Free Hugs United To Stand In Love: A Project Analysis

Have you ever asked yourself what it would be like to become a police officer. Becoming a police officer isn’t an easy take because they have to risk their life everyday to protect and serve the community. They have to go through the dangers of arresting criminals when there is a chance that they could die. However, in today’s society only a small amount of police officers actually serve their community and protect citizens from danger. Right now, most police officers abuse their power to the point where they don’t seem to care for the safety of the community. They would usually arrest innocent people, make accusations, and even use their power as a source to show their dominance. If you think about, whenever you are stuck in traffic some

Community relation issues across the nation have been increasing and causing many conflicts between law enforcement and communities. There has been so much disorder between communities and law enforcements not agreeing on how situation have been handled. Both the community and law enforcements having different perspectives on making decisions without ever looking at the others side and acknowledging each other’s reasoning behind their actions. Racism, responsibility and morals are some of many terms that are yet to be sorted out within all these communities that have on going conflicts. The relationships between a community and its law enforcement is important, although it is the police job to enforce, it is also the communities job to enforce all day and everyday (Russell).

Have you ever asked yourself what it would be like to become a police officer. Becoming a police officer isn’t an easy take because they have to risk their life everyday to protect and serve the community. They have to go through the dangers of arresting criminals when there is a chance that they could die. However, in today’s society only a small amount of the police officers actually serves their community and protect citizens from danger. Right now, most police officers abuse their power to the point where they don’t seem to care for the safety of the community. They would usually arrest innocent people, make accusations, and even use their power as a source to show their dominance. If you think about, whenever you are stuck in traffic

Since a very young age we have been taught to put our trust into police officers. If we are in distress, they are always there to help since it is their job to protect and serve the common citizen. So what happens when the individuals we are supposed to trust to bring justice are the ones causing the injustice we see in the news? Recently, several police officers have been under fire for their excessive use of force. The number of casualties caused by police officers in the recent years have citizens demanding a reform in the system that officers work under.

"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.

The key for the Law Enforcement officers to gain the community’s trust is to treat the people with respect and communicate calmly, since people tend to focus more on how the police officer treats them instead of the outcome. If you treat a person with respect, even if given a ticket, the person will treat you with the same kindness

Not one interaction with the public will be identical to the next, but if we can share experiences weather good or bad it could benefit everyone. It would help law enforcement because they have will have different ways on how to handle situations similar to the one other officers were involved in. It would also benefit the public because it would help create better experiences with police, and also create a better image of police agencies. As a result of better experiences and public image we could create a better relations between the police and the public. If we could create a better bond between communities and police agencies crime levels would decrease because then you have the public as well as the police looking to reduce

Police officials depend upon the cooperation of community members to offer information about crime in their neighborhoods, and to work with the police to create solutions to problems with crime and disorder (Community Relations Services, n.d.). Community members being willing to put their trust in the police is dependent upon whether or not they believe that police actions are reflecting the community values and are incorporating the principles of procedural justice and legitimacy. There have been recommendations for building relationships between the police and community. These recommendations include but are not limited to: 1) Acknowledging and discussing with the communities challenges law enforcement face, 2) being accountable and transparent, 3) taking steps to try and reduce bias and improve the competency of the culture, and 4) maintaining a focus on the importance of collaboration, and to remain visible within the community (Community Relations Services, n.d.). It is imperative for law enforcement to be visible in their communities and to get to know the residents.

The relationship between a police department and the community is an ideal that has become very prominent in recent years. Cultivating trust between the two sides is not something that comes easily, and its something that can be broken in one negative interaction. For police to effectively and adequately do their job, the public must believe that they will police in a respectful and fair manner.

A strong relationship between any two groups of people will always create the best results. Cultivating a relationship based on mutual respect, trust and the determination in working together towards a safer and healthier environment are some of the positive effects when law enforcement and a community band together. Scoville argues that “the patrol officer is the backbone of American society” if that is the case then community policing is its cartilage.

In the world we live in today it is difficult. We wonder to ourselves how things are happening and why we are having the outcry from society for reform. We should put no blame on one specific party, but policing can be difficult and interacting with an officer is just as stressful. Unfortunately, our youth have been dealing with the issues, and many have lost their lives do to actions that should have never been taken. Community policing is one of our best attributes to bring our society and world together as a well-oiled unit working in as synchronized as possible.

Police legitimacy, communication, and trust all tie into community relations. Community relationships between its members and the police are like that of a couple’s relationship. They both have weak and strong connections but to make things work they need the 100% dedication from both parties. Weak ties with police and community relations can result in tension and animosity between both sides causing the relationship to hit an unbalance stage. It is often evaluated that many people do not look at the true benefits of the relationship with police and the community in terms of the positive strengths. There are numerous benefits to having a positive connection with police in any society on multiple different levels.

It is not ideal to always listen but in this case it makes the community feel as though you are more than just a government official performing a duty. In the meeting the discussion should have communicated the needs and desires of each the community and law enforcement. They should have set expectations and goals for both parties because each has to do their part in order to lower the crime rate. The strategy of forming bonds between law enforcement has been proven by Chris Magnus who was the Police Chief of Richmond, California. This community is diverse similar to Miami with a rich sense of culture. Chief Magnus made his primary mission to strengthen the ties within the community by getting involved with community corrections efforts, improving services for victims of domestic and sexual violence. The result of his efforts over the past nine years has taken a city with historically high levels of crime and brought them to record lows (USDOJ). These results supports that there needs to be a driving force behind the police department interacting with the

In order to improve police-community relations things have to change on both sides of the spectrum. Public officials need to learn to be willing to accept community policing. And citizens need to be more prepared to accept a greater involvement of police in their personal lives. They need to work together to improve the overall quality of life around and in neighborhoods. If we all work together then the minorities who live in these neighborhoods could experience an overall better quality of life. Economic problems, drug trafficking, and street crime could dramatically decrease, and in turn improve police-community relations overall.

As it is my job to make recommendations for policies that will improve the relationship between our police and community, I have developed two different policies that strive to do just that. My first policy requires police to interact in the community at least ten hours a month in a positive manner. These ten hours can include, but are not limited to serving at the soup kitchen, homeless shelter, local churches (but cannot be a church that they regularly attend), a rehabilitation center, or a hospital. The place of service must be a place in the community that needs help and diverges the officer into a group that the police officer does not belong to. This will not only help the police officer to see what it is like to be an individual who