Law enforcement is an important element of the United States’ system of criminal justice apart from the corrections and the courts. It is one of the major functions of the various governmental agencies of police. It is therefore concerned with police service or functions of police departments. In this paper, the author analyzes at law enforcement and related issues. Specifically, the author discusses law enforcement, theoretical understanding of the different models of policing as well as policing styles. The author also looks at the question of stress associated with the life of a police officer and how such stress affects them. This is a purely theoretical discussion based on secondary sources of information. Time and resources constraints could not allow for a more empirical, experimental fieldwork research. The materials relied upon are mainly journal articles from respectable academic journals and databases.
Law enforcement officers tasked with regulating laws and maintaining peace in society often encounter many standards of trouble. Officers often have to put their life on the line to complete their duty of protecting society and maintaining law and order, they have to fight through aggressive criminals and crack down on fugitives. According to Bier (2014), The average police officer has to confront with the mentally ill, drunken civilians and criminal suspects on a daily basis, this is not only physically draining but also mentally draining from the constant psychological stress that accompanies the occupation. In addition to patrolling around, police officers around the country are constantly and willingly ready to put their
Everyday law enforcement personal have the possibility to face dangerous events in their daily duties. In performing such duties a police officer could come by a seemingly ordinary task, and in a blink of an eye the event can turn threatening and possible deadly. When or if this happens to an officer they won’t have
The job of a law enforcement officer sometimes can be tough. Officer are sometimes plagued with situation that test their ability to enforce the law and maintain order. Police officers today face a constant battle to maintain higher ethical standards. This mission becomes tougher each day when one considers the importance of fighting terrorism, drugs, human trafficking,
Prior to the creation of the formal police academy, officers were taught using various methods that were not always effective or conducive to the work required of an officer. As a result, ill-equipped officers flooded the streets of nineteenth-century America, often unable to perform the primary duty of their job: protecting the public. The United States, inspired by England and other countries with better-developed public safety systems, desperately needed a method of ensuring safety for its people. The creation and evolution of the police academy defined what being a police officer entailed by teaching officers what is expected of them, not only job-requirement wise, but also morally and ethically. The Police Academy prepares an individual for the civil, educational, managerial, and everyday duties of police work while ensuring moral sturdiness and commitment to public service. By combining classroom lectures, CSI training, building search training, firearm training, and combative/defensive training, each officer that graduates the police academy is well prepared to handle every aspect of the work of a police officer.
Proactive patrol is still a critical component of police crime control efforts. When it comes to maintaining availability and quality handling of incidents there is a constant strain between the two ( Hoover, 1996). Some of the duties that the police chief may encounter, is the fact of trying to control what all goes on with his police officers. Trying to please the public and taking the responsibility of his officers and making sure that the right man for promotions is selected. A police chief must make sure that they employ men that are able to do the job and if they are incompetent or unqualified officers and removing them. The citizens want to feel comfortable and know that the police are going to respond in a timely manner when an emergency occurs (Hoover, 2014). The ability of quick response times will be based on the areas and the type of communities that they are patrolling. Rapid response is an important component of victim’s evaluation of the police (Cihan, Zhang, & Hoover, 2012). Citizens need that visibility in the residential neighborhoods (Liederbach, Fritsch, Carter, & Bannister, 2007). Responsiveness is a critical component of a well-run police agency. If the citizens want immediate availability, rapid response, and visibility,
The recruitment of new police officers, moreover, the retention of existing police officers has become an extremely daunting task for many departments across the country. There are several factors contributing to the diminished interested in careers in law enforcement; society's current attitude toward law enforcement, better job opportunities with lower risks, moreover, decreased incentives to be a police officer (Ali, 2017). The broadened duties of police work have placed a demand for work performance on a scale much higher than the level of compensation in several cities (Wilson et. al., 2010). This increase in the workload coupled with the negative attitudes toward law enforcement as well as the lacking compensation for officers has created
The negative views of everyday people often make work hard for officers, adding more stress to their careers. The general public regularly criticizes officers for using excessive force and brutality, especially when a police officer ends up killing a suspect or criminal. Oftentimes, especially when a white police officer shoots a citizen of a minority race, the general public is quick to find faults in the officer, blaming the officer for being racist. However, cold, hard statistics show that the majority of police officers are, in fact, white, and the neighborhoods in which these officers are placed in tend to be high-crime areas with many minority citizens living there (Miller “When Cops Kill”). In addition, people might say that a citizen who was shot was not armed; however, almost anything close to the shot individual could have been turned into a deadly weapon that he or she could have used to wound or kill the officer involved. Whenever officers are in this position, the natural reaction is to defend themselves. Everyday, police officers confront the most aggressive, immoral, and sick-minded individuals of society. Officers jeopardize their own lives every time they report for work. Officers witness things that no person should ever have to encounter. They see the most horrific and gruesome scenes that the general public turns away from and
Variables that have an impact on the perception of the police include race, socioeconomic status, gender, age, past experiences and upbringing. The literature reviewed in this paper targets juvenile and college populations. As the population in America rises, as will the number of Police Officers needed to keep the law. With more citizens and more police officials interacting, the more confrontation will occur.
Beyond doubt, the police play a crucial role in maintaining law and order in the communities. Professionalism and effective performance of their duties impacts large number of the stakeholders, including the police officers themselves, law abiding citizens, offenders and their families, as well as many others. If we look closer, an interaction with a police officer could be a life-changing event for a potential law-breaker. The decisions police officers make in the line of duty are sometimes matters of life and death, freedom and incarceration. Every discretionary action of a particular police
People often believe that there is no other profession that require high ethical standard than the Department of Law Enforcement. Every law enforcement officers in the United States of America should at least know that they live in a fishbowl because friends, neighbors, relatives, strangers are able to watch every move a police officer does regardless it is on duty and off duty. The community residents scrutinize law enforcement officers more than any other important occupations because law enforcement officers are an image of a strong leader and are a role model for children, however, others hope to catch them on their mistakes due to their perfect image. It is stated from the Federal Bureau of Investigations that a leader set the authority for their department and ethical performance (Fortenbery, 2015). In today’s society, the media are continuing to display police officers on their wrongdoing. In addition, police officers are required to serve and protect the community from harmful criminals, but they continue to use unjustified actions such as excessive use of force, abuse of authority, speeding, and misuse of public office.
Law enforcement is known to be much more stressful compared to the average job. Data shows that police officers ranked fifth on the list of the most stressful jobs in 2010 (Strieber, 2010). From long hours of report writing and documentation to engaging criminals in a high-speed pursuit and gunfire, police officers undergo strenuous duties each day. In the field of law enforcement, there are a variety of sources that cause police stress. Though, there a number of factors that lead to police stress, we can look at three major ones to structure a formidable understanding on this topic. By identifying these sources, law enforcement officers and departments can work collaboratively to uphold a quality workforce and to effectively deal with police stress concerns.
Criminal justice professionals in the United States should be held to a higher standard in both their personal life and professional life. There needs to be a common regard between citizens and officers. Police officers have to be pushed into a protective position when they are being disrespected by the public. There is no question that few officers abuse their position of power, but most officers work their hardest to offer assistance keep up secure and law-abiding communities. With this in mind, law enforcement officials and citizens have the same duty to their communities. Law enforcement officials have a responsibility to put in force laws in a reasonable and equal way, and citizens have a duty to educate themselves about the legal guidelines and appreciate the officers that uphold them.
Last week, a police officer in Irwindale was threatened by a man wielding two makeshift knives. The officer claimed that he saw the man jaywalking and when he went to stop him, the man became hostile and started to attempt to flee the scene. The officer was able to apprehend him and call for back up and the suspect is now in custody and being charged with attempted murder of the officer, assault on the officer, carrying a weapon, and resisting an officer (Daily Bulletin). This incident is a great example of what we have learned regarding police activity in Chapters 5 and 6 of Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction. To begin, it shows just how dangerous a police officer’s day to day career can get (176). As we learned in Chapter 6, this officer was definitely in danger of
Police Chiefs and Community leaders are constantly working to maintain a positive, ethical image of their police officers that are sworn to serve and protect. A community’s vision of police officers is held to a high standard of honesty, integrity, equity, and professionalism while performing their duties. This training in ethics, integrity, and discretion is taught at the police academy then follows the officer until retirement. There is a mandate that police departments