Police Development Foundations and Functions Research Paper

Introduction

The social institute of policing changes over the years and adapts to the general tendencies in the society. The purpose of the police is to serve the society and to regulate it. However, at the same time, the society itself influences and reforms the police work. It creates a unique relation of interdependence between the police’s elements and functions and the societal needs.

The objective of the paper is to compare and contrast the major characteristics of the political and reform eras of policing, and identify the skills necessary for the police trainees nowadays. It seeks to define community policing and explore the difference between it and traditional policing, examine the important elements of community policing, and determine qualities that detectives and undercover officers need to possess.

Major characteristics of the political and reform eras of policing

Police work varies depending on the period time in history because different epochs determine the functions of the police differently. Policing in America can be roughly divided into two eras. The political era dates back to the 19th century when the main function of the police was patrolling the streets because the metropolitan areas started to become more dangerous with the increase in their population. The peculiarities of that epoch included the inadequate communication systems between different police units and the lack of human and financial resources for patrolling in all the areas of bigger cities. Apart from that, with the lack of supervision, many police officers from all the levels of the hierarchy were corrupt, some were involved in the unrespectable political campaigns and criminal activities (Broderick, 1977).

Thus, during the political era of policing the society did not have any influence or control over the police. However, various public frustrations eventually resulted in reform. The reform era of policing starts from the end of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century. It is associated with the introduction of means of supervision and thought-though administration. The police reform movement is linked to one of its leaders August Vollmer, whose initiatives helped to implement discipline and new values to the police force (Uchida, 2015).

Similarly political and reform policing rely on the concept of authority and are empowered to counteract the resistance in the community (Uchida, 2015). However, these two types of policing are very different in terms of administration, the political policing is chaotic and non-supervised, whereas the reform one has hierarchy and discipline.

Skills and knowledge that are imparted to police trainees

During their academy training, the police trainees receive both theoretical and practical training. In terms of theoretical knowledge, they are to acquire a certain level of understanding law, including both things they are going to deal with in their daily jobs, such as laws on domestic violence or criminal law, and the basics of constitutional law (Eck & Rosenbaum, 1994). The training is focused on those aspects of legislation with which the police officers are involved on the daily basis.

Secondly, trainees acquire the physical skills important for the job, including completing requirements of fitness, health, abilities of self-defence, firearm maintenance, etc. In application to the reality, physical abilities and quick reaction of a police officer might help deter crime (Kappeler, Sluder, & Alpert, 2015).

However, there is one more aspect of no lesser importance, which is psychological training. Being a police officer is considered one of the most stressful jobs. Therefore, a substantial part of the police academy trainees’ course is dedicated to the stress and conflict management. Considering that today most of the police officers work in smaller departments serving smaller communities, the meditations skills, and human relations knowledge play a significant role, especially when it comes to the community policing (Eck & Rosenbaum, 1994).

Community policing and traditional policing

Community policing can be identified as the way of organizing the police work so that it resonates with the needs of the community where a certain police department is allocated. It means that in some ways, the organizational structure of the police is decentralized, but it is still is controlled. Moreover, when working with the smaller communities, it is controlled not only by the higher-ranking department but also by the community itself.

Traditionally, when the police are considered and authoritative body, they are in a certain sense, cut away from the rest of the society, and separated from the system in which they function. In this scenario, there are very few ways of influence on the police. Conversely, in the framework of community policing, the police interact with the citizens much more, so the inhabitants of the community know their officers and vice versa. Such allocation helps to install less bureaucratic and more relationship-based approach.

Elements of implementation of community policing

There are certain challenges of how to implement the methods of community policing, and to overcome all its difficult phases. Firstly, the main objective of the community policing is to make police an active figure in the community rather than just the addressee of claim or even an obstacle to its development (Kappeler et al., 2015). However, the problematic point is that not every neighborhood is respondent to the change. And without feedback from the community, the problem solving potential of the community policing will not improve.

Another problem is how to define the level of involvement of the police into the community life. At the stage of the implementation, the vague understanding of the operational principles of community policing may result in the fact that the departments will reduce the reforming to the purely ‘cosmetic changes’ under the slogans of community policing (Eck & Rosenbaum, 1994). Therefore, the main challenge is to introduce a detailed scheme of the policy implementation; otherwise, all the potential benefits of the community policing will remain theoretical.

Five qualities that detectives and undercover officers need to possess

In many ways, the qualities that make efficient detectives and undercover officers, as well as other professionals in this sphere derive from the skills that law enforcement schools and academies try to develop in them.

Quality number one is the ethical sense. Detectives are to understand the ethics of working with victims of crime, as well as how to deal with all the sensible information they obtain during the investigation. Undercover officers should be able to make ethical decisions in complex and controversial situations that they face.

The second quality is the profound understanding of the law. All law enforcement professionals should understand that law is the only framework in which they are supposed to act, regardless of the personal feelings.

The third quality is dedication. In law enforcement, reluctance to do the job can put the citizens’ lives in danger.

The fourth quality is a quick reaction. In both physical and mental sense, a quick reaction can be crucial. The detectives are to be able to concentrate quickly on the task; undercover officers need reaction to adapt to the rapidly changing situations.

In conclusion, the fifth quality is meditation skills. In the paradigm of community policing, it is a noteworthy quality of any law enforcement professional because it seeks to resolve the situation with the damage limitations.

References

Broderick, J. J. (1977). Police in a time of change. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press.

Eck, J. E., & Rosenbaum, D. P. (1994). The New Police Order: Effectiveness, Equity and Efficiency. In Rosenbaum, D. P. (Ed.), The challenge of community policing: Testing the Promises. (pp. 3-26). New York, NY: Sage Publications.

Kappeler, V. E., Sluder, R. D., & Alpert, G. P. (2015). Breeding Deviant Conformity: The Ideology and Culture of Police. In Dunham, R. G., & Alpert, G. P. (Eds.), Critical issues in policing: Contemporary readings. (pp. 79-106). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.

Uchida, C. D. (2015). The development of the American police. In Dunham R. G., & Alpert G. P. (Eds.), Critical issues in policing: Contemporary readings. (pp. 18-35). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.