In Centervale Police Department, we have many issues to handle as pertains the patrolling of the area. Resources being scarce, we have to always come up with innovative and effective ways of curbing the rise of criminal activity and preventing any occurrence of the said crime again. It is normally hard but we can be able to handle the problem. The two tracks which form our town have a roughly equal distribution of the population but have some slight differences. They arise majorly from the economic activities that happen in the two tracks.
Going by the broken windows theory (James Q & George K, 1982), we have to do something meaningful in the places that have enjoyed relatively low rate of crime activity. For instance, the south is known to be safer than the north. There is a generally low crime being reported from the South. According to the theory, if there is a broken window on a house, it will attract the occurrence of vandalism and other crimes. It suggests lack of care on the building with that broken window. In that regard, we have to make sure that the south remains even safer since it does not have so many of the “broken windows”.
The security of the place should be heightened and even made better to avoid the rise of crime activity from the areas. The theory, at large is directed to prevention of criminal activities which can be done in a number of ways. For instance, streets can be well lit, well cleaned and responses to crime reported from the area be quick and timely. Our department will therefore be tasked with the responsibility of responding with a lot of haste to any crime in the area and advice the residents to inform the police very fast.
Since the south is normally having a lot of trade activities during the day, it will be advisable to have heavy patrols during the day when the people are many there. This will give the impression that the police are very vigilant and any people trying to engage in criminal activities will be scared off since the police will be there to handle it almost immediately. At night, since the place is well kept, a few police officers will be deployed there to patrol and most of the force taken to the north where there is supposedly high rate of crime activities. The north, having not so much economic activities, will not be given many police officers during the day, this will happen at night only. Quick response to the crime reports should be stemmed up.
Most of the town’s tax base is in the south. The source of the taxes is majorly on the trade and other economic pursuits of the people who live there or the visitors from other places who fill the area. Therefore, most of the money is generated during the day. That therefore gives a very good reason to heighten the patrols during the trading hours to protect any crimes that may scare away the visitors and threaten the growth and smooth running of the taxes generating activities. This will be good for the town.
Preventive patrols are a police management strategy that aims to mute the chances of the occurrence of a criminal activity in a given area. In line with that, preventive mechanisms should also be put in the north as much as it has been done in the north. Regular patrols, Apart from the usual night patrols in the north, even day patrols and even impromptu patrols should be done. This will go a long way to prevent the opportunity for the happening of a crime. To some extent, we should have at least ten police officers ever in patrol at the north and at least five in the south, at any given time. This is what is sometimes referred to as routine controls. This will be so essential since they will respond quickly to the crimes that may happen since they are already on the tracks. North gets many because of the high prevalence of the crime occurrence.
Directed patrols is another strategy that aims to deter crime in the places where it occurs most and frequently. In respect of this type of patrol, we can employ a lot of police presence in the north especially at night. During the day, we can increase vehicle checks, street check and any other place that is always at risk of being attacked. The overall sense of doing this is to communicate that there is a heavy police presence in the area. Not many criminals can plan their activities when the police are known to be ever present. In this patrol, we can opt for motorcycle patrols to increase mobility since they are cheaper and can navigate the small streets. Foot patrols can also be a good kind of patrol given the fact that it will give a personal touch to the residents. Places where motorcycles and vehicles cannot reach can be accessed by foot. That will mean that the penetration of the officers will be good and felt by the people.
Using this, one can use the social and welfare kind of patrols. We can utilize the information from the residents on suspected crime activity and other places of hiding for the criminals. This will make our work even easier. Fairness should be heightened so that the residents create a gap between us and them. We should not use excessive force and should respond to the crimes quickly and with equal consideration, whether it is the South or North. When the police are fair, they will gain trust and appreciation among the residents. Their presence will be appreciated and the people will be ready to give more information on how to curb crime. The essence of all this is to get more information on how to reduce crime and ensure everybody feels protected in the whole of Centervale.
Having employed such measures, I am content we will reduce crime rate in Centervale. The police department will find it easier managing the town and keeping it safe, the people will be more secure and the trading activities which contribute to the growth of our town will be safe.
References
Victor R. (1982) Reproducing Order: A Study of Police Patrol Work, McGraw-Hill, NY
Wong C. (2011) Police Reform in China, Xiung, Shanghai
Bruce L (1999) Policing in Modern Society, Greenville Press, Illinois, US
