The Development of a Police Officer The development of America’s police officers consists of many elements. These elements are what influence police behavior and action. Throughout time, the concept of policing has been redefined to fit the needs of the time. Originally, the police were a symbol of power and control and used to eliminate enemies of kings and pharaohs. As time move forward, the concept of policing changed the nature of soldiers into policemen. In today’s times, police officers are considered public servants to the people. They are charged with upholding, defending and protecting the freedoms of all citizens. To meet this objective, police departments use one of two approaches; community policing and the concept of …show more content…
Nevertheless, the police force did help maintain civil order within society. It wasn’t until the 1800s in England where the concept of policing emerged and would redefine the purpose and responsibility of a police officer. During England’s medieval times, police functions was the responsibility of local individuals since most of England were primarily rural. Male members of clans or neighborhoods were charged to patrol and keep the peace in their respective area. This type of policing was called the frankpledge, which required all males above the age of 12 to participate in these patrol duties. As the Industrial revolution helped evolved the cities of England, it became apparent that the increase of poverty, joblessness and overcrowding became major issues for the government to maintain order. These issues were the main causes for the tremendous increase in crime (Gaines et al, 2014). Efforts by the government (to include more laws and harsher punishments) did little to stop the rise of crime and disorder. Mostly due to the disorganization of their police force. In addition, the violation of civil rights led to many cases of civil disobedience and riots. Government corruption was the main cause of citizens’ grief. The police force was mainly used to suppress civil disorderly by any means necessary which led to more resistance, protest and riots. These events led to many criminal justice
Society in general have showed the distrust, protests and many questions for the like hood of the police profession. The reputation of the police profession is that of the 6 pillars of policing in the modern world as outlined by the President’s Task Force on the 21st Century Policing, which sought to recommend steps forward. Under the banners of ‘Building Trust and Legitimacy’, ‘Policy and Oversight’, ‘Technology and Social Media’, ‘Community Policing and Crime Reduction’, ‘Officer Training and Education’, and ‘Officer Safety and Wellness’ – here are concise definitions for each one and what they mean for American policing ("Final report of the resident’s task force on 21st century policing," 2015).
Gaines, L. K., & Kappeler, V. E. (2014). Policing in america (8th ed.). (S. Decker-Lucke, Ed.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America: Anderson Publishing. Retrieved January 2017
Policing is a very difficult, complex and dynamic field of endeavor that is always evolves as hard lessons teach us what we need to know about what works and what don’t work. There are three different Era’s in America’s policing: The Political Era, The Reform Era, and The Community Problem Solving Era. A lot has changed in the way that policing works over the years in the United States.
Police forces or Law enforcers have been used for centuries all around the world but America took particular interest in the English’s policing system. America’s policing ideas and process began
Policing throughout the years. Policing has changed over time to become what it is today. The three eras of policing are, the political era (1840-1930), the reform era (1930-1980), and the community era (1980- present). During the political era, police officers had strong ties to the community because they lived in the communities they served and they focused on foot patrol (Miller et al., 2014). They knew who they served and protected because they were out with the same people each day. Police chiefs
The justice department today is spending millions of dollars to better train the police department against bias and examine law enforcement procedures, known as community policing. Community policing has been slowing evolving over the years. The civil rights movement exposed how weak the system was in the 1960’s. The development of the model has been inspired by
Police officers are individuals who enforce the law upon their community to ensure that their citizens remain safe. In the past couple of years, officers of the law have been involved in acts of brutality that seem to go beyond the proper measurements of protection for their citizens. Policemen are supposed to protect their citizens from danger and from harm, not impose a threat on them. The fact that officers have a history of abusing their power indicates that their trust amongst the community has been corrupted. Those who have been affected of police brutality feel as though they have been deceived. They no longer feel that police officers will protect them, but rather abuse them, and that is a problem. We have began to live in a community in which an individual feels frightened when seeing a cop, rather than feeling protected. Some individuals may argue that police brutality is not a problem due to the fact that it is not consistent enough to catch the attention of needing a solution. However, that idea means little when the level of brutality has led to the death of several innocent victims in some cases. We must not wait for there to be a pattern of death at the hands of police officials to consider this a problem. One death indicates that preventive measures must be taken to ensure that these officers are no longer put in the position to abuse their power to begin with.
Law Enforcement officers have one of the most critical jobs in the United States. Their lives are always on the line and they are of high regards. This means they cannot fail! The results of their jobs do not only depend on their actions but also on the people. What this means is the community has a huge role when it comes to solving crime. Though many people may not believe it, they are the key to a successful crime prevention community. The people of the United States don’t really understand both the positive and negative effects that community policing actually brings. Some may say it is very dangerous based on their experiences. Others may say it’s the best way to do away with crime. Today the two will be compared and put to test by true officers serving our country. The facts will be stated and questions will be answered. Let’s take a look at what community policing is really all about!
Have you ever asked yourself what it would be like to become a police officer. Becoming a police officer isn’t an easy take because they have to risk their life everyday to protect and serve the community. They have to go through the dangers of arresting criminals when there is a chance that they could die. However, in today’s society only a small amount of police officers actually serve their community and protect citizens from danger. Right now, most police officers abuse their power to the point where they don’t seem to care for the safety of the community. They would usually arrest innocent people, make accusations, and even use their power as a source to show their dominance. If you think about, whenever you are stuck in traffic some
Have you ever asked yourself what it would be like to become a police officer. Becoming a police officer isn’t an easy take because they have to risk their life everyday to protect and serve the community. They have to go through the dangers of arresting criminals when there is a chance that they could die. However, in today’s society only a small amount of the police officers actually serves their community and protect citizens from danger. Right now, most police officers abuse their power to the point where they don’t seem to care for the safety of the community. They would usually arrest innocent people, make accusations, and even use their power as a source to show their dominance. If you think about, whenever you are stuck in traffic
The police officers of today have much more of a society impacted relationship with their jobs than they have ever had before. The police have adapted to better work with the communities that they are involved with compared to just overseeing them. This has been a really successful transformation on most accounts. The biggest affect that the police involvement has produced is cooperation. The community, for the most part, is more involved with helping out the police when they need it. Such things as neighborhood watches or an amber alert program within a community is a sure testament to the relationship with the community. The police have figured out that working with the community is an easier path to travel and they can get better results. There are all sorts of programs now where the police try to reach out to the people surrounding them. It is not uncommon for a police officer to be assigned to a high school or a high school program to help reassure the kids in the neighborhood and make them aware that the police are there to help make it a better and safer
Police Agencies in modern society are a part of the American fabric to serve and protect the American public. The United States currently have more than 15,000 police agencies, (Walker & Katz, 2011). Police Departments across the United States face similar critical issues policing. All police officers face dangers in the job of policing the dangers can emanate from internal and external origins. Police officers have continued to evolve to serve communities by finding better less than lethal alternatives to weapons used. In addition, police departments have continued to keep up with
While the Reform Era worked to professionalize police, as society became more complex, so did the role of the police officer. The Community Policing Era was developed as a result of the need to develop cooperation and positive relationships between the police and public. What developed out of this era was an essential element of community policing – public accountability. Police officers became accountable to their supervisors who in turn became accountable to the community. Accountability can be seen as an honest evaluation of achievement based on clearly defined objectives. Many of these objectives are defined by complex community and social problems; as such police officers require the capacity and flexibility to work on them in a variety of styles and employing a variety of strategies.
The curriculum that is devised for a police officer is very important to the police officer and his or her success in their chosen career path. An officer’s training is also very important to the community in which they serve and the department in which they work. An officer must receive training in a variety of fields to help them be a well-rounded police officer. Officers receive training in such areas as: law, community relations, firearms, vehicle driving, search and seizure, and cultural awareness. The basic curriculum that is offered to a new recruit is focused on giving the recruit the best overall training that will give him or her the tools necessary to become the
There are multiple approaches to engaging a police force with the community in order to most effectively prevent and respond to crime, and considering the relative strengths and weakness of each of these strategic models will demonstrate how models can impact the operation of daily policing practices and activities. The model under discussion here is called community oriented policing (COP), and focuses on building relationships and rapport between officers and the community in order to more effectively prevent crime. It is augmented by a model called problem solving policing (PSP), and depends upon rank-and-file officers identifying community problem areas through direct observation and analysis. Each model excels at slightly different things, and in practice most police agencies deploy a mix of models. By examining the Miami-Dade Police Department's handbook for school resource officers, it will be possible to view a COP/PSP policy in action in order to better understand how these models practically affect policing.