Society entrusts its police services with maintaining law and order, protecting fundamental rights and freedoms, preventing and fighting crime, and assisting the public. In carrying out these duties, police officers are granted a wide range of discretionary powers on behalf of the state. The primary functions of the modern police are crime control, order maintenance, and social work. Progress does not stand, so modern police officers use many devices to help capture criminals using high-tech equipment (Blumberg et al., 2019).
Crime Control
The methods by which police control crime are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Moreover, the second point is the changing nature of the crime that the police are fighting. There are several historical generations of crime that the police had to deal with: initially, it was violent, property crimes, then the area expanded, and fraud and intellectual property crimes were added. Along with technological advances, the ways of finding criminals are simplifying and changing, for example, finding criminals by tracking phones, using surveillance cameras, bugging calls, and using all kinds of gadgets for wiretaps and sensors, databases. As part of this function, the police are responsible for catching criminals, preventing crime, and ensuring public safety.
Order Maintenance
Public order means a functioning system of social relations governed by a series of legal norms and other socially acceptable norms, which guarantees the unhindered and non-conflictual functioning of the individual in society. Public order includes all social relations regulated by law and norms of other systems, as well as those formed primarily in public places. In modern society, the police closely monitor public order and identify violators: The police are strictly connected with public order and peace and their maintenance (Muharemi, 2019, p.1). This policy function does not require high-tech devices and innovations. However, in the 21st century, it is easier for the police to find and identify offenders with the help of, for example, video surveillance cameras. As part of this function, the police are responsible for identifying violators, preventing violations, and issuing fines.
Social Work
Police officers also perform this social work function. One important function of social work is to help the individual avoid the various risks and threats of the modern world, to help build the trajectory of his life path, and to activate his strength and resources: Patrolmen manage domestic disputes, administer stern warnings to wayward juveniles, find lost children, talk suicidal people down from rooftops (Cordner, 2019, p. 35). This function is important because it is social work that helps prevent crime. Many offenders commit crimes because of mental trauma, mistaken beliefs, addictions, and similar life problems. Social work helps people rethink their actions and change society for the better. Technological advances have also affected this police function. For example, the Internet has helped in the search for missing persons, as has telephone tracking. Various disciplines and continuing education courses have appeared to help police officers become competent. In social work, it is important to have a quality education that allows police officers to understand peoples psychology and behavior. I believe that there will be many more approaches and ways of performing social work in the future.
Conclusion
I believe that the main function of the police is to fight crime. When other agencies can perform the other two functions, it is in this activity that the police are indispensable. The police have authority in society, inspire trust, and perform their duties. The police are equipped with weapons and the necessary devices to catch criminals, which is why they can perform this function well.
In the future, as humanity develops, certain types of crimes may be added, and cybercrime may develop even more. That is why the police must continue to constantly develop the technology used in their work, to introduce innovations to make their work easier. In the future of society, preventing and finding the perpetrators of crimes such as robbery and murder will become much easier since, at that point, almost all police officers will be equipped with high-tech devices.
References
Blumberg, D. M., Schlosser, M. D., Papazoglou, K., Creighton, S., & Kaye, C. C. (2019). New directions in police academy training: A call to action. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(24), 4941.
Cordner, G. W. (2019). Police Administration (10th ed.). Taylor & Francis.
Muharemi, I. (2019). The influence of social changes in the police organization development and the function of the police in society. International Journal, 30(6), 1471-1477.
Professionalism is the aim, conduct or qualities that characterize a vocation that requires advanced training in some liberal art or science. It is characterized by service to others, assessment of the clients needs, practice as well as ethical conduct. Many confuse the term especially when it comes to law enforcement with a soft image, cool, aloof officer with no feeling, crisp uniform, and using high tech as an expert at fighting crime. Responsibility on the other hand is defined as assuming accountability for an action, task or a decision.
Professionalism and ethics
Professionalism in the police force has several positive impacts that include good service to the public, better pay for the constables, ethical conduct, strong community support as well as respect and a stronger role in a Criminal Justice System. In ethics, the aspect that matters is doing things in the rightful way irrespective of the individual in question.
Ethics refers to a system of moral principles and a branch of philosophy that defines what is good for individuals as well as the society (Glomseth, Gott & Petter, 2011, p. 112). This brings about the question of whether police professionalism is based on education or ethics in the minds of many a people.
In providing an answer to such a question, a study has been done that confirms that many of the officers in the law enforcement have minimum education for the job but very advanced as far as ethics is concerned. Their moral standards are incomparable. Carter in his book says that, Our high tech world is dictating the recruitment of more highly educated officers. College-educated officers appear to be more analytical, hence they are more objective with the public (1989, p. 76).
In this regard, education plays a pivotal role in ensuring the delivery of quality service. With the current state of advancement in technology, officers who are not well educated will be rendered obsolete. Some police officers around the globe have embraced social networks in curbing crimes.
Even those without web-enabled phones have designed a way of receiving tweets as text messages. Following the above description, professionalism entails the provision of good services within a given jurisdiction. Ethics on the other hand has been broken into several categories, which include Integrity, Honesty, Values, Morals, Principles, Standards and Courage.
According to Lt. Andrew Barolle, integrity is the core of ethics that binds the other elements together (2005, p. 65). He argues that continual reinforcement and education are essential in enhancing the officers integrity. He also acknowledged honesty as one of the pillars in enhancing effective enhancement of the law. Values are a system of beliefs meaningful to us and that determine what is vital to us hence controlling our manner of conduct.
The other ethical category is moral which determines what is right from what is wrong. Additionally, principles are essential in the portraying the core values within the police force. When one is exposed to a difficult situation and it happens that he does the right thing despite personal or professional consequences, he is said to be courageous. Courage makes one face a challenge with confidence and self-possession. The courage is either physical or moral.
Physical courage includes facing armed suspects and handling them as required while moral courage is evident when one refuses free meals, refuses to indulge in gender based humor as well as refusing gratuities among others. Officers ought to be thorough equipped and trained on how to handle difficult situations before it happens. Paul Strong says that, this type of training increases and builds integrity in the officers and promotes the ethical standards they are expected to uphold (2005, p. 70).
According to Travis, there are certain factors that are characteristic of police professionalism (1997, p.15). These factors include justice, wisdom or rather prudence, courage as well as ones sense of responsibility. When one is arrested, the decisions governing law enforcement, prosecution and passing of a judgment are made using the guide of what is right and just for the people or person in question.
Policing
Policing is a way of curbing crimes in a more community-based manner. According to Jones and Newburn, there are several aspects that are involved in policing (1998, p.58). They include the maintenance of the rule of the law, peacekeeping and investigation of crimes among others.
The police force plays a major role in tackling and eliminating crimes in the society, streets and the nation at large for their role according to Newburn is Concentration on maintenance of law and order as well as prevention and detection of offences (Newburn, 2008, p. 15).
Many other professionals are involved in the same task though the police force is the major organ that deals with the maintenance of law and order in many nations. Others include community police who work hand in hand with the police to ensure that order is maintained in the community level. They act as brokers between the police and the community for a better relationship (James, 2011, p. 135).
McLaughlin and Muncie argue that Community policing holds out the promise of reduced levels of crime and disorder, improved quality of life for the community, a supportive environment for police operations and greater job satisfaction for police officers (2006, p. 167). They also deal with responding to stressing calls from distressed community members as well as handling anti-social behaviors in the community.
Others that handle the same tasks as the police include the security guards who not only guard property but also people from hazards. They ensure that people do not get involved in criminal activities. This ensures that the police have easier tasks in maintaining law and order in the society. It gives them sufficient time to enhance their skills through training sessions (Broome, 2011, p. 140).
This kind of policing is said to evolve, develop, take root and grow in a continuous manner unlike many peoples perception that it starts in a new fiscal year. The process emphasizes on citizen participation and interaction in solving community problems. The police are involved in every bit of crime prevention including the fear of crime that negatively affects the publics perception of security matters in a community setting.
In order to ensure that the much anticipated policing is achieved, the relationship between the police and the community needs to be streamlined. Training the community on their role in maintaining law and order in the society is essential in enhancing the co-operation of the two parties. Trust between the police and the community will ensure that the people have a say on how their streets are policed thus rendering the constables accountable locally.
The locals ought to know that the police are actually there for them and have confidence that there is ethics and integrity in the criminal justice system. Policing would be hard and impossible if it was working in isolation. It should be delivered in partnership with the public but with key agencies at the local level and across the criminal justice system.
Challenges that the police encounter
The police are faced with multiple challenges in their line of career that range from being rejected by the people in the community they work from to having to stay calm when faced with a hard situation that can cost them their lives. The police are known to be crime-fighters and doing dangerous jobs that require them to outsmart the challenge.
They are supposed to outdo their enemies and the enemies of the community as a whole irrespective of their political, cultural and social backgrounds. In as much as they maintain law and order, the police have other responsibilities that range from social responsibilities to political responsibilities. The police are responsible for giving first aids to the needy as well as finding lost children.
This does not in most cases call for the use of firearms. On the contrary, it needs emotional care and concern. In curbing crimes in the community, the police carry out criminal investigations as well as patrols (Chakerian, 1974, p. 145). They also care for the needy, resolve conflicts, protect constitutional guarantees, to reduce the opportunities for the commission of some crimes, to promote and to preserve civil order.
The police should never mix personal gratifications with the performance of their duties. This is because the short-term goals of personal promotions or incentives and/or an agency to get their budget approved can ruin the good work and the most important task of taking care of the entire nation. This can jeopardize the sacred love, peace, unity and harmony of the entire nation.
It would obscure the long-term goal of crime eradication, justice for all and protection of the individuals right. The sole beneficiary of all these should be the public. In correction of the perpetrators of the rights of the others, the police make arrests and forward them to the courts of law without infringing their rights at any one given time during the arrest or even thereafter (Liqun, 2011, p. 56).
The lawbreakers right to justice is paramount and the police, while contacting any investigations, are supposed to put this into consideration. They are not supposed to cook evidence or force others to give false evidence. They are not supposed to use force the convict to bow down to the crack of the whip.
Ethical concerns in sentencing include predictions and discrimination. They predict whom to issue greater punishment to the other. The purpose of prediction is to discriminate those offenders who deserve more punishment. They discriminate against race, sex, age and even socioeconomic status.
Punishment based on predictions is derived from an earlier criminal record, which mostly is based on race and sex. There is growing evidence that discrimination in sentencing can be controlled through guidelines or other decision-making aids (Wooldredge, 2009, p. 79).
The problem of sentencing in prediction could be less serious in practice than in perception, but the perception persists widely. The ethics of sentencing can be stated as a question of justice in which case the need to know what just punishment is and when to impose punishment justly.
Von Hirsch says that, While people will disagree about what justice requires our assumption of primacy of justice is vital because it alters the terms of the debate. One cannot, on this assumption, defend any scheme for dealing with convicted criminals solely by pointing to its usefulness in controlling crime, one is compelled to inquire whether that scheme is a just one and why (1976, p. 5).
Crime control policy
Crime control policy calls for more police in the streets or imposing longer sentences. Research shows that the more the policies there are in place to control crime the more the problems that can be foreseen by the law. The crime control policy needs to be amended to enhance discipline among the offenders. Research has shown that more than 70% of the inmates in the nations prisons are not there for the first time (Reiman, 1997, p.32).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the police play a pivotal role in the maintenance of law and order in any nation. Their task is crucial. A small portion of abuse of office can cost lives and this is the reason as to why every nation has a code of ethics that govern the conduct of individual police officers.
References
Borrello, A. (2005). Defining the Building Blocks of Ethics. Law and Order, 1, 65-68.
Brooke, R. (2011). An Empathetic Psychological Perspective of Police Deadly Force Training. Journal of phenomenological Psychology, 42(2), 137-156.
Carter, D. (1989). The State of Police Education for the 21st Century. Washington D.C.: Police Executive Research.
Chakerian, R. (1974). Police Professionalism and Citizen Evaluations: A preliminary Look. Public Administration Review, 34(2), 141-148.
Glomseth, R., Gott, S. & Petter, H. (2011). Professional Values in Knowledge Orgainizations: The Case of Police Districts. International Journal of Police Science and Management, 13(1), 100-125.
Hirsch, A. (1976). Doing Justice: the choice of punishments. NY: Northeastern University Publishers.
James, G. (2011). Policing Public Protests and Corporate Social Responsibility. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 39(2), 132-140.
Jones, T., & Newburn, T. (1998). Private Security and Public Policing. NY: Clarendon Press.
Liqun, C. (2011). Visible Minorities and Confidence in the Police. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 53(1), 56-90.
McLaughlin, E., & Muncie, J. (2006). The Sage Dictionary of Criminology. California: Sage Publications, Thousand Oak.
Newburn, T. (2008). Handbook of Policing. NY: Williams.
Reiman, H. (1997). Critical Moral Liberalism: Theory and Practice. London: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.
Wooldredge, C. (2009). Hand up! In the World of Crime or 12 Years a Detective. Illinois: University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Library.
The police department, as faction of the judiciary and law enforcer, cannot be allowed to be tainted with traces of indiscipline. It is a ridicule and an outright insult to the judicial system in its totality. The duty to ensure that unbecoming behavior and unacceptable professional conduct does not gain ground in the police force is bestowed on the police supervisor.
For the effective role of supervisor to be fully realized, the individual supervisor cannot overlook the importance of a disciplined force. Without discipline, the supervisor will have failed as an individual and failed the whole institution as well. This essay looks into the maintenance of discipline among the police as an integral part of effective police supervision.
Fostering discipline in the police force
Supervisors as disciplinarians
The ability to maintain discipline among the subordinates is one way of measuring the suitability of a supervisor for the role. The sergeant is the most important party in the police force, and his position the most challenging one. It is the sergeant&who plays the pivotal role and, in large measure determines whether the police department will face unfair labor practice charges, costly arbitrations, lengthy litigation, and more union activism, (More & Miller 2007, P.314).
The police are the point of connection between law enforcers and the society. They have been given discretion to deal with matters concerning the public such as determining when to arrest a suspect or when to shoot. The powers that police hold and exercise&if improperly used, reduce public confidence in police, decrease respect for the law, and increase fear amongst a community, thus destabilizing it, (Office of Police Integrity 2007, P. 18).
When a supervisor sleeps on his work as the disciplinarian organ of the institution the result is; lower quality of service provided by a given department and undermine the integrity of the entire profession, (More & Miller 2007, P. 316). Further, poor supervision and the lack of effective disciplinary mechanisms allow loose cannons who are in positions of power to abuse that power, (More & Miller 2007, P. 317).
Being the one who has the most contact with the subordinates, he can use that advantageous position to create a police force whose professional standards are not tainted with unethical issues.
The discipline could be constructive or punitive. Constructive refers to disciplinary measures geared to create internal discipline of an officer while punitive comes way after the employee has been found to have committed an indiscretion and is intended to make him not repeat the act, and should only be used when all other alternatives are depleted.
Good disciplinary measures
Sergeants, when they notice indiscipline, should not wait until the situation gets out of hand. They should take corrective measures with immediate effect. Failure to act promptly and decisively tends to perpetuate the problem and sets the stage for more debilitating interpersonal conflict, (More & Miller 2007, P. 301).
It makes other subordinates believe that the disciplinary measure laid down by the organization are merely for formalism purposes and are not really applicable. Further, they show that the supervisor is in control and has the authority over the subordinates yielding respect from them.
The disciplining should also be firm and fair and must be seen to be applied indiscriminately and equitably. A great sergeant establishes a sense of equity. This does not mean people are always treated equally, just always fairly, (Werder, 1996).
They should not be in violation of any written law or accepted rules of procedure and the subordinate must be able to understand his reasons of being disciplined. The root of the indiscipline and motive of performing the act must be established through enough evidence and the errant subordinate must be given a chance to be heard and explain his case.
Further, other less serious disciplinarian measures such as formal reprimands or arbitration should be tried out before the supervisor can jump to the more serious ones such as demotion or discharge. The measure adopted should be reasonable and not excessive taking into consideration the circumstances of the particular case.
The disciplinary measure should be less bureaucratic and filled with many formalities. A research currently conducted showed that amongst the significant defects with the current discipline system, are the numerous, inconsistent, excessively formal and slow review and appeal processes available, (Office of Police Integrity 2007, P. 14)
The employees should be properly informed of the unacceptable form of behavior to avoid a situation where the employee was unaware of the existence of the offence in the first place. Once, the subordinate knows the rules he knows what to expect in case of failure to follow the disciplinary code, (Shimansky 2006).
The discipline measures adopted must have just two objectives i.e., to act as a future deterrence both to the deviant subordinate and to the others or to change the specific individual and ensure he is reformed.
Any other objective of the supervisor such as to muster control of the subordinate or to settle some old scores, will be inappropriate and an abuse of power. The supervisor must at all time guard himself against making an emotional decision on discipline matters. They must remain in total control of the situation without having to be accommodative of subordinates improper behavior.
As much as supervisors are mandated to maintain discipline, they should not take to themselves the habit of nosing around the private business of the subordinates. All their actions should be confined to circumstances within the formal business of the organization. What the subordinate does outside the employment circle should be a no go zone for the supervisor.
The most effective manner of maintaining discipline is by outlining some procedures and principles, uniform to the whole organization, that every individual has to adhere to. The rules must also prescribe the right punitive measures to be undertaken in case of the subordinates defying such rules.
This makes the system a lot more formal and will yield respect from subjects. It will also ensure uniformity and avoid situations where the subordinate feels unfairly handled. They must, accordingly be communicated to all the subjects in a manner to obtain acceptance from them. Rules which are not generally accepted by the subjects often result into a situation of chaos and unresolved conflicts.
Positive discipline
These are measures taken by the supervisor long before any indiscipline has been detected. they are more of preventive measures as opposed to curative. They are aimed at securing the officers loyalty to the principles and procedures and get them to adhere to such policies willingly, without being sanctioned.
The subordinates are driven by the human tendency to do what needs to be done, to do what is right in a given situation, and to voluntarily comply with the reasonable standards of performance and conduct that apply to all members of the workforce, (More & Miller 2007,P. 291).
The supervisor has the duty of ensuring that create this kind of dedication from the subordinates. They develop self-discipline where the subordinate decide to give their all to the better performance of the whole institution for which they work for. Here, the supervisor simply acts as role model to be emulated.
They take a personal decision to motivate the subordinates through recognition and rewards. They create an environmental that is necessary for the growth of such a self-driven employee. A supervisor who has acquired skills and expertise to achieve this is a quality staff to the institution.
Conclusion
Discipline in the police force is one of the most important things and the topic should be handled with care. Lack of discipline in the force means that the indiscipline is extended to the society in general since a person who is undisciplined himself cannot function to the right standards.
But as much as we delve in punitive discipline institutions should realize that the most important discipline is the positive discipline. When subordinates are internally disciplined, the effects will be long lasting as opposed to corrective discipline which is administered after some malpractice has already happened. Police supervisors should seek to adopt methods of according positive discipline if they want to be effective in the role in the long run.
References
More, H and Miller, L. (2007). Effective Police Supervision: Coaching, Counseling and mentoring, 5th Ed, Chapter 11-13, copyright Mathew Bender and Company, Inc, a member of the LexisNexis Group
Office of Police Integrity. (2007). A fair and Effective Victoria Police Discipline System, Victorian Government Printer, session 2006-2007, P.P No. 3
Shimansky.B. (2006). Discipline as an integral Part of Effective Supervision, retrieved from web.
Werder, E.J. (1996). The Great Sergeant! Personal Qualities of a Great Sergeant, National Executive Institute Associates, Major Cities Chiefs Association and Major County Sheriffs Association.
In the United States, the number of innocent bystanders that have died or suffered injuries in the course of high-speed police car chases continues to increase at an alarming rate. In the year 2010, specifically in Milwaukee, the policy chief introduced a new policy indicating that the police force was not to engage in these violent and high-speed chases if the crime of the suspect did not justify the loss of the lives of innocent bystanders (McCrady, & Sorgi, 2010, p. 5). On the face of it, that proposition sounds ludicrous because it insinuates that the issue of losing bystanders lives as a collateral damage to a car chase gone sour is acceptable at times. Consequently, the various stakeholders had an opportunity to give their opinions on the matter. Understandably, most of the law enforcement agency personnel felt that this was an unwise move. In fact, by installing that exceptional status of the crimes that were fit for car chases, the message that was being convened to the public at large and specifically to the world of crime was worth addressing. The message was that criminals could get away with misdemeanours and other lesser felonies so long as the risk associated with initiating a car chase was equivalent to the loss of civilians lives.
Main body
I lost a brother in a car chase in 2011. He was simply walking back home from college. The suspect that was being pursued was suspected of the misdemeanors of drug handling and theft. My brother was only 19 years old. He already had his undergraduate degree. He was waiting for Stanford Universitys response to an application for his scholarship, which was ironically granted on the day he passed on. His loss has severally wounded my family and disillusioned my mother. This incident continues to plague us two years down the line. Worse still, the fact that he was killed by police who were in the line of duty is some sort of acceptable collateral status to the authorities. Therefore, they did not dwell much on the incident other than to provide the family with meager compensation and condolence message from people who are high up in the ranks. In my neighborhood, four other families have similar stories.
One is that of the parents of a 44-year-old church leader who was hit by a fleeing motorist in 2010 during another car chase. He had been serving the fellow shoppers around him for two decades. He left behind many responsibilities that have since gone unfulfilled such as providing cheap food to the elderly and mentorship to the youth to have them abstain from criminal activities. Other innocent victims include a 72-year-old man in Lynnwood and a 42-year-old mother and nurse in the same location. To the affected families, it is often difficult to come to grips with the more saddening fact that the suspect being chased down survived (Clarridge, 2013, p. 1). Moreover, the police in effect go ahead and charge such said suspects with a first-degree murder, which again depends on the prosecutions ability to prove a keen disregard for human life by the motorist during the collision. What good does that do to the families? Their loved ones are already gone.
A gap is apparent in this matter concerning the accountability of the police force upon the occurrence of such deaths or injuries. Statistical findings indicate that, in the past decade alone, California, which has been dubbed by several research results as the worlds police chase capital , had 10000 injuries and 300 deaths resulting from police chases gone awry (The Seattle Personal Injury Attorney, 2013). The FBI Law enforcement bulletin offers even more sobering alerts to this conundrum. According to o the law, the majority of the car chases are aimed at apprehending traffic violators. Each day, at least one person dies in police car chases, and that the percentage of injured or killed innocent bystanders in such chases totals to 42 percent of all the persons that are killed or injured. In fact, out of every 100 police high-speed car chases, at least one shall culminate in a fatality (The Seattle Personal Injury Attorney, 2013).
Conclusion
Surely, these figures ought to inspire some sort of preventive or proactive reaction from policymakers and other stakeholders and specifically the law enforcement agencies. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be a matter that is worthy of such high-ranking attention as no legislation has been passed towards the issue on a federal level. Most states are also reluctant to standardize procedure on the matter. The burden of its weight is borne by respective police officers in charge of stations and units. Most of these have reacted by introducing restrictive policies that require an officer to judge between the magnitude of the suspected crime and the risk involved. However, this kind of general direction is inherently flawed. The adrenaline rush experienced by the police officer at the crime scene in consideration of winning and making an arrest is mirrored in the suspects survival instincts. Therefore, preventive efforts require a deterrent feature. Much as the culprit shall be charged with the direct murder or injury of an innocent victim, the police should as well face disciplinary actions for creating dangerous circumstances by putting the suspect on flight mode. At the very least, this case would deter unwise judgment and offer a fuller sense of retribution to the families of the victims.
Reference List
Clarridge, C. (2013). Snohomish Countys death underscores risks of police pursuits. The Seattle Times , pp. 1-4.
McCrady, M., & Sorgi, J. (2010). New Policy on Milwaukee Police Chases. 620WTMJ Wisconsin Radio Station , p. 5.
The Seattle Personal Injury Attorney. (2013). Deadly Police Pursuit. Web.
Being well-educated and holding a college credential enhances an individuals chances for better career development and creates new opportunities for personal growth. Education helps people feel, think, and behave in a way that contributes to their success in life. Thus, individuals with higher education qualifications are more likely to make the right decisions and develop better ethical and moral principles than uneducated persons. Despite the significance of higher education, mandatory college degree for law enforcement personnel has long been contested. While most police departments have traditionally required a high school diploma for job entry positions, a study indicates a positive correlation between higher education qualifications and better work performance for recruits (Edwards, 2019). Following the recent deaths of unarmed men at the hands of law enforcement, combined with calls for police reforms, there has been a nationwide debate about increasing education requirements for law enforcers. While police offers may not have needed diplomas or equivalent college degrees in the past, times are quickly changing. Law enforcement needs professionals equipped with 21st-century talents beyond traditional police academy training.
Arguments Supporting Mandatory College Education for Police Recruits
College Education Empowers Police Officers to Better Relate with Others
Better education qualifications can support the technical training that law enforcement professionals receive on the job or at the academy. Research indicates that tertiary education may improve police interrelationship skills and prepare them for their career (Edwards, 2019). In this regard, technical training and college education are crucial for the police force to effectively perform their work in the community. Higher learning offers invaluable chances to learn the work and strategies employed to tackle difficult situations. In this case, college enhances officers practical skills by participating in community services, internships, and even studying abroad. Traditionally, these programs linked to higher education boost moral reasoning, critical thinking, and openness to diversity. Therefore, giving a gun and a badge to young officers with a high school diploma and only a few months of technical training and sending them out to the community is not good enough. The interpersonal skills accumulated through higher education can help the police to work with groups and individuals in their professional and personal capacities. Therefore, if law enforcers go through college, they may get first-hand experience and reduce frequent complaints in the communities they serve.
Tertiary education can help foster more intercultural awareness among the police force. Thus, when the professionals in this field become more culturally sensitive, this will enable them to eradicate any bias or cultural barriers that impede their work. In this regard, years in college can assist the police in connecting and socializing with people from different cultural backgrounds. As a result, they may begin to recognize and appreciate other individuals values, beliefs, customs, and sexual orientations and interact with them without judgment or prejudice. One of the barriers for law enforcement agencies in effectively executing their mandate is inadequate experience with people from diverse backgrounds.
The lack of cultural competencies can inhibit the police from improving their relationships with the public and being unable to gain their trust. According to Miles-Johnson (2019), police misconduct typically transpires during engagement with public members or when deployed in high-crime areas or minority-concentrated neighborhoods, and they feel threatened by the situation. In this case, law enforcement officers may not be in a position to get help from the community to address local criminal activities. Therefore, when policing diverse people, being culturally aware can help the police build more connections and contribute to fewer interpersonal conflicts arising from cultural differences.
College education can promote better work ethics by being open to diversity. Experiences from higher learning institutions can help the police recognize how biases influence their perceptions and help them become more accommodating and respectful of people who are different or unique. Despite recent reforms, police in the United States have been reported to unfairly target people of color and ethnic minority groups when executing stop-and-search policies. Therefore, police failure to embrace diversity when performing their roles is responsible for the abuse of power and frequently observed behaviors of stereotypes and racist beliefs among law enforcement officers. Hence, as public servants, the police should continually strive to rise above personal prejudices and promote community harmony. The high education requirements may expose law enforcers to different perspectives and equip them with skills to serve everyone equitably regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, and race. Therefore, they may renounce practices that portray the profession negatively.
Higher Learning Can Assist Law Enforcement Agencies to Adopt Best Practices
Knowledge and expertise accumulated in college may be essential in helping the police become more efficient in identifying quality data and scientific evidence. In this context, post-secondary education can provide the crime squad with the tools to think scientifically. The basic principle of scientific thinking is to present learners with the necessary tools to distinguish credible information from unreliable data (Schmaltz et al., 2017). In this regard, research shows that instructors in the tertiary education program tend to prioritize scientific thinking (Schmaltz et al., 2017). This means that many police recruits who do not continue to a post-secondary level after finishing high school may not acquire this essential skill to accurately assess the world around them. Therefore, if college education is not mandatory for the police, they may not develop the specific skill sets needed to be scientifically literate and, thus, become vulnerable to biases and logical fallacies. For instance, law enforcers usually learn de-escalation strategies in their academies to reduce the use of force. However, while de-escalation techniques are essential tools at their disposal, they may not always be effective or applicable. Therefore, officers who understand scientific methods, as taught in college, are better equipped to evaluate such department policies and adjust them.
College-educated officers are also better imparted with various capabilities to look more professional to the public. Apart from post-secondary education assisting law enforcement officers in displaying clarity in thinking, they can also be well trained and well versed to easily use emerging artificial intelligence technologies to solve crimes. In addition, they may have a broader grasp of the criminal justice system and robust knowledge of civil rights from multiple perspectives. Therefore, tertiary education can build police officers overall competencies and prepare them to be more suitable for the job. This is because, in college, learners have access to nearly limitless information, which helps them to accumulate knowledge and learn best practices to build the reputation of any profession. In this case, when police officers are highly educated, they can be more disciplined and act more professionally compared to those who are uneducated. Based on a report, only 11% of college-educated police officers were involved in all disciplinary actions compared to 75% of law enforcement agents with high school diplomas (Kimberling, 2020). Therefore, a four-year tertiary education correlates with positive attitudes and good behavior, which enhances the success of police recruits.
College education training helps enhance police legitimacy through improvements in public confidence in the law enforcement department. Post-secondary education is, for example, anticipated to boost police ethical awareness and occupational culture to assist them in adapting to changes in society and in improving their professional status (Terpstra & Schaap, 2021). Therefore, as mentioned earlier, making higher education a requirement for police will give them unlimited opportunities to learn various topics, such as theories of community, diversity, and the complexities of crime causation. As a result, this will enhance the legitimacy of the profession through the accreditation of police education and training. In this case, the public will be able to have trust and confidence in their law enforcement departments. Such assurances involve the belief that the police are more professional, competent, and honest and try to perform their job effectively by protecting the community against violence and crime. Thus, higher education for police recruits, especially a bachelors degree, is considered significant to counter a wide range of major shortcomings of law enforcement.
College-Educated Police Are More Likely to Prevent Violence and Crime
Law enforcement officers with college degrees are less likely to engage in professional misconduct. Police personnel with lower education qualifications are more likely to use excessive and deadly force than officers with post-secondary education. A report shows that college-educated law enforcement officers are 40% less likely to resort to lethal force on the job (Mekouar, 2020). Therefore, this means the group has a minimal chance of losing their jobs due to misconduct. Police violence against civilians includes firing or pointing a gun at suspects, using verbal threats and indiscriminately punching or grabbing suspects, or hitting individuals in their custody with a baton to cause physical harm. Therefore, tertiary education helps law enforcement agencies find and learn about effective strategies and implement them when confronted with difficult situations, especially during the upsurge of racially charged incidents.
Various reports of extrajudicial killings, such as the brutal murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, have triggered tension and distrust between communities and law enforcement forces. Thus, the assumption behind why police personnel with no post-secondary education may be more likely to use violence is that those with college degrees are better problem solvers. This implies that college-educated law enforcers are able to mitigate incidents with suspects amicably without resorting to physical force.
Higher education improves cognitive skills and reduces an individuals likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors, which may decrease their chances of being violent. A study by Varela et al. (2018) indicates that school disengagement is closely linked with higher levels of violent conduct during adolescence and early adulthood. Another report shows that law enforcement personnel with at least a two-year degree are 40% less likely to be dismissed from their work due to professional misconduct (Bouffard & Armstrong, 2020). This means officers with college degrees generate fewer complaints from their departments and the public. Therefore, they are also terminated less frequently compared to their less educated counterparts for misbehavior. College-educated officers are more understanding of human behavior, are less authoritarian, and have better job performance.
Post-secondary Education Instill Police with Essential Skills and Leadership Competencies
Post-secondary education is vital in assisting the police to stay updated with the ever-changing needs of society. Boag-Munroe et al. (2017) recommend the acquisition of problem-oriented strategies as a means to enhance law enforcement capabilities to effectively execute their mandate. The traditional technical training programs may be outdated and insufficient in preparing officers to respond to emerging social problems, such as international terrorism and increased migration, as well as understand new policing laws required to effectively address these issues. In this regard, college is the only setting where learning and broadening knowledge occurs. This is because recruits will be inducted into different topics, ideas, and situations over a duration of time to become more problem-oriented in identifying crimes in the communities they serve. If a degree becomes mandatory for law enforcement, officers can easily determine the underlying causes of insecurity, develop suitable responses, and assess whether those responses work. In this case, they will have the opportunity to pursue educational backgrounds in sociology, public management, communications, psychology, government, and the natural sciences to develop new perspectives.
The accumulation of knowledge may help build effective leaders within law enforcement. This is because police academies inadequate focus on core competencies related to leadership, such as management and communication, are typically covered in colleges. Thus, these skills may initiate meaningful departmental reforms needed for transformational leadership. Effective governance is one of the most critical predictors of whether an institution can effectively function in a dynamic social and political environment. Therefore, police should be encouraged to make a college degree an employment requirement because they will better understand various aspects of society. For example, higher education can strengthen police officers leadership potential and promote them through the ranks. Research shows that law enforcement personnel with at least some higher education background are more focused on promotional advancement and aspire to retire in senior positions than those with no college degrees (Rosenfeld et al., 2020). Conversely, police who experience limited promotion prospects have a high chance of leaving the service (Boag-Munroe et al., 2017). In this case, it is not unexpected that administrators in law enforcement, including police chiefs, are likely to hold post-graduate and college degrees.
Higher Education Improves the Communication Prowess of Police Recruits
Unlike high school graduates, law enforcement personnel with a college degree often exhibit better verbal and written communication skills. Good verbal communication positively influences how police officers interact with their partners, other professionals, community members, victims, families, and court officials. Research indicates that college-educated law enforcers have impeccable listening and speaking skills, which helps them to easily build trust with people from diverse backgrounds to understand different situations (Edwards, 2019). This may assist the police in making fast and more informed decisions for the betterment of all individuals and communities involved. Additionally, improved communication skills help law enforcement forces to effectively gather evidence from crime scenes or during interrogations. For instance, an officers tone and body language may encourage or deter witnesses from divulging the account of events that may hasten or impede an investigation. Therefore, a college education helps police recruits acquire excellent communication abilities that foster better relations with the public resulting in information sharing, which makes inquiries easier and faster.
Good communication in law enforcement often assists in de-escalating volatile situations. Law enforcement agents with a college education have been linked to adopting less authoritative tones when interacting with the public than their counterparts. Speaking calmly in cases involving rowdy groups, protests, or other tense conditions can help the police diffuse such scenarios amicably. The use of practices, such as active listening and showing empathy, may create an atmosphere of mutual respect, which is critical in conflict management to avert further escalations. Thus, effective communication skills taught in colleges may help law enforcers learn to use conflict management strategies in solving issues rather than violence.
College-educated law enforcers demonstrate a better-written communication compared to high-school graduates. The use of simple, clear, and precise language in writing police memos and reports fosters information clarity to prevent misunderstandings (Edwards, 2019). Law enforcement agencies heavily rely on written documents; thus, well-written reports clearly show how events surrounding a particular case unfolded. Alternatively, poor reporting and documentation may cause misunderstanding and biases, impeding an investigation. Poor report-writing skills may make an officer lose their job. Therefore, a college degree may equip police recruits with the writing skills needed in the field.
Higher education equips law enforcement personnel with a unique skill set to interpret body language. Communication is not limited to verbal or written form because non-verbal cues, including facial expressions, tone, gestures, and body language, can generate different messages. Comprehending non-verbal communication may assist law enforcers in analyzing the body language of suspects or witnesses to detect any anomalies in their statements. Similarly, these cues can help officers read their partners body language or signals when they cannot communicate verbally in field exercises. Thus, tertiary education can expose police recruits to non-verbal communication that can aid investigations.
College Education May Improve a Recruits Chances for Promotion
Tertiary education can significantly boost a law enforcers chances of getting a promotion. Since college-educated officers have technological expertise, better leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills, and are more disciplined than high school graduates, they can quickly rise through the ranks and occupy bigger positions in the force (Dowd, 2021). In addition, recruits with higher education may earn better salaries than their peers with high school diplomas (Dowd, 2021). Moreover, recruits with a college education have better job security due to their diverse skills, which are critical in law enforcement owing to the low turnover rate associated with the profession. The increased promotion opportunities, salaries, and job security may give college-educated officers increased job satisfaction compared to those with high school diplomas. As a result, the officers with tertiary education may have a positive attitude towards their work, including the communities they serve. Research indicates that individuals who are happy with their jobs have increased job performance (Kundi et al., 2020). Therefore, recruiting individuals with higher education can significantly assist law enforcement in achieving equity because they will serve the public diligently despite their race, religion, or age.
Arguments Against Mandatory College Education for Police Recruits
Requiring law enforcers to have post-secondary education is a good idea. Nevertheless, incorporating college education as a pre-employment qualification for recruits may have unintended consequences which are detrimental to police agencies. This may explain why law enforcement agencies are yet to implement the mandatory college degree as a qualification despite the public uproar. The drawbacks to mandating higher education for police recruits include the following;
College Education May Create a Workforce Shortage
Making college education compulsory for police recruits may cause a significant decline in the workforce. This is because it will limit the number of applicants joining the force, thus creating an imbalance between work responsibilities and available resources. Similarly, over the years, the number of applicants entering the police force has significantly dwindled, leaving the agencies with many vacancies. Not to mention, there are four generations in law enforcement, including the Millenials, veterans, Generation X and Baby Boomers. Some veterans, particularly the Baby Boomers, are nearing retirement, creating other vacancies (Fry, 2020). This implies that blocking high school graduates from joining law enforcement will further deteriorate the vacancy crises.
There have been increased reports of several officers quitting the force. For instance, the Police Executive Research Forum report indicates that from 2020 to 2021, officers resignations and retirement increased by 18% and 45%, respectively (Sutton, 2021). This was partly attributed to low pay, high-stress levels, and the publics negative attitudes toward the police. Therefore, it is evident that the police force is already facing a workforce shortage crisis. Hence, mandating college education among the applicants may impair the agencys operations due to the lack of an adequate workforce.
Many college graduates may prefer other careers over joining law enforcement. Only a small population of the country has four-year college degrees. In this case, in 2021, only 37.9% of individuals aged 25 years and above in the United States had a college degree (Schaeffer, 2022). Nevertheless, not many of them would choose to enter the police force. Most applicants seek to join law enforcement due to the altruistic need to serve their communities. Therefore, making college education a mandatory requirement for police recruits will significantly lower the number of applicants, resulting in a decreased workforce, thus adversely affecting the agencies operations. Consequently, the limited personnel may hinder the equality of police service due to the limited number of resources in the form of officers.
Mandating College Degrees for Recruits May Disadvantage Minority Groups
Making college education a requisite for joining law enforcement may limit the chances of including marginalized groups. There is already an overwhelming underrepresentation of minority ethnic communities in law enforcement (Casey-Maslen & Connolly, 2017). Hence, necessitating a college degree as a pre-employment qualification for recruits may further hinder these marginalized groups from joining the force. The requirement may create unequal opportunities for minority groups such as Hispanics and African Americans. This is because most people of color come from low-socioeconomic backgrounds and may not afford the finances to pay for a college education. For instance, in 2022, 59.1% of college graduates were White, while Latinos and African-Americans were 13.1% and 1%, respectively (Bouchrika, 2022). This proves that making post-secondary education compulsory in the police force may create inequitable chances for people of color. As a result, this will not only hinder diversity in the workforce but also cause a considerable decline in the number of officers, thus adversely affecting police operations. A lack of diverse law enforcement force may adversely impact service delivery because the officers may not adequately cater to the needs of the multi-ethnic populations.
Requiring police recruits to have higher education may significantly lower the number of women joining the force. Research indicates that only 12% of women are law enforcers (Corley, 2022). This implies that the number of women officers is too low and should be increased. Thus, mandating college education for police recruits will only place more barriers for women to enter the force. As a result, this will hinder diversity and gender inclusivity, which may impair some law enforcement operations. For instance, female victims or witnesses are more likely to cooperate and effectively communicate with female officers because they can relate to them. Therefore, requiring police officers to have tertiary education lessens the number of law enforcement women, hampering service delivery to the public.
College Degrees May Be Unnecessary in the Police Force
Mandating tertiary education among law enforcers may be unwarranted because the police academy offers preparatory and on-job-training programs to its workforce. Police training mainly revolves around safety, psychology issues, and legal procedures; it may last for six to eight months (Blumberg et al., 2019). In this case, the recruits are taught state laws, self-defense, criminal investigations, computer skills, patrol procedures, and first aid. Other topics include weapon training, defensive driving, and traffic control. The recruits must also perform physical exercise and fieldwork to demonstrate their understanding of classroom activities (Blumberg et al., 2019). The field practices may include using firearms, directing traffic, operating police vehicles, demonstrating arrest tactics and interrogation methods, and investigating mock crime scenes.
Recruit training incorporates ethical practices in law enforcement and the communication skills required in interactions with other officers and the public. For instance, the officers are trained to use de-escalation techniques, such as showing empathy when dealing with volatile situations. Additionally, police recruits are taught how and when to use force to minimize damage and guarantee public safety (Blumberg et al., 2019). Equally important, law enforcers can learn on the job through experience, making tertiary education unnecessary. This proves that police recruits already have adequate knowledge and skills to effectively perform their jobs; thus, there is no need to mandate a college degree.
Even before an individual is considered a recruit, they must undergo rigorous tests to qualify for the positions. In this case, the applicant has to perform a written test to demonstrate that they have basic knowledge critical for the profession. The exam covers problem-solving skills, mathematics, and grammar, amongst others. Additionally, applicants must pass a psychological test to portray their emotional preparedness for the job (Blumberg et al., 2019). This is because law enforcers are often exposed to highly challenging scenarios that necessitate making life-and-death choices. Furthermore, a physical ability exam is done to evaluate whether the applicants physical strength fits the job demand. Therefore, passing the police tests already qualifies the applicants for the profession. Hence, law enforcers do not require higher education to perform their work better because they have already demonstrated their aptitude by passing the applicants test.
Higher Education May Be Costly for Law Enforcement Agencies
Tertiary education may increase the salary expectations for police recruits. In any profession, individuals with advanced education status require higher pay than those with low education levels. This implies that police recruits with a college degree may be reluctant to accept the starting salary offered by law enforcement agencies. In this case, since most college graduates often have pending educational loans, officers with college degrees may require a higher income to enable them to pay such loans and manage their expenses (Dowd, 2021). Therefore, it is evident that obliging law enforcers to have higher education may result in higher salaries for the agencies.
It may be expensive for law enforcement departments to hire recruits with tertiary education. This is because the departments deal with a limited budget, and hence it may be challenging to sustain the increased salaries required by college-level recruits (Cole et al., 2018). As a result, the police agencies may only be able to recruit a slightly lower number of applicants resulting in more workload due to the limited staff. The decline may hinder equality because there are no adequate resources to meet the existing work requirements. This proves that necessitating college education for police recruits can be costly for police departments. Instead, the best solution would be hiring high school graduates and providing subsidies and other incentives to encourage them to pursue tertiary education. This approach may promote higher learning among police officers, equipping them with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet societys constantly evolving needs.
Position
Although some critics might argue that the lack of higher education for police recruits may not translate into their inability to perform their work, garnering a broad perspective on various issues is vital for any profession. Since more people are becoming very intellectual, education qualifications for the police force should also be improved. According to a report, in 2021, the number of adults 25 years and older who had completed college education or more included 46.9% men and 53.1% women (United States Census Bureau, 2022). Therefore, law enforcement operating in a well-educated society should be taught to match the people they serve. Education can help the police understand the individuals they serve and strengthen police-community relations. This is because it has been articulated that college-educated police employ less force and adhere to policing regulations for professional advancement than high school graduates. Critical thinking is one aspect associated with higher education, which allows law enforcement personnel to better understand their suspects during a confrontation and articulate practical solutions not available to their non-college-educated peers. Thus, post-secondary education for police is essential in countering a wide range of shortcomings in law enforcement.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there have been repeated calls from the public requiring police recruits to have tertiary learning to meet the evolving societys needs. College education may improve a police recruits problem-solving skills, technological abilities, leadership, and communication skills. All these proficiencies make police officers better equipped to serve the needs of society. In addition, due to the exposure to different cultures during college, these officers have an increased understanding of diversity, enhancing their relations with colleagues, superiors, and the public regardless of age, race, or religion. Similarly, higher education has a positive influence on law enforcers because officers with a college education are more disciplined and less likely to use violence when interacting with the public. However, some critics maintain that mandating tertiary education for recruits may be detrimental to law enforcement agencies. This is because it may result in a declining workforce and increase operations costs due to additional salaries. Additionally, it may limit minority groups applications to the force, thus hindering diversity. Nevertheless, college degrees should be mandated for police recruits because they offer the required skill set and abilities to solve societal problems effectively.
Violence against persons of colour is a persistent issue that has existed for centuries in the United States. It is profoundly ingrained in the evolution of American culture, whether it is motivated by a desire and need for control, to uphold an illegal system of oppression, or to uphold a cultural image of ones own superiority. Researchers are today challenged with understanding why race matters the way it always has, with outcomes that continue to undermine the core concepts of freedom, equality, and democracy. Over time, models, justifications, and resistance to this violence have changed. An increasing amount of data suggests that systematic racism in policing is the cause of the disproportionate number of deaths caused by the police. This shows that in the US, the impact of lethal police violence is a pressing public health concern.
Main Thesis of Authors
Killing Fields: Explaining Police Violence against Persons of Color by Jones (2017) sets police violence against people of colour in a historical perspective and makes the case that historical patterns are being followed by the present homicide wave. In the article, the causes and effects of police aggression are explained sociologically for greater comprehension. The descriptions of the causes and effects of police violence are the key features of the pieces in this collection (KF 874). The articles main argument for why racial stereotypes and their behavioural effects are to blame for police violence is that these effects extend beyond the direct victims to communities of colour.
The racialization of crime and punishment: Criminal justice, colour-blind racism, and the political economy of the prison industrial complex by Brewer and Nancy (2008) present the issue from the positions of social justice, racial history, and the perceptions of racial pedagogies. The essay evaluates a number of macro systems linked to policing, economic exclusion, and political emancipation. Regarding the theoretical framework, the writers examine the racist and classicist roots of injustice using critical racial theory. The article links a number of topics, including the history of US law, criminal justice, and the political economics of the criminal justice system, as part of its study (RCP 627). The writers concentrate on the interplay between micro and macrosystemic injustice, as well as the contribution of prisoners to the promotion of resistance to these injustices.
Arguments of the Authors
The article The Killing Fields: Explaining Police Violence Against Coloreds by Jones (2017) provides strong facts that might raise public awareness of police officer intolerance and inequity. The main points of the authors arguments focused on the role that the media and the so-called Gorilla effect play in the aggravation of racial prejudice (KF 883). Additionally, the medias influence has a particularly damaging impact since it contributes to the development of animosity toward black people. Dehumanizing black people and associating them with monkeysa practice known as the Gorilla Effect in the Jones articleis another defining aspect of the medias conduct (KF 885). This occurrence suggests that individuals of colour are no longer considered to be part of the human race.
The racialization of crime and punishment: Criminal justice, colour-blind racism, and the political economy of the prison industrial complex. Brewer and Nancy (2008) offer a substantial analysis of the interconnectedness of the issue with prevalent social issues such as justice, law, and criminal justice. The key driver and the connection between macro and micro factors in relation to racial-driven violence is a highly developed concept and development of racism. Within the authors analysis, racism is understood as a system of opportunity structuring and value assignment based on phenotypes that unfairly disadvantage some people and groups and weakens the cohesiveness of the entire community by wasting human resources (RCP 633). According to this framework, racism has many effects since it not only hurts those it affects but helps others. In the context of violence, this implies that certain young people are more likely to become victims than others because of privilege and birthplace advantages. The authors contend that considering the connection between historical discrimination and institutional racism is necessary before considering police brutality (RCP 636). These arguments essentially reflect on the importance of the analysis conducted.
Evaluation
The paper by Jones is an important piece of study that advances the discussion on the subject of prejudice towards persons of race. The author brings up the subject of law enforcement officials prejudice and discrimination against black individuals. It should be mentioned that this issue has a long history in American culture and is still a pressing one today. Jones notes that gaining tolerance and equality for people of colour remains a challenging issue in spite of many efforts. The article has a substantial quantity of statistical information on people who have experienced police brutality. The key flaw of the article can be discovered in the comparison of the European and American systems (Draper). While the issue is less prevalent in Europe, the difference between the systems is not substantial. European prejudices are also apparent and recognizable, causing regular troubles in different European countries.
The Brewer and Nancy article also presents a valuable contribution to the scholarly debate on the issue. The junction of numerous macro and micro aspects, taking into consideration diverse historical and social repercussions, is the articles strength. The examination of social justice makes a significant contribution to the global scientific debate on this subject. Regarding the formal critique of reasoning, the logic of the authors argument is flawless. However, it is dubious about placing so much emphasis on forming a coalition to accomplish social justice. This questions final consequences may show its futility. It is also important that the study has credibility and significance because it is based on other important scientific publications.
While both of the articles presented valuable arguments and reasoning, the Jones article is more convincing because of its excessive use of statistics and thesis strength. Brewer and Nancys article attempted to intersect different perspectives to analyze macro and micro factors, but the scope of the aspects was too multilayered. That is why I am more inclined to side with the arguments of the Jones article. Within this issue, I find it more important to analyze contemporary repercussions such as the medias detrimental effect and the Gorilla Effect . This will allow incorporating aspects such as historical intersections and political economics but essentially focus on the current state of affairs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the issue covered in these articles concerned law enforcement personnels bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination towards racial minorities. The articles made the case that particular actions have an impact on how prejudice spreads among police personnel. The argument about the value of tolerance and equality in all spheres of society is brought to light in both essays, which is beneficial. The authors stress that gender and ethnicity cannot be used to predict homicide.
44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out is an American crime film, which was shot in 2003. The film is based on real events that took place in 1997 in North Hollywood. On the morning of 28 February 1997, two bank robbers broke into the Laurel Canyon Bank, took its employees hostage, and picked up the money ( 44 Minutes ). As they left the bank, they saw dozens of police cars around. After that, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes.
The directors of this film could accurately convey the atmosphere of that terrible incident. The Los Angeles Police Department was entirely unprepared for such well-trained robbers. The most remarkable thing is that no one died among police officers and civilians, though many of them were heavily wounded. I believe that this crime thriller was shot to restore the reputation of the Los Angeles Police Department. The filmmakers achieved this goal; that is why the film encourages the audience to feel proud of the American police.
The Old and the New Ways of Polices Response
Previously, in case of active shootings, responding police officers, in the first place, set up a secure perimeter around the crime scene. Only after that, they thought about moving on the suspect. However, police had to change their tactics because of the increased incidence of active shootings. Nowadays, policemen in the United States of America use a strategy, which is known as rapid deployment, in which the first officer at the scene is involved ( Police Change Tactics in Active Shootings ). The new tactic means immediate police intervention, taking risks, and seeking to catch or eliminate criminals promptly, which has increased the effectiveness of police officers actions.
Although the first fusion centers to increase information exchange among governmental and non-governmental institutions were opened in the US in 2003, the promotion of active collaboration between police and these centers has become a new goal for authorities recently. A decade ago, fusion centers collaborated primarily with federal and state agencies responsible for homeland security to fight against terrorism. Today, the situation is rather different, and a new strategy or change promoted in law enforcement institutions is the collaboration between fusion centers and police or local agencies (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). According to Lewandowski and Carter (2017), the reason is that the idea of intelligence sharing was not appropriately realized for fusion centers and police because of barriers associated with data exchange in these law enforcement agencies. Consequently, there is a need for police to implement the innovative strategy of cooperating with fusion centers, referring to the analysis of past mistakes. The implementation of this change means that the police will focus on removing barriers to the data exchange they receive from or send to fusion centers to guarantee a secured flow of intelligence.
Background Research
Multi-agency information centers effectively operated in the United States before 11 September 2001, but after the terrorist attack, the activities of these centers were reconsidered to develop into fusion centers. A fusion center can be defined as an agency, the purpose of which is to collect, analyze, and share information at local, state, and federal levels (Carter, 2015; Lewandowski, Rojek, & Manjarrez, 2017). Lewandowski and Carter (2017) state that the most significant feature of fusion centers is their ability to share intelligence vertically and horizontally. The reason is that within intergovernmental relations there exist both vertical (federalstatelocal and statelocal) and horizontal (federal agencyfederal agency, statestate, and locallocal) federal relationships (Regan & Monahan, 2014, p. 479). Fusion centers receive information from local police agencies and federal law enforcement agencies to further spread and share it in a way that will contribute to preventing terrorist attacks. Within a short period of time, fusion centers became discussed as an advanced response to terrorism in all regions of the United States.
The reason is that the authorities understood that the key to addressing the threats of terrorism were in collaborative efforts of different institutions, guaranteeing the collection, selection, analysis, and interpretation of various types of intelligence. According to Esparza and Bruneau (2019), fusion centers were considered a panacea that would overcome the challenge of linking the nations 15,000 separate local police departments and 27,000 fire departments (p. 331). The necessity of finding new approaches to sharing intelligence among all the law enforcement agencies, governmental and private organizations in the United States made the authorities propose fusion centers as a solution to the problem.
Currently, there are nearly 80 fusion centers in the United States that cooperate with different types of law enforcement agencies, including the police. However, as it is stated in the literature on fusion centers, during the period of the 2000s-2010s, the opportunity to collaborate with fusion centers was not used appropriately by local police agencies (Carter, Carter, Chermak, & McGarrell, 2017; Lewandowski et al., 2017). According to Carter et al. (2017), the reason is that the law enforcement system in the United States is primarily decentralized. Consequently, agents in different organizations lack required knowledge and training to effectively share intelligence with various agencies. The necessity of referring to collaboration was discussed again by Lewandowski, Carter, and Campbell (2018), who accentuated the benefits of intelligence-led policing, and Esparza and Bruneau (2019), who compared the approach to policing in different countries. In many local police agencies, the strategy of cooperating with fusion centers has not been integrated yet. Therefore, the focus of modern experts and researchers is on promoting the change in police agencies and improving the collaboration with fusion centers to facilitate law enforcement procedures.
Implementation of the Change
The implementation of a change based on promoting the cooperation between police and fusion centers is a complex task that requires focusing on different aspects of police activities and strategies. It is necessary to concentrate on the discussion of the implementation process in a police agency with reference to such critical areas as organizational theory, interagency collaboration, organizational socialization, leadership, and organizational deviance. The detailed analysis of these areas is important to support the discussion of the steps required to implement the practice of cooperating with fusion centers in police agencies.
Organizational Theory
The following theories should guide and support the implementation of the innovative strategy of police agencies cooperation with fusion centers: the contingency theory as the organizational theory and the theory of information sharing. The contingency theory explains that there are multiple contingencies or variables that influence an organizations development and operations. In this context, there are certain attributes or variables which are associated with an organizations effectiveness. To remain successful, it is necessary for an organization to achieve the balance between internal contingencies and external ones (Carter et al., 2017). While applying the contingency theory to the implementation of a cooperative strategy in police agencies, it is necessary to concentrate on the fact that the external situation on which police agencies depend includes the risk of terrorist attacks and associated violent activities. Internal factors include the attempt to establish collaborative relationships with fusion centers and most police agencies in the 2000s and barriers identified in relation to the organizational structure and culture.
There are certain policies in police agencies that regulate their information sharing with fusion centers that were designed and implemented years ago. If today these policies do not work appropriately, it is necessary to revise and improve them with a focus on applying an innovative approach to cooperating with fusion centers (De Castro Garcia, Matei, & Bruneau, 2017; Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). Modern police agencies seem to have almost all the required resources to actively cooperate with the personnel in fusion centers because of available technologies. Nevertheless, there are still certain barriers that prevent collaboration, and this situation can be discussed in the context of the contingency theory.
However, referring to the concept of contingencies, it is important to note that the external situation in which police agencies and fusion centers operate lack centralization in the United States. Therefore, the implementation of a strategy that is oriented toward supporting the collaboration between fusion centers and police should be based on developing principles that will eliminate negative impacts of a kind of decentralization in the work of law enforcement agencies in the United States (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). The development of an effective guide for police officers and training programs to stimulate intelligence sharing are important steps to find the balance between contingencies and achieve success for local police agencies.
According to the theory of information sharing, certain factors that can stimulate or prevent information sharing should be emphasized to understand how people view this process and how they can exchange information. Factors that can affect the process of information sharing include organizational culture, values, policies, norms, leadership, peoples perceptions, and assumptions (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019; Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). There can be certain barriers to information sharing associated with peoples attitudes to intelligence and the overall procedure of exchanging data. The implementation of the collaboration strategy between fusion centers and police agencies is important today because of increased risks of terrorist attacks and the necessity of uniting efforts and exchanging all available intelligence.
However, the process of information sharing is complex when it is influenced by human-related and organizational obstacles, which include security issues, prejudice, fears, improper corporate culture, and the lack of cooperation. Still, Lewandowski and Carter (2017) note that law enforcement must have effective mechanisms for sharing information as well as a willingness to engage in proactive information sharing (p. 468). To implement this change in police agencies, it is necessary to inform police officers and authorities in agencies about the advantages of cooperating with fusion centers and educate them on collecting and exchanging information to use in terms of access, authorization, and security issues. Biases, the lack of information on the procedure, and the lack of knowledge, support, and training make police agencies avoid focusing on the information sharing concept and its benefits.
Interagency Collaboration
The idea of the change to be realized in police agencies is directly associated with the area of interagency collaboration. Thus, the focus is on promoting the collaboration between police agencies and fusion centers as state-owned entities (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). The change to be implemented in police agencies in this case is associated with adopting a strategy, according to which the cooperation between fusion centers and police is well-organized and supported to contribute to homeland security and crime prevention (Lewandowski et al., 2018). The collaboration between fusion centers and police is discussed by researchers as significant to guarantee proactive policing and prevent terrorist attacks at all levels.
In its nature, a fusion center is an entity based on the idea of collaboration where several law enforcement agencies cooperate to share important information on cases, threats of terrorist attacks, suspected individuals, and other details. According to Lewandowski et al. (2017), While fusion centers have the potential to be of great benefit to local police agencies, the relationship is meant to be mutually beneficial for all parties involved. State and federal agencies do not have the manpower or placement to monitor daily activities on the ground (p. 168). Despite the acknowledged benefits, the collaboration of fusion centers and law enforcement agencies is connected with many challenges based on organizational, political, and social issues (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). Therefore, the goal of the currently discussed change is to overcome these challenges and ensure that intelligence sharing and dissemination are realized effectively.
In some cases, police offices have fusion centers in their agencies, and in other cases, police offices can interact with the representatives of local fusion centers. In both cases, the focus is on the effective interaction based on the idea of cooperation. Researchers accentuate that collaborative intelligence efforts between fusion centers and police agencies are not operational enough to achieve high results in fighting with terrorism and other security issues (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). Therefore, while re-implementing the principles of collaborating with fusion centers in police offices, it is necessary to follow certain rules (De Castro Garcia et al., 2017). The first rule is the determination of a clear framework, according to which the communication and sharing of information between the representatives of fusion centers and law enforcement agencies should be realized.
The second rule is the determination of types and formats of data to exchange and what systems to use. Collaboration is typical for governmental organizations, private sector organizations, and law enforcement agencies, but it is effective only when appropriate technologies and tools are used for communicating (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). Although interagency collaboration is critical for the law enforcement area, the 79 fusion centers, based primarily on state geographic districts, seldom collaborate, in contrast to the coordination that was anticipated and intended (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019, p. 334). According to Regan and Monahan (2014), the problem of organizing interaction between agencies can be in the fact that most researchers and experts are focused on examining collaboration and coordination in the context of fusion centers work, but more attention should be paid to accountability of these centers to guarantee effective exchange of data. Consequently, when implementing the strategy of promoting collaboration between agencies based on the use of fusion centers, it is necessary to guarantee that employees are informed about all the channels and tools to be used for successful sharing of data.
Organizational Socialization
An adjustment process associated with the adaptation to changes is observed in organizations when certain advancements are implemented. The success of accepting a change and familiarizing with it highly depends on organizational socialization. If there are certain changes in an organization, individuals require some time and support to effectively adapt to new roles and duties assigned to them. The problem is often observed in cases when the change is associated with alterations in the corporate culture (Carter et al., 2017; Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). When speaking about the implementation of the strategy supporting collaboration between fusion centers and police agencies, it is also necessary to pay attention to the aspects of organizational socialization.
In police agencies, officers and other employees are expected to learn what intelligence can be provided to them by specialists of fusion centers. The focus is on the role of analysists and the ability to receive access to volumes of data collected from different local organizations. Furthermore, they are expected to establish a strong relationship with the specialists of fusion centers according to the principles of collaboration that is included in the organizational culture (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). Although these principles do not contradict the rules of operations in police agencies, in most cases, employees in these law enforcement agencies do not know how to deal effectively with security and other related issues when sharing and using data.
It is necessary to provide training for workers in police agencies to guarantee their organizational socialization and adaptation to new rules are realized successfully. Police agencies often avoid using the assistance of fusion centers because they do not know how to send effective requests, what data can be collected and within what period of time, what security issues need to be addressed, what formats and technologies can be used for intelligence sharing (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). The problem is that Without relevant training police forces can have no practical role in intelligence work. In the U.S., police officers, whether members of large forces or small town units, are minimally trained in intelligence gathering (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019, p. 332). Moreover, if police agencies lack computer technologies to work with additional software and databases, the barrier to collaboration can worsen (Carter, 2015; Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). Therefore, training is needed to ensure the proposed change in police agencies can work despite the fact that some years ago the collaboration of police agencies and fusion centers was promoted.
Training should include information on and the development of practical skills regarding the use of computer technologies, the use of effective requests for data, the regulations regarding sharing secured data, principles of interpreting analysists reports, and principles of decoding data. In many cases, local police agencies resist collaboration with fusion centers because they lack technological and skilled human resources to effectively interact with fusion center specialists (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). The lack of training in police officers emphasizes the situation when these employees are deprived of efficient data to prevent terrorist attacks because of skill barriers.
Leadership
The implementation of the change can be sufficient only when leaders succeed in motivating employees to accept upcoming changes and adapt to new processes and roles. The re-implementation of the strategy oriented toward the collaboration of fusion centers and police agencies can become a challenge for police authorities because these leaders are expected to prepare the background for the change. Fusion centers work according to the principles of independent authority, but they are still state-owned entities that need to work according to the state legal framework of constitutional bounds (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017; Lewandowski et al., 2017). Effective leadership in the case of stimulating collaboration between fusion center specialists and police officers can be observed when leaders help their employees adapt to new processes and provide required guidance.
In different police departments, the second level of leaders to pay attention to include supervisors for groups of police officers. Thus, supervisors should be assigned to perform as leaders who can provide police officers with all the necessary support and assistance during the process of adapting to changes in processes. These leaders need to demonstrate what models of collaborating with fusion centers to use to address critical tasks (Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). At this stage, it is also important for supervisors and leaders to convince police officers and other professionals that intelligence provided by fusion centers is helpful and easily arranged to be used by a variety of employees. The benefits of collaborating with fusion centers should be accentuated and explained (Lewandowski & Carter, 2017). The reason is that many police agencies in different areas of the United States have negative experiences of cooperating with fusion centers referring to the period when fusion centers could be organized on the basis of local police offices.
These problems, prejudice, and barriers should be overcome by leaders in police agencies. The focus is on fighting with employees fears, concerns, uncertainty, and unwillingness to accept the change through demonstrating the advantages of this innovation (De Castro Garcia et al., 2017). Furthermore, supervisors are also responsible for organizing training for their followers to make sure all specialists in a law enforcement agency know how to work with new databases, channels of communication, and technologies to reduce stress and failures. In addition, employees need to be informed regarding the specifics of accountability related to fusion centers because responsibilities and regulations can differ significantly in these agencies, causing misunderstanding during their collaboration (Regan & Monahan, 2014). Still, referring to the question of leadership, it is also important to remember that fusion center networks are dominated by law enforcement in most cases because they are headed by leaders with a specific law enforcement background (Regan & Monahan, 2014, p. 483). It will be possible to ensure that leadership helps fusion centers and police agencies to cooperate if their leaders unite their strategies.
Organizational Deviance
Organizational deviance can be observed when members of the organization violate certain norms, rules, and standards. In the context of implementing the change oriented toward stabilizing the cooperation between police agencies and fusion centers, organizational deviance was observed in the past when the first attempts to organize fusion centers in police agencies were made (Carter et al., 2017; Esparza & Bruneau, 2019). The current task is to avoid such problems now, when implementing the improved strategy of cooperation. Fusion centers are not effectively used today for collecting and sharing critical information on terrorism to prevent attacks, and the problem is that some obstacles and issues were not addressed during the implementation process a decade ago (Carter et al., 2017). Certain steps need to be done to prevent police agencies from organizational breakdown because of the discussed change.
The first step is that fusion centers and police agencies need to have the same technological base or compatible technologies to easily exchange different formats of data. The second step is associated with providing employees as analysts of fusion centers, police officers, and other agents with training to guarantee they work efficiently with software and programs (Carter et al., 2017; De Castro Garcia et al., 2017). Another step is the provision of guidance regarding authorization, ethics, security, and legal issues because information sharing is a complex issue (Carter, 2015). The problem is that fusion centers are multijurisdictional and multipurpose settings which do not have federal statutory basis (Regan & Monahan, 2014, pp. 475-476). As a result, there are issues associated with accountability and regulatory standards to control data flows in these centers and between other agencies. Common technical standards and instructions are important for employees to work with data effectively and use all the advantages of fusion centers (Lewandowski et al., 2018). When specialists receive detailed guidelines on cooperation, they have access to advanced technologies, know how to collect and share intelligence, they can avoid organizational deviance.
Conclusion
The implementation of the change in police agencies can be interrupted by a range of challenges and barriers. Currently, it is necessary to implement the strategy supporting the collaboration between fusion centers and police because these relations can positively affect the work of law enforcement agencies in their fight with terrorism among other tasks. Five areas that need to be taken into account during the implementation process include organizational theory, organizational socialization, interagency collaboration, organizational deviance, and leadership. The implementation of the change will be realized in the most efficient way if the authorities focus on organizational socialization, training, and support for employees through leadership. Typical problems observed during organizational changes in law enforcement agencies also include the lack of technologies and resources to adopt advancements. Therefore, another important step in the implementation process is the guarantee that police offices have an effective technological base for exchanging intelligence with fusion centers. In this case, it is possible to achieve effective results for the police and cope with the barriers typical of implementation processes.
References
Carter, J. G. (2015). Inter-organizational relationships and law enforcement information sharing post 11 September 2001. Journal of Crime and Justice, 38(4), 522-542.
Carter, J. G., Carter, D. L., Chermak, S., & McGarrell, E. (2017). Law enforcement fusion centers: Cultivating an information sharing environment while safeguarding privacy. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 32(1), 11-27.
De Castro Garcia, A., Matei, F. C., & Bruneau, T. C. (2017). Combatting terrorism through fusion centers: Useful lessons from other experiences? International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 30(4), 723-742.
Esparza, D., & Bruneau, T. C. (2019). Closing the gap between law enforcement and national security intelligence: Comparative approaches. International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, 32(2), 322-353.
Lewandowski, C., & Carter, J. G. (2017). End-user perceptions of intelligence dissemination from a state fusion center. Security Journal, 30(2), 467-486.
Lewandowski, C., Carter, J. G., & Campbell, W. L. (2018). The utility of fusion centres to enhance intelligence-led policing: An exploration of end-users. Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice, 12(2), 177-193.
Lewandowski, C., Rojek, J., & Manjarrez, V. M. (2017). Using a fusion center model to manage and improve border security. Journal of Applied Security Research, 12(1), 160-178.
Regan, P. M., & Monahan, T. (2014). Fusion center accountability and intergovernmental information sharing. Publius: The Journal of Federalism, 44(3), 475-498.
The process of making a decision is a complex system of interrelated aspects that are influenced by a variety of conditions and might lead to numerous outcomes. This phenomenon applies to many spheres of human life and determines the success or failure of peoples activities. Decision-making as a choice of an appropriate belief and corresponding actions is an essential element in the criminal justice system.
Carrying out their daily responsibilities, the prosecutor decides to prosecute or plea bargain, the judge makes a choice if it is necessary to release a defendant pretrial or to sentence to prison, and the police make a decision whether to stop, search, use force, or arrest a suspect. Since the positions within the criminal justice system are of great influence and are powerful enough to apply the law and lead to severe consequences, the professionals provided with such responsibilities are encouraged to act according to the law and adhere to the applicable code.
It is claimed that the police have a high level of accountability for their actions because they are involved in the initial process of justice administration where their decision to arrest or not to arrest a suspect might lead to the involvement of other subjects of the system. However, despite well-defined educational and assisting programs, which help a police officer to apply knowledge to practice, the interactions with the public are highly contradictory and complex, and cannot be planned thoroughly. Therefore, there exist a series of social, psychological, and other types of factors that might crucially impact the ultimate decision.
Although this issue has gained a lot of scholarly attention throughout recent decades, it is relevant to examine and analyze what determinants influence police decision-making and how their choice of a course of actions affects the whole police system. In this paper, the general aspects of the polices decision making will be presented with the following discussion of the possible factors impacting the decision to stop, search, use force, or arrest a suspect, including suspect characteristics and behavior, police officers characteristics and behavior, neighborhood-based influences, and organizational characteristics. The analysis of the decision-making process will be provided on the basis of the information retrieved from scholarly and official sources dated not older than five years.
General Aspects of Police Decision Making
As a phenomenon, decision-making is a complex system of intertwined cognitive processes, in a result of which a specific action is chosen. Due to such difficulty, the process of making a decision should be regarded with all earnest with special attention made to its elements. Often, the context of a situation, the personalities of those involved in it, there, cultural, educational, and psychological characteristics are essential and might lead to different outcomes. According to Roycroft (2019), the evolution of human cognitive abilities has brought people a so-called system of one thinking, which allows for instant decision making on the level of intuition (p. 2). Such an ability usually refers to everyday life decisions, the outcomes of which are very familiar for the actors.
However, there are situations, when intuitive decision-making could be inapplicable due to the severity of the consequences an error might bring. Therefore, in such cases, one should apply system two decision making, which is regarded as a deliberate and thoughtful reasoning with respect to the possible outcomes (Roycroft, 2019, p. 2). Since the work of the police implicates social responsibilities for other peoples lives, their decisions have to be made primarily within the framework of rational thinking.
The police service includes numerous everyday interactions with the public. Since safety and order are the primary objectives of their work, the police engage in dangerous communication situations with suspects, during which their actions are impacted by the pressure to prioritize the safety of the public, as well as their own. When working in ambiguous, time-pressured, and consequential situations, the police are exposed to severe threats, where the officers might compromise the rules to ensure the most relevant outcomes (Trenholm, 2018, p. i). That is why, not only the context, in which the process of making a decision is made but also the personal beliefs of a police representative play a significant role in reasoning and arriving at a conclusion concerning a specific choice of actions.
Although police officers are obliged to act according to the law and the rules of professional behavior, they still have much freedom in their performance. Indeed, the authority of the police is original, not delegated, and is exercised at their own discretion by virtue of their office (Roycroft, 2019, p. 3). Thus, when an officer makes a choice whether to stop, search, use force, or arrests a suspect, he or she is driven not only by the criminal law, but also by a series of subordinate factors, which include suspect characteristics and behavior, police officers characteristics and behavior, influences of a community, and organizations characteristics. All these factors will be reviewed and analyzed in detail in the following sections of the paper.
Influential Factors
For police officers to perform in accordance with their responsibilities at their appointed positions, they operate informational tools which allow them to detect an unlawful behavior or a situation with possible danger for the public. In highly intensive circumstances, quick and thought-through actions are required in order to minimize the threats of injuries, unrest, or death of the citizens (Hine, Porter, Westera, Alpert, & Allen, 2018).
However, a qualified officer incorporates a variety of influential factors which lead to the ultimate decision. According to Trenholm (2018), the decision-making techniques observed in more than one hundred police officers showed that the respondents took into account their firsthand experience about a similar situation, the body language of a suspect, and information for the public in addition to legal procedure preservation and police records before taking action. Therefore, the information concerning a suspect, an officer, a neighborhood, and an organizational structure of a police department impact decision making.
Suspect Characteristics and Behavior
The most critical determinants of the polices decision to stop or arrest a suspect are his or her behavior and personal characteristics. Indeed, the suspects demeanor plays an essential role in triggering a response from a criminal justice official. The signs of engagement in unlawful activities that might lead to a threat to public safety are the primary causes of the polices initiative to act. According to Siegel and Worrall (2016), if a suspected offender is irritable, acts suspiciously, talks back, or otherwise challenges the officers authority, formal action is more likely to be taken (p. 255). Usually, arrest decisions are made on the basis of a suspects disrespectful attitude towards a police representative (Brandl, 2017).
Moreover, if an offender physically opposes the actions of the police, the force is encouraged to be applied in return to eliminate any threats to safety. All in all, the character of an offenders resistance determines the ways in which an officer performs his or her duty. If the resistance is manifested in a verbal form, the polices reaction is also verbal, and if a suspect uses physical power to confront the authority, the response is also physical (Siegel & Worrall, 2016). However, the style of behavior is not always the only determinant when a criminal justice official chooses a way of acting. Belonging to a particular population group characterized by a specific ethnicity or race, as well as age, socio-economic status, and gender is also crucial in this respect.
The majority of the studies researching the issue of suspect characteristics influencing police decision-making show that race or ethnicity is crucial for the American police to stop, use force, or arrest a person. Several research studies results have demonstrated that African American and Hispanic males are more likely to be arrested and used power against than white individuals (Brandl, 2017; Carbado, 2017; Milner, George, & Allison, 2016; Morrow, White, & Fradella, 2017).
Ideally, race does not have to be regarded as a factor for the police or any other criminal justice official to arrest or apply any law enforcement procedure. However, in recent decades, the Fourth Amendment that guarantees the protection of all citizens from illegal search or seizure has been interpreted to legalize racial profiling (Carbado, 2017, p. 129). Consequentially, many programs are initiated to enforce stopping and searching of ethnic minorities since they present a high level of threat to the safety of the citizens (Morrow et al., 2017).
The ethnicity determinant emerged as a significant influencer on police behavior due to the crime statistics about particular population groups. Crime rates are disproportionately distributed among different ethnicities, where black and Hispanic minorities account for a significant number of severe crimes (Siegel & Worrall, 2016). Therefore, the belonging to African American or Hispanic ethnicity group is often a reason for an officer to stop or search a suspect.
Many cases investigated by researchers studying the decision-making of the police found that tall men of Hispanic or African American origin are primary suspects in threatening situations and are more likely to be arrested (Milner et al., 2016). However, such a prejudiced attitude toward race as a whole exaggerates racial disparities in society and imposes severe cultural, political, and social outcomes.
In addition, age and gender are taken into account when determining whether a suspect needs to be stopped, searched, or arrested. Indeed, research proves that younger individuals are more likely to be arrested than older ones (Siegel & Worrall, 2016). Supposedly, the delinquency in teenagers and young adults behavior provokes more acute attention of the authorities toward this population group. The gender of a suspect also seems to be one of the factors determining the arrest rates. It was found that women are less prone to being arrested than men (Siegel & Worrall, 2016). In general, the scope of determinants impacting police officers decision-making is based on the research, prior firsthand or secondhand experience, as well as the personal beliefs of an individual in service.
Police Officers Characteristics and Behavior
As for the characteristics of an officer, there is a range of issues that might predetermine a professionals attitude to work and his or her responsibility in carrying out duties. Evidently, such factors as a police officers education, gender, race, self-esteem, stress-coping abilities, and cultural background all impact the framework of actions he or she might choose. While education and experience seem obvious determinants of the quality of work, gender is also claimed to be influential.
Indeed, according to Siegel and Worrall (2016), female officers are less likely to use force than male officers, which is why they tend to be more successful in de-escalating conflicts and avoiding violence in their work (p. 255). Race and ethnicity are also influential in respect of a police officers characteristics. Research demonstrates that white officers are more likely to arrest African-American individuals in the United States (Brandl, 2017).
Psychological issues and behavioral patterns are identified as great contributors to the decision-making process. Since the police always work under great stress, their ability to withstand the psychological pressure predetermines their actions. Being exposed to highly stressful circumstances, a person is prone to make errors and fail to reach the goals of the service (Brandl, 2017). Psychological and physiological factors are essential because maladaptive stress responses during a critical incident put the officer and members of the public at risk of injury or death (Andersen & Gustafsberg, 2016). Thus, the ability to apply stress-coping mechanisms in a dangerous situation determines the process of making decisions to use force or arrest a suspect.
An officer is expected to have a set of skills necessary for his or her quality service and effective decision-making. All of them are aimed at prioritizing discretionary decision making, which is a very subjective notion and might be perceived by different people in a different manner (Siegel & Worrall, 2016).
Among the most important skills, there are communication skills, which include an ability of a person to conduct efficient information exchange using the techniques of de-escalating, active listening, verbal codes, use of verbal commands, carrying out interviews, and negotiations (Trenholm, 2018). Physical skills are essential because the ability to withstand physical resistance is key to a successful problem resolution. In addition, the abilities to use decision tools, information, dispatching, and the techniques of behavioral understanding contribute to the success of an officers work.
Any error or imperfection in the usage of the abovementioned skills might impact an officers decision to act in a particular situation. Moreover, in most cases, the police do not have enough time to collect and analyze information and ultimately use it to apply a certain technique or skill. The majority of decisions have to be made immediately, as, for example, a speeding car has to be stopped, or an armed offender needs to be isolated (Brandl, 2017). As a consequence, many decisions are poor and lead to adverse and sometimes even fatal outcomes, which are perceived by the public as misconduct.
Neighborhood-Based Influences
The trend in the polices bad decision-making due to the lack of time provoked the emergence of a so-called Ferguson effect. It is a claim that the police try to avoid law enforcement in order to decrease the level of dangerous outcomes, which has resulted in an increase in crime rates (Wolfe & Nix, 2016). This phenomenon is related to an incident when a Ferguson police officer shot and killed eighteen-year-old Michael Brown, an unarmed African American man (Gillham & Marx, 2018). It led to a series of riots and social movements that underlined the importance of controlling the polices use of violence against citizens. The cautious attitude toward the police in specific communities diminishes the objectivity of officers decision-making.
Similarly, the socio-economic and cultural characteristics of a particular neighborhood determine the steps in the process of decision-making and the ultimate actions of a police officer. For example, the street code culture that is prevalent in the neighborhoods where ethnic minorities reside is the focus of the polices attention; the residents of such communities are more likely to be arrested or convicted (Mears, Stewart, Warren, & Simons, 2017). Indeed, some areas are of more concern for the criminal justice authorities, while others are treated differently. Research shows that an officer is more likely to use force, arrest, or stop a suspect in areas characterized as low-income (Brandl, 2017).
Similarly, the presence of baggers in unfortunate neighborhoods might be ignored by a policeman but could be acutely addressed in a higher-income district. Therefore, the socio-economic context and location play a meaningful role in the decision-making of the police.
Organizational Characteristics
Evidently, the rules, to which the police adhere, determine the very essence of their decision-making and might be regarded as one of the primary factors. The culture and policies developed in an organization, funding, staffing, and promotion opportunities might be either positive or negative contributors to action choice. The official measures aimed at controlling police performance require absolute adherence to them.
For example, an instruction to use body-worn cameras by police officers has shown a decrease in the use of force while in service (Ariel et al., 2016). According to Nowacki (2015), such determinants as department size and administrative policy might be a cause for bureaucracy, which might serve as a motivation for some people. For example, individuals who are willing to be promoted to a higher position tend to conduct more arrests (Siegel & Worrall, 2016). Thus, the official rules within a police department regulate the patterns of officers behavior.
Moreover, organizational culture, as a non-official code of conduct, is intertwined with the personal characteristics of the police crew members and severely shapes decision-making. As a network of shared norms, values, attitudes, and expectations, organizational culture imposes interpersonal relations, in which some individuals are treated differently (Brandl, 2017, p. 177). Commitment and peer support might encourage one to preserve more discretion or act more decisively in the same situation. Such moral triggers and the rules of behavior inside a department only contribute to the scope of multifaceted factors influencing police decision-making.
Conclusion
To sum up, the work of the police is highly stressful and dangerous; it embraces interactions with suspects, searches, arrests, and the use of force. All these actions are a result of a complex decision-making process conditioned by a variety of factors.
Behavioral and personal characteristics of both a suspect and an officer, the socio-economic and cultural background of a neighborhood, and the policies and culture of an organization impact the patterns of a criminal justice officials actions. Since the police work under constant pressure and stressful circumstance, the determinants have to be analyzed instantly to act on the spot, which might lead to misconduct and errors. However, the research in the field of the factors influencing the decision-making process contributes to the understanding of the cognitive mechanisms and allows for the improvement of the polices work.
References
Andersen, J. P., & Gustafsberg, H. (2016). A training method to improve police use of force decision making: A randomized controlled trial. SAGE Open, 6(2), 1-13.
Ariel, B., Sutherland, A., Henstock, D., Young, J., Drover, P., Sykes, J., &Henderson, R. (2016). Report: Increases in police use of force in the presence of body-worn cameras are driven by officer discretion: A protocol-based subgroup analysis of ten randomized experiments. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 12(3), 453-463.
Brandl, S. G. (2017). Police in America. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Carbado, D. W. (2017). From stopping black people to killing black people: The Fourth Amendment pathways to police violence. California Law Review, 105(1), 125-164.
Gillham, P. F., & Marx, G. T. (2018). Changes in the policing of civil disorders since the Kerner Report: The police response to Ferguson, August 2014, and some implications for the twenty-first century. The Russell Sage Foundation Journal, 4(6), 122-143.
Hine, E. A., Porter, L. E., Westera, N. J., Alpert, G. P., & Allen, A. (2018). Exploring police use of force decision-making processes and impairments using a naturalistic decision-making approach. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 45(11), 1-21.
Mears, D. P., Stewart, E. A., Warren, P. Y., & Simons, R. L. (2017). Culture and formal social control: The effect of the code of the street on police and court decisionmaking. Justice Quarterly 34(2), 217-247.
Milner, A. N., George, B. J., & Allison, D. B. (2016). Black and Hispanic men perceived to be large are at increased risk for police frisk, search, and force. PLoS ONE, 11(1): e0147158, 1-13.
Morrow, W. J., White, M. D., & Fradella, H. F. (2017). After the stop: Exploring the racial/ ethnic disparities in police use of force during Terry stops. Police Quarterly, 20(4), 367-396.
Nowacki, J. S. (2015). Organizational-level police discretion: An application for police use of lethal force. Crime & Delinquency, 61(5), 643-668.
Roycroft, M. (2019). Why understanding police investigative decision making is important. In M. Roycroft & J. Roach (Eds.), Decision making in police enquiries and critical incidents: What really works? (pp. 1-15). London, United Kingdom: Palgrave Macmillan.
Siegel, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2016). Introduction to Criminal Justice (16th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Wolfe, S. E., & Nix, J. (2016). The alleged Ferguson effect and police willingness to engage in community partnership. Law and Human Behavior, 40(1), 1-10.
The number of reported cases in recent years where a police officer used deadly force in a controversial incident has spiked. Amidst heightened nationalism and racial tensions in the United States, these cases are picked up by the media and made into an opinion debate in the public eye. The central concept discussed is whether police authority is abused in such instances of excessive force in unwarranted situations. Police culture is significantly criticized citing decades of violence. In an effort to establish guidelines and public trust, various districts have taken measures from changing policy to improving training.
Main body
However, many of the incidents follow similar trajectories with the police arriving at the scene and using deadly force in unclear circumstances, leaving the victim (usually African-American) deceased. The public outcry follows the family demands investigation. During the inquiry, it is determined that the victim was not armed or using any direct threat against the officer. Usually, the victim was merely showing resistance to the directions given by the police officer, and some gesture was perceived by the police as dangerous, causing shots to be fired. Despite this, the officer is acquitted during the trial many times, causing more public protest.
Similar unfortunate events like the shooting in Tulsa or the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson (an incident which sparked public protest about the topic) incentivize further tension and possible confrontations as certain groups believe that racial profiling plays a tremendous role in the shootings and other police encounters.
The attempt by LAPD and other districts to develop de-escalation policies is a healthy step towards more efficient police training and improving public image. Statistically, officer use of deadly force in unwarranted situations has spiked to unprecedented levels, leaving civilians as victims when the job of the police is to serve and protect. De-escalation policies place the value of human life first, both of the police officer and the civilian they are encountering. The approach used currently is extremely reactive and relies on instinct which in turn may hinder reliable judgment of the situation.
Psychologically speaking, even the most open-minded and progressive people have unconscious prejudice. Relying on that rather analytical thinking creates these situations, so police are encouraging passive dialogue, accurate evaluation, and use of non-lethal methods for pacifying the situation. Also, instincts and training usually allow an experienced police officer to differentiate a life-threatening situation from a simple tense, confrontational one. The new de-escalation policies carefully state that if there is an imminent threat, deadly force is nevertheless approved. Their life is uniquely valuable too.
However, now training suggests and even awards those who consider the circumstances in which another life is also preserved. Now, encounters will be investigated more carefully to determine further judgment. It is important to note that most police disputes happen with civilians who have no intention and even fear hurting the officer. Often, the citizen is confused and afraid, while yes violating the law, nevertheless creates miscommunication.
Conclusion
If the policy is violated, there should be a careful, unbiased investigation into the incident. While public outrage may be pressing, only a fair investigation can reveal all evidence. Any police officer deserves the fairness of trial reserved for others who violate the rule of law under which everyone should be equal. Of course, police are also held to a higher standard as they are trained in both policy, psychology, and the use of weaponry.
Any possible deviation from regulation thats not a minor mistake should be punished by suspension and further consequences if criminal intent is proved. If the public sees this tough abidance in police regulation, the department will receive more respect. In turn, the understanding of appropriate policy and de-escalation procedures will reduce the number of shootings. It is often a matter of mindset established by training, and if sanctity of life is taught, eventually it will take hold in the real world and police culture.