The functions of the police can be generally classified into two: one, civil order control and deviance control (Dammer and Albanese, 2013). Civil order basically relates to keeping peace and order, and responding to any situation that compromises peace and order. On the other hand deviance control relates to the enforcement of law and community or societal values. In each of these categories there are specific functions geared at discharging the two functions.
One of these functions is patrol, and it aimed at ensuring there is no breach of peace. It is also meant to assure the community of safety and respond to any situations that may jeopardize the peace. There are several types of patrol ranging from foot, motor vehicle, air patrol among others. The type depends on the intended purpose. For instance to assure the community of police presence, foot patrol is ideal. Investigation is also another function, and is aimed at identifying breaches of law and enforcing the law. Investigation is normally conducted by the investigating officer. Such an officer is assigned the investigation and given latitude to interview all witnesses pertinent to the case.
Internal affairs is another function meant to keep the police in check. This is crucial so as to ensure that the police also operate within the law and identify those who might be breaching the law. There is usually a specialized unit that conducts the internal affairs investigation. The unit invariably operates in secrecy until a solid case is build. This is usually important to ensure officers do not collude to defeat the investigation. Control of traffic is another function. It is cross cutting on the two functions as it is meant to keep sanity in the streets and also enforce traffic laws. Traffic officers are divided between those who control traffic and those who enforce traffic laws. The two usually communicate at all time to ensure they function effectively.
The function of the vice police is deviance control as they deal with moral crimes such as narcotics, prostitution, and gambling. These activities may not entirely illegal but have to be strictly regulated (Dammer and Albanese, 2013). The function of vice police is to undertake such regulation through investigation and prosecution. In the discharge of this duty vice police invariably go undercover when conducting investigations. They also use surveillance and stake outs. Civilian officers are civilians working in the law enforcement but are not sworn officers. They offer support services to the police, and as such may work as call takers, crime analysts, public information officers, records management, and forensic technicians among others.
Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) team are specialized units tasked with responding to high risk situations, which the regular police cannot handle. Examples of such high risk operations include hostages’ situations, terrorist threats, and heavily armed criminals. They also provide support to regular police during special events or situations. I would be best suited for SWAT as I am a sharp shooter and I have undergone endurance training.
References
Dammer, R.H. and Albanese, J.S. (2013). Comparative Criminal Justice Systems (5th Ed.).
California: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Print.
