At 1:30 pm E.T, on a dull rainy day in Boston, Massachusetts, our cousin Elvis, his friend and designated driver, Jason, my little sister, Isabelle, and myself loaded into Jason’s 2013 Audi S5 coupe and headed to a nearby outlet’s shopping center. We arrived to the Wrentham outdoor outlets, open to low temperatures of 38 degrees, knock-down winds, and firm rain. We ran as fast as we could, and we dodged all the mud puddles back to the car, having absolutely no time to shop or even move our eyes. As we sat inside the car, drenched as if we jumped in a water park, we all debated whether we should grab food on the way home or just go back home for a movie and popcorn night. Elvis decided he could really go for greasy pizza and crispy chicken tenders at his favorite pizza shop. Jason agreed and told us about a hole in the wall pizza shop, with freshly made French fries and chicken tenders, but he also told us it was in a pretty sketchy neighborhood, and that we would have to rush in and out of the shop, even during daylight hours.
We arrived in the pizza shop, and the weather was still grey and cloudy. The evening time could have had easily been mistaken for the middle of the night; we had to walk around the corner to get to a door that may or may not normally stick out during sun-up hours.
As we sat and waited for the chicken tenders and pizza, I saw Elvis to my right, impatiently waiting for the food to get done as if he were eager to leave. As we loaded into the car willing to leave, Isabelle and I going in first, sitting in the back, and Jason still outside the car, two young-looking men wearing thick grey hoodies, who were also seated within the pizza shop, approached Jason, asking him if he had “smokes or a lighter” on him. As...
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...so felt as though the Police role had a big influence on that night, since police are supposed to be around to serve and protect. I have the up most respect for all types of police officers, but my issue particularly was with the city police, who neglect an incident such as a robbery. These incidents occur so often in big cities, and these thieves are so hard to find due to them hiding out for a few hours and later reappearing; that cops sometimes shove the incidents to the side. Given that there are more dangerous crimes happening in the area, which is understandable, I feel that these officers who took our report, did not find real importance in our incident. As there are more serious crimes happening, what about the other five or ten possible people who could have also been getting robbed or their lives threatened because of jerks who go after materialized items.
The piece goes on to say that “gang members, drug dealers, two-bit criminals, wannabes, etc. are taking a vacation and taking advantage of the police not wanting to be in the area because police are the targets for all these gang members and drug dealers.” The video continues on stating that this is all occurring as arrest numbers have dropped 32%; a concerning result of police officers being targeted, fearing for their lives, feel alienated and concerned about doing their jobs. The guest also states “this is exactly what the city government gets…The police department doesn’t feel the police commissioner has stood by it, and the mayor threw them under the bus by inviting the DOJ to come and investigate an alleged presence of racism…{So they} are making no proactive stops; not stopping people and shaking them down, not searching people or looking for guns or drugs, basically just answering the calls to service…taking care of the good citizens who are in trouble…and taking care of their fellow officers because they now have to worry about making a mistake and getting charged with false arrest, false imprisonment, and the loss of their freedom.” The guest also predicts that many of the police officers will leave to find places that will respect them and support them when they make lawful arrests and do their job, leaving only those who would do nothing and mindlessly agree with the
The sun had just set and all the street lights had begun to turn on to help see through the dark alleys. Just before we began to close the store something surprisin...
On Tuesday, September 23rd, I had the opportunity to do a ride along with the Takoma Park police department. My ride along was quite interesting. I rode with Officer Carl, a twenty-six-year-old officer who has been with the police department for six months. During the ride along we engaged in so many conversations concerning his work routine, and some the important things to be aware of as a police officer. Officer Carl and I were about the same age group so I felt much comfortable talking to him. Before I went for the ride along I had a different perspective about police work, I thought police work was much amusing and entertaining, but after the ride along with Officer Carl, I have realized that there is much more to police work and it often
"Even though the suspect was in the midst of an armed robbery and the officer only wounded him, I saw the ways that the action tore into the officer's soul and forced him to second-guess himself. " We all let the unethical actions of a few officers, damage the law enforcement image entirely. This insight, gives us the chance to see how hard our law enforcement works in order to keep us safe, and how many of them are truly affected, when faced with life-threatening situations. I tend to believe that no matter what choice the officer makes, there will always be an issue of morality, because as human beings we are all interconnected with different points of view in how we view the behaviors of the world.
It is a myth to believe that an officers job is spend fighting dangerous crimes, in reality officers spend more time handing smaller cases. For example, police officers spend a lot of time doing daily tasks such as giving speeding tickets and being mediators in disputes (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Handing out speeding tickers and handling minor disputes are far from fighting crime. Police officers spend more time doing preventive measures (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Preventive measures involve officers intervening to prevent further altercations. Victor Kappeler and Gary Potter discussed the myth of crime fighting as invalid and misleading notions of an officer’s employment.
Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence. (New Westminster Police Department, 2014)
It is easy for police to get caught up in the idea that it is them against the rest of society (Barkan, 2012). Many citizens in today’s democratic society have a negative or fearful view of our law enforcement. Think back to grade school, who was that one kid in class that everyone was annoyed by or despised? Most people would answer the teacher’s pet or the tattletale. We have grown up from a young age to have a negative view towards those that get us into trouble when we think we can get away with something we know is wrong. In the adult world, the police force can equate to those tattletales.
Every action the law enforcement community makes should leave a positive, everlasting effect on the community they serve. The negative view of law enforcement should not be the actions of a few but the unseen actions of many. The bad apples of law enforcement always make the news and the headlines, but the officer who went above and beyond to affect a family for the rest of their lifetime, goes unnoticed.
I interviewed Lieutenant Harris of the Hattiesburg Police Department. He has been the Lieutenant for two years, and beforehand was Sargent at the Hattiesburg Police Department. Lieutenant Harris is from Gulfport, Mississippi and has been with Hattiesburg Police Department for seven years. Since being a Lieutenant, he is over the net and strike team. The net and strike teams are the drug prevention section of the police department. They also deal with gang violence and disorderly conduct. Lieutenant Harris has exceptional leadership and managerial skills. They are both needed when working in this type of environment, while in law enforcement. The challenges of this police department has been the image of the police department. Citizens often complain about rudeness, unnecessary force and the typical complaints of a police department. The Hattiesburg Police Department has a horrible relationship with the community. This in particular Lieutenant Harris stated that it is a huge issue in the city of Hattiesburg. The issue I am going to compare is an officer’s perspective while being a citizen, compared to a being a police officer. I asked Lieutenant Harris the mental and physical challenges that arise while being a police officer.
Many of the citizens never had a one on one altercation with the law they only base their opinions on experiences with the police influence from other citizens, and that where they get their general image of the police. Many study indicates that police courteousness/friendliness in the direction of the citizen in a recent contact with police exerts the most powerful influence on the citizen’s general assessment of the police. However more studies have indicated that people’s previous overall views of police have sturdier influence on their evaluation of a succeeding specific contact than their evaluation of a specific contact has on subsequent overall views of police. The majority of the American public has not had face-to-face contact with a police officer. Most people respect the mass media as their primary source of information about the many crimes that go on around them, and crime news is the background for most mass media interpretations of police work. The implied message of much crime news is the lack of ability to catch offenders. A trend that is rising in a major way is in the news media. They are using it to focus their attention on a few
I have respect for the police, and the job they do. Policemen are a selected few who do a dangerous job. Police have done many great things to help improve communities, help people during their off duty hours and stand strong in face of many fears. The police trying to enforce the law are on the streets in all types of weather. Instead of being at home with their families on holidays they are working to keep peace. Everyday, they step out in a world where violence is considered appropriate.
This police activity is composed of difficult decisions and activities, which include the discretionary use of authority and prevention of crimes by a strong police presence. It also involves maintaining good relations within the community. Cops, at times, have to reach out to citizens to help them do their jobs. Examples include obtaining information in trying to solve a crime and helping to maintain order. About one month ago, we had some individuals come into the store and walk out with some expensive merchandise. The security cameras were unable to read the license plate on the car that they drove off in. Luckily they had work done on their vehicle in the automotive department, and when the police arrived to gather information about it, I was able to aid them in tracking them down because we had their license plate on file. If I am able to help law enforcement in any way, I do so. I know that working in law enforcement is challenging in this day in age, and the levels of trust are not where they should be, so whatever I can do to show other people that cops are there to help, I take advantage of the
Police safety is a subject that can be touched on more than once, and every time have a dozen different arguments and many different types of ways to look at it. Many police officers all over the country, is feared for their life because they feel like they’re under attack. In the news, every day it seems like another officer is being ambushed and killed. One officer said “I just want to go home to my wife and kid’s” reported by the New York Post. Assassinations at one time wasn’t very common. , but now seems to be a rising due to the lack of respect people are having for the
My childhood was a playground for imagination. Joyous nights were spent surrounded by family at my home in Brooklyn, NY. The constantly shaded red bricks of my family’s unattached town house located on West Street in Gravesend, a mere hop away from the beach and a short walk to the commotion of Brooklyn’s various commercial areas. In the winter, all the houses looked alike, rigid and militant, like red-faced old generals with icicles hanging from their moustaches. One townhouse after the other lined the streets in strict parallel formation, block after block, interrupted only by my home, whose fortunate zoning provided for a uniquely situa...
Immediately I acknowledge that things were differently, this was not your conventional hair salon. It was widely divergent from most places I’ve been to. People didn’t just get their hair cuts, this is where they mingle. I struggled to find a parking spot in a tiny lot just off the highway; minutes went by as I sat in my car waiting for a parking spot. It was 6 minutes later, that a black Cadillac, with nice wheels and tint, backed out and I was finally able to park. The barbershop is located in an area too small to be considered a strip mall-and apparently too small to handle all of its customers' vehicles. Once I found a parking spot, I was ready to begin my observation of the Starz barbershop.