terror is carried out against them. The primary level of security inside the police stations and the places of police facilities need to be well built to motivate the security men regarding their security. If the security persons find that the government is providing necessary support to help them with their safety and security, they will further be motivated to increase their dedication towards their countrymen. Armoring of security forces and raising concern about their security will work as an added incentive for them. Need for improving police department security: The US government has planned strategically to provide abundant security measures throughout the country. The government has dealt strictly with any forms of terrorism. The US government should not overlook the possibility of an attack in their regulatory force as this may destabilize the law and order in the state and will be conducive for spreading terror in the nation. Such acts have already taken place during the 9/11 attacks and the government needs to be careful in future in handling such matters of panic. Not only it should investigate ways for securing the place for the overall countrymen, but should also take initial steps for securing its base. An attack in the police department will cause immense havoc and can lead the road to carry out attack against a particular area of choice. An attack inside the police department or the police headquarter can be aimed by the terror groups to highlight their superiority and their powers and giving a message to the government regarding their vulnerability. Some terror groups may be interested to carry out attacks in the police stations in order to seize confidential information. Headquarter of any police force contains vital information regarding the security information of any state. The abundance and the criticalness of information available will be considerable for creating a state of emergency if fetched by people possessing different intentions. Generally information like the total architectural plans of the city is present and the total allocation of the security measures adopted by government is also updated. The breach of the security will cause the access of the documents in wrong hands and may result in causing threat for the whole city. The government and the police force should be aware of the fact that attacks may always not result in the forms of bombs and artilleries but gaining access to critical documents and information is also very serious form of hazard and may result in huge catastrophe. The intention of attacks against the police department can also be aimed to find out the readiness and the resilience of the police from any sort of attacks. Any form of attack whether large or small against the police will be severe enough to cause panic among the country men and create an environment of fear and terror which would result in harming the overall harmony of the state. The government should be proactive in dealing with such situations and adequate preventions needs to be adapted to protect the public servants also in terms of humanitarian grounds. The US governments should also value the lives of the persons employed in the New York police force and not treat them as a force to combat terror and indiscipline. The force should be better equipped for prevention of any sort of mishaps occurring among them. Example of an incident of attack against US police force: A police station in Detroit, USA was shaken up by a horrendous open attack by a gunman. The police officials and the other persons present at the police station were shocked and panic stricken by the aftermath of such an incident. The gunman entered the premise and open fired at the officials and the staffs present, eventually the victim was shot dead but it left four police men wounded. One of the police men was heavily injured as he was shot in his back. The incident led to utter chaos and pandemonium as it was out of the expectations of the officials that such an attack would be raged against them. The intention behind such an attack was not known and it was however confirmed that the attack was carried out only to create panic and terror. The probability of such an attack was however very much possible as the security itself at the police station was very much weak. There was no presence of metal detector gates and there was no provision for the security checks to be carried out in the entry of the police campus. The entry into the public place was not restricted and the visitors were allowed to carry out face to face conversations with the officials over there. This incident raised serious concern over the security of the personnel’s within the department and asked for a reform of the security policies. Investigations were carried out to find out the effective steps and measures for strengthening the security which could have prevented the onset of such an incident. (Baker, 2011) Strengthening of security in police department The need for proper security arrangements for the police departments have been highlighted in the previous section. Various loopholes exist in context of providing security to the people who in turn looks after the security of the citizens of the state. Various security measures needs to be implemented to protect them from the casualty to happen to them. The common security measures which should be implemented as primary steps are providing security vigilance in the area, strengthening security in the parking lot and restricting the free entry of everyone without any security checks. The measures of security are discussed below in details. Parking lot Security: The parking lot is a vulnerable for any kinds of attack. The parking lot provides ample space for the setting up of a bomb attack. The area in the parking lot is generally devoid of any human presence and provides opportunities for mishaps to take place. Proper protection in the parking arena is of prime importance while strengthening security of the police force. Security lighting should be used at the parking lot to illuminate the area where natural light does not reach. Illumination of the place also deters potential individuals to restrain from commuting acts of crime. The illumination of the place should be done in such a manner that the total parking area is benefited. The parking lot should also be properly fenced so that it prevents intruder from creeping in and gaining easy access to the area. (Cook, n. d).Hourly check at the parking lot should be done on a regular basis. Usage of alarms: The alarms can be proved to be highly beneficial in handling of security matters. Various types of alarms are in use which may include the motion sensors which has become highly popular in the present era. Alarms are to be installed at critical access points and at places containing critical information. The alarms generally activate a light or emit certain sounds on detecting any movements and warning of a possible attack. However in installing an alarm as a security device certain things need to be kept in mind for its proper functioning. The alarms should be equipped with a battery for enabling to operate in case of power cuts and should be easy to maintain and install. Installation of security cameras: A police station is believed to be the safest building in the city. But to make it really secure in practical terms the installation of latest security camera is on a high demand. The police station experiences a wide number of visitors every day and to monitor on the visitors the most appropriate way is the use of security camera. Security cameras should be installed in such a fashion that it covers the total building. In installation of security cameras effort should be taken so that the security cameras are also present at each entry and exit points and their positioning should be done in such a manner that the identity of the faces are possible, if required for study. The security cameras need to be monitored by a centralized close circuit television. A person needs to be deployed who will effectively survey the pictures captured in the CCTV and would report immediately to the person concerned if some matter of suspicion is noticed by him. The maintenance and proper usage of the cameras and the CCTV should be done as it involves matter of cost and proper utilization of the equipment should be done. The CCTV cameras were already used as a part of security measures to protect the inhabitants. Uses of the devise were popular in shopping malls, offices, banks and in places of mass interest. The result derived from those areas proved beneficial in reducing and tracing crime to a large extent. Secured entry to the police stations: The entry to the police station should be followed by a thorough checking of the person to prevent any outrage of attack. Presence of metal detectors door or hand held metal detectors should be provided at the entry of the police stations to seize a person trying to enter with ammunitions. For preventing access of all in certain areas inside the department, entries should be restricted. The help of technology should be taken to provide innovation in security. Access should be computerized by the help of passwords and codes or should involve the technology of fingerprint matching or the face detection. All this methods should provide firm security in restricting the access of persons to the secured areas, and thus would provide overall security of the department in protecting the vital information from being disclosed. The maintenance of the technology driven security is to be controlled by the servers, which will be in charge of the police stations opting for technological surveillance. For this process to be implemented the police stations needs to be provided up-gradation and renovation for switching to the latest technology. The officials also needs to be trained in order to thoroughly understand the system and efficiently handle it. Providing security from attacks The vulnerability of the police stations in responding to any sort of attacks has been proved in the past. The police stations must be prepared to counter or handle security threats of different range. They should be proficient to tackle an attack from IED or even a mere shooting carnage by an intruder. The domestic IED threat has been a matter of concern for the US homeland security. The susceptibility of such threats also exists among the US police departments. There is an increase probability of such threats occurring in this area. The police department should deploy a bomb squad in every police station to handle situations of emergency. Another popular way of preventing a bomb attack is the use of sniffer dogs. The sniffer dogs should be present in considerable number and should be trained properly to deal with such incidents. The bomb squad deployed should be proficient and experienced enough to detect and disrupt bombs. The bomb squad should be equipped with an explosive library, should have research facility for testing and carrying out training. (Hsu &Sheridan, 2007)The squads should always be prepared to handle any sort of bomb attack or threat. In dealing with nature of less massive attacks, the police departments should plan to redesign the plan and structure of the office. Bullet proof glass partitions needs to be structured in all of the desks so that casualties can be prevented in case of a sudden attack. The protection needs to be maintained outside the police stations also and the bullet proof cars are a necessity for the police men. The security forces also need to be provided with latest range of arms and ammunitions to counter any attacks from the terror groups successfully. The provision of such safety measures in the police department and in police station in turn benefits the public safety to a large extent. The presence of bomb disposal squad and other improved technology inside the police stations enables quicker access of the facilities by the citizens in case they require it. The piling up of arsenals of the police force proves an added advantage for the civilians as the artilleries can be used in the protection of public in case violence sets on. Conclusion: The discussion carried out helps to focus on the increased need of providing security to the policemen across The United States. The overall security of the police department needs to be reframed in order to motivate them to deliver their best towards the nation. Police forces provide resilience to any emergency situation and efforts should be made to strengthen their cause of security. The security strengthening should start at the most primary level as example of setting up of an alarm, and it should continue to the highest level like that of automation of access to entry. Security restructured at each level should be properly implemented and no loopholes should exist. The process of strengthening of the security at each police station will in turn favor the cause of the civilians. The government of the United States should invest considerably in providing considerable amount of security arrangements to the police forces, as their betterment will in turn lead to the betterment of the society. They will be boosted morally and practically to work for their countrymen. The security arrangements provided to the police force should be strongly built and should stand out as an example for the rest of the world. This kind of arrangement would be the first of its kind and would add more respect to the American culture and the history. The homeland security should understand the importance of the scenario and should make adequate arrangements for the realization of the benefits by the police force and make them realize that the government does value their lives. References Baker, W.C, (2011), “Footage released of Detroit police station attack”, Digital journal, Retrieved on October 12, 2011 from: http://digitaljournal.com/article/303052 Cook, G, R, (n. d), “Parking Lot Security”, crimewise, Retrieved on October 12, 2011 from: http://www.crimewise.com/library/parking.html Hsu, S, S, & Mary, B, S, (2007), “IEDs Seen as Rising Threat in the U.S”, The Washington post, Retrieved on October 12, 2011 from: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2007/10/19/AR2007101902703.html Read More