Police Enforcement And Law Enforcement Essay

Every day, law enforcement officers encounter danger while carrying out their duties. The foremost duty of law enforcement officers are to serve and protect citizens. Most law enforcement agencies do this successfully. However, many people view law enforcement officers as the enemy. People need to be better informed about law enforcement and why officers take specific actions in certain circumstances. In our society, police are in a very dangerous position when it comes to the amount of force they can use when dealing with an individual. Officers use discretion when deciding the best course of action for the situation, whether it be physical force, persuasion, or coercion. They must take the correct course of action, because if they are too lenient or to forceful, even when dealing with petty things, they can be reprimanded by superiors and the public. Should police use force? Which circumstances warrant use force and what are the limits of force they can use? These questions are often asked when police are compelled to use force.

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.

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.

In the 1800s, America became extremely industrialized. Due to all of the new upbringings there was a need for organized policing. Policing in America went through many different stages beginning with organized American law enforcement, to formal policing. Michael Moore and George Kelling inferred that there were three eras of policing; political era, professional era, and community era. The political era came first along, as that era began to go downhill, the professional era arose. As the professional era began to take drawbacks, the community era started up and is still going on in present day. There are many positives and some negatives in today’s society living in the community era.

Force that police tend to use on subjects that pose a threat has become an escalating issue in society today as we know it. Sometimes the public gets the notion that the police abuse their authority and use dangerous

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.

Law enforcement officers are given much power and authority over one’s civil liberties. Not only do they have a duty but also a responsibility to enforce laws and ordinances in their jurisdiction, maintain order and protect its people. In some cases, the only way to accomplish this is through legitimized use of force. Use of force can best be described as "the amount of effort required by a law enforcement officer to induce compliance of an unwilling subject" (nij.gov, 2012). With that said, law enforcement officers have been given the right to apply only enough force necessary to control a situation, while defending others, preventing escape, during self-defense and while a subject is resisting arrest (Pollock, pp. 234). It is not until that force becomes excessive that it becomes say an issue.

United States Law Enforcement officers are constantly under pressure. Their job requires them to serve and protect mankind, under any circumstances, at all times. Because of this, officers run the risk of putting themselves in harmful situation. This may include apprehending a violent assailant, or entering harmful locations. In this study, I used books and articles such as, Criminal Justice Today, to get an understanding of the dangers Law Enforcement Officer face in the line of duty. When performing task outside the prescient, office4rs are put into dangerous situations because of their surroundings, offender’s actions, and officer mistakes. Due to the high stress of this job, it not only affects their performance, but their health as well.

The use of excessive force by police officers is a topic that continues to make headlines and a study that needs to be done. Although much research has gone into this topic there still is no consensus on why the use of excessive force occurs. Some studies suggest lack of training and/or problems with organization policy/procedures. Law enforcement officers are authorized to use force when necessary, but when the level of force is excessive, however, the actions of the police come under scrutiny. The resulting effects can include; public outrage, scandal, negative reputation for not only the officer but the law enforcement community, and criminal considerations. Although there’s is no concrete definition of excessive force, police

troduction Hook: As James Humes once stated, “the art of communication is the language of leadership” (Humes). Brief introduction about the law enforcement field and the issues within it that I have chosen.

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.

When debating the issue of police use of force, the issue of what actions constitute too much force must also be addressed. Another concern is the possibility of corruption amount officers. When given such great power, the probability of corruption is high. Officers generally do not start out as corrupt, but years of work on the force can create animosity between officers and suspects and lead them to decide to use force more quickly (McEwen, 1996). Many times, officers patrol the streets alone which creates the opportunity for potential abuse of power (McEwen, 1996). Although police officers need to be permitted to exercise some discretion, they also need limits and guidelines to follow when using their powers of discretion (Manning, 1997). The decision to use force should not be taken lightly in that citizen’s lives are at stake. Police should be allowed discretion in decisions to use force; however, this discretion should be limited. In several cases in Arizona, officers have used deadly means of force. In all cases, the officers

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.

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,

The law enforcement officers who protect and serve the local communities have and live stressful lives. How stressful is the occupation of a law enforcement officer in their job and in their personal lives than other occupations? How hard would it be to be a spouse or loved one of a law enforcement officer? Does the public know what goes on in a law enforcement officer's job life and the life of their family? Could the average person handle the daily stress that takes place in the lives of law enforcement officers? These are several questions that individuals could ask themselves on any given day. What are the answers to these questions? I know firsthand, because I am a wife of a law