Ethnicity and the Police By CJA344 The police department is leaving a bad impression in many minority communities, because of the corruption and brutality that comes from the police patrolling the areas. The police should leave a positive impression with the communities that they serve, this way the police will be able to ask the community for help when needed. There are a few people in the community that speak highly of the police because they have good experiences with the police and have positive opinions of the police and are more freely to cooperate with the police department. Lack of community support to the police force can lead to more crimes in the communities, as a result of the community the police can be less likely to work up to their full potential. “When crime rate goes up there is a further dip in the public perception of the police resulting in a greater antagonism towards the police on the part of the public “(1985).
Community Policing. The broken windows theory emphasized the role of police in improving the capacity of communities. The policing efforts goal was to develop partnerships between police and residents in distressed neighborhoods in an effort to prevent crime and promote early detection of minor offenses. Neighborhoods became safer to prevent any other serious crimes from happening. Page 2 II – The Pros and Cons of the Broken Window Theory.
(Gray) When a crime has occurred its important to deal with it, to reduce the number of offences committed in society/ community. Fighting and solving crime involves a variety of support, the police force cannot do it on its own, and to prevent crime involves different agencies working together and local crime reduction initiatives. Initiatives find new innovative ways to especially reduce and prevent crime. Reducing crime and disorder in the community is a momentous obligation and frank aspect in every single public services and majority of community organisations; and it presents peace, protection and fairness to the community. As a research officer in crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership, my obligation is to scutiny the resources and physical in
Criminal Procedure Policy Paper CJA/ 364 Criminal Procedure May 29, 2012 Criminal Procedure Policy Paper The role the criminal justice system plays in society is expansive. Criminal justice is designed to keep the public safe, to stop wrongdoing, to punish wrongdoers, and to provide order to society. Given this broad role there will be times when criminal justice will not perform all roles well. This means, of course, that criminal justice will often fail to meet public expectations. Ultimately, the needs people have for criminal justice mean that they believe the criminal justice system should be designed to pursue goals that fulfill
That usually means reverting to street crimes. These crimes include burglary, vandalism, and selling drugs. Those individuals feel that street crime is the only way they will obtain material success. Merton's theory may stand true when comparing social status with street crime; however, his theory becomes weak when the crimes include white-collar and business crimes. Therefore, Merton's theory has become an “anomie theory”.
Crime and disorder legislation The crime and disorder act was established in 1998 it focuses on an introduction of anti social behavioural orders, sex offender orders, parenting orders and also racially aggravated offences. Since, it focuses on some very serious areas it means that the local authorities all have to work together to make sure that the strategies are implemented correctly like the police authority, probation authority, health authority and other agencies. The act also gave the local authorities more responsibilities, as the strategies which it introduces have to reflect local needs and priorities. Due to this reason different areas have different focuses, for example, in Manchester their main focus would be robbery as this is the worst place for robbery crimes, in Bradford they would focus on gun crimes and in Nottingham they would focus on murder crimes as they had the highest rate of murder with 5.21 crimes for every 100,000 population. The act is ordered to develop and implement the strategies in three year cycles, such as, 1999-2002, 2002-2005, so the next one will be this year in 2008.
Broken-windows theory has suggested a way of thinking in the community. Citizens feel safer when police departments conduct more foot patrols in the neighborhood, and feel the police were more aware of the crime that are occurring. As time progressed into the adaptation of the motorized patrol, some people felt that the police had lost touch with the community and were not aware of the small underlying issues of the bigger crimes that occurred. Through the theory of broken-windows, a zero-tolerance style of policing was developed. Some police departments, such as New York, implemented the zero tolerance style and claimed that it lowered their crime rates in the mid 1990’s.
Methods to prevent corruption will then be explored, such as more rigorous recruitment procedures and the reinforcement of the motivation to do what is right. Lastly, it will be explored why in fact it is so hard to reduce corruption in the police force and subsequently why it will never go away. Before it can be examined why police corruption occurs, it must first be defined, what police corruption means, as there are many widely accepted definitions. Punch as cited in Palmer (1992: 103) defines corruption as, “When an officer receives or is promised significant advantage or reward…for doing something that he is under a duty to do anyway, that he is under a duty not to do, for exercising legitimate discretion for improper reasons and for employing illegal means to achieve approved goals.” Barker and Wells as cited in Palmer (1992:104) offer a similar definition, “Police corruption is any prescribed act which involves the misuse of the officer’s official position for actual or expected material reward or gain.” (For a more detailed explanation of corruption, see Ivkovic 2003:595). As a part of their job, police are given a number of rights and powers, such as the ability to exercise discretion.
Police departments’ effectiveness depends on its organization. Local police are assigned to areas, also known as beats, with the responsibility of maintaining order, ensuring that the law is upheld, and providing needed assistance to citizens. If communities are going to be safe to live in, then the police department must be well organized. As we continue to experience an increase in crime, police organization becomes more and more important, as it determines the police department’s effectiveness. One of the advantages of patrolling is that it gives potential criminals the fear of being caught in the act and citizens the peace of knowing that they are being protected against crime.
When viewing “The idea of police role, function, purpose, or mission in society requires us to think beyond the technical and operational aspects of police work, and consider, if you will, the philosophy of policing, and/or more generally, the place of legitimate authority in society. Policing is one of those few lines of work, like teaching and medicine, which have intimate connections with social life, social progress, and social change. Too narrow a view of the police role is bad, and care must also be taken to avoid too broad a view. To begin with, an ideal set of police functions were identified a long time ago” (Goldstein, 1977). The principle role and