The police are always trying to make our society crime-free.
The police are always trying to make our society crime-free. I understand it is not easy, especially when it comes to reducing gang violence. Gangs have existed in our neighborhoods for the longest time. Law enforcement officers have to work with citizens to curb gang violence. However, it becomes particularly challenging when working with the deaf, juveniles, or non-English speaking citizens. On the bright side, there are criminal justice policies in place to reduce gang violence.
The police have strained
relations with the deaf. Sometimes there are miscommunication and use of deadly
force by officers towards the deaf. Officers should be compliant with the
Americans with Disabilities Act to be able to relate with the deaf (Fields-Meyer, 2017). Also, the
police can use interpreters during investigations (“15.250 – Interpreters/Translators
– Police Manual | seattle.gov,”, 2019). Police departments can also use
interpreters for non-English speaking persons. Community policing relies on
communication with people in the community. Now, if there are people who do not
speak English, this poses a challenge. Training the police in other languages
spoken in such a community will help address this problem. It will also be
advisable to hire bilingual officers. Another challenge the police face is working
with juveniles. Police contact with juveniles can lead to conflict, and more
criminal acts (Childress, 2016). Youth-specific training is ideal for
enlightening officers on how to relate with youths (Childress, 2016).
The comprehensive gang
the model calls for coordination between law enforcement and the community to
prevent and reduce gang violence (“Gang Violence prevention, n.d ).
The model uses five approach strategies, namely; Community Mobilization,
Opportunities Provision, Social Intervention, Suppression, and Organizational
Change and Development. The policies have been useful in assessing community
safety and implementing strategies to curb gang violence.
As I conclude, it is essential for law enforcement
officers and the community to work together to reduce gang violence. I hope
that the full implementation of the gang model will help in lowering gang
violence in our community.