The Basics Behind Effective Police Operations
Question 1
The advancement in technology over the last several years has impacted how criminals carry out their activities. This has led to a need for the police to come up with new ways of protecting people. A study conducted by Chan concludes that, “information technology has improved information sharing between workers (70%) and improved communication” (2001 p.12). Technology has greatly improved policing since law enforcement agencies can use technologies like facial recognition software to identify criminals. In addition to this, the police can process evidence faster than in the previous century through the use of technology. Gathering evidence has also significantly improved through the ability of the law enforcement agencies to adopt new technologies. The use of devices such as security cameras allows the police to have recorded evidence of people committing a crime, which can be used in a criminal court to try the offenders. Police records and information of people have been digitalized, and police can access the criminal records faster since their details can be accessed easily using a computer.
Apart from technology, community involvement has significantly improved police operations in the country. The public has taken an active role in ensuring they are safe through neighborhood watch programs. An article by Woodlands opines that “NW communities focus on securing property and reporting suspicious behavior” (Woodlands p.83). In addition to this, the public help the police prevent crime before happening by reporting suspicious activity. For example, the public could report suspicious people who have been casing a place for days, which could help prevent a terror attack. The business and homeowner action to install security cameras and appliances has helped smoothen law enforcement tasks of solving crime since they can acquire evidence faster and identify criminals since they have been recorded.
Question 2
Communication in any organization is important for success to be achieved. Law enforcement agencies are not an exception to this, and communication within the agency plays an integral role in ensuring public safety. Communication in law enforcement agencies takes place in various lines of communication. These lines include the flow of communication laterally, upwards, and downwards throu8gh the ranks of officers in the police department. Effective communication through these lives is important as it allows for proper coordination between members of the police department. Additionally, communication within the department could be viewed as informal and formal communications. One of the most common ways of informal communication in the department is through the use of anonymous sources who can report crime and criminal activities. The information or tips received through the grapevine help smooth the police department’s activities as they can solve crimes faster since the tip may lead to the police acquiring new evidence on a case.
One of the challenges of communication is swatting. It involves a person making a false report of an ongoing emergency or threat, which requires immediate intervention of the tactical law enforcement agents. Swatting is a form of prank or hoax made to the police department and affects how local law enforcement agencies can carry out their police duties. Bei Li shares that swatting is “when someone makes a fictitious report to the police that leads armed officers to come to an unknowing “victim’s” home” (2018 p.2). The challenge could be mitigated by coming with a series, no questions that will help the police responders to identify if the call is a prank or not. Another challenge that communication in law enforcement face is the risk of the information being leaked by hackers.
The incorporation of technological advancements in the field of communication has helped the police departments to have better communication within themselves as well as with the public. However, it has left them exposed to the probability of the information being leaked online by hackers. The leaked information could ruin the chances of the police officers to stop a possible emergency or impair an ongoing investigation. The challenge could be mitigated through data encryption. Data encryption ensures that digital data is kept safe from people who try to hack the police servers.
Question 3
Police patrols play a crucial role in maintaining law and order in the country. Law enforcement agents can make regular patrols by foot through state-issued bicycles, vehicles, and motorcycles. Patrols help reduce the rate of crime within an area since the police are visible for anyone to see. Police presence is vital in preventing crime since it deters criminals from undertaking criminal acts (Bayley 2016). The presence of a police officer allows the public to communicate or report a crime taking place or is about to happen, which is important in reducing crime in the country. In addition to this, the presence of police officers patrolling an area increases the probability of catching criminals after they commit a crime and also before they escape the scene of the crime. Police on patrol employs the use of predictive policing to catch criminals who return to the scene of the crime (Blanes 2018). Thus, it reduces the number of hours spent catching criminals and investigating crimes. Police patrols also help to foster good relationships between the public and the police since they can interact with them. For example, if a person is lost, they can ask a nearby police officer for direction.
Question 4
Quality of life issues that affect modern policing or interfere with police operations include civil disobedience and prostitution. Prostitution is the exchange of sexual pleasures for money and affects police ability to protect people. Prostitutes are exposed to challenges such as drugs, sexual abuse, kidnappings, and violence. Prostitution is associated with other crimes such as human trafficking, drug trafficking, and burglary, which affect the peace of the community (Jorgensen 2018). Prostitution in the country is not regulated, and the stakeholders cannot be held accountable to the issues prostitutes face, and this presents a challenge to the police operations. However, one way to mitigate this issue is coming up with laws that punish people taking part in prostitution activities. Besides, police patrols could be increased in areas notorious with the act to reduce the chances of people being solicited to prostitution. The government could also provide social services to women to reduce the need for prostitution as a source of income.
Apart from prostitution, civil disobedience is another challenge that impair police operations in the country. Civil disobedience is the act of citizens refusal to obey certain rules and laws from the government through the acts of boycotts and peaceful protests. Civil disobedience in the country has played a crucial role in the adoption of civil rights in the country but impairs the police’s ability to perform their duties. The act is protected by law, and every citizen has the right to participate in protests and boycotts. However, during these boycotts and protest looting of businesses may take place, thus promoting criminal acts. One-way civil disobedience can be mitigated by involving the public of new laws that are supposed to implement. Smith argues that civil disobedience could be solved through “effective channels of communication between police and activists before and/or during a civil disobedience action” (2012 p.5). Negotiating with the protesters could help reduce criminal acts that may occur during the civil disobedience.
Question 5
The police react differently to cases of violence in schools, homes, and workplaces, at school, police partner with the school administration to prevent violent acts from occurring again. The police respond to major crimes like unapproved people entering the school grounds. However, they are not involved in minor cases of violence, such as bullying. At home, the police respond to violent cases through the active police patrolling the area while on duty. The violent acts are responded to immediately after a distress call is made to the department who gets in contact with a patrol team to visit the home and solve the issue. The police patrols in the residential area take place throughout t6he day, and response to crime is fast. In the workplace, police respond to violent acts that seek to affect people’s ability to work, and the perpetrators are often escorted out of the building or premises and advised not to return to the premises.
References
Bayley, D. (2016). The Complexities of 21st Century Policing. Policing, 10(3), 163-170. doi: 10.1093/police/paw019
Bei Li, L. (2018). Data Privacy in the Cyber Age: Recommendations for Regulating Doxing and Swatting. Fed. Comm. LJ, 70, 317.
Blanes i Vidal, J., & Mastrobuoni, G. (2018). Police Patrols and Crime.
Chan, J. (2001). The technological game: How information technology is transforming police practice. Criminal Justice, 1(2), 139-159. doi: 10.1177/1466802501001002001
Jorgensen, C. (2018). Badges and brothels: Police officers’ attitudes toward prostitution. Frontiers in Sociology, 3, 16.
Smith, W. (2012). Policing civil disobedience. Political Studies, 60(4), 826-842.
Woodland, J. (n.d.). The Role of the Community in Crime Prevention¾Neighbourhood Watch and the broader Community Interests. The Police and the Community in the 1990s, 83-86. https://aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/proceedings/downloads/05-woodhead.pdf