The Examination of the Roles of Police - Essay Example

The majority of the arrests are made by the police, i.e. 1/3 of the crimes are smaller crimes, while around 10% of crimes are for drug-related issues. Only 20% of the crimes involve more serious issues. The police play several roles including enforcers, investigators, and traffic controllers. Police also serve quasi-judicial functions, i.e. identifying whether or not a crime has been committed.

The police departments tend to use a bureaucratic structure on a military model and all the large police organizations are sub-divided into chains and units of command which have a militaristic nature. These police organizations are mainly derived from a punitive model of administration and control and here any deviation from the rules and regulations can lead to punishments based on rank. The police organizations have three main services, i.e. line services, administrative services, and auxiliary services.

The main functions of the police department include protecting public safety, enforcing the law, controlling traffic, conducting criminal investigations, and interpreting the law. Considering the patrol elements of the job, there has been immense evolution from night watch systems to motorized patrols, however, in recent times, this has moved on to be more focused on foot patrolling thereby increasing contact with citizens. To ensure the overall effectiveness of the patrolling system, the Kansas experiment was conducted.

Here this included a normal group, which involved car cruising, a proactive group, where there was a higher level of patrol and more cars, and finally the reactive group where the police response was only based on requests. There was not much difference between the three groups and the presence or absence of the police was in no manner a deterrent to crimes. In terms of the detective force approach, the main focus includes identification, arresting criminal offenders, collecting and preserving physical evidence, locating and interviewing witnesses, and also the recovery and return of stolen properties.

However, the overall proportion of arrests is relatively much lesser. There are however several other issues that are present, which include abuses, reclassification, low clearance rates, etc. The police department however also has several specific types of enforcement situations which include surveillance, decoy operations, intelligence gathering, and other enforcement activities. There are also other assigned officers to SWAT teams with high-risk situations. Another group of police officers is known to be focused on the web patrol aspect.

In the US, there is legislation that mandates that women officers have the same professional opportunities as men, and the recruits are based on physical standards and competitive exams rather than based on gender. However, there is a continuous issue of gender problems in police teams. All individuals, however, tend to gain the police subculture which includes a personality that is suspicious, routine, predictable, and based on social isolation.