Question

How might this image impact the self-image of the police? What are the benefits of seeing oneself as a crime fighter? What are the limitations? How might this image impact police-community relationships?

Answer 1

Police is the most important part of our security. Because of them we are free to live safely. Police is there to protect people. Their job is to risk their lives to ensure your personal safety, safety of your property, and the protection of the environment. The public’s opinion of the police force is quite varying because of a variety of factors. Personal experiences with police influence most people’s outlook and opinion towards the entire police force no matter what city, county, or department they have dealt with. Most commonly among teenagers and other young people, a negative image of the police is extremely common, but only because the police stop and prevent the total freedom to “have fun” and go party all the time

There are generally two types of power in police work: control and influence. We can control a situation, control a person and even control a neighborhood, but cops generally don’t fully utilize their power of influence.

Talking to people on your beat or explaining things thoroughly to witnesses and victims are a few examples of how engaging with the public can have a profound influence on their overall view of your own agency and law enforcement in general. This is part of the basis behind the DARE program – it’s basically saying that cops are not jerks.

Community Policing brings police and citizens together to prevent crime and solve neighborhood problems. With community policing, the emphasis is on stopping crime before it happens, not responding to calls for service after the crime occurs. Community policing gives citizens more control over the quality of life in their community. Community policing means police become part of the neighborhood.

any method of policing there are going to be advantages and disadvantages. One of the main advantages to community policing is that it reduces fear in the community. With an increase in police presence in the neighborhood the residents feel more secure. This feeling of security helps the police establish trust within the community. As citizen become more active in taking care of their community, they start to understand what officers actually do on a day-to-day basis. This improves police-community relations. Ultimately, quality of life for the community improves and crime is reduced. Another advantage is that community policing is flexible and capable of changing. The solutions and strategies change as the community changes. If a plan works in one community it doesn’t mean that it will work in all communities. Community policing allows the community to come up with solutions that will work within their own neighborhood and to change or eliminate those that do not work. Community policing can be implemented in a limitless number of ways. This is also true of problem-solving. They both are only limited by one’s imagination. Community policing offers a myriad of benefits. Making effective use of the talents and resources available within communities will help extend severely strained police resources. Also, reduced levels of crime will allow more police resources to be allocated to services that have the greatest impact on the quality of community life.

Effective community policing requires a long-term commitment from everyone involved. It is not a quick fix. Ongoing relationships must be established and maintained. Another disadvantage to community policing is making sure that the right people are heading up the project. The focus should be of improving the community and not using the program to advance their own personal career or agendas.

Charlie really wants to be a police officer, but he's not sure what his duties would be if he joined the force. Is it just running around after criminals all day? Well, not exactly. There are four general responsibilities of police officers. They are:

1. Enforcing laws - Investigating crimes and apprehending offenders is a part of a police officer's work. In fact, when people think about the police, that's generally what they think of. When Charlie imagines being a police officer, he is thinking about running around after criminals, which is part of enforcing laws.

2. Preventing crime - Responding to routine incidents, like fender benders, and going on patrol is another major part of an officer's job. This is about being in the community so that people know that there are police officers around and hopefully will not commit crimes.

3. Responding to emergencies - Last month, when there was a multiple-car pileup in the city where Charlie lives, many police officers showed up to help control crowds and block off the section of the street where the problem was. In this way, police officers respond to emergencies to help out.

4. Providing support services - In addition to all of their other duties, police officers need to provide support services for their town. This could be running training for members of the community, or it could be something like working at a gun buyback program, buying guns to get them off the streets.