Contemporary Issues And Futures In Criminal Justice: Policing Practices And Operations

Policing Practices and Operations
Aimee Pallais
Contemporary Issues and Futures in Criminal Justice
September 15, 2014
John Peterson
Police organizations traditionally respond to criminal activities and criminal acts after they have already occurred. After the crime is committed and after police officers arrive at the scene, future investigations and routine patrols are done. The police organizations are characterized in several ways; routine patrol, rapid response for service, arrests, investigations, and law enforcement sharing information. Each of these characteristics plays an important role within the policing organizations. Policing strategies and police organizations have dramatically changed throughout the years. During the
1960’s policing was a closed institution, meaning that only serious crimes were handled; crimes with murder and kidnapping victims only. In today’s American policing all crimes are handled properly and professionally, not one crime is belittled or pushed aside. Having law enforcement show they care and provide protection for their community allows the citizens to feel safe and gives them a sense of trust and appreciation towards their fellow law officials. Policing agencies have evolved into a more structured and strong organization.
Law enforcement has been able to provide protection and discipline in their communities. Policing agencies have particular characteristics which are highly important for the community. First, routine patrol, patrolling the streets of their community provides protection and unity for the citizens. Second, rapid response for service, this allows the community to feel confident about calling the local law enforcement agency and knowing they will arrive with a sense of urgency. Third, arrests, the community has to feel safe within their streets and law enforcement must put away the men and women involved in criminal activities and criminal acts. Fourth, investigations, police agencies cannot make any arrests until they provide a thorough investigation for the individual’s crime. Finally, law enforcement sharing information, once a person is investigated and arrested it becomes public record. Putting a person’s record out in public allows the community to know who their neighbors are and who can and cannot be trusted. Policing agencies must follow certain procedures in order to properly protect and serve their community. Although law enforcement has full authority to perform investigations and make arrests, the community is encouraged to get
involved. Policing organizations need help and support of their community. Policing agencies must maintain good communication within their community; this allows the local citizens to have a sense of protection and trust for their fellow law enforcement. Although community involvement is recommended, it can be a dangerous and tricky matter. A few community members feel the need to take the law into their own hands. About 20% of United States citizens hold a good amount of rage and anger inside them after a loved one dies, or is molested, or is in any form of danger caused by a criminal, so instead of calling local police officers these people tend to seek revenge and commit harm to the people responsible for their pain and misery. This is not necessarily the form of help and support the policing organization needs. Law enforcement agencies need the public to inform them of any danger and crime going on in their city, the public needs the officers to handle the crime and protect them as needed. Communication must also be a key issue within the law enforcement agencies. The men and women employed with law enforcement must maintain in constant communication and supervision to keep each other safe and out of any deadly danger. Crime is a 24-hour job and criminal do not stop or worry about the danger they put other people in, especially law enforcement. With that in mind, police officers, detective agents, court officials, and any form of policing agencies must always maintain a clear mind and have a partner when they do dangerous investigations. Law enforcement agencies throughout the United States use different forms of organizations and strategies to maintain structure and order within their particular cities. Law enforcement must keep the city mobilized and protected against any harm and danger; this is where trends and organizations are formed. Law enforcement agencies have the obligation and privilege to protect their fellow officers and their community. Introducing organizations and trends into the community allows them to feel more important and more of a need to the system as oppose to just ordinary people. There are a few cities in the United States that have programs such as neighborhood watch which allow concerned citizens to protect their neighborhoods and keep their neighborhoods safe from outside predators. Police officers in other cities also involve themselves in their community in other ways than other officers do not; this involves being more attentive to the community needs and being more aware of troubled neighborhoods. There are many people who feel threatened or intimidated by law enforcement officers, having this form of people encourages officers to become more involved in their community and become more of a family instead of just a town of people. There are thousands of people in need of professional help and protection and there is no one that can do it better than policing agencies. Having policing agencies become so involved in the communities and becoming more aware of the men and women who constantly need them on a daily basis makes the community feel stronger, safer, and much more united.
A program, organization, trend, and mobility, anything that is used to protect society from dangerous criminals and dangerous criminal activities serves the country good. The United States law enforcement agencies are trained and very well experienced as to what the community needs from them and as to what the community wants from the city to maintain protection and peace within their neighborhoods and within their cities. If the agencies continue to do what they do now for us then the citizens all around the United States will always feel safe and secure. Policing practices and operations are used to keep people out of danger and dangerous people away from society. Although many people do not feel the same protection as other people do from local police agencies, they do more than enough to keep citizens safe and to keep their trust. Having a well-structured policing organization by the people’s side is more than enough protection and
security.

REFERENCES:
Cops.Usdoj.gov. (2014). Retrieved from http://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/march_2008/nugget.html
Law.jrank.org. (2014). Retrieved from http://law.jrank.org/pages/1669/Police-Organization-Management-Variation-in-style-structure.html ncjrs.gov. (2005). Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/210830.pdf au.af.mil. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/army/proteus-55-policing.pdf