Introduction
Nowadays, both the public and private safety and security has been a major problem in most developing countries. We often blame the government for the lack of safety, effective police forces, as well as operational law enforcement systems that should cater the needs and security of the population. At times, even our police task forces are liable for the crimes, corruption, and the lack of leadership that the society experience under such kind of governance. A hundred percent public safety and security seemed to be unimaginable to achieve; however, with the right kind of police reforms and effective police systems and enforcement stations, nothing is possible for an innocuous society and effective governance. Thereby, a need for a security development is necessary to provide an effective governance in terms of forming a peaceful and diplomatic society.
A Glimpse of the Current Police Reform in the Society
According to Result-Group, there are several problems involved in a police administration, including the issues on corruption, task distribution among its committee, violation of human rights, and also the lack of effective training and equipment for our police forces (2016). Everyone is called to assess and analyze the current security status of the society. Seemingly, there are a lot of things to be changed on the current police system of our society. Hence, an effective police reform is something that could help elevate the poor security of the society and at the same time, conduct proper implementation and supervision of police strategies and training programs for the whole population.
Furthermore, the tasks for an effective police reform does not end on its implementation alone, but rather needs careful evaluation and further scientific researches and studies about the effects of its changes to the people. Most of us have only known very few details about the individual tasks and responsibilities of our police system. An effective security in the society do not rely solely on our police system, but rather everyone has the responsibility to make a change.
Police Reforms in Different Countries
Police systems may vary from one country to another, depending on the type of security that they require as well as the kind of leadership that they possess. These kinds of police forces shaped the overall security of the nation which determines the general safety of the population. Seemingly, police reforms are very common on countries with frequent riots, wars, and insurgencies. It is as expected since there is a need for heightened security in the society. Furthermore, police forces are very important not only at periods of war and chaos, but also at times of calamities and natural disasters. Hence, the need for an effective and efficient police system is very crucial towards attaining the nation’s overall progress.
One of the most common war-zone countries in the world is Pakistan. Pakistan is a country in South Asia where frequent wars and insurgencies take place. In this nation, police force is seemingly weak and out-powered by other powerful countries. For instance, the lack of an effective police reform during the nation’s battle with the Federal Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) from 2002 to 2005 has suffered more or less a total of 30,000 casualties (Abbas, 2011). Many civilians lost their lives and thousands of homes were destroyed during the insurgency. Also, the lack of military police equipment and security supervision in the state even resulted to an increased number of threats and violence in the whole nation. Among the reasons for the failure in Pakistan’s security and feeble police system include political influence, lack of forensic accessories, lack of training and necessary devices and equipment, corruption, and the weakness in judicial administration (Abbas, 2011). Moreover, the Pakistan government has also failed to provide a systematic and strategic plan against certain terrorist attacks which made its security even more in distress. Seemingly, for the Pakistan government, police reform is very crucial for the nation’s development and more importantly, as a form of central institution towards the establishment of an enhanced law enforcement administration and security plans and strategies.
Another kind of police reform that is also of consideration is with regards to the security administration in Latin America. For over the years, security policies and forces in the United States has been flooded with numerous issues with regards to its consistency and effectiveness in establishing a safe and secure environment. There were human rights violations, injustices, discrimination, and oppression among the lower classes of the society. Seemingly, it is the responsibility of the U.S. government to create a unified coalition that should be concerned about the threats from other states across its borders. It is a fact that the United States is a powerhouse country in terms of its military forces. However, there are still a lot of issues that the U.S. government has been dealing with for several years already, especially the observed trends on the part of Latin America. The rise of political upheavals, lagged education, very limited job opportunities, etc. are only some of the major results caused by the lack of reforms in their police and military system. Even more, the police system of Latin America has struggled to protect the interests of the poor caused by increased cases of drug cartels and crimes in the state (Johnson, Forman & Bliss, 2012). Besides, various police institutions coming from different U.S. neighbors have found it convoluted to work together against crimes mainly due to its structural differences and interests of each party. These particular instances are quite alarming since public crimes have been the very concern of the people in Latin America since 2007 and this trend denotes the lack of trust of the population with their police system. A recent 2009 survey in Latin America also indicated that around 28.3 percent have “no confidence”, 37 percent have “little confidence”, 27.2 percent have “some confidence”, and 7.5 percent a “lot of confidence” with their police forces. Also, 43 percent of those surveyed stated that they were “not very satisfied” with the way police work and 21.1 percent were “not at all satisfied” with their work (Johnson, Forman & Bliss, 2012). These relevant information are enough to conclude that there is really a problem with how the police forces act upon their responsibilities as protectors of human rights and interests. Hence, there is an urgent need for police reforms in these states in order to make a big change towards public security and effective management of police and military forces.
The Establishment of Police Reform
Every state that seek for nationwide security requires an establishment of police reform that suits their public governance. For example, in India, a police reform was inaugurated in 2006 with the hope of improving the policing and implementation of national security in the state. According to the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (2010), the creation of seven binding directives in India were established to trigger the rise of police reforms in the whole state. These seven directives were necessary in order to eliminate a weak and poor police performance and implement an effective law enforcement system in the state. Included in these directives are: 1) Constitute a State Security Commission; 2) Transparency of India’s DGP; 3) Providing a minimum tenure of two years for police officers on operational duties; 4) Separation of police tasks on investigation and law and order functions; 5) Formation of Police Establishment Board (PEB) for an effective decision regulatory board; 6) Setup of Police Compliance Authority (PCA) for public complaints and accountabilities; and 7) Setup of National Security Commission (NSC) (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2010). These were also founded in order to create functional responsibilities of the police force, to formulate a transparent police and military governance, the strengthening the core functions of the different policies, and most importantly, the enhancement of police forces by serving public complaints and accountabilities of the population (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2010).
Factors for an Effective Police Reforms
The foundation of police reform is one step towards the creation of a just and secured nation. The establishment of police reform can be a great boost towards security protection, especially during times of post-conflict situations among other countries. For example, the police development in Sierra Leone from 1999 up to present had created a unified collaboration of international police assistance and enhanced management practices to the national police because of the creation of police reform (Loh, 2010). The implications for an enhanced police reform are rooted on several factors associated with it: a) strong advocates for reform; b) an organization tasked for institutionalized change and development; c) integration of lower rank officers into the reform process; d) systematic collaboration within the civil society; and e) long-term sustainability and maintenance of police assistance for catering public complaints (Loh 2010).
Every nation seeks for a powerful police and military action forces. Hence, according to Finkenbinder, Lowe & Millen (2013), there exists an inverse kind of relationship between the levels of involvement of government on promoting public security and the promotion of self-interests of our leaders and officers. As an explanation, for example, if a police officer wishes for an enhanced security for the public, he would rather choose the welfare of the people rather than his own self. Likewise, if one is capable of considering his own desires and interests, he has no right to govern the interest of the majority. In the very sense, the nation’s police force does not only serve the protection of human rights, but also to empower its preservation and sustainability. Hence, there is also a need for an effective leadership and governance for the nation to experience a great sense of security in their homeland.
Summary
Police reform is an integral move towards providing a nationwide security and protection. For every nation, there is always a need to improve their police and military system for future protection against terrorism, insurgencies, and chaos. Seemingly, every government has its primary role of creating a just and effective police reform that would cater public complaints as well as preserving national security and protection. Thus, both the internal and external government efforts shall be provided in order to curb internal politics and corruption as well as to strengthen the relationship of the public and the police (Chris Charley & M’Cormack, 2011). By these actions, the nation is eligible to preserve civilian rights of the people as well as maintain a healthy and safety environment for everyone.
Conclusion
Everyone has the right to protect and be protected. With the establishment of police reform, several countries developed their internal governance with the people and many nations have experienced a sense of freedom and democracy. Somehow, every nation already had an experience when it comes to security threats and dangers. Seemingly, these instances shape the kind of police and military forces that they have right now. It is very important to include the military and police administration the focal point for nationwide security and protection. Hence, according to Paun (2007), the creation of police reform serves as a primary element towards the attainment of the nation’s objective of uniting the people with less threats and dangers behind them. By creating a legacy of police structures and decentralization for every nation, one country can achieve glory by means of nationwide security and governance.
References
Abbas, H. (2011). Reforming Pakistan’s Police and Law Enforcement Infrastructure. 1-20. United States Institute of Peace.
Chris Charley, J. P. & F. I. M’Cormack. (2011). Becoming and Remaining a “Force for Good” – Reforming the Police in Post-conflict Sierra Leone. 1-48. Institute of Development Studies Research Report, 2011(70).
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. (2010). Seven Steps to Police Reform. 1-12.
Finkenbinder, K., Lowe, R. E., & R. Millen. (2013). Fostering a Police Reform Paradigm. 1-71. Peacekeeping & Stability Operations Institute.
Johnson, S., Forman, J. M., & K. Bliss. (2012). Police reform in Latin America: Implications for U.S. Policy. 1-60. Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Loh, J. (2010). Success Factors for Police Reform in Post-conflict Situations. 1-51. Hertie School of Governance.
Paun, C. (2007). Democratization and Police Reform. 1-87.
Result-Group. (2016). Police Reform. Retrieved 10 April 2016. <http://www.result-group.com/en/governance-security-solution/police-reform/>
