Law enforcement in the twenty-first century is undergoing significant changes, as officers face new dangers and challenges, as well as heightened public and media scrutiny. Today modern policing includes new technologies and makes policemen adapt to apply them in work effectively. As opposed to the past, the current police system has been drastically changed not only by using technologies but by their new direction toward community policing to gain public trust. This paper argues that the most relevant changes in modern policing are the widespread use of technologies and the focus on community-oriented policing.
Cell phones were an expensive luxury for most people in the past decades, and they were only used for making phone calls. Many people lacked internet access, and those that had were limited to poor dial-up connections. There was no social media and news that reached the information as fast as it is in modern times. Due to the lack of information flow, law enforcement officers received widespread popular support and were rarely targeted for politically motivated attacks or convictions. The main work of policemen was to arrest criminals and prevent crimes. Yet, with the adoption of the Internet and new communication technologies, law enforcement had to adapt to the new circumstances.
The Use of Technologies
Starting from 1994, the veterans of law enforcement no longer recognize the work of the police. This is mainly due to changes in the system, which included technologies that were designed specifically for the service of policemen (Sandhu & Fussey, 2021). Technology is assisting police officers in ensuring security and safety and enabling police activity while adding a new level of transparency to the process. Officer efficiency has risen significantly as a result of the widespread usage of technology (Sandhu & Fussey, 2021). Officers have in-car computers and other mobile devices that provide the information needed to capture criminals and know what is going on in an assigned district. Surveillance methods have been integrated with gadgets, such as license plate readers, monitors, technology detection tools, electronic transaction records, and many other devices. Moreover, police officers are being evaluated by analyzing in-car and body-worn cameras.
Most technologies are dedicated to surveillance of potential criminals or the police officers themselves. For example, facial recognition software has improved accuracy and sophistication, thereby, it is suitable for use in remote surveillance (Ariel et al., 2019). On the other hand, there have been significant disputes over the application of facial recognition due to the possibility of racial bias. Since facial recognition is becoming a popular tool among police systems, biometric privacy regulations are now being a widely discussed topic as a result of those debates. Police officers can now shift from reactive to proactive policing because of artificial intelligence. This is made possible by advanced analytics and intervention models that can effectively “predict” crime — AI systems can proactively scan troves of data to offer precise crime estimates applying predictive analytics, enabling agencies to police proactively before a crime occurs (Ariel et al., 2019). GPS applications are being used by law enforcement to track down and locate criminals and parolees more swiftly. GPS bullets, for example, can be fired into a car to remotely track its movements, and tracking devices can be used to track repeat offenders.
Robotics’ application in law enforcement continues to expand. Small dumbbell- or tank-shaped robots with sensors, for example, are infiltrating places where officers are not permitted to go and broadcasting an audio and video stream to occurrence headquarters (Sandhu & Fussey, 2021). Advanced bomb disposal robots that do perilous tasks involving explosives aid in the safety of officers. Unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with optical, zoom, and/or infrared cameras are assisting in surveillance, and departments are discovering new uses for them (Sandhu & Fussey, 2021). Problem-solving, policing, information exchange, and police accountability are all combined in intelligence-led policing, which uses expanding spy agencies and data to influence policing operations that are aimed at the most likely circumstances.
Although technological developments have helped law enforcement officers to be more efficient, the work of the officers started to face new challenges. Due to the media coverage of recent cases of police violence, law enforcement lost its popularity among young people. In the police system, the recruitment and retention crisis is becoming part of an acute issue for the states (Ariel et al., 2019). As compared to 25 years ago, nearly every law enforcement agency in the country is struggling to recruit and retain officers. This is mainly because officers are losing the public trust due to the media that portrays the profession in a negative way. Many policemen have lost professional respect as the outcome of this portrayal, which is often based on misleading narratives regarding the police and their actions toward civilians.
Community-oriented Policing
Another significant change in modern policing is the promotion of community-oriented policing. Community policing is not a new notion or practice in law enforcement. Yet, it is considered to be more relevant and critical than ever before in the wake of well publicized use-of-force complaints and the subsequent public skepticism. Due to the information technologies, the work of policemen is being condemned for the use of violence and not carefully investigating the cases. People do not trust the police system as it was decades ago.
Recognizing that police officers are rarely capable of dealing with public safety issues only by themselves, community policing fosters interactive collaborations with relevant groups. The number of prospective partners is vast, and these alliances can be used to achieve the two associated aims of producing problem-solving solutions through collaborative problem-solving and increasing public confidence (Weisburd & Braga, 2019). Prioritizing and maintaining the public safety issues should involve the public itself. According to this trait, community policing often includes members of the local community to help officers to secure the district. Activists, local leaders, residents, visitors, and tourists—all among whom live, work, or have an interest in the neighborhood—can help identify community issues. (Peyton et al., 2019). During the meetings of the community, such as town hall meetings and neighborhood meetings, officers collaborate with local people and assign them tasks and set goals to achieve higher security and prevent any potential crimes.
Decentralization of command and decision-making is essential in community policing. Frontline police can take ownership of their position in community policing thanks to decentralized decision-making. When a police officer is able to solve problems and take risks, he or she feels more responsibility for those solutions as well as the community’s well-being. Straightening the agency’s hierarchy, enhancing tolerance for risk-taking in problem-solving attempts, and providing officers discretion in processing calls are all examples of decentralized decision-making. To ensure that community policing tactics and concepts have an influence on activities on the street, community policing supports the nature and growth of agency policies and procedures. As a result, problem solving and partnerships, as well as related sets of processes, should be formalized in policies as appropriate.
The local media often help law enforcement officers in their work, and it is indeed a significant part of community-oriented policing. In the last decades, the media was often perceived as an obstacle to the work of police, but now it helps to spread the information and obtain local concerns regarding some legal and civil issues. Furthermore, public opinions of the police, crime concerns, and crime fear can all be influenced by the media (Kappeler, 2018). Due to the general growing national focus on community policing, most agencies have indeed begun to effectively implement community policing tactics and procedures to function in harmony with their local communities. This focus on community policing is expected to continue in the near future, as it remains a high priority at the local, state, and federal levels.
Conclusion
To conclude, as officers face new threats and obstacles, as well as increased public and media scrutiny, law enforcement in the twenty-first century is undergoing substantial changes. Modern policing incorporates new technologies, which requires police officers to adapt in order to properly use them in their work. Unlike in the past, the contemporary police system has undergone significant transformations as a result of technological advancements and their new focus on community policing in order to regain public trust.
References
Ariel, B., Weisberg, D., & Braga, A. A. (2019). Technology in policing. In Police innovation: Contrasting perspectives (pp. 485-516). Cambridge University Press.
Kappeler, V. E. (2018). Community policing. In The Routledge Companion to Criminological Theory and Concepts (pp. 435-438). Routledge.
Sandhu, A., & Fussey, P. (2021). The ‘uberization of policing’? How police negotiate and operationalise predictive policing technology. Policing and Society, 31(1), 66-81.
Weisburd, D., & Braga, A. A. (2019). Police Innovation: Contrasting Perspectives (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Peyton, K., Sierra-Arévalo, M., & Rand, D. G. (2019). A field experiment on community policing and police legitimacy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(40), 19894-19898.