The law enforcement has multiple duties and responsibilities, including maintaining safety, ensuring citizens are protected, preventing crimes, and investigating unlawful behaviors. However, it is important to mention that while these activities require involvement, following the implemented protocols and legislation is essential. This creates an environment in which the police are somewhat limited when it comes to crossing boundaries related to human rights in the pursuit of justice. Nonetheless, the line between crime investigation and maintaining confidentiality, and remaining respectful toward victims is somewhat blurry. As a result, specific administration issues occur in relation to handling situations in which law enforcement requires the crime victims to participate in the investigations. In this paper, the topic of police challenges in respective crime victim rights will be examined from the perspective of current events as well as present and potential solutions to the aforementioned limitation.
Crime Victim Rights
Oftentimes, crime victims are critical actors in the investigation process. They can potentially identify suspects, give law enforcement information on potential clues, and communicate information that can be crucial for preventing future crimes and bringing justice. However, it is vital to take into consideration that the victims have rights that are to be protected (New Jersey Office of Attorney General, 2022). There are certain rights that are phrased ambiguously, which implies that law enforcement may interpret them differently, ultimately leading to administrative issues. Namely, the first right within the New Jersey Constitution under article I para. 22 mentions the treatment of victims with dignity and respect (NJ Department of Law and Public Safety, 2022). Another right is the minimization of potential inconveniences when it comes to the participation of victims in the justice system. The concepts, however, are often misrepresented in situations in which officers overstep the boundaries in the pursuit of investigations.
Case Study
A case study that exemplifies the extent of the issue is the situation in which a healthcare facility has implemented a new policy in regards to police involvement when patients are to be interrogated or searched. Namely, the St. Joseph hospital in New Jersey has implemented policies that limit police officers in terms of obtaining evidence by taking the victims’ personal items or interrogating them without their consent (Malinconico, 2021). It is certain that the administrative change has been facilitated by the police administration issue in the first place.
The police administration, on the other hand, has handled the situation by stating such decisions as going against investigation processes. The response has illustrated that instead of changing certain guidelines when it comes to interactions with victims, a solution has not been proposed. Arguably, insisting on taking the expected action would mean infringing upon the civil rights of individuals, which Gaines and Worrall (2011) define as crucial concepts to be integrated into the police’s decision-making. On the other hand, the drop in productivity, which is another critical notion allowing measuring the efficacy of the police’s performance as Gaines and Worrall (2011) define it, has been reduced due to the choices made (Gaines & Worrall, 2011). In turn, the case in question could have been addressed by introducing the principle of management by exception (Gaines & Worrall, 2011). Implying that a specific scenario requires deviations from the expected performance, the concept in question could have opened opportunities for more decisive actions.
The fourth concept to be considered in the case under analysis concerns the use of control as the measure for managing the case and selecting the best strategy possible. Since the police had to address the dilemma of either following the established protocol and infringing upon the rights of citizens or retreating in their investigation and maintaining compliance with the set boundaries, an obvious lack of control could be observed (Gaines & Worrall, 2011). Thus, prior to establishing the measures for managing the scenario in question, law enforcement officers should have ensured that they had the required amount of control over the development of the case. Finally, the fifth concept to be examined in the described situation is one of the selection strategies during the recruitment process (Gaines & Worrall, 2011). Since the law enforcement officers demonstrated obvious neglect for the rights of victims, the approach toward selecting staff members must have been quite flawed.
Indeed, given the extensive amount of training that police officers undergo in order to develop the necessary skills, introducing them to core values to be followed when performing essential tasks should have been comparatively easy. In turn, the police’s consistent unwillingness to follow the specified standards when implementing key tasks indicates that the recruitment process did not allow selecting the applicants that possessed the required qualities and shared the values associated with human dignity and basic rights (Gaines & Worrall, 2011). Aligning with the concepts mentioned above would have helped the police department avoid the observed issue. Specifically, the police staff would have been successfully introduced to the required values and ethical standards, thus, developing respect and appreciation for human dignity (Gaines & Worrall, 2011). Thus, the police should have followed the specified principles, respecting the rights of victims. Instead, the case features the violation of the specified notions, which suggests that further changes will be required to adjust the perceptions and decision-making standards of police officers.
Solution
While the police administration has not formally handled the changes in the hospital’s new guidelines, the response was negative. Thus, it is certain that the limitations have not been properly addressed. There are several reasons why the solution is not adequate for the situation. On the one hand, the police administration has not proposed any viable answers to the complaints of the medical facility. Thus, no change in guidelines has been promised in regards to disrupting victims during their hospital stay. Moreover, the police administration has not acknowledged that the decision of the hospital does, in fact, protect the victims’ rights, a duty that is to be implemented by law enforcement. This is why the issue has not been appropriately handled, and the hospital’s implementation can potentially hinder investigations.
Recommendations
There are several solutions that could have been practically applied to ameliorate the situation. It is certain that the administration was to ensure the victim’s rights are primordial during communications and interactions with the officers. Thus, training officers on how to approach individuals while remaining respectful and minimizing inconveniences is key. It is important to mention that the decision of the hospital was generated based on the unpleasant encounters when the officers were disrupting victims during recoveries and unlawfully accessing their personal items. The administration can apply training and practical exercises in which the officers would learn how to properly approach victims while considering their rights on all levels.
Conclusion
Police administration issues are both harmful for law enforcement and for the people who are to be protected by the entity. Victims’ rights are often misunderstood or purposefully left out in the pursuit of justice, a circumstance that ultimately creates an environment in which the officers overstep boundaries. It is important for formal and informal training to be implemented in order for the challenge to be minimized. Thus, theoretical knowledge of the victim’s rights and the legal interpretation of the constitution is vital when it comes to police interactions with civilians.
References
Gaines, L. K., & Worrall, J. L. (2011). Police Administration (3rd ed.). Cengage Learning.
Malinconico, J. (2021). St. Joseph’s policy restricts police access to crime victims – prompting praise and criticism. North Jersey Media Group.
New Jersey Office of Attorney General. (2022). AG guidelines. State of New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety.
NJ Department of Law and Public Safety. (2022). New Jersey Constitutional Amendment for Victims’ Rights (N.J. Const., art. I, para. 22). State of New Jersey.