A topic of a well-trained police force has much more depth to it than it might seem at first glance. This paper examines the whole way a person has to complete to be considered a member of such a force. It begins with the peculiarities of the right candidate attraction and hiring process. Then, it provides information on intensive police officer training that incorporates various academic and practical implications, including preparation for critical situations. Since police officers are entrusted with force, the paper also discusses its legal framework. Finally, it provides examples of police misconduct prevention and forms of remedy. With closer inspection, it will become clearer how challenging and multifaceted the matter is.
Practices in Candidate Attraction and Hiring
Practices of attraction and hiring largely depend on adhering to the candidates’ expectations. Morrow et al. (2019) note that the occupation’s security and salary are among the most important aspects for applicants.
In addition, a chance to work a diversified and nonroutine job, along with high expectations of serving the community, also contributes to the people’s desire to become police officers. Consequently, successful applicants should see their norms, values, and self-esteem reinforced by the application and hiring process (Morrow et al., 2019). If it is accomplished, new officers will have a strong sense of normative identification and alignment with organizational goals and values.
The whole process of candidate recruitment and selection is costly and time-consuming. It starts with the agency launching an advertising campaign and ends with the candidates successfully completing the probationary period. In this context, the objective of police advertising is to attract precisely those who are both seriously interested in the position and are well-qualified for it from the potential applicants’ total pool. The extent to which an agency is capable of attracting these committed and talented applicants is in direct relationship with the recruiting costs and total time spent reduction. Therefore, a great emphasis is put on the scrupulous development of qualification statements (Morrow et al., 2019). If the statements are too narrow and specific, they might discourage many candidates who are potentially successful. However, if the sought qualities are described appropriately and accurately, the statements will reduce the number of unqualified applicants, ultimately reducing the recruitment process costs.
Police Officer Training
Police training processes are responsible for new hires’ preparation for the police officer career. It has two general aspects – academic and hands-on training (Blumberg et al., 2019). The academic component occurs in classroom settings and involves learning law basics and associated procedures (Blumberg et al., 2019). The second component of police training involves practical skills taught in scenario-based situations, including arrest and control and the use of weapons (Blumberg et al., 2019). The majority of these skills are considered perishable, thus requiring to be periodically refreshed throughout the career.
However, the mentioned classification does not account for the peculiarities of modern society. Today, police officers are equipped with more sophisticated tools and are more exposed to the public in their actions due than officers from previous generations. In this context, the profession has become more demanding, complex, challenging, and stressful for its representatives. Consequently, police agencies must incorporate additional psychological aspects into their education programs to prepare their students for contemporary professional challenges.
Preparation for Turbulent and Changing Conditions
Although most of an officer’s time on duty involves non-threatening activities, it is important to prepare officers for unpredictive scenarios. Consequently, some skills and tactics can become critical if an officer has to use force. It often leads academy trainers and directors to emphasize firearms or defensive tactics during training. However, various psychological skills also play their part in dire situations, thus requiring respective attention.
For convenience and clarity, these skills will be separated into four groups: cognitive, emotional, social, and moral. Cognitive skills include decision-making, impulse control, conscientiousness, and adaptability (Blumberg et al., 2019). They are trained through the provision of a certain degree of autonomy to let recruits make decisions and learn from the results. Emotional skills mainly involve emotional regulation, intelligence, and stress tolerance (Blumberg et al., 2019). It can be achieved by promoting thought and feeling exchange that increases emotional awareness. Social skills can be described as social competence, teamwork, and assertiveness (Blumberg et al., 2019). Generally, social competence is taught by mirroring the teacher-student attitude in future work practice, whereas peer-level interventions enhance teamwork and improve assertiveness. Lastly, moral skills represent the concerns for integrity and ethics of police conduct (Blumberg et al., 2019). This knowledge is obtained through integrating various ethical dilemmas into the education process.
Constraints on Police Conduct
Law presents a critical and overwhelming regulation of policing practice. The Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments and Law Enforcement Code of Conduct provide perfect examples of constraints put on the conduct of police officers. Firstly, the Fourth Amendment states the individual right to retreat to home and be protected from unreasonable government intrusions (CONAN, n.d.). Thus, it restricts police officers from undertaking extreme proactive measures. Secondly, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees the protection of any U.S. citizen regardless of cultural, racial, or other differences (CONAN, n.d.). Consequently, police officers are restricted from bias toward the U.S. population. Thirdly, police officers are permitted to use force only when it is necessary to perform their duty (U.S. Department of Justice, 1980). This measure provides additional restrictions on proactive policing and the use of force. Fourthly, police officers must respect confidentiality while working with sensitive data (U.S. Department of Justice, 1980). It makes police officers increasingly attentive to the information they disclose. Finally, police officers must not gain an advantage due to their social status (U.S. Department of Justice, 1980). Among its implications are the restrictions on receiving gifts and bribes or expecting special treatment.
Practices Regarding Misconduct
To ensure police officers perform professionally and within the department guidelines, police supervisors can implement various practices. In general, these practices can be divided into external and internal. Regarding the former, deterrence belongs among traditional approaches to addressing misconduct. An increase in the severity of punishment influences the perception of an actor, thus, discouraging them from action (Fridell et al., 2021). The latter practices include, for instance, the idea of organizational justice. It can be described as the workplace’s shared sense of justice and legitimacy that promotes behavioral self-regulation (Fridell et al., 2021). However, if the misconduct has already occurred, supervisors have to act accordingly. In this context, possible punishments for rule violations may include various legal and administrative remedies. For example, the Exclusionary Rule allows excluding illegally obtained evidence from the criminal court (Worrall, 2019). In addition, some states’ laws approve criminal charges against police officers. Finally, a police officer can have his license revoked as a consequence of their misconduct.
Conclusion
Becoming a member of a well-trained police force presents a long and complex process with many factors and peculiarities. In the beginning, police agencies have to select the right people from all the candidates attracted either by personal interest or advertisement. Then, academies must invest time and resources to properly train future officers and provide them with knowledge, skills, and abilities to withstand professional challenges. Notably, future officers will have to be ready to act in critical situations, know the extent of their power, and understand the consequences of their misconduct.
References
Blumberg, D. M., Schlosser, M. D., Papazoglou, K., Creighton, S., & Kaye, C. C. (2019). New directions in police academy training: A call to action.International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(24), 4941. Web.
Constitution Annotated (CONAN). (n.d.). Constitution of the United States. Web.
Fridell, L. A., Maskaly, J., & Donner, C. M. (2021). The relationship between organisational justice and police officer attitudes toward misconduct.Policing and Society, 31(9), 1081-1099. Web.
Morrow, W. J., Vickovic, S. G., Dario, L. M., & Shjarback, J. A. (2019). Examining a Ferguson effect on college students’ motivation to become police officers.Journal of criminal justice education, 30(4), 585-605. Web.
U.S. Department of Justice. (1980). Code of conduct for law enforcement officials. Web.
Worrall, J. L. (2019). Crime control in America: What works? (4th ed.). Pearson Education