Similarities and Differences between the American and British Policing Systems - Research Paper Example

 Policing approaches of Britain and the US Executive summary Different countries have their own way of policing approaches. The aim of the approaches is to fight crime and reduce the level of deaths due to crimes. Countries have their own different way of fighting crime. Some countries have an aim of crime prevention while some countries want to eradicate crime completely. There are certain mini-policies like gun violence prevention programs, predictive policing, hotspot policing, etc. The mini-policies sum to a single policy of fighting crime. The police force has a role in fighting crime and implementing security policies. Complaints have risen in the near past that the police are biased towards the minority communities and do not execute their functions diligently. Governments of different countries have responded to the complaints and have helped restructure the police force. Similarities between recruitment in American and British system The American police department recruits individuals into the police by use of merit. According to Williams view, it is a means of professionalising the force[Wil90]. Their American system of recruitment has included scientific methods in their system. Scientific method of recruitment is very productive in the end according to William. The method requires recruiter to conduct psychological testing and psychometrics. Such practice is a way of promoting career method of hiring police officers. It includes conducting examinations and general evaluations. The policy has received criticism because experts argue police officers deal with more physical human activities (William, 2006, p. 1). It is the same with the British system. A book by Daniel indicates that the recruitment procedure entails a series of assessment test to assess the academic and literacy level of the applicant. In addition, the recruitment procedure gives hopes to the rejected persons in the police. The rejected could take a break of six months and reapply for the positions again (Daniel, 2012). The American and British police department allow security department to conduct police vacancy advertisements. It is a common method among different countries[Cha991]. The department place advertisements in different advertising media, either print or online publications. Stevens in his book section indicated that the government allows advertisement because it attracts large attention. Furthermore, the department uses advertisements to target a specific target audience. Example, they may place advertisements near high schools, to target high school leavers (Stevens, 2011, pp. 200-500). The recruitment process in America is very competitive. It may select out or select in a particular person into the police force (Larry, 2011, p. 50). In his book, Larry argues that he problem is, recruiting firms have not specified on the qualities that are important in selecting a person. The world is changing, and it requires police officers with many characteristics that could match with the changing world. The characteristics may include leadership qualities, physical fitness etc (Larry , 2011, p. 50). It is similar to the British system. Recruitment is a procedure that demands competitiveness[Ian13]. Britain has a procedure of selecting out or selecting in. The recruitment has some basic achievement targets. It requires people who want to enter the police force to exhibit characteristics of an enduring person[Ian13]. They have to accept the responsibilities of a police officer. Burge states that, the person should demonstrate he could work as a team. In addition, the person should show he has respect towards the community[Rog13]. The American policy wants to attract the right calibre of police officers who would help raise the country's economy and state of security (William, 2006, p. 50). The American leaders demand a working system that would favour and fulfil the tastes of the citizens according to William. The officers with the best training would enable the country achieve their security objectives and create the required working system. It would enable people to live freely in peace without fear of insecurity. To ensure this is a success, they conduct a free and fair recruitment procedure (William, 2006, p. 50). It is the same with the British system. The British police service wants the right calibre of police. The British police service advocates against any unfair practices in the recruitment procedure according to (Daniel , 2012, p. 45). The unfair practices range from discrimination due to race, gender, political affiliation, nationality, etc. To prevent such discriminations, British parliament passed the famous Equality Act 2010[Ian13]. The Act favoured the police, for example, it allowed the police officers to join labour unions. British recruitment policy disallows any direct discrimination. It comes when the job providers look at certain characteristics with less favour. Example of the character may be in terms of race or an employer denying employment to a woman[Lou06]. Moreover, the policy discourages any form of associative discrimination. Example of this comes when the recruiting panel denies employment to a person because he shares a house with a known ex-convict[Lou06]. In his book, David argues that it is against British recruitment policy when firms practice indirect discrimination[Dav96]. It happens when the employer favours a particular group in the police force. The favours come when there is a promotion of ranks only among certain police officers. The American police system advocates for admission of the disabled into the force. The system also defines the situation where the disabled cannot join the force, or forced into retirement[GRE04]. It shares similarities with the British recruitment system. The recruitment procedure in Britain defines the situations in which a disabled person cannot continue to work. It happens when there is extreme physical or mental impairment. The policy provides with necessary procedures to conduct interviews for the disabled people. The disabled do not have the ability to apply for opportunities, unlike the normal people. Furthermore, the disabled could not attend recruitment sessions at the required time[Jan97]. The American police service recruitment procedure wants to create a police-working environment that respects different cultures. A better place to develop respect is training centres[Ian13]. To ensure police have respect, their academies should practice respect and dignity to every police recruit. Apart from that, the procedure demands the recruiters to practice a transparent recruitment procedure. The process should not have illegal practices whatsoever. By being transparent, the recruitment process would be a task oriented in selecting the right persons to work[Ian13]. The American procedure is the same with the British system. The specifications of a person joining the British police are very clear. Police officers come from any part of the country and the recruitment is very transparent to avoid any form of unfairness[Dav96]. In both American and British recruitment system, after the recruitment exercise, the successful applicants start their lessons. Their names would change from applicants to recruits. After the training, their names would change from recruits to police constables[Mar99]. Additionally, the police constables have options of applying into several specialised units like the CID or counterterrorism unit, etc. The recruitment into specialised units is a competitive procedure because the government only selects the best constables to fill the vacant positions[Ian13]. Both the British and American system allows for employment of people into the police despite their marriage status. Discrimination based on the marriage status of a person is incorrect[Rog13]. It is against the systems and principles of both countries[GRE04]. An interviewer should treat both a single person and married persons with equal considerations[Rog13]. In addition, the countries allow for fair recruitment of people despite their religious background. A person's belief should not turn off the recruiting panel. The countries try to show how religion should only affect personal life, but not economic life. The countries are straight in disallowing unwitting racism when it comes to recruitment[Dwa08]. Difference in American and British recruitment policy Britain's recruitment strategy aims at increasing the number of police officers in the country. More people are likely to join the service because the country is experiencing a positive attitude towards the recruitment procedure[Mik13]. Britain is not passing through hard time when looking for people to fill the police vacancy (Jackson, 2006, pp. 120-200). It is different with America. People in the US have a bad attitude towards the police service. The American people are not attracted to police jobs[Den11]. It has caused the police department to pass certain incentives with the aim of attracting more people into the service. Most state governments have resulted to hiring retired police officers while some states have increased the police bonuses as a means of attracting people to the force (Dantzker, 1999, pp. 142-200). A person retires from the British police service at the age of 60. They could also resign from the service at their own will[Ian13]. Recruitment procedure has some specifications. According to the law, the minimum age is 18 years for any applicant; either male or female. In addition, applicants into the British police should be a British citizen. The rules still allow citizens from EU countries to join the force. Any foreign person from commonwealth may still join the force (Daniel, 2012). After fulfilling the specifications, a person joins the police academy. The training is intense and requires the best from the recruits. The recruits spend two years in police colleges (Daniel, 2012, pp.50). Consequently, neither the recruitment system has a specification on the heights nor the recruitment exercise requires academic merit or qualifications. It emphasises more on physical and mental state of the applicant (Bayley, 1996, p. 50). It is different in the American system because the service considers academic qualifications first (Larry, 2011, p. 85). It would serve fairly to all people looking for employment and quash any possibilities of unfairness. The service policy demand recruiters to understand deeply the person's ability to cope to the working environment[Tim13]. It would enhance productivity and improve transparency in a police career. Furthermore, understanding of a person would help the administration estimate whether the recruit would spend more time in the police force. A person may retire from American police service at an age of 50 (Larry, 2011). The qualifications for joining American police are different from Britain. In America, becoming a police officer requires a person to either posses a diploma or high school certificate. In addition, the person should have attained 21 years of age at the period of recruitment. A written examination, interview, and physical exercises are necessary for every person[Dav96]. The recruitment system requires the person to have a psychological evaluation that entails background investigation and medical examination. Passing through some polygraph examination is also necessary (Gaines & KAPPELER, 2011, pp. 103-200). The British recruitment system allows applicants to give details of their past criminal records (Daniel, 2012). If the records are not serious, they allow the person into the service. There are times when immigrants want to join the police force. The recruitment rules stipulate such persons should have stayed in Britain for more than three years[Ian13]. Moreover, the recruitment procedures allow people who had served in the British army to join the police force[Mik13]. The American system does not allow inclusion of military officers in the police force. In addition, there are no mercies when it comes to details of past criminal records[Tim13]. The American police service has some stipulations that can lock out the person out of the recruitment process. Locking out persons who have participated in illegal drugs business, drug users in the past three years, a person who has smoked marijuana for more than 15 times, and the person's use of hard drugs recorded for previous 10 years, is in the stipulation[Dea01]. In addition, the American requires an immigrant to attain fully citizenship before joining the service[Dwa08]. The paper is further going to highlight the policing of minority groups. There is a difference and similarities in policies concerning security of the minority groups in Britain and the US. Similarities in policing on minority groups of Britain and the US There is unfair delivery of policing in America according to Champion. There is high-level discrimination of the minorities in America[Dea01]. Experts point that the major communities like the whites have the best access to security services leaving behind the minority groups like the African-American[Dea01]. The famous scholar, W.E.B Dubois, predicted that the world is going to suffer from discrimination due to security provision[Mar99]. The prediction came to reality because currently; there is a poor relationship between the poor communities and the police. The relationship has grown worse because of current shifts in immigration patterns (Phillips, 2003, pp. 528-555). It is the same case with the British system. In British society, racism has taken root[Ian13]. The police force is not left behind when it comes to racial prejudice. They have xenophobic attitude towards the minority community and do not protect them the required way[GRE04]. Researches indicate that a racial prejudice in the police department is the biggest in Britain. Furthermore, the research indicates that there are specific stereotypes towards certain minority communities (David, 2007, pp. 100-225). There is increased composition of minority joining the American police in the recent years. The rise is due to increase of population of the minorities in major cities across America[Den11]. The employment of most local governments in the US is per the policy that, the minority should get a chance to serve the people and have full employment. The increased number of minorities in the police force is their political influence. The elected minority representatives are full of charisma and always advocate for the minority rights (Williams & Murphy, 1990, p. 25). It is the same case in Britain. The British government passed the equality act, which promotes selection using the quota system. Any government organ should employ people based on the local population. The act wants to see many minorities join the police. Both the governments want to see many minorities join the police force (Williams & Murphy, 1990, p. 25). The political leaders of the two countries have passed some policies that aim to protect the security of the minorities[Cha991]. Moreover, the policies advocate for fair recruitment procedures for all communities. They set the base for the minorities to participate in the recruitment process without fear[Cha991]. The American police service wants to provide equal opportunities to all communities in the country (BUCQUEROUX & Trojanowicz, 1990, p. 20). When it comes to recruitment processes, the minorities and women face discrimination. There are policies that are trying to reverse this situation. The policies in America target mainly the Black Americans, who are the majority minorities. It would not only serve the black Americans, but also other minorities in America as the Latinos (BUCQUEROUX & Trojanowicz, 1990, p. 20). There are minorities in the Britain. The British police service has the responsibility of accommodating the minority groups in its system. The minorities in British consist of the Irish, the black, the Chinese and, the gays/lesbians (Newburn, 2013, pp. 200-300). The equality act in Britain had policies that wanted to provide equal life opportunities for all communities because there has been the diversity of income, employment, and provision of social amenities between different communities in Britain (Newburn, 2013, pp. 200-300). Both the American and British government view the Asian communities as devious and illegal settlers (Newburn, 2013, pp. 200-300). The stereotype has undergone a transformation and lately the police view the Asians as conformist. In addition, the police view the Asian youths as violent and the most disorderly (Newburn, 2013, pp. 200-300). The police of these two countries have stereotypes against the black community. They view the blacks as aggressive, violent, and drug abusers. The most controversial stereotype is the view that black people lack brainpower (Newburn, 2013, pp. 200-300). All these stereotypes lack enough evidence. Not only have the constables had these stereotypes, but also other ranks in the police force (Newburn, 2013, pp. 200-300). The stereotypes have affected decisions made by security chiefs of these two countries (Bowling & Philips, 2003, p. 10). There has been increased discrimination against the minority communities when it comes to security matters. Most decisions about security matters lay their basis on subjective judgements (Bowling & Philips, 2003, p. 10). The decisions do not consider objective criteria of trying to reduce crime rates in the two countries. Human rights activists complain that the police are targeting to criminalise the minorities because the policing situations in the two countries are very oppressive (Bowling & Philips, 2003, p. 10). The police have a pre-existing belief that the minorities are criminals. The minority communities always experience extraordinary policing because the greatest portion of the population views them as a social problem (Bowling & Philips, 2003, p. 10). The graph shows the death of minorities in the hands of police while in prison (Bowling & Philips, 2003, p. 10). During oppression times in America and Britain, the governments protected the minorities by banning slave trade (Bowling & Philips, 2003, p. 10). Furthermore, the government campaigned for policies that would disallow segregation in schools and health facilities. The policies would have a positive impact on the youths with an ambition of joining the service (Bowling & Philips, 2003, p. 10). The governments in the two countries tried very hard to implement better policing towards the minority communities (Chambliss, 1999, p. 56). They wanted to realise its fruits very first. Despite all the commitment from the governments, there was still a gap between the major and minor communities, when it came to access of basic services. The minority did not take advantage of the opportunities that were open, like joining the police. They still had fears (Bowling & Philips, 2003, p. 10). The American policy on minority communities advocated for diversity in higher education. Diversifying of education would offer equal opportunity for all people, regardless of their background (Chambliss, 1999, p. 56). A student from a minority group would be equipped with necessary personal skills to tackle life squarely. Furthermore, a diversified higher education system would open the mind of that student, and he would be intellectually upright. The intellectually upright student could join the specialised branches of the American police, as the FBI and the secret service (Chambliss, 1999, p. 56). Differences in British and American policing on the minority groups. A controversy arose when the police passed the project champion. It was a project meant to install cameras in Muslim dominated areas as a measure to fight terrorism [Lew10]. The project was a discriminatory move aimed at degrading the Muslim community. Under the project champion initiative, the government would install cameras in two suburbs [Lew10]. People in these cities would not leave their homes without surveillance. Human rights activists saw this as a measure to deny the Muslim community their liberty and freedom of secrecy. The parliament denounced the project after the media exposed the controversial project[Lew10]. There was no such project in the US. The American police system varies across states. The states have their specific minority policing strategies (Chan & Janet, 1997, pp. 180-250. In Britain, the Metropolitan police are the biggest police force. They are the biggest body in Britain to give senior positions to the minority communities and women. They have plans of hiring senior officers from the minority communities in situations of “tie-break.” (Chan & Janet, 1997, pp. 180-250) The other police organ, Scotland Yard, is of the contrary. They view the proposals of Metropolitan police as controversial. The Scotland Yard advocates for merit when it comes to selection, rather than a quota system (Chan & Janet, 1997, pp. 180-250). According to Budge, the current policing of the minority communities in Britain is a continuation of colonial policing[Ian13]. Champion argues that the American policing resembles the period of slave trade[Dea01]. The most controversial policing against the minorities, in Britain, are the policing of immigration. There is no such policy in the US. Ordinary policing involves checking of immigration status of an individual from the minority groups, even if they are victims of crimes according to (Chan & Janet, 1997, pp. 180-250). They deny such people their security rights. Furthermore, the immigration policing intended to serve external people, but the police have shifted focus to internal people (Chan & Janet, 1997, pp. 180-250). The government established the Equality and Human Rights commission to look into the interests of the minorities. The commission advocated for fair employment opportunities for all communities, including the police force. In US, the number of people joining the police force has reduced significantly over the past years. Champion in his book says that, the police service has to rely on the services of retired police officers to cover the shortage. The few remaining police officers do not provide enough security to the people[Dea01]. The minorities are prone to insecurity because they are the most affected by lack of police officers. The state governments deploy the remaining officers to specific areas, with less minority population. With reduce in number of people who want to join the force; it has forced the police service to hire the minorities to fill the vacant positions. The minorities who take up the positions take advantage of their new jobs to improve the security of their minority communities[Dea01]. It is different with the British system because, there are many people who want to join the service. In addition, it is the attitude of the police service in Britain that cause poor minority policing. Furthermore, the British does not rely on the minorities to fill vacant positions[Ian13]. 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