Abigail Miller: Society relies on law enforcement professionals when a situation

Abigail Miller:
Society relies on law enforcement professionals when a situation becomes dangerous, or if we simply don’t know who else to call for help. Thus, law enforcement officers are expected to be able to handle any situation they are called to. How do you train and prepare someone for any and all possible situations they may walk into? Society has high expectations for police officers, yet, doesn’t always consider the many roles we expect them to perform. There are predominately two roles that law enforcement officers maintain: public servant and crime fighter.
Although television shows often depict law enforcement officers as constantly fighting crime, their days consist of being a public servant and responding to calls often not involving criminal violations. Some services officers provide are as simple as directing traffic if a stop light isn’t working or discussing with individual’s other organizations that may be more qualified to help with their specific needs. For example, “police play a vital role immediately to protect victims at the point of crisis as well as referring victims and perpetrators for further services” (Saxton et. al, 2022). As the first responders, police officers are frequently the first to interact with individuals and observe a situation. Thus, officers may be more qualified to offer or recommend services that may be beneficial to parties involved in the situations. “Police officers are often considered the gatekeepers of the criminal justice system. For many families, the police may also be the entry point for further access to interventions and an important point of contact with a network of social institutions that can provide greater safety as well as support for families experiencing IPV” (Saxton et al., 2022). Providing services alongside crime fighting, also helps build trusting relationships with individuals in the communities the officers work. Building and maintaining trusting relationships within the community is a key aspect of community policing. In a study surveying officers’ perspectives on interactions with the public, “officers talk about the importance of four key tenets (dignity and respect, trustworthy motives, neutrality and voice),” (Radburn et al., 2022). These are all important concepts that are nurtured in community policing because they are vital to building trust between the community and law enforcement.
Being a public servant is just as important as the crime fighting role police officers maintain. Building rapport with the community is done through services which makes responses and cooperation from the community more likely when responding and dealing with crime fighting. “Police have to balance both their legal role in laying charges leading to crown decisions on prosecution and at the same time a social service role to support crisis counseling and safety planning for adult victims and their children” (Saxton et al., 2022). In many areas of law enforcement there needs to be a balance between two ideas or concepts. For example, there needs to be a balance between classroom training focused on diversity and administrative aspects of the job as well as scenario and hands-on field training of officers. Similarly, there must be a balance of being a public servant and crime fighting. Being involved in service acts for the community shows that law enforcement is invested in the community and builds trust and companionship that will aid in their other role of crime fighting.
The video: Constitutional Law and The Criminal Justice System proposes the idea that, “all crime is sin, but not all sin is a crime” and one form of this is seeking self-righteousness and forsaking God’s righteousness. Isaiah 64:4 says, “we have all become like one who is unclean and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Although part of a law enforcement officer’s job revolves around arresting those who have sinned so they can be punished, 1 John 1:9 says, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Radburn, M., Savigar-Shaw, L., Stott, C., Tallent, D., & Kyprianides, A. (2022). How do police officers talk about their encounters with ‘the public’? Group interaction, procedural justice and officer constructions of policing identities. Criminology & Criminal Justice, 22(1), 59-77. DOI: 10.1177/1748895820933912
Saxton, M. D., Jaffe, P. G., Dawson, M., Straatman, A., & Olszowy, L. (2022). Complexities of the Police Response to Intimate PArtner Violence: Police Officers’ Perspectives on the Challenges of Keeping Families Safe. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 37(5-6), 2557-2580. DOI: 10.1177/0886260520934428
Alyson Miro
Public servants are professionals who are paid by the public and whose jobs entail pursuing the public good while on the other hand (crime fighters) police officers serve all people and owe the people of our country in which they serve, the duty of civility and legality.
Most police officers are professional and ethical but there is and will always be a small majority that abuse their power. This abuse of power leads to close scrutiny by the public regarding the entire police force. The view of crime fighters is strict. Some views are that criminals are the “enemy” and are fundamentally different from the “good” people. The police are the “army” that fights the enemy and “good” people accept that the police are at “war” to fight the enemy. The decisions made by police such as use of force, definition of duty and use of deception and coercion is the perception of themselves as crime fighters. The perception of police as crime fighters by the public leads to willingness to accept certain definitions and justifications of behavior, the idea that drug addicts are crazed, individuals who are beaten derserve it and that all defendants must be guilty.
The view of police as public servants leads to the idea that criminals are not just a distinct group; they pay taxes and have families just like any other citizen. Police serve all people, including criminals and there is no enemy. There is limited ability to affect crime rates one way or another by the police. Since police are public servants, their ability to use force should be restricted. From the public view they have a more restrictive view of use of force. Utilitarianism is rejected and due process is more of a focus. This insinuates that the ends justify the means, individuals who are beaten deserved it, all defendants must be guilty and rights are protected for all.
Some reasons why people might believe that police subculture is breaking down may be the increase in diversity. Different groups and people being elements of their own cultural backgrounds and value systems into the police system. This has eliminated the social homogeneity of workforce. Another reason is the increasing power in police unions. Subculture methods for coping in the police environment with perceived unfairness are giving away to more formal rather than informal means of balancing a different objective of management and line staff. Civil litigation comes to terms in that it is less likely that an officer would risk covering for another officer when large monetary damages may be level against them because of negligence and perjury. The newer officers are more likely exposed to community policing due to being born after Miranda standards. All these factors plus many more can contribute to why people might believe that police subculture is breaking down.
Charman, S. (2018). From Crime Fighting To Public Protection: The Shaping Of Police Officers’ Sense of Role. https://doi.org/https://cleph.com.au/application/files/7315/1633/8276/perspectives_on_policing_officers_sense_of_role-FINAL.pdf (Links to an external site.)
Turner, F. W., & Fox, B. H. (2017). Public servants or police soldiers? an analysis of opinions on the militarization of policing from police executives, law enforcement, and members of the 114th Congress U.S. House of Representatives. Police Practice and Research, 20(2), 122–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/15614263.2017.1371600

The post Abigail Miller:
Society relies on law enforcement professionals when a situation appeared first on blitzarchive.com.