Important Partnerships between Police Officers and the Community - Research Paper Example

Important Partnerships between Police Officers and the Community Sociologist have developed a number of innovate criminal justice approaches with an aim of averting crime in the society. Law enforcing agencies look at the best approach to handle domestic violence and crime. The need to stump out crime in the society needs a collective effort, which would involve the police and the community. Criminologists argue that partnership between the police officers and the community can help to reduce crimes committed in the community (Palmiotto 168). Largely, the society has a role to play in controlling the security, crime and any other vice that is likely to occur in the community. The manner in which prosecutors handle cases of domestic violence indicates the partnership between the police officers and the community could help to avert criminal activities in the society. Notably, prosecutors use the following approaches to handle cases of domestic violence evidence based prosecution, no drop policies, and special regional or district attorneys. This paper explores the importance of partnership between police officers and community in reducing criminal activities in the society. The role of police of officers in the society is to maintain order, arrest law offenders, offer security among others. The duty of the police officers would be easy if the community collaborate with them to fight crimes and vices committed in the society. Criminals live in the society and their neighbors have adequate or some information regarding the activities or the conducts of the criminals. It is true that before the police acquire any information regarding an individual in the society, the society has information regarding that individual. For example, when an individual commits a crime in the society, the society would inform the police. Research conducted by criminal justice practitioners indicates that the society can help to reduce crime in the society. Criminal justice practitioners argue that arrest and subsequence prosecution of criminals may not be effective in preventing recidivist violence (Clear, Hamilton & Cadora 48). This has led many police agencies to involve the services of community to handle cases of domestic violence. Partnership between police officers and community focus change of behavior as opposed to prosecution. Working together leads to effective approach in achieving law enforcement objective. Partnership between police officers and the community enhance information sharing. Law enforcement agencies rely in information while conducting their services in the society. For example, the information that the law enforcement agencies acquire about an individual would lead to arrest and subsequent prosecution of the person. If the police were unable to acquire the right information regarding the conduct of any individual, unearthing criminal activities would be very difficult. Partnership between police officers and the community improve administrative services of the police agencies. Administrative service of police includes field patrol, laboratory services, and office work. Field services involve collection of data from the community before tabulation of the data to provide the intended information. The police would serve the community effectively if the relationship between the community and the police officers were enhanced. For example, the police had little information of the hijacker of the 9/11plane that crushed in Pennsylvania Ziad Jarrah. The police officers need to take the roll call each time. For example, the police officers need to know how many criminal activities occur in a particular community, hoe often does crime occur in the society and so on. The up to date information collected from the field by police officers involves the community. Partnership between police officers and the community helps police agencies to acquire the right evidence for the crime committed in the society (Jannetta & Lachman). Research indicates that the evidence presented before a court would lead to prosecution and sentencing of a criminal or may lead to freedom of the criminal. Prosecutors take their time to study evidence presented to them by investigative agencies before presenting a case in court. When the evidence is adequate, the prosecutor would go ahead and present the case before a court. Observable evidence incriminates individuals who commit crime. FBI and other security agencies agree that sourcing of information in the society requires cooperation. Research indicates that the police officers would acquire such evidence when community is ready to collaborate with them. Failure of the community to collaborate with police officers often lead to increase in criminal activities in the society because the society shall be hiding criminals. Reporting of crime or criminal activities by the community at the right time improves behavior in the society. Miller, Hess & Orthman (269), argues that partnership between police officers and the community improves the public safety. Safety of the society is very important since it leads to normal operations or activities. Partnership improves public safety in the following ways; it facilitates supervision of activities within the society, it leads to intervention in interrupting criminal activities in the society, it leads to quick respond to failure of law enforcement officers and it leads to quicker means of addressing community level crimes. Parolees and probationers rely on the information they acquire from the society in identifying behaviors in the community. Working together with the society would make their work effective and efficient. Probationers need to know about the conduct of individuals who are under probation. When supervision agencies come into the society, the cooperation of the community would to a quick response towards addressing matters of security. Sometimes the security or crime in the society may sour; the information about the rate would initiate a different approach of handling the problem. The effectiveness of police system requires the involvement of the society in providing information that would lead to supervisory roles (Hess, Orthmann & Lim 448). When the society does not provide information, the response to the criminal related problems in the society would be difficult. Monitoring of the behavior of individuals who are out of police prison is very important. Police officers use resources such as grants, or financial resources to conduct their duties in the society. Partnership between the community and the police officers leads to leveraging of additional resources. When the partners come together, their work becomes easier because of the availability of resources. The supervisory work requires resources that could be leveraged when the teams work together. In conclusion, the importance of partnership between community and police officers include improved safety in the society, effective police activities in the community, leverages of resources used by the security agencies, and leads to a reduction of criminal activities or improvement of behavior in the society. Largely, coordination of information between the society and the police officers leads to address and possible prosecution of the criminals. Arresting and prosecution of criminals would be difficult without the cooperation of the community. Work cited Palmiotto, Michael. Community Policing: A Police-Citizen Partnership. New York: Taylor & Francis. 2011. 158-209. Print. Clear, R. Todd, Hamilton, R. John, & Cadora, Eric. Community justice. New York: Taylor & Francis. 2011. 45-69. Print. Jannetta, Jesse & Lachman, Pamela. PROMOTING PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN POLICE AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION AGENCIES. Retrieved on 21/11/2011 from http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/412362-promoting-partnerships-police-community-supervision-agencies.pdf Miller, S. Linda, Hess, M. Karen & Orthman, H. Christine. Community Policing: Partnerships for Problem Solving. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. 2010. 258-300. Print. Hess, M. Karen, Orthmann, H. Christine & Lim, Henry. Introduction to Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning. 2011. 447-489. Print. Read More