The Chief of Police has an active responsibility to control and regulate the services offered by the police department. In particular, the entire population within a particular area of concern knows the police department in the provision of security services. For instance in the case provided the population comprises of a mixture of Muslims, Latinos and the Native Americans in various differing percentages. It is, therefore, the responsibility of the head of the police department, in this case, the Chief of Police to ensure that these individuals live in harmony with each other (Brogden, 2014). It is important to note that the city has passed an ordinance to govern the actions of the police and the public concerning the Patriot Act or rather the Federal Immigration Law.
In addition, the ordinance clearly states that any employee including the police of the city shall not be eligible to assist or enforce any aspect of the Patriot Act or the immigration law. It will be the responsibility of the Chief of Police to balance the scope of work of the police department with the requirements of the ordinance (Brogden, 2014). The Chief of Police should introduce a free training session to educate the police on how to handle the ordinance while enforcing the constitutional laws.
Furthermore, the potential necessity of the officers to help in enforcing federal laws in cases of emergency in which they are required to enforce a law defined in an ordinance. In this situation, it will be necessary for the Chief of Police to intervene and reconcile the situation by introducing a fair decision to handle the matter on the justifiable platform.
Finally, the Chief of Police needs to introduce some policies to guide the officers in enforcing the state’s law and at the same time not to violate the ordinance requirement (Brogden, 2014). Firstly, all police officers should be well equipped with the knowledge on the scope of their responsibilities so as not to interfere with the ordinance. Secondly, an independent body specifically created to guide the city’s ordinance should closely monitor the police.
References
Brogden, M. (2014). The police: Autonomy and consent. Elsevier.
