The concept of Community-Oriented Policing (COPS) underlines the importance of the society to act like clients where the police officials assume the role of availing security services (Rosenfeld, Fornango, & Rengifo, 2007). Thus, one of biggest strengths of COPS is its ability to reduce fear by promoting peaceful coexistence among people, regardless of their communal, political, and financial differences. The concept has the merit of flexibility since policing strategies and security resource allocation mechanisms evolve because of changes in the community. However, the COPS concept has a weakness since the only mechanism of its success is via community participation. This process requires a direct positive affiliation between the community and the community-oriented police officers. Unfortunately, all partners in COPS may have different priorities and values that may be incompatible. In some situations, COPS may be regressive in the sense that people may fail to come out when their support is required.
The COPS approach influences other aspects of criminal justice such as infantile and criminal justice society courts. Indeed, if America is to dissuade misdemeanor with the objective of creating vital neighborhoods, reinvigorating communities is critical. Juvenile justice and criminal justice community courts and corrections are promoted via more police presence within communities and in an environment of trust that the community police force can combat crime (Rosenfeld et al., 2007). This plan is in line with the core objective of any justice system, namely reducing and preventing crime rate.
The present presidential and designated officials’ position concerning COPS is that the concept constitutes one of the vital innovations in the US policing system. The mixing of police officials with communities in their daily chores helps to create more surveillance and community revitalization. In the era of homeland security, the safety of Americans is enhanced through the increased inspection. COPS promote surveillance in an environment of trust. To this extent, the program is in line with social justice concepts.
Human trafficking may take several forms, including prostitution. It requires alternative strategies to handle it, rather than to fine or subject victims to a jail term. The Center for Court Innovation (2015) addresses the unconventional strategies for dealing with prostitution. Such options entail addressing any overlapping challenges such as maltreatment, apprehension, substance and drug craving, and trauma (The Center for Court Innovation, 2015). How does the judicial system accomplish this goal? It links the victims of human trafficking to technical assistance that is funded by the state’s Institute of Justice. This support entails providing social services to the victims together with counseling services as opposed to jailing.
Among the many programs of curbing human trafficking as a court-initiated criminal justice policy, alternative strategies such as counseling can be considered since prostitutes have been double victimized in the past. They have been victimized through fines or jailing whenever they are found guilty. They also suffer in the hands of their assailants. The program influences other aspects of criminal justice system. For instance, when prostitution is addressed as a form of human trafficking based on its causes, rather than just punishing it, its ramification such as the increasing number of street children or homelessness is also addressed such that juvenile justice and other forms of justice are promoted.
The government has its budget priorities. However, the court also needs to fund its initiatives that are aimed at reducing humans trafficking and its associated offenses. In case of initiatives that reduce or deal with prostitution, the court links victims to federally-funded centers that offer social and counseling services. This strategy underlines the importance of collaboration between different sectors of the government to guarantee the success of the overall judicial system. Considering that fining or jailing victims of prostitution does not solve the causes of the vice, a court-directed revision to criminal justice policies has an overall impact of enhancing reforms in the judicial justice to ensure positive outcomes in the execution of its mandates.
Reference List
Rosenfeld, R., Fornango, R., & Rengifo, A. (2007). The impact of order-maintenance policing on New York City homicide and robbery rates: 1988-2001. Criminology, 45(2), 355-384.
The Center for Court Innovation. (2015). Human Trafficking. Web.