Introduction
The policing is becoming a very modern field with the passage of time. The officials have to deal with humans, and at the same time, they have to process evidence in a scientific manner so the profession needs people who can remain vigilant at all times. Human Resource Management Departments of each state in the America is working to develop different types of tests that can measure various aspects of applicants’ personalities. The police officials have to incorporate modern and latest philosophy of ethics in their work as well so that they can present the gained evidence in the court of law. They have to keep their criminal records clear as well because a defense attorney will create problems for the prosecuting party by pointing out character deficiencies in the concerned official, and therefore, the whole case might lose its legal value in the eyes of judge and jury. Furthermore, the supporters of prisoners’ rights are raising the issue of wrongful convictions in the international media. The police work has transformed into a complete science, and there is no room for personal feelings and emotions. The efficient police official will always control his or her personal feelings during the investigation. The abovementioned attributes are requiring different policing than the traditional one. The wide range of courses, the program will offer in order to train the professionals.
Historical Perspective of Criminology
Before getting to the part where this paper will discuss specific courses, we will need to highlight the reasons that contributed towards modernizing the field of policing. The old times have witnessed police officers torturing suspects in order to get a confession. The police of that era considered suspects as criminals until proven otherwise. In parallel to that, the court granted convictions on the basis of witnesses’ testimonies. The modern psychology has proved witnesses as unreliable sources of information, and therefore, the latest courts do not consider testimony as a defining cause for granting sentences that might have serious and long-term consequences for the suspect. The wrongful convictions stand against everything for that the legal system works for. The basic and fundamental purpose of the modern legal system is to serve the cause of justice in the society. On the other hand, the police officers do not have to take sides in the judicial process. However, they have to create an ideal solution for all the concerned parties of the case. The suspects must receive punishments for the crimes that they have committed only, and that is the job of a police officer to ensure that court must not over-convict the criminal. Additionally, the police officers do not have the authority to convict anyone, but their job is to take the troubling matter to the court of law so that the judge can follow proper judicial system in order to decide the case.
The modern criminology has its roots in the need to maintain follow-ship of evidence. The criminal investigator can only go there where evidence leads him or her. The old times when emotions and personal feelings dominated the process of the criminal investigation is over now. The police are bound to provide the suspect with his or her basic legal privileges that constitution of America provides. The criminally engaged person cannot enforce law, and that is the fundamental argument upon that the entire building of modern criminology has its standing. The pure evidentiary materials can convict a criminal, and if the evidence does not appear to be compelling in the eyes of the court then, the suspect will walk. Quite a few disciplines operate in harmony to run criminology. The field of psychology deals human side of the matters. The evidence processing manages the evidentiary materials, and finally, the detectives have to interrogate suspects in order to gather information within the legal parameters emplaced by the government. The police officials have to apply the knowledge of philosophy as well in their profession so that they can implicate a person of interest in the ongoing criminal investigation in the light of logical analysis only. Human and social development is also a necessary part of the profession because it is a dangerous one to say the least, and therefore, the supervisors have to develop their replacements in due time so that if they die in the line of duty then, the department must not suffer great loss in this regard. The ability to lead is going to be the defining attribute of persons who are working at the top of the organizational level. The trainees will receive well-versed education in the area of leadership as well. Based on the above discussion, one can establish that the field of criminal investigation has seven main branches that are listed as follows
- Leadership
- Interrogation
- Evidence Processing
- Logical Analysis
- Law
- Ethics
Who will teach the Program?
The retired and senior officials of police will teach the subjects of policing. The senior field agents will educate about leadership studies by the science of leading others is significantly different in the profession of policing. The officers cannot stop caring for their colleagues because it is the matter of life and death for them. On the other hand, the psychological rewards of being in the police are simply overwhelming to say the least. The police are the department that determines the overall quality and richness of life in a certain geographical area. The developmental process of the economy is directly related to the situation of law and order. The society becomes rich in terms of social variables, culture, and happiness. The people do not fear going to the market at late hours because of the belief that nobody can harm themselves, and somebody is watching over them. The field of police is a rough one, and it takes very determined people because they cannot afford to lose their focus for an even a moment. They remain on call all around the clock. Often, they have lost a loved one to a criminal influence, and they need to get rid of evil as much as possible. They have the utmost level of motivational force behind them, but they have to train themselves in order to remain calm so that they can do their jobs effectively. They do not have to get carried away with the energy of the profession that they start to treat everyone as a suspect. They have to maintain and enjoy their personal lives as well in order to keep their mental health intact.
Learning Objectives
Most importantly, they have to understand the fact that they have to learn to let go because criminals play a notable role in terms of keeping them employed. The presence of evil is necessary because without the contrast of good and bad, good will never emerge as victorious. The police officers have been famous for their ability to identify guilt in people, and many of them do their job with the help of intuition. However, intuition does not stand in court, but it has proven itself as the defective means of directing the process of investigation to the next level. The field of criminology is simple to explain, but hard to work with because no case is the same, and their nature differs significantly. The art and science of criminal investigation revolves around three variables that are namely motive, opportunity, and means. The investigation is a project as well, and therefore, the team leader must ensure not to waste too much taxpayers’ funds that are emplaced at his or her hands so that the teams can fulfill the purpose of providing public safety. Human development is the essence of the field because if the next generation of investigators does not receive training then, there will be no one left to impose the spirit of law into the future. Additionally, the leaders have to provide the subordinates with adequate level of motivation so that they keep going and moderate percentage of police officers dies in the line of duty each year so the teachers have to drum it into the students that they have a limited time in this world. They have to do good as much as they could because whole community’s life quality and satisfaction is riding on their ability and power to lock criminals behind the bars. The touch of sociology needs to be applied in the program as well.
Integrating Creativity
The officers need to have the freedom of certain degree so that they can apply creativity in their work. Furthermore, they are going to require training in the field of keeping their attention span wide enough to pay attention to the smallest of the details. The weapons training will create an integral part of the course. The course will have a six-month timeframe, and the off-duty personnel will receive the training at weekends. The informal learning model will be followed, and there will be no game of credit hours because we all know that academic pressures can undermine the performance of the trainees. Following is the roadmap of the program: -
The training will be an ongoing process, and therefore, it will be repetitive in nature. However, the agents who will receive the training will face a mundane obligation of taking it again in the period three years. The leadership studies and ethical training will be give special attention because they take down the whole projects in the matter of minutes during a court session. The agents have to be guided that they have to trust their judgments in critical situations because the moment they will not do that then, they will be risking their lives unknowingly. The teamwork will also be discussed. Following is the cost table of the intended project: -
The savings will be used to buy rewards and shields for outstanding performers during the training. The project is an expensive one, but its results will also be important as well. The trainees will learn for the sake of learning only, and they will have a chance to relax as well because the educational program will be conducted in the distant parts of the jungle. The program will train the trainees for survival training as well. The former experts of Armed Forces and Police will collaboratively teach the students. The senior lawyers will also be summoned to guide the students about their relevant area of the training. Military psychologists will do human development. Additionally, the police officers will be told that grief and hopelessness are their worst enemies, and they have to keep them away in order to do the job effectively.
Conclusion
This paper has a purpose of developing a program that will teach the police officers the process of applying modern and latest knowledge in their field. The program is going to have a multidisciplinary nature because the whole area of policing shares the same nature as well. The essence of the program lies in the need to train students with a modernized perspective towards their profession. They have to learn not to hate the criminals, and for that, they have to learn the area of positive and motivational psychology. They have to do whatever they can to speak for the dead, but at the same time, they have to develop their personal lives as well. They have to appreciate the presence of evil silently because it keeps them employed. They have to be trained to become negotiators and interrogators as well so that they can fully work in those areas of work as well. The real focus of the program will remain on the development of creative abilities in the audience so that they do not complain, but they should make most of the existing resources at hand.
The basis of modern criminology can be found in the need and requirement to follow the evidence. The professionals in the field cannot allow their feelings to influence their work. They have to give suspects the basic rights. They have to learn to develop probable cause before making any arrests. They will be trained not to use excessive force. They cannot build a case on the basis of testimonies, and so on. Finally, leaders have to train their successors before their time runs out. The training of the students must be done in such a way that they should learn to accept the reality. They should not see things that are not there so they do not learn to mourn, but run down other leads in a criminal investigation.
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