Future of Policing

The advancement in aircraft, radio technology, body cameras, GPS, surveillance, and many other technologies can enhance the ways in which law enforcement can deliver police services in a more proactive manner throughout the community. Many problems could be solved by law enforcement employing new technology. Of course, therein lies the problem of money. Newer technology requires a larger budget to be provided to law enforcement agencies. I believe that spending money on new tech is a wise investment because there would be a rise in the effectiveness of law enforcement against crime. As overcrowding of prisons is alleviated through reclassification of some felonies to misdemeanors, violent, non-violent, repeat and first-time offenders will be released back into the public. We are seeing a rise in crime. As these offenders continue to be released, crime is and will continue to rise. Money saved by releasing these offenders can be used to reinforce law enforcement through further application of new

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.

Policing today consists of three eras. These three eras have adapted and built off one another through history (Parr, 2014). The first era started around 1840 to 1930, and is known as the Political Era. The second Era is known as the Reform Era and lasted from 1930 to 1970. The last era is called the Community-Problem Solving Era and is still being adapted and used today. The Political Era emphasizes on meeting the needs of politicians. The police were given power through the local government and the community had very little say in what happened. The police and politicians worked together to control the city and neighborhoods (Palmiotto, 2000). This was often referred to as a ward. The ward politician controlled all the police in their neighborhood. The police officers tasks included not only crime prevention and order but a lot of social service activities that involved their neighborhoods. The officers resembled the ethnic backgrounds of the neighborhoods they lived and worked in and performed their patrols gaining trust from their community (Palmiotto, 2000). This allowed positive integration of police officers leading to more public service, and the trust of the officers to stop crime when is starts.

Grant, H.B. and Terry, K.J. 2008: Law Enforcement in the 21st Century. (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle, River, NJ. Pearson/Prentice Hall.

The biggest issue that effects policing is technology. Technology is at a rise and growing at an incredible rate. Technology advancement gives criminals a whole new way or an easier way to commit crimes. Eventually technology is going to take away jobs from our police officers and other individuals working in law enforcement. We are no longer going to need police officers out on patrol monitoring traffic, we have high speed cameras to detect incident detection, and vehicle counting, traffic flow monitoring and even people who violate traffic laws like speeding, running red lights and stop signs.

Unfortunately, the financial trend that has been seen in policing will likely continue for the foreseeable future, which will not only limit the ability to confront these new critical issues, but will likely exacerbate them as well (Police Executive, 2013). It is also foreseeable that new state efforts to combat their overall economic struggles will serve as a critical issue with adverse policing affects as well. More and more states continue to modify their early release policies, putting criminals back onto the streets sooner and in greater numbers than ever before, which has caused police officials to almost unanimously report that they expect to see increases in their crime rates as a result (Police Executive, 2013).

Policing has come a long way since the London Metropolitan Police. In the mid-1800 's policing was more about crime prevention and use of force was a rare last ditch effort to gain compliance from a suspect ( White p. 69-69 ) New technologies have changed policing from an informal neighborhood watch to a sophisticated organization.

The different eras in American policing are significant for several reasons. The Evolution of policing was essential in constructing a well operating police department. Each era in the evolution of policing overlaps with each other. However, understanding what occurred in each era is important, in order to comprehend the adjustments that were made. The economic, political, and technology developments assisted police agencies movement from one era to the next.

Over the years, police have been portrayed in the media, television shows, and the local newspaper as crime fighting heroes. This portrayal would make one think a police officer is always out doing a dangerous job, which may require shooting, beating up, or arrested the bad guy. The truth is, most officers will not make a felony arrest in a given year, and there are also many officers who have never fired their weapon. There are various perspectives of the policing functions. I will examine these perspectives from the local, state, and federal organizational levels. I will identify and address possible future changes in laws and the overall

The issues that our police departments face in today’s society consist of corrupt police departments, publicity, operating expenses, and constant training to meet the guidelines set by court decisions.

The role of police departments in the US kept on changing, depending on the prevailing circumstances and conditions. In the post-Civil War era, for instance, the attention was shifted to breaking strikes. More than ever before, the 19th century saw an increase in industrial actions against employers. In particular, labor unrest was very common. In New York, for instance, there were recorded 5090 strikes, most of which involved up to a million workers (Paoline, Gau, & Terrill, 2016). What caught the eye is the fact that most of these strikes were actions that were called against individual companies. Such businesses that were targeted often found it difficult to prevent the rioters from destroying property.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the country look for ways to reduce response times in addressing citizens’ concerns and calls for service. In efforts to meet the demands of citizens wanting officers to respond to their being victimized, agencies are looking for alternative ways to prioritize calls needed for police to make the location requested by the citizen. The additional time that officers spend answering minor calls for service (alarms not monitored, thefts, burglary, barking dog etc.) the reduction of time police have accessible for pro-active problem solving. Although, the greater parts of dispatched calls have nothing to do with reportable wrongdoings, which demonstrate an over-dependence on the police, however responding to calls establishes a relationship between the citizen and officer. In addressing ways to minimize police response to minor calls, departments are using advance information technology to enhance ways citizens can report crime without the presence of an officer. Above all, people use online services to shop, pay bills and do their banking. Online reporting has made it easier for citizens to report crime faster, reducing time waiting for police to manually take the report. Additionally, citizens assessing the computerized systems create a service number which can be given to their insurance company.

The future of policing article was very intriguing. When risk assessment is done properly it allows businesses and individuals to plan ahead and develop contingency plans that are ready to be implemented should certain events occur. This not only makes the process more efficient, it also reduces some of the stress that can occur when something unexpected happens.

Over the last several years, most police departments have been facing numerous financial challenges. The main reason is law enforcement agencies are expected to do more with less and the stagnant economy. The combination of these factors has been placing pressure on many departments to begin imposing budget cuts. Evidence of this can be seen with a survey that was conducted by the University of North Carolina. They found that 67% of police departments made some kind of budget cuts for 2011. The most severe reductions were occurring in large police departments such as Los Angeles, Atlanta and Detroit. (Delfem, 2011, pp. 199 - 205) This is illustrating one of the most pressing issues affecting a wide variety of police departments across the country. To fully understand what is happening requires: examining the situation, how they are able to interact with other agencies (i.e. state / federal) and recommending the way this relationship can be improved. Together, these elements will offer specific insights about how police departments can effectively address this problem.

The future of policing is fairly clear in what direction it is heading. It has been slowly reforming to meet the needs of the people, reduce crime, and make policing more efficient. Some of the reforms that will probably take place in the future include, better educated police officers and police managers, consolidation of police departments to save on money and resources, upgraded technology, race and gender equality, better testing techniques to recruit and promote within the department, and improved proactive planning techniques. One of these proactive tools that will surely become more widely used and implemented better is community policing. It has been evolving since its first introduction into the police world and will see more