Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Police Officer

Lack of training and policing standards are closely linked to the myriad problems bedeviling police work, especially in small departments (Brodeur, 2010). All over the country, police departments report cases of officers being caught in uncompromising and unprofessional situations, resulting in disciplinary actions such as redeployment, suspension or sacking. These cases of unprofessionalism have led to questions being asked about policing, occasioned by recurring series of questionable and controversial encounters with police officers (Brodeur, 2010). The consequence of such encounters is increasing public distrust in law enforcement agencies.

Having had the opportunity to see both sides of the argument play out in the City of Memphis and as a member of the Memphis Police Department. I have become an advocate for requiring entry-level police officers to have at the very minimum an associate degree or the equivalent college credits. The college requirement can only be avoided with military experience. However, my position is not that more education makes you a better police officer or less education makes you a lousy officer. I believe that there should be a “happy medium” when it comes to police work. A good officer will be empathic, fair and in tune with the needs of the community and its members. Requiring a level of education for your entry-level officers speaks volumes about your agency and their dedication to professionalism. The benefits of having a college educated officer have shown to make a difference in the way they do their jobs. An educated police officer is less likely to utilize force when interacting with his co-workers or civilians. A department with educated officers also has shown to see a reduction in misconduct and disciplinary issues(Gómez-Mejía et al., 2016). Some years back the Memphis Police Department had relaxed their

These articles attempt to find out what the public’s views are on the police; mainly their views on how prevalent police misconduct and police brutality is. The studies that are reviewed and carried out in these sources are important to the criminal justice system because they portray the effects that the media has on the public’s perception of the job

Police departments across the country and their actions of their employees have been scrutinized a lot lately in the media. Not only the way their employees behave but the way they recruit potential employees. Police officers take an oath to protect the communities that they serve in and uphold the constitution no matter what race, gender or ethnicity. With that being said, police officers should also be made up of people of different genders, races, and ethnicities.

As a police officer, the major objectives are to maintain order, enforce the law, protect one’s property, and to save lives. In addition, police are divided into two roles based on how they perform their duties. The two roles of a police officer are a public servant and a crime fighter. A police officer whose role as a public servant is to serve all types of people, as well as criminals. Public servants regularly provide advice and make judgments as to the degree of risk they should take with the public. Many decisions involving risk are relatively easy to make, but others are complex and significant consequences (Kernaghan and Langford, 2016). These risks may involve using force and the consequences could be media backlash or a potential termination. Public servants abide by the oath and uphold the integrity and honor of the organization as an officer. Also, public servant officers like to play it safe because they like to be known as ordinary citizens who like to go home to their

The role the mass media plays in the public perception of Law Enforcement and the Criminal Justice System is potentially important in relation to the viewer’s attitude and beliefs. Does the general public support law enforcement or does the media create a negative perception of the police in the press and on network television? The CSI Effect has gained huge popularity among researchers, what is it; and how does it affects the public’s role in criminal proceedings? In relation to the mass media, how important of a role do common demographic variables such as race and age play a part in the public’s perception of law enforcement?

High profile cases can receive a lot of unwanted media attention. As a result of this media attention, this can lead to an unfair advantage for the three components of the criminal justice system especially within police investigations. As high profile cases tend to get more media exposure, the pressure that the state enhances its authority over the police to solve the case tends to get swifter than they would any other investigation. This result can be disastrous because police investigators will try to work through a case quickly and efficiently to satisfy the media, victims, victims’ families as well as the state. Especially with high profile cases where appearances isn’t

Every society needs a form of protection to help it grow and become the society it wants to be. One of the essential conditions for any society is the safety of a community. If it were not for the armed forces known as police men the law might be ignored. As a person goes to college they get to dive into the rich history of a police officer, they are also helping society while they are getting good benefits, there are also a few cons that come to being a police officer, and they get skills that you can use in everyday life and after they retire.

Kevin M. Gilmartin opens up his book by trying to describe how a new officer full of spirit, hope, and ideals of Law Enforcement start out as a fun spirited individual with friends from a world outside of the Law Enforcement Family. Gilmartin then tries to describe how the bond between officers forms. This is tough to do. As Officers we see our fellow brothers as an extended family, We love one another there is a bond that only another Law Enforcement Officer knows or feels. This bond extends automatically to Officers from different agencies without question. Gilmartin states “One of the first costs of the journey through a police career can be the old friendships, the ones that predate police work” (Gilmartin, 2002). This is to be

“To Protect and Serve” (Dorobek) is the official motto of the American Police Academy and to do that requires a balanced relationship of trust and support between police officers and the people they serve. In different ways, civilians and police officer’s both have a responsibility to uphold the law. It is a police officer’s responsibility to defend their community. A civilian’s civil duty is to support their police force to ensure they can carry out their job in the safest and most peaceful manner. However, a gap in communication has damaged the relationship between officer’s and the members of the communities they serve. In order to put an end to police brutality and repair the relationship between the American Police Force and the communities they serve, the enforcement of body cameras, new and better methods to train, and special prosecutors in police misconduct investigations are all essential.

Police departments have been in existence for a long time. Over the period of their existence, the police departments have a history of upholding the law as their main objective. Moreover, they protect the citizens and offer help through preventing and responding to any emergencies (Kesic, Thomas and Ogloff, 2012). With all these responsibilities, therefore, police officers often find themselves with a lot of duties and, as a result, they sometimes find it hard to have appropriate interactions with the citizens whereby some interactions even end up as deadly.

Because police officers are identified by their jobs, members of the public frequently treat them as police, even when off-duty. This increases the need for bonding and socializing between officers, officers' families, and families of other officers. Officers are often unable to step back from jobs and separate their professional and personal lives (Hickman et al, 2004).

"For example, in police-civilian interactions, members of the public tend to see the uniform and the badge rather than the individual behind them. However, studies show that police officers who are willing to take the time to show kindness, understanding and consideration when interacting with others--especially those who may be distrustful--will likely foster a more positive atmosphere" (Barker et al., 2008). This type of respectfulness goes a long way when officers are doing community service. For example, when officers participate in programs like D.A.R.E, they must show kindnesses when effectively communicating with groups of student and parents. In addition, they can also hold more community meetings. In order to accomplish this, local police in a community would do well to hold regular meetings in to talk about prevalent crimes and how to prevent them. Police officers need to be honest and clear, as well as kind, usually when they communicate with victims, as well as when communicating with those who break the law. Police officers need to be part of the community, and communication helps them achieve this.

It is the rookie prosecutor who will most likely say, “in my heart I feel like police officers do a good job, … [so] when they arrest somebody they are usually guilty of what they are arrested for.”vii Rookie prosecutors can have such profound faith in police and take everything the police say “as holy writ,” that one rookie prosecutor even referred to himself as a “holster sniffer” and they predicted that they would be “crushed” if they ever learned that a police officer had lied about a defendant's guilt.viii The biases of the police would then add pressures on the prosecutor and once the police make an arrest it would make it harder for him to refuse to file the charges after the arrest had occurred.ix The loyalty to police can transfer the police bias into the decision of whether to press charges, and can led to prosecutors proceeding with a case even if the evidence is

Law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every time he or she puts on their uniform. For instance, it is quite emotional for the family of any law enforcement officer to see their loved one go to work and not know what their shift will entail. One way that a family could endure the emotions is to pray for their loved one who is in law enforcement. Whereas the officers’ job stress is at high levels so could their personal lives. Some studies in particular, show how family, friends, and the community treated by the officers could depend on the officers’ level of stress and how well positive adaptation occurs (Hille, 2009). Understanding that the law enforcement officers’ job is stressful enough, their home lives should not be. As of 2000, police officers were seven times more likely to commit suicide than other Americans. In addition, police officers had the third highest suicide rate among 130 U. S. occupations. According to the National Association of Police Chiefs, twice as many police officers took their own lives each year as have killed in the line of duty (“World of Criminal Justice, Gale Research,” 2002). This outcome stems from the outward show of how the officers deal with their job stress. For instance, some of the ways officers handle their stress could be drinking, physically abusing their wives or children, or acting carelessly on vacation or on a family outing. Although particular law enforcement officers put on the persona