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How to Reverse Puerto Rico's Crime Rate

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How to Reverse Puerto Rico's Crime Rate
SOS-292, TESC

Abstract
This paper will explore how Puerto Rico can reverse and reduce their current murder rate. I have developed several recommendations to help the Puerto Rican authority’s achieve this goal. I base my recommendations on research conducted from books like the CIA world Fact Book, Preventing crime: what works for children, offenders, victims, and places, along with other websites, and my own personal experience as a military police officer.

A man lies dead in the streets, blood trickling from his head, he lays motionless as a crowd begins to gather to see what happened. Around the corner on another city street the police are responding to more gunshots, only to arrive on scene to find another person lying dead in the streets. The picture I just painted isn 't a warzone, or some big city in the United States ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬but the streets of Puerto Rico. Imagine for a minute you live in a city where the crime rate is out of control, particularly murder. Not a day goes by where someone isn 't murdered. In 2011 Puerto Rico had 1,130 murders for the year ("Puerto Rico murder).

I have served in the capacity of a Military Police officer in the United States Air Force with over twenty-one years of active duty service. During this time I served as patrolman, Desk Sergeant, flight chief, and the Non Commissioned Officer in charge of Police Services where I was instrumental in the implementation of our community policing program while stationed at Misawa Air Base, Japan. If I was able to give my input to the authority’s in Puerto Rico to figure out what are the causes for the high murder rate was, I would suggest to them to modernize their police force, buy new and operational equipment, hire new police officers, and train the existing force on the new technology, while implementing a community policing philosophy. I am confident if they took this approach to the problem it could help them reduce


References: CIA. (2009). CIA World Fact Book. Golgotha Press. Farrington, D., & Welsh, B. (2006). Preventing crime: what works for children, offenders, victims, and places. New York: Springer. Faturechi, J. R. (2010, May 26). LA TImes. Retrieved from Killing in L.A> Drops to 1967 Levels: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/26/local/la-me-la-crime-20101217 Godoy, R. (2008, Feb 29). Sage Journals. Retrieved from Homicde Studies: http://hsx.sagepub.com/content/12/2/188.short?patientinform-links=yes&legid=sphsx;12/2/188 Puerto Rico murder count reaches 1130. (30, December 20). Retrieved from http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2011/12/30/puerto-rico-murder-count-reaches-1130/ The most populated cities in the United States. (2000). Retrieved from http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/most_pop_cities_usa.htm Travel safety hub. (2012). Retrieved from http://journals.worldnomads.com/safetyhub/story/76198/Puerto-Rico/The-Dark-Side-of-Puerto-Rico Trojanowicz, R., Kappeler , V. E., Gaines, L. K., Bucqueroux , B., & Sluder, R. (1998). Community policing: A contemporary perspective, . Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=174124
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