Essay about Interviewing the Local Police

Every day, law enforcement officers encounter danger while carrying out their duties. The foremost duty of law enforcement officers are to serve and protect citizens. Most law enforcement agencies do this successfully. However, many people view law enforcement officers as the enemy. People need to be better informed about law enforcement and why officers take specific actions in certain circumstances. In our society, police are in a very dangerous position when it comes to the amount of force they can use when dealing with an individual. Officers use discretion when deciding the best course of action for the situation, whether it be physical force, persuasion, or coercion. They must take the correct course of action, because if they are too lenient or to forceful, even when dealing with petty things, they can be reprimanded by superiors and the public. Should police use force? Which circumstances warrant use force and what are the limits of force they can use? These questions are often asked when police are compelled to use force.

Finding a career in which you feel personally rewarded by helping others and knowing that you are making a difference should be one’s main goal. Officer Mares, was able to achieve this goal when he joined the LAPD as a police undercover agent back in 1996 when he was only 21 ½ years old. Nineteen years later, he is going strong, satisfactorily performing his duties as an officer and serving the community of Los Angeles. He feels rewarded, with this career and loves his schedule, and he is happy when he goes to work. He focuses on knowing that he is making a difference one person at a time. He states, “ I may not change the world, but I am making a difference one individual at a time, which in turn makes a better community for our kids to grow in.” (Mares) Back in the days, around 1960 being a police officer or becoming part of a department that served and protected the public was highly regarded. However, that is no longer the case. Now the Police Department is an affiliation you almost do not want to be involved in.

In both episodes of the television show “Cops”, the predominant race of the police officers was Caucasian. The primary officers for all service calls featured on the program were Caucasian. Of the two episodes observed, only one officer was African American. The suspects in both episodes were predominantly African American or Hispanic. Of the 6 scenarios featured throughout both episodes, two suspects were Caucasian.

Growing up is exciting and very scary. Being young is fun while it last but eventually everyone has to grow and go in to the working field. Law enforcement has been a big topic whether it be bad or good things said the law enforcement is always brought up. When I was young I took a fast interest in business. The moment I decided I wanted to be a cop was when I met my dad’s best friend that was a cop, and businessman. All any person wants in a career is to make a decent living and do something that they enjoy doing. I’ve always enjoyed helping people that needed help, the Kansas career pipeline let me take some surveys and showed me that I enjoy helping people more than I enjoy building myself something, which I believe that is true.

The term “racial profiling” is used by agencies of law enforcement to describe an individual’s race or ethnicity as a factor in articulating reasonable suspicion to stop, question, or arrest an individual (Racial Profiling 2001: 1). Police officers have the discretion to make decisions regarding whom they stop. However, if any law enforcement employee profiles potential suspects based on their race or ethnicity they violate the civil rights of the individual. If you suspect someone of a crime based on their race and ethnicity you are violating the civil rights of these minority groups. If any officer suspects another officer of racial profiling they must notify their supervisor. When a situation like this comes up an

In order to apply the understandings of Industrial and Organization Psychology within the workplace, I interviewed retired police officer Jasmine Bird and her position in the Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) as an officer of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). She was chosen for the interview because she is a 15 year veteran with massive experience within the department. The NYPD is the biggest department in the country with over 35 thousand officers. Officers are trained paramilitary, meaning they adhere to the rules and regulations as that of the military. They are trained in all aspects such as combat, shooting, verbal judo, sensitivity training and operating weapons of mass destruction. Within the first years on the job, you start

I didn’t do it. I’m so weak. I need to resist the cops because they’re pushing me and I hate being pushed around. I don’t know why my legs don’t work. Maybe it’s because I’m so scared and confused and nervous. The seat was cold and door slamming was loud. It’s weird how I can’t hear anything but I know the door slamming was loud.

Law enforcement, in some form, has existed for centuries and since its creation there has been numerous improvements. Improvements have come about because of community changes and the need for more effective ways of policing the people. As crimes became more fierce and complex so did the need for the investigation and solving of these crimes. Criminal investigative techniques were not just born from thin air, some thought and planning had to go into figuring out the proper ways to go about doing things. Pioneers of the criminal justice and criminal investigation field such as August Vollmer, Alphonse Bertillon, Edward Henry, and Edmond Locard have made superior contributions to the development of criminal investigative techniques. These techniques have impacted the way police operate today and set a substantial base for law enforcement to build on.

Police officers have a very reputable job, meaning they must be professional at all times. The job of a police officer is to protect and to serve the public. Since most of their time is spent in the public eye, they are expected to maintain professional behavior. The first step in projecting their professionalism is their dress. They should be dressed neatly,

It took them ten minutes to to get me uncovered enough so I could breath easier. When they uncovered my face I was out of it. Sam was asking me question and i justed looked at him with a dead look in my eyes, just wondering if it was real or not. After they got me out and sat me up i was sitting there feeling lucky that they were there.

Did you know that 42% of Americans find their local law enforcement untrustworthy?  This is due in large part to the number of police related incidents that have been in the news of late.  The negative publicity that law enforcement is getting has an adverse effect on all police departments, nationwide. In turn this is having an effect on police-community relations.  To better the relations between the Ringgold police department and the community there needs to be more outreach programs.

My first interviewee officers jack Davidson, patrolman from Somers point police department. When interviewing Patrolman Davidson, I found the following to be his impressions of the police force in general. Officer Davidson spoke of why ethics and character are important in the field of law enforcement. His response was that ethics and character go hand in hand. In law enforcement it seems that there are so many reasons to do the right thing. The reasons began with public opinion and also should include their influence on the youth who will be growing up to be citizens of the city, state, or country. If a police officer does not behave with

trouble by the jailor. All of these things just seemed so horrible and degrading to me.

Everyone has an opinion of police officers; whether it’s positive, negative or indifferent. Regardless of the city, as soon as a person encounters an officer, that person will come away with a lasting impression, hopefully it’s a favorable one. Gone are the days of having extra time to meet people and engage in “community policing”. How often have you heard “I was pulled over by the nicest officer today and got 2 tickets that I totally deserved”, or “The police stopped and frisked me today because I matched the description of a suspect, but I understand they were just doing their jobs”? No, they were “harassed”, the tickets were “unfair”, or “those officers had nothing better to do”. Fewer still are people that truly understand the purpose, importance and the cause and effect of even “simple” traffic stops. (In the police academy instructors stress that there is no such thing as a “routine” traffic stop).

Patrol accounts for the biggest portion of police work in most police agencies. The terms “patrolling” and ”on patrol” generally refer to what officers do while not handling calls for service—officers do this mostly in patrol cars, but sometimes on foot, on bicycles, on horseback, or the like. While on patrol, officers may look for traffic violations, suspicious behavior, disorder, and unsafe conditions. They may also look for opportunities to interact with the public in casual or more formal situations. This is all considered patrolling.