Criminal Law
Abstract
This research paper will discuss the importance of standard procedures in the process of employment in the criminal justice agencies, particularly the law enforcement agencies. The formal occupational organization includes the process of hiring and training of employees in criminal justice agencies to promote positive relationships across ethnic and gender lines. In the case of recruitment and training of law enforcement agencies, there are personal characteristics and traits that have to be met in order to guarantee a position on the agency. At the same time, the significance of college degree as one of the requisites will be discussed since police officers are exposed to diverse situations to effectively carry out the informal police decision-making process in the performance of their duties.
Keywords: occupational organization, recruitment, training, selection and law enforcement.
Stojkovic, Kalinich, and Klofas (2007, p.227) stated that formal occupational organization includes the process of hiring and training of employees in criminal justice agencies to promote positive relationships across ethnic and gender lines. In the case of recruitment and training of law enforcement agencies, it is essential that the police must be exposed to diverse situations in the performance of their duties. It is presumed that
there is an informal police decision-making process that takes place in their day-to-day operations (Detrick and Chibnall, 2006). Some of these critical situations are made during arrests and maintaining the peace and order situation in the community. Thus, it is recommended that the police officers should undergo a thorough selection process to fulfill their duties accordingly. The first criterion is that the new officers have completed a college degree to ensure that they possess intellectual capabilities required by their occupation. The second criterion is they must possess the required personality profile that is deemed suitable to carry out their official duties. This will include the personality assessment of the new recruits. The society is continuously evolving and it is expected that the coverage of the training of the new recruits will require the use of personal discretion which shall depend on what the situation calls for.
The rational for including college education as a requirement is to instill the proper attitude and behavior of the police. Studies have shown that those police officers who completed a college degree were significantly less authoritarian and practice more flexible reasoning compared to those officers who were not able to earn a degree. In additional, police training should adopt the philosophy of community-oriented policing, which in effect gives a provision of guidance for the police behavior and police action to increase the chance of attaining concrete goals and objectives for the protection of the community. On the other hand, police training is focused on two features which are: First is to be able to develop skills including the use of weapons, driving, defense tactics, first response techniques, arrest techniques among others; and Second is the knowledge bases such as interpersonal communication, mental illness, effect of drugs and alcohol (Chappell, Lanza-Kaduce and Johnston 2010).
The National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals recommended that every police agency stick to a formal selection process that covers (a) a written test of mental ability or aptitude, (b) an oral interview, (c) a psychological examination, and (d) a background investigation (Cochrane, Tett and Leon, 2003). The President's Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice (1967) recommended the strict screening and standardization in the selection process to ensure a more qualified police force. In fact, major agencies including the International Association of Chiefs of Police designed an intensified set of guidelines for pre-employment psychological evaluations of the applicants (Cochrane et al., 2003).
In the research conducted by Detrick and Chibnall (2006), they used the NEO Personality Inventory Test-Revised to measure the 5-factor model of personality, which shall include Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and to cover 30 specific personality facets within these domains. In their study, researchers in personnel selection are starting to make us of the NEO PI-R to describe the personality characteristics of highly effective employees, including police officers. The subjects for their study were 100 field training officers (FTOs), who bore the description the finest entry-level police officers whom they had supervised. As part of the process, they used the NEO PI-R Form R, known as the Observer form. The outcome of the study showed that the resulting profile was notable for low Neuroticism, high Extraversion, and high Conscientiousness. The result for the NEO PI-R profiles of very high- and very low-performing entry-level officers were studied for comparison. Through this method, the selection and screening of applicants with potential excellent performance is a useful instrument to garner eliminate the unqualified applicants. However, there are also some measures of “normal” personality evaluation used in the law enforcement in the
screening process of applicants which has been in place for several years (Detrick and Chibnall, 2006).
The police officer must be able to exercise sensible judgment using his own discretion. He must be able to have a solid foundation of what is morally right and wrong to avoid wrong decisions motivated by corruption. Police corruption shall be in the form of taking of gratuities, accepting bribes, theft and internal corruption (Dempsey and Forst, 2011). The level of discretion that the police officers should use will be dependent on the flexibility of the authority bestowed to them by the agency. They are given the freedom to make minor decisions be able to respond effectively and there are instances when the police officer has to make split-making decisions due to the emergency situations. In order to avoid these instances, it is also important to consider the characteristic and personal behavior of each officer as part of the recruitment and selection process since it may affect the informal police decision-making process to perform their daily functions. This is due to the fact that police officers encounter ethical dilemmas which demand the use correct judgment.
Finally, the communications skill of every police officer is also crucial because he is required to submit oral and written reports. The human relations aspect is a vital component in the function of policing because the police officer should be able to practice community relations to the general public (Ortmeier, 2006).
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