Introduction to Law Enforcement
Introduction to Law Enforcement
1) What do Americans want from police?
Police officers are seen as peace keepers as well as enforcers of the law, and as such are continually at odds with various elements in their communities. A certain level of corruption will always exist in any society, though police officers are intended to keep it to a minimum at the very least. What people tend to want from the police is the protection that law enforcement is bound and sworn to give in regards to their community. In several polls many people have gone on to claim that among all the different duties a police officer is responsible for, creating a safe environment and cleaning up the streets is among the most important (Maciag, 2015).
There are many issues that can be cited in regards to how police are viewed and what improvements they can make within their communities. Several factors contributed to how people responded to questions as to how the police force could improve and what they excelled at. Age group and location were among the two most defining characteristics that held any sway over the polls, creating a well-defined difference over how individuals responded when asked what police in their areas did well and what they could improve upon. As mentioned above many police were seen to enjoy the faith of their community in regards to how they performed, but there is still room for improvement.
For instance, response times to the scene of a crime or a dispatch call could be improved, as could the interactions with the communities in question. While this is not an all-conclusive statement regarding all officers, it is a blanket statement that seeks to create a better rapport between the police and the average citizen. If people feel they can trust the police they are more likely to express satisfaction with their law enforcement. In this manner it is then possible to reduce crime and create a better relationship with local police.
2) Why, in your opinion, do you think detectives should be in plain clothes for all of their
Detectives do not typically operate on the same level as many officers, as they have risen through the ranks to their current position and have become more specialized in their regular tasks. For instance a homicide detective will not typically deal with narcotics-based crimes unless the two different cases coincide with one another. In assuming such a role they take on different responsibilities as well as appearances. At the rank of detective there is less need to wear their dress blues or regular police attire that makes them stand out far more in public.
In changing the way they dress they are not as visible to the general public and can thus enjoy a rather different relationship with their community. In plain clothes detectives are able to survey the public in a much broader capacity as the normal clothing worn by police officers tends to attract the eye and thereby moderate the behavior in the affected area. When a police presence is near most people will not act as they normally do even if they are doing absolutely nothing wrong. The appearance of authority is well known to make anyone take notice. In plain clothes detectives are better able to weed out the lawbreakers from other citizens as they are not as easily detected.
Many precincts are actually pushing for detectives to wear the regular policeman’s garb, to decrease the likelihood of crime in their areas (Gray, 2013). Unfortunately this would only heighten the problem by alerting criminals that the police are present. While this might seem a good thing it can also be counterproductive as people would feel protected, but hardly free to do as they like without fear that they might be penalized for the smallest infraction simply because there is nothing else for the police to do. Keeping detectives in plain clothes at least gives the idea that someone might be watching.
3) Define discretion. What problems are associated with discretion? Who has the most discretion in the police department? Why is this a problem?
Discretion is defined as both the attempt made to avoid speaking private information or causing offense and the ability to make a decision upon what to do in a given situation. Some of the problems associated with discretion come from the idea of who is truly capable of making such decisions in any given moment and what kind of information is capable of damaging an individual’s reputation. There is also the very real issue of whether or not said information is worth telling others, which in turn can lead to many other problems, not the least of which is the dreaded conspiracy theory that is always ready to be pounced upon by so many. Discretion is a very subjective term in that it hardly ever allows the practitioner to remain objective.
In the police department the greatest discretion is often held by the individual that makes the first decision regarding whether or not to apprehend those who break the law. The levels of discretion continue to change the further a case is taken against an offender, and in the end discretion only goes so far as each individual and the decisions they make. In other words, those who make the decisions at each step of the process have the greatest amount of discretion in their sphere of influence.
One of the greatest problems with discretion is that in making certain decisions police officers, who begin the process as they are the first to respond to and apprehend offenders, must make their own judgment calls at times (Bushway & Forst, 2011). More often than not the law is followed to the letter. However there have been times in the past when police discretion has worked against those who were undeserving of punishment and for those who were. Discretion is unfortunately very subjective at times and can be highly dependent upon the biases of the arresting officer.
4) What is “suicide by cop”?
The act of suicide is committed in many different ways and is always devastating to those who are left behind to wonder why an individual decided to take their own life. In the act of suicide by cop the impact is even greater as it involves a level of planning that is not only devious in its design but can damage far more people than just those connected to the individual. Suicide by cop is almost exactly as it sounds. This method involves intentionally provoking an officer into using deadly force, thereby assisting the suicidal individual in accomplishing their goal.
In this type of case the individual contemplating suicide has gone from being the victim to the perpetrator (Brown, 2016). Even if they threaten a police officer with a fake or unloaded weapon they are committing a felony. This seems to imply that the suicidal individual is by definition a criminal instead of simply troubled. In attempting to bring another person, particularly a police officer, into their plan for assisted suicide without consent they have effectively crossed the line from victim to criminal.
The effect upon the officer who commits such an act and is unaware of the individual’s suicidal tendencies is long-lasting and can cause far more distress than a defensive shooting might bring. There are very few precincts that cover this subject and far too often in such cases officers have to learn the hard way how to handle such a situation on their own and with whatever support they can gather. The act of suicide by cop is both heinous and tragic but is typically not done out of hatred for police. Those who commit such an act do not take into account the damage they will do in allowing an officer to kill them, and are thus among the worst offenders that never face any true consequences. The damage that is left behind is often worse than if an individual had been shot in the act of committing an actual crime.
References
Brown, H. (2016). Suicide by Cop. ) Police Link. Retrieved from
http://policelink.monster.com/training/articles/2313-suicide-by-cop
Bushway, S.D. & Forst, B. Discretion in the Criminal Justice System. Criminology.
Retrieved from
http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/obo/9780195396607-0083
Gray, R. (2013). Plain clothed police told to wear uniform to be more visible. The Telegraph.
Retrieved from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/9957376/Plain-clothed-police-told-to-wear-uniform-to-be-more-visible.html
Maciag, M. (2015). What People Want From Police Departments. Governing. Retrieved from
http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/gov-what-citizens-want-from-police-departments.html
