Essay Example on Criminal Justice in US: Changes Since the Early 1970s

Introduction

Criminal justice in the United States is an evolving discipline that has continuously been altered to ensure that justice is exercised to every citizen across the country. As far as justice is concerned, the US police department has been one of the most criticized for decades for its failure to uphold justice evenly to all citizens. However, since the early 1970s, the US has experienced a significant revolution in the police department. The society has since gained knowledge about criminal justice, and the police service has been reestablished to provide service to the community without discrimination. There is more scrutiny of the police in terms of criminal justice is concerned.in this democratic society, the American community, has been on the look-out about its democracy and the police adherence to the rule of law when executing their duties. With the increasing knowledge to the public about the role of police and the need for criminal justice, several authors have ventured into the field of law to express their view on criminal justice. This paper, therefore, analyzes a case in a criminal prosecution based on Tom Tyler's From Harm Reduction to Community Engagement: Redefining The Goals Of American Policing In The Twenty-First Century, (2017).

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According to Tyler (2017), a shift towards a new approach to fighting less confrontational crime is essential. It is an approach that focuses on crime and harm reduction to the public. The primary idea towards achieving this approach is police reforms that would see increased accountability by the police department nationwide. Changes involving the replacement of bureaucratic accountability with democratic, local accountability will facilitate in making the public in charge of scrutinizing the role of police in the community. It will be in a bid to strengthen the already established policies and practices for crime control and reduction. There is an already existing policy to control crime, especially in gun and drug-related crimes. However, as noted, the police have employed continuously proactive crime prevention strategies that have often resulted in injustices, especially in some urban communities. Therefore, employing local accountability would make the police department directly accountable to their local community (La Vigne, Tontaine & Dwivedi, 2017). As a result, the elected police and crime commissioners will be directly involved with the police activities on the ground hence overseeing the work of the police officers in fighting crime and reducing harm to civilians.

Moreover, a less confrontational approach would facilitate transparency in the police department. The first step would involve a re-evaluation of policies that have, for decades, undermined police legitimacy and promoted injustices while fighting crimes. Facilitating transparency would enhance democratic accountability and the provision of crime information to local communities. Providing updates to the public on street level crimes and anti-social behavior will enable the public to have clear information on what is going on in terms of crime reduction and the steps taken by the local police department to reduce such crimes and improve the relationship between police and the local community. At the national level, the National Statistician needs to spear an independent review to bring back public trust in the police. Besides, a community-friendly approach to fighting crime would need to have an active engagement from the public. Public cooperation is critical for the police to perform their duties efficiently and to help American society become practically essential in keeping their communities out of crimes (Davids & McMahon, 2014). Active public involvement would include public participation in neighbourhood watch schemes and volunteers in exceptional watchdogs for preventing crimes in their local areas.

The concept of community policing and its core functions can significantly facilitate in bridging the trust gap between the police and community. Community policing involves strategies aimed at improving the relationship between police and members of communities. The primary idea in this concept is to strengthen public trust in the police. According to Tyler (2017), facts remain an essential aspect in determining police legitimacy in America today. In this case, Tyler argues that the level of trust between the police and the public has remained constant in two decades. It shows that in these two decades, trust between police and the public has neither improved nor worsened further. According to the data collected on police legitimacy in 1993 and 2014, the public has not seen any significant improvement in the police department in promoting their trust with local communities (Crowl, 2017). Although belief has remained constant over that period, it is worth noting that a significant number of Americans do not have trust and confidence in the police. There are different ways in which community policing can help to create a trusting relationship between police and the members of the public. Responding to the concerns about police legitimacy is essential in community policing and reducing public mistrust. It involves an emphasis on service delivery while dealing with the public. For instance, lowering investigatory contact with the public facilitates in restoring humanity, making the audience feel less suspicious when they encounter police officers (Crowl, 2017). Handling low-level crimes with the help of the local communities make the public view police as part of their communities rather than the traditional oppressors.

Moreover, community policing involves approaches such as directing the public towards support services and counselling. It has been applicable while dealing with mentally ill persons, where instead of arresting them, the local police department takes them to health clinics. Besides, interacting and participating in local community activities has been established as an essential element in promoting public trust. Unlike the 20th-century police force, changes in policies have also enhanced the inclusion of public relations courses in police colleges across the US. The community policing can also focus on assigning police officers to specific locations known as "beat." It can be in a bid to help officers to familiarize themselves with the local communities and the types of crime experienced in the area. Besides enhancing the reduction of crime in such areas, the police department can establish a positive relationship with local communities through frequent social interactions, thus facilitating public trust (Tyler, 2017). Partnership with community members, media, private businesses, and government agencies can also improve public confidence in the police.

Law enforcement agency culture and leadership, and their effects on community relationship

Law enforcement agencies are an essential part of the criminal justice system where organizational goals, mission, and values aimed at protecting the interest of the community and that of local politics. Therefore, law enforcement agencies' culture and leadership affect their relationship with the community considerably. Organizational culture exists in every industry and companies across the US. Law enforcement agencies ' culture and leadership form significant elements through which a police-community relationship can be determined. Various researches reviewing the relationship between law enforcers and the public have also concentrated on the impact of law enforcement agencies' culture and leadership as the perpetrators of this relationship. Culture enhancing community policing enhances the relationship between the agency and the public. Contrariwise some aspects of the culture that promote brutality contribute to improving hostility between law enforcers and the public.

A pioneering study on law enforcement agencies' culture in the US emerged in the 1950s by William Westley. Westley laid the foundation for investigating the relationship between the culture employed by various agencies and the communities they served. According to Westley, culture influence all levels of police organization, thus determining the prevailing relationships with communities. Since the 1960s, police organization culture has been shaped to facilitate recruitment, selection, and training of police officers. Concerning the public, this culture aims at reducing crime and enhancing the trust of the people (Paoline & Gau, 2018). The law enforcement agencies' culture also understands that police officer comes from the broader community with different cultural orientations. Therefore, the police department's culture strives to inculcate some of the values in the immediate communities. Cultural elements that promote community policing enables the agencies to have a trusting relationship with the community. For instance, a culture that promotes accountability in police officers enables them to serve communities with dignity and justice. Hence, communities can help security agencies to prevent and fight crimes in their areas. Besides, cultural evolution in the law enforcement agencies has seen the decentralization of police authority (Paoline & Gau, 2018). It facilitates more discretion among junior officers, as more initiatives are expected from them. As a result, they strive to improve their relationship with the public and communities within the area of operations.

Contrariwise, the law enforcement agency's culture has been associated with elements of brutality and discrimination against communities. The rampant violation of human rights by police officers has often been associated with the police force conduct. This generalization and associating police officers with violence is as old as the police force itself. The culture of police brutality is the main reason for the existence of hostility between law enforcement agencies and the community. Many classical authors state that law enforcement agency culture (cop culture) is associated with multiple negative dimensions such as sexism, stereotypical, and racism (Pickett & Nix, 2019). For instance, the use of excessive force on communities has resulted in injuries and civilian deaths. Most minority communities have been subjected to torture, stereotyping, and individual profiling. While this may be attributed to a specific police department, the widespread of such atrocities result from some cultural orientations associated with the organization. Community profiling and stereotyping have considerably inhibited social and political development. It is because some aspects of the cop culture have, for many decades, linked minority group economic prosperity with illegal drugs and guns dealings (Pickett & Nix, 2019). Hence many members of these communities have been compelled to remain servants with insignificant economic development.

Furthermore, the relationship between law enforcement agencies is significantly influenced by the local police department leadership. Leadership determines community cultural progression, economic, social, and political prosperity. Among other reasons why the police have challenging interactions with communities, they are meant to "protect and serve" is due to poor leadership. Poor leadership turns law enforcement agencies against the communities, thus promoting violence. Consequently, the communities retaliate to hate against the police. An increase in crime rate increases since the community does not help the police to combat illegal dealings. Also, the security of the civilians is risked as crime perpetrators utilize the flaws in police leadership to propagate their unlawful actions. However, effective leadership in...