All my life I have been fascinated with police work and firefighting. As a result, I have spent a vast amount of time volunteering at local fire departments working closely with local law enforcement personnel in emergency situations. Although I have wavered for years about whether to pursue a career in law enforcement or firefighting, I have always known that one way or the other I am going to be involved in emergency services. While local police enforcement is interesting, I have always wondered what it would be like to be a State Police Trooper. With that in mind, I secured an interview with Delaware State Police Trooper, Master Corporal (CPL/3) Douglas Brietzke. Corporal Brietzke has been in law enforcement ever since he graduated from college in 1995. Before entering the Delaware State Police, he worked with the Chatham Police Department in Massachusetts, the United States Border Patrol, and the Department of Veteran Affairs Police Department. Corporal Brietzke started with the Delaware State Police in July of 2002.
According to Corporal Brietzke, the Delaware State Police follows a militaristic ranking structure. Trooper is the first rank an officer receives before moving upward to Trooper First Class, Corporal, Corporal Grade One, Senior Corporal, Master Corporal, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, and finally the top rank of Colonel. Under this type of structure, Troopers can work in at least thirty-eight different units including
Some of the risk of being a state trooper is accidents happening, for example a hit and run, when you pull someone over, and you are hit from the side or if someone is trying to leave a sense. A bigger risk is someone not wanting to get into trouble for something that they have done and they may try to fight you. For example, just this year alone there have been 76 police officers who have been killed. Most of them deaths have came from people who either ran the police officer over, or have shot the officer. But like i had said, with every job there is there are the benefits, and then there are the risk.
In both episodes of the television show “Cops”, the predominant race of the police officers was Caucasian. The primary officers for all service calls featured on the program were Caucasian. Of the two episodes observed, only one officer was African American. The suspects in both episodes were predominantly African American or Hispanic. Of the 6 scenarios featured throughout both episodes, two suspects were Caucasian.
The New Jersey State Police does not experience much turnover. However, within a twenty-five year career, a trooper’s attitude, and how that attitude relates to job satisfaction and output can be measured. While a trooper with 10-15 years experience may be distrustful of command staff, junior troopers (those with 1-5 years) are viewed as zealots. Junior troopers are productive and engaged in their field. A trooper’s job satisfaction can be measured by his/her’s perceived organizational support. Job satisfaction has a direct correlation to employee engagement and perceived organizational support.
Since the founding of this country, to the wild west, and up to the present, the agenda of the policing bodies have been clear: to uphold and enforce the laws of our society. Of course the way they do this today had undergone changes from the first police forces of early America, law enforcement has seen trends come and go.
The role of police officers is very significant to American history. Police work toward protecting citizens’ rights and helping America become the land of the free. The United States of America is built from the U.S. Constitution Bill of Rights and police play a major role in making sure American rights are met. Evolution has changed many of American history for the better; policing is part of those changes. As new issues in society arise, police must change and adapt to protect and serve the public.
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.
Law enforcement officers have encountered some very deadly days. The life of a law enforcement officer is one of constantly being aware of your surroundings, dealing with the uncertainty of not knowing the individuals you have to approach, and being able to cope with the visual images seen after vicious crimes. The life of a law enforcement officer, who protects and serves, is both challenging and rewarding. The first law enforcement system was established in Boston, Massachusetts over 350 years ago. During this time in the Colonies that were not heavily populated, the sheriff served as the main law enforcement officer. During the 1800’s, 24-hour law enforcement service and systems similar to what is used today began to emerge (NLEMI). Law enforcement officers face incredible dangers. With over 900,000 law enforcement officers nationwide the Federal Bureau of Investigations reported approximately 1,165,383 violent crimes in 2014. Approximately one law enforcement officer dies every 61 hours (NLEMI).The law enforcement profession is the most challenging and dangerous career, because officers must be aware of every law and action they take at all times, manage constant training and stress, and protecting others as well as themselves in the line of duty.
Law enforcement, in some form, has existed for centuries and since its creation there has been numerous improvements. Improvements have come about because of community changes and the need for more effective ways of policing the people. As crimes became more fierce and complex so did the need for the investigation and solving of these crimes. Criminal investigative techniques were not just born from thin air, some thought and planning had to go into figuring out the proper ways to go about doing things. Pioneers of the criminal justice and criminal investigation field such as August Vollmer, Alphonse Bertillon, Edward Henry, and Edmond Locard have made superior contributions to the development of criminal investigative techniques. These techniques have impacted the way police operate today and set a substantial base for law enforcement to build on.
The Associations of Chiefs of Police created this website as a police informational site. It is an educational site that explains the hiring process, basic requirements, training and academy life, and skills candidates should process. The site also offer a virtual ride along. I can use this site to explain the training and academy life of a cadet.
When discussing leadership within the law enforcement profession is it vital to take the human factors into consideration. There are multiple human factors that the law enforcement leaders must take note of, such as, family issues, financial issues, stress, health, and morale. These human factors that play an important role for law enforcement in general can impact morale, officer safety and the public perception. When addressing the human factors, “Law enforcement leaders should challenge themselves and their employees to increase safety margins by focusing on human factors. By doing so, they will improve proactive communication at their level of influence and develop an organizational culture that values safety and wellness” (Bone, D., Normore,
Small town Holdrege, Nebraska is where I decided to look a little further into law enforcement on the State level. There are quite a few State Troopers in this area, or it seems to be that way anyways. I contacted Sargent John Wagner for an interview. I have to say these men/women in uniform are slightly intimidating. I’m not sure if it is the uniform, or the fact I grew up thinking these officers of the law are just that scary. I guess we shall see once we begin the interview.
Law enforcement was designed in the early 1800’s by a man named Robert Peal, which is why cops are sometimes referred to as Bobbies in England; designing an organization of law enforcement that would protect people from harming other people (Christ). This was the model that we based our western law enforcement agencies on, until prohibition became a federal task in the 1920’s. This is when the federal government decided to take up the task of protecting people from themselves. Fast forward to the 1960’s; President Richard Nixon took a step forward with prohibition by declaring a war on drugs. This perpetual war has consumed much of our country’s financial resources and profoundly affected our criminal justice system, which governs us today. Many claim that this effect on our country has been negative, but others claim the necessity of it. There have been vast changes in our country since law enforcement instituted the principal of protecting people from themselves. Has this addition to the western model of law enforcement been beneficial? Is it logical in current times?
Community policing began in the 1980s, based off of work performed at Michigan Sate University (Police Studies Book). However, the Anytown Police Department has not been a part of this method of policing until now. The department’s management feels that community policing would be effective to treat several issues we have been experiencing of late, including our faltering relationship with minorities and with the poor and middle classes. Many, broad sweeping, changes will need to be made to the department. The department’s training program will be completely overhauled, teaching Anytown’s officers what community policing is and how to apply it. A community relations team ((add to paragraph ___)) will be formed to foster strong bonds with the community. We will address concerns from all groups of people regarding our policing practices and the city’s ((town’s?)) crime rate. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “Community-oriented policing seeks to address the causes of crime and to reduce fear of social disorder through problem-solving strategies and police-community partnerships. Typically, it involves a greater use of foot and bicycle patrols and frequent meetings with community groups.” (BJS) With this shift in policy and policing style it will no longer be our only job to catch criminals, but to prevent crime from occurring in the first place and to elevate the quality of life in our city ((town?)) as a whole.
Many people know of the police officers of today’s world and that it is their job to enforce the laws set by their government, but not many people know the history of your typical everyday United States police officer or how they came about. The idea for neither your everyday police officer nor his or her department they work for or how a police department operates, originated in the United States. Over the years though America has made changes and adapted its system over the years to make it more suitable for its countries beliefs and practices.
Patrol accounts for the biggest portion of police work in most police agencies. The terms “patrolling” and ”on patrol” generally refer to what officers do while not handling calls for service—officers do this mostly in patrol cars, but sometimes on foot, on bicycles, on horseback, or the like. While on patrol, officers may look for traffic violations, suspicious behavior, disorder, and unsafe conditions. They may also look for opportunities to interact with the public in casual or more formal situations. This is all considered patrolling.