Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Police departments across the country are executing Early Intervention Systems (EIS) to establish police officers exhibiting unprofessional or problematic behaviors. This system is designed to observe and respond to challenging police conduct before it heightens to full-blown abuse of power. The system relies on certain behavioral indicators for unacceptable conduct. The ultimate goal of implementation of EIS is to abate an officer’s’ misconduct and raise their level of accountability. Besides, EIS aims to help police agencies identify and address officers at risk to ensure their safety, wellness, and health.
Question 1
From my perspective, EIS’s implementation has made some positive contributions in shaping how police officers execute their duties. The system has been a vital mechanism of reducing police misconduct, which can adversely affect their ability to deliver on a given mandate. Furthermore, the system has helped in improving the relationships between police officers and the public. This has resulted from enhanced trust and confidence in the enforcement unit, which are indispensable features of police legitimacy, which has a positive impact on the public’s satisfaction. As a result, the level of cooperation between the law enforcement unit and community has been significantly increased. This is as opposed to cases where the public is fearful or suspicious of the police. Lack of cooperation from the public may impede police officers’ capacity to enforce laws, serve the community, and reduce crimes.
Question 2
I believe the effective implementation of EIS will positively reduce incidences of the use of force by police. The fact that the police’s actions are monitored can act as a deterrent to the perpetuation of acts that contravene their codes of conduct. Besides, the system makes it possible to identify officers who are undergoing stressful situations that can trigger their misconduct.
One of the major strengths of this system is that it helps spot an officer’s performance pattern. This allows for the right intervention measures to be put in place before the problems result in a serious incidence. The fact that the system can send warnings to the officer who exhibits problematic behavior can significantly improve their performance.
Question 3
The issue of excessive use of force by police officers is adequately addressed in these EI systems. Available evidence shows that EI systems have successfully realized their goals of reducing police officers’ misconduct. For instance, a study conducted in three police departments established a substantial reduction in citizens’ protests following the stems’ implementation. Since the systems provide a platform for citizens to register their complaints, it is easy to note those officers whose conduct translates to excessive use of force. It, therefore, makes it easy to administer non-disciplinary corrective measures on officers with questionable behavior.
Question 4
As much as the system aims at ensuring that officers operate within the set code of conduct, I believe that posting their non-disciplinary corrective actions would not be a good idea. Doing that would create a negative impression of the officers to the public hence compromise the ability to win the community’s support. Moreover, such a move would also affect the officers’ esteem, hence tampering with their ability to deliver on their assignment. A decision to post non-disciplinary corrective actions would also erode public trust and confidence, paramount to effective service delivery.
Ariel, B., Farrar, W., & Sutherland, A. The effect of police body-worn cameras on use of force and citizens’ complaints against the police: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, vol.31, no. 3, 2015,509–535.
Gullion, C.L. and King, W.R. (2020), “Early intervention systems for police: a state-of-the-art review,” Policing: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 4,2020, pp. 643-658.