Introduction
The aftermath of this phenomenon has led to increased crime in suburban areas and therefore the outcry of the communities to undertake active rather than proactive measures to reduce criminal activities. Using Centervale case study, this paper will review the impact of low police resources in balancing patrolling activities and reducing crime in urban and suburban areas. Therein will be a discussion of the strategies that should be implemented to remedy the situation.
Effect of Limited Police Resources in their Ability to Deliver Services
According to a recent study by the national institute of justice, over the last few decades, police department workloads have been on the increase, while the resources available to this department on a decline. The problem is similar to that facing the Centrevale Police Department (CPD). The effects of limited police resources including physical resources like vehicles and personnel have continued to affect the effectiveness of police activities. As such, this has led to high crime levels, especially in the urban areas. Notably, the suburban occupants represent people who are economically deprived relative to the meager part of Centravalle living in the metropolitan area.
Low crime in the urban area (20 %) as compared to high crime rate (80 %) in the suburban area indicates that police patrolling activities are directed to the urban area. The concentration of police activities in urban areas mostly through active patrolling can be argued on the basis that the occupants of the latter form the largest part of the tax paying population. As such, police administrators are forced to protect such people and put less effort in protecting those who contribute little to tax collection. The problem, however, is that letting criminal activities go unmonitored in a certain location leads to increase in crime in neighboring regions.
This is in line with the broken window theory. According to this theory, police should focus similar efforts in eliminating crime in all location to achieve significant success in combating crime at an overall basis. Concerning the broken window theory, the effects are evident in Centravale. The CPD, by focusing most efforts to reduce and control crime in the South part of the rails roads (where the majority of the taxpayers reside), have let criminal activities increase in the North. The ripple effect here is that their efforts to combat crime in the north have not been enough to eliminate crime. The main reasons here is that criminal can still infiltrate the north from the south with a lower risk of been caught. Following this, it does not make sense to concentrate policing activities in one area at the expense of another. Notably, research has demonstrated that criminal activities can arise due to discrimination in police administration by focusing activities in some regions at the cost of others.
The effect is that the middle-class and low-class communities are more likely to be involved in crime that the first call people who pay more taxes. Even with this, the challenge has been placed in the hands of police administrators who have to develop strategies to reduce crime in urban and suburban areas with limited resources. At the same time, with the members of the urban community (larger tax base), expecting to have proactive police activities in their neighborhoods, police bosses have had a hard time distributing police resources.
Possible Solutions to the Problem of Low Police Resources
Based on the CPD case study, one of the core strategy in reducing the high criminal activities in the north and keeping crime in the south at the minimal level is developing equitable strategies in police duty to these communities. Any law enforcement department should have the moral obligation to serve all members of the community without any bias (David M. Kennedy, 2013). As such, it is unethical to have active police patrols in the south and staggered patrols in the north. Notably, less police attention in the north has led to increased crime, which has, in turn, increased the safety risks in this community.
The main effect, however, has been the problem of keeping crime low in the south due to increased crime rates north of the rail. Even with faster police response to potential criminal activities in the south; it is not possible to keep crime at the minimal due to the presence of unmonitored crime in the north (broken window theory). As such, it would be imperative to implement a policy of equitable distribution of police resources in both the north and south of Centravale to reduce crime in both regions with more effectiveness.
References
David M. Kennedy. (2013, June 12). The Strategic Management of Police Resources. Retrieved from https://www.innovations.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/139565.pdf
Shelden, R. G., Brown, W. B., Miller, K. S., & Fritzler, R. B. (2016). Crime and criminal justice in American society. New York: Waveland Press.
