Role of the Police and Private Security - Case Study Example

Report to the Legislator - Committee on Crime and Criminal Justice Congratulations on being appointed to the Committee on Crime and Criminal Justice. As a public servant you are holding a very responsible post that covers many areas of administration including the important role of providing security to the citizens of your constituency and to those individuals who visit it. This report will provide you with a clear picture on the role of security agencies with regard to homeland security. Many of the points mentioned here may be new or already known to you, but they are provided here in any case. It is common knowledge that apart from local and organized crime within the United States, the country is now facing new forms of threats like terrorism. Hence understanding the criminal justice system is extremely important so that it may be implemented effectively and impartially. Hence, this report will also cover the following areas namely, the three levels of law enforcement in United States, the interaction between those agencies, the role of the police and private security personnel in homeland security, the role of this group in intelligence gathering and federal funding. Three levels of law enforcement: The three levels of law enforcement in the United States cover national, state and local security. This task of homeland security is the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the state police forces, and the local police force. Each of them has specific areas to cover in terms of providing security. The Federal Bureau of Investigation: The primary mission of this national agency is to “to protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to uphold and enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and to provide leadership and criminal justice services to federal, state, municipal, and international agencies and partners” (Our Mission). This shows that this agency is responsible for the homeland security of the United States as a whole and hence it is the most powerful and important law enforcement agency in the country in this regard. The agency states that there are ten specific areas where they have to focus on. The first and most important one, especially during these troubled times is to protect the country from any sort of extremist or terrorist attacks. Other areas include cyber based crime, espionage, corruption of public officials, and crime in all its varieties and forms including corporate crime. Apart from the above areas, the FBI is also expected to cooperate with other protection agencies that include state, local, and international forces. The FBI is also committed to using the latest technologies in order to identify and track down criminals and their activities. The complexity and scale of their job requires professionals, language specialists, researchers, IT experts, and personnel having a variety of other professional qualifications. At present there are more than thirty thousand staff employed by the agency and they obtain a federal grant of more than six billion per year. The Agency began its operations in 1908 when the policy makers of the nation felt that a new agency was needed to provide security to a quickly expanding nation and economy. New cities and towns were coming into existence and new territories were beginning to be occupied. As is expected this also brought about an increase in criminal activity resulting in the need for a national agency. Their motto is Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity which is also an expanded acronym for the word FBI. The present director and chief of the agency is Robert S. Mueller III, who took charge in 2001. The official website of the agency is also a valuable source of additional information. In addition to the FBI there are other agencies like the Department of Homeland Security primarily formed for counter terrorism and border security. They have their own offices in each state and works in close conjunction with other law enforcement agencies. State police forces: As the name suggests, each state in the country have their own domestic security force and hence their structure is more complicated and varied when compared to the FBI. The US law with regard to crime and other areas is not uniform across the states. Each state has its own statutes and laws and the state police also are bound by them. Even designations of its officers vary. In some states they are known as officers while in others, they are referred to as troopers. Even the names of these departments vary from state to state. Again, for example, the state force in Alaska is referred to as Alaska State Troopers while their counterparts in Kansas call themselves Kansas State Police. There are a number of departments commonly found among the state forces and include areas like crime, highway petrol, narcotics etc. In most states this department is under the control of the Department of Public Safety. The job of the officers of state police forces in combating crime is often very risky and there are many instances of using excessive force against individuals. Unfortunately, there are also reports of corruption amongst its officers which varies from state to state. But in spite of these two negative reports, the state police forces are doing a commendable job within the limitations that they have to work with. Apart from these security agencies, most states also have a department called State Bureau of Investigation primarily using plain clothes detectives to combat crime. The local police departments: Such agencies are formed with respect to cities and towns and come under the jurisdiction of the local governing bodies or councils. For example, the New York City Police Department is headed by a city police commissioner. The commissioner, who is a civilian, is appointed by the mayor of the city. The duties of its staff are similar to state police officers, the difference being the area covered. City or local police officers have control over a particular city or town and do not cross over to territories covered by other police departments. With regard to number of staff, the maximum numbers are employed by local police departments. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “seventy-nine percent were employed by local governments. State police agencies employed about 11 percent, and various Federal agencies employed about 7 percent” (Employment). Relationship between the levels or agencies: All law enforcement agencies are expected to cooperate with each other for the purpose of enforcing homeland security. Information relating to any threat should be intimated to other responsible agencies by the one who receives it first. Local crimes are investigated by the local police if it happens within their jurisdiction. But any crime that involves the whole state will need the cooperation of the state police. Likewise, if it involves matters of national interest like terrorism, the FBI will also be involved. It is essential to create a good relationship between the forces within your jurisdiction for effective crime control. Personal egos and politics that might harm relationships should not exist. In other words, there should be an element of harmony between the officers and staff of all the security agencies in your jurisdiction. You should do everything in your power and influence to see that a conducive atmosphere exists. There are several examples of one or more of these agencies working together to solve or prevent a crime. The FBI along with the New York Police Department had conducted a raid in the Queens area of the city after surveillance showed a person living there to be a suspected terrorist during September 2009. In another incident, officers of the New York Police, the FBI, and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement jointly conducted raids and arrested twenty eight persons of a gang found to be involved in murder, prostitution, and extortion and other criminal activities. The Office of Homeland Security, State of New Jersey has a rule which states that agency shall “conduct law enforcement investigations in conjunction with the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force, the State Police, the Division of Criminal Justice in the Office of the Attorney General, and other law enforcement agencies specifically designated by the Director” (Mission and Executive order # 5). It also appears from various reports that terrorism is the primary crime that brings all these agencies together. Role of the police and private security personnel: The role and duty of state and local police officers have already been discussed earlier. But as you might be knowing, there is a parallel security force in the country that is not funded by the government, usually referred to as private security or private police. There are many companies and individuals offering security for corporations and individual citizens. Its staff can be hired for a specific fee or salary for providing security to the above mentioned two groups. According to reports, the United States has a very large number of people working as private security personnel providing protection to individuals, factories, offices, and other non-governmental organizations. Robert Reich, in his book, The Work of Nations, states that “there are more private security guards than police officers in America. Security guards constitute an astonishing 2.6% of the labor force” (Robert Reich’s fascinating-flip flop). Even though this provides employment opportunities, the trend is worrying. This probably indicates that the security agencies are not able to provide enough protection to the citizens and residents of the country forcing them to look at other areas for protection. Statutes regarding regulation of private security personnel vary from state to state. According to a study by Conser et al, many states allow to private security personnel to carry weapons, perform body search, and the even the power to make arrests. Both state and local police departments have the right to gather intelligence reports regarding any form of crime and most police departments in the country have separate departments for this purpose. The New York Police Department Intelligence Division and Boston Police Intelligence Division are two examples. But of late, the United States government uses private agencies for intelligence gathering in specific areas like terrorism. There are several US and foreign owned companies operating in the country and abroad for this purpose. But as of now, official government use of private agencies for intelligence gathering is primarily to gather information of terrorist activities. But like private security agencies, there are many companies offering services to non-governmental organizations and individuals to gather intelligence and information on a variety of areas. There are opinions that a private public cooperation be established with regard to official transfer of information gathered by private agencies to government run security agencies (Newburn 279). But since the United States has a long history of providing private intelligence gathering services (popularly known as private detectives and private detective agencies) it would be a good idea to use these agencies and individuals to provide information to government security agencies on other areas as well. It could provide some relief to an over-worked security force in many parts of the country. Federal funding: Crime in its various forms has always existed in many parts of the United States. In addition criminal activities like terrorism have seen an increase over the years. This has put a lot of pressure on the resources of the state and local police departments across the country. The available resources collected through taxes and other duties may now be insufficient to manage an efficient police force that is capable of providing adequate protection to its citizens and residents. Additional resources in terms of manpower, technology, and intelligence will be required for this. Requesting federal funding to augment state and city resources advisable and if it is granted, homeland security can be made more effective. Conclusion: A brief review of homeland security and the different agencies involved has been given in this report. There are three primary agencies, namely the local police departments, the state police department and the FBI. There are also other private and public agencies involved. Another area that can be looked into is to make use of private agencies in intelligence gathering. Requests for additional funding can also be made to the Federal Government especially since threats that endanger national security like terrorism is becoming more common. Additional information on all the above areas can be had by getting touch with each of these agencies directly or from their respective websites. But the most important factor to be looked into is efficient inter-agency cooperation to ensure effective homeland security for the citizens and residents of the nation. References “Employment.” The United States Department of Labor. 18. December. 2007. 25 October 2009 http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos160.htm “Mission and Executive order # 5.” The State of New Jersey – Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. 2009. 25 October 2009 http://newjerseyhomelandsecurity.com/about-us/mission.html Newburn, Tim. Handbook of Criminal Investigation. Willan Publishing, 2007.   “Our Mission.” Federal Bureau of Investigation. 25 October 2009 http://www.fbi.gov/quickfacts.htm “Robert Reich’s fascinating-flip flop”. CNNMoney.com. 25. March. 1991. 25 October 2009 http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1991/03/25/74797/index.htm Read More