Effective Police Operations Essay Paper

Assignment 2: The Basics Behind Effective Police Operations

Due Week 6 and worth 160 points

Write a four to five (4-5) page paper in which you:

Select at least two (2) types of changes (e.g., public and society, law enforcement officers, police bureaucracy, standards community involvement, technology, etc.), and examine how the selected changes have affected police operations, mission and values, or goals and objectives in the 21st century in the United States. Support your response.
Explain the various lines of communications present within any given local law enforcement agency. Next, determine at least two (2) challenges and concerns that law enforcement might encounter with communication and suggest your strategy to mitigate the challenges. Support your response.
Examine the importance of police patrol in modern policing.
Identify at least two (2) quality of life issues (e.g., panhandlers, prostitution, problems associated with bars and clubs, police interaction with individuals who are mentally ill, homeless people and civil disobedience) that permeate modern law enforcement practices. Propose a response to these issues, based on common practices as outlined in the text, and provide your rationale.
Compare and contrast police reactions as they relate to violence in schools, homes, and workplaces. Provide one (1) example of each to support your response.
Use at least three (3) quality academic resources as references, such as journal articles, newspapers, magazines, and publications from law enforcement associations. Note: Wikipedia, blogs, and similar websites do not qualify as quality academic resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Demonstrate knowledge of the history of law enforcement.
Compare and contrast the hierarchy of command associated with modern law enforcement agencies.
Discuss the theoretical undertones of policing strategies (i.e., community policing, patrol patterns).
Discuss ideological and practical positions and debate controversial issues in policing.
Use technology and information resources to research advanced issues in law enforcement.
Write clearly and concisely about advanced issues in law enforcement using proper grammar and mechanics.

Basics behind effective police operations

Part 1.

Over time, the US police industry has experienced some significant changes in a bid to bring about constructive reforms. The first significant reform is body cameras. In this case, it was initially noted that the police were involved in many questionable high-profile shootings that were considered abuse of authority. Basics Behind Effective Police Operations Essay Paper  To address this concern, the industry introduced body cameras that would allow for police activity to be recorded and monitored while facilitating retrospective reviews to preempt abuse of authority. Other than monitoring the police, body cameras also monitor civilians thereby reducing opportunities for crime. The second significant reform is the shift towards homeland security focus. This has been in response to terrorism whereby police agencies have become more proactive in counterterrorism initiatives to include enforcing immigration policies, sharing information, conducting cover investigations, and gathering intelligence. Also, they have increased their level of cooperation with federal agencies, a change fostered by participation in the Joint Terrorism Task Force program managed by the FBI. This change has improved domestic security and reduced opportunities and incidences of terrorism within the country (Schneider, 2015).

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Part 2.

The lines of communication within a local law enforcement agency will typically follow the chain of command (also known as the hierarchy of authority). In this case, every personnel within the agency has a supervisor who has more authority. For that matter, communication follows a known path so that each individual reports to the immediate supervisor who follows the same chain until an appropriate authority is achieved. Should a subordinate bypass the immediate supervisor and communicate with a supervisor at a higher level (skipping a level of authority), then he or she would be considered to have broken the chain of command and violated the established communication line. There is no optimal number of communication lines for any agency. Rather, larger agencies will have more lines of communication than smaller agencies because they have more personnel and larger chains of command. Within the lines of communication, there are additional facets of the communication concept. Firstly, there should be a span of control so that higher levels in the hierarchy of authority will oversee the communication aspects of a larger number of subordinates. Secondly, there should be a unity of command so that each personnel reports to one immediate supervise thereby eliminating the possibility of being given conflicting instructions or orders. Finally, there should be a delegation of authority so that each personnel has specific duties and no one personnel has control over everything (Schneider, 2015). Although the chain of command establishes clear communication lines, it presents a bureaucratic challenge that could hinder communication if the supervisors are not supportive. This is particularly true when subordinates are forced to communicate through their immediate supervisors who could decide to hold the information and not pass it along. Other challenges include inflexibility, resistance to change, insensitivity, and inefficiency. These challenges can be addressed by presenting communication policies to address bureaucratic challenges (Sutton, Cherney & White, 2014).

Part 3.

Modern policing has made extensive use of police patrol as a strategy for accomplishing the law enforcement mandate. In fact, patrol offers unique advantages. Firstly, it facilitates speedy identification of the local conditions that have the capacity to enable disorder and criminal behavior. For instance, it could identify illegal gatherings and meetings that could degenerate into disorder and public disturbance. Secondly, it helps other law enforcement agencies to complete their takes. For example, the secret agency makes of local law enforcement agencies to provide security for the President when attending local functions and activities. Thirdly, it helps to investigate traffic accidents by arriving at the scene promptly when informed through radio calls. Fourthly, it helps to apprehend offenders who are noticed when committing the crime. For instance, arresting vandals caught defacing a public sign or a driver over speeding in an area with speed limits. Fifthly, it helps when presenting public safety programs through showing police presence. For example, patrolling during a public function assures the attendees of their security. Secondly, patrol officers conduct initial investigations that supplement the more-detailed follow-up investigation by detectives. Finally, it helps in answering service calls such as responding to a domestic disturbance call so that the patrol officer in the immediate vicinity is able to respond promptly (Donnelly & Ward, 2015).

Part 4.

There are a range of quality of life issues that permeate the community and could be addressed through police intervention. The first issue is prostitution and trafficking that are enabled by the financial aspects of trade to include economic supply and demand. In this case, prostitution entails engaging in sexual activity in exchange for money such that economically disadvantaged populations are identified then exploited. The police can address this issue through two strategies. Firstly, better policing that reduces opportunities for prostitution so that both the prostitutes and persons who enable prostitution are taken off the streets. Secondly, engaging in public education forums that inform the local community about the demerits of prostitution. The second issue is homeless people who are considered a nuisance, security threat, eye sore and public manage by the local community. Owing to their unfavorable economic situation, some homeless persons will typically engage in criminal activity that includes breaking and entering in vacant or unoccupied buildings, squatting, or stealing things that are then resold for cash. The issue of homeless people can be addressed policing that identifies them, rounds them up, and relocates them to the appropriate places such as shelters. This would ensure that homeless people are not given an opportunity to commit crime or even stay in the area (Sutton, Cherney & White, 2014).

Part 5.

It is important to note that all forms of public violence will typically attract police response in the form of a warning in mild cases and arrest in more serious cases. Still, it should be mentioned that police reaction to violence will typically depend on the context and location. Firstly, police response to violence in schools usually adopts a non-violent response since it involves students who are more wary of the police. Also, students are usually minors. Still, there are cases when violent or even lethal response is called for when the student threatens the lives of other students and teachers or any other person within the vicinity, and does not respond to violent warnings. Secondly, police response to violence in homes could either be violent or non-violent. Violent response is used when lives are threatened. Non-violent approaches are used when there is no potential for violent but the conflict disrupts the community. Violent approaches are used when the individual shows a potential for violence and does not respond to verbal instructions to surrender. Finally, police response to violence in the workplace would typically entail first identifying the form of violence as either threats, aggression, physical attacks or unwanted contact. Police response will depend on the existing workplace policies and what the victim reports (Donnelly & Ward, 2015).

References

Donnelly, P. & Ward, C. (2015). Oxford textbook of violence prevention: epidemiology, evidence, and policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Schneider, S. (2015). Crime prevention: theory and practice (2^nd ed.). Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Sutton, A., Cherney, A. & White, R. (2014). Crime prevention: principles, perspectives and practices (2^nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.   Effective Police Operations Essay Paper