Essay Example on Modern Policing: Adapting to New Technology & Community Objectives

Introduction

The mission and the vision of the law enforcement agencies have always been on the maintenance of law and order and ensuring that policing activities meet community objectives and aid in the achievement of a peaceful environment. The policing organ must, therefore, adapt to the modern policing surrounding following the increased use of technology, an issue which has been instrumental in the change of everyday life. The increase in the use of technology has also altered how people react to issues. The police agencies must also take it upon themselves to adopt new ways of doing things in a bid of ensuring that they meet the needs and demands of every person. The paper will, therefore, delve on the modern contemporary issues within the modern police operations and policing. The main issue that will form the basis of discussion will be based on terrorism and how it relates to matters of law enforcement operations. Other concerns will revolve the determination of the key law enforcement agencies which are given the mandate of dealing with the issue chosen to mention but a few as will be noted in the better part of the discussion.

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Terrorism

Terrorism entails several issues which others may also deem as complex. They range from complex threats to simple security challenges. In most events, they are generated or rather organized in conflict infested zones, and other foreign terrorist regions. Some of the attacks may also get advanced through the use of radiological, explosive materials, biological, and other nuclear-generated weapons to mention but a few. In many events, terrorism has always been perceived to be the use of threats in propagating a cause, particularly those that advance political agenda (Taylor, Fritsch, & Liederbach, 2014). There exist no defined definition that can be settled upon, but the universal agreement pertains terrorism being a threat to the status quo and an issue which must be dealt with by the law enforcement organs.

One of the renowned international policing organization that deals with the issue in the discussion is the Interpol. It is an international policing agency whose role revolves assisting the law enforcement agencies in tracking terrorist whose activities are based on the international borders. Interpol is an abbreviation whose full meaning is on the International Criminal Police Organization. The policing unit regards terrorism as an international threat to national security and even to the individuals who are spread throughout the globe (OC, 2010). Interpol tracks terrorists by running many varying initiatives that support people from different countries, especially those covered by their membership charter. All their efforts are geared towards protecting the general citizens from the terror-related activities.

The Interpol also has experts who work at the General Secretariat Unit. Their functions revolve the collection, storage, and analysis of information. Interpol has equally generated a global police communication network that operates 24/7 and allows the concerned organs to obtain information that relates to matters of crime. There also exist the Liaison Bureau whose network is connected with different communication channels and those of chief operators from various regions. Other functions of the Interpol are based on issuing global alerts in case of any possible criminality (OC, 2010). They also counter cyber-crime related activities. Other agencies are also based on the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism.

Change to Law Enforcement Operation about the Issue

Terrorism activities range from simple to complex methods of advancing the attacks. Therefore, the policing organ or unit must ensure that they either use systems and policies that are highly advanced than those of the terror groups or they develop workable strategies not known by the terrorists. The Interpol as a policing unit also ensures that it ups its game in dealing with the menace. Most importantly, it has invested in technology in which it aligns most of its practices of policy implementations. It also considers the existence of the VUCA, which can be connoted to mean Volatile, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. The policing unit looks at terrorism from the four perspectives connoted by VUCA and develops systems and procedures likely to curb every one of those aspects. The workability of the procedures is based on the kind of technology applied and their manner of application. It is thus notable that the primary change to law enforcement operations about terrorism is based on the improved use of technology as evidenced by the successes that the law enforcement agencies have brought even as terrorism remains a major threat across the globe (Taylor, Fritsch, & Liederbach, 2014).

The reason why the identified Change was necessary

The necessity of the change is brought by the complexities and the sophistications noted from the activities of the terrorist organizations. Their sophisticated weapons and software advance most of their attacks globally hence can only get mitigated if the law enforcement agencies become proactive and innovative (Taylor, Fritsch, & Liederbach, 2014). The innovative approach is thus necessary to ensure that the relevant law enforcement organs up their game and protect the citizens from any terror threat before they advance to significant and more dangerous stages. It is also my view that the change noted herein has brought significant advancements to the policing operations.

The rationale is as follows. There have been reduced terror activities in most parts of the globe based on the Intel collected and the proactive mechanisms used in curbing terrorism. Technology has also played a major role in ensuring that information about most of the terror organizations are gathered and their movements tracked. Most advanced nations, for example, the United States of America has also ensured that most of its activities and practices in curbing terrorism are technologically aligned to assist and facilitate the fight against terrorism across the globe.

Main requirements related to Training that the Local and the Federal Law Enforcement Agencies must address and how they relate to the selected Issue

For one to join Interpol and be provided with the sophisticated training that can help in preventing terrorism, he or she must meet the following requirements:

• He must be a national from one of the countries that subscribe to and support Interpol policies.
• The person must also surpass the 18 years age limit.
• The person must be a holder of either a degree or a diploma in several fields. The need for the good educational background is pegged to allowing the agency getting persons who can be taken through further educational systems and become better than the enemy.

The Interpol also works through the generation and creation of a dark web system, a place in which it attempts to facilitate the engineering of technological applications, particularly those used by the cybercriminals and other terror groups in their bid of avoiding the law enforcement agencies (Morrison et al. 2016). The Interpol has made the dark web in such a way that it does not appear on many open internet platforms. It is also not easy for one to notice or locate it during the regular random search. It is only the Interpol and other related law enforcement agencies who can access it and use it in dealing with terror-related activities.

The Interpol also employs at least 1000 staff members with about 100 coming from different nations. Most of the agencies' staff are based in France, specifically in the Lyon Building. There are also those that are based in the Global Complex for Innovations, particularly the one located in Singapore and other satellite regions. The Interpol also offers training to different police officers across the globe and connects them with at least different individuals that coordinate about 192 nations globally (Morrison et al. 2016). All the agency does, or the training it provides is geared towards ensuring that terrorism and other forms of crimes are mitigated from their member states.

Conclusion

In summary, the contemporary issue which has been chosen concerning modern policing operations got based on terrorism. The Law enforcement agency that has been discussed to have made significant steps in dealing with the issue has been opined to be the Interpol. The functions and the roles of the agency have always revolved ensuring protection to the member states from terror threats and the adoption of sophisticated, innovative approaches to curb the rising advancement methods used by most of the terrorist groups and organizations. Innovation in dealing with terrorism has formed the center of discussion with rationales being offered on some of the positives noted since its inclusion in the war against terrorism. Most importantly, the paper has addressed the major issues noted in the introductory paragraphs to mention but a few.

References

Morrison, G. S., Sahito, F. H., Jardine, G., Djokic, D., Clavet, S., Berghs, S., & Dorny, C. G. (2016). INTERPOL survey of the use of speaker identification by law enforcement agencies. Forensic science international, 263, 92-100. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27100858

OC, D. S. (2010). INTERPOL DVI best-practice standards-an overview. Forensic science international, 201(1-3), 18-21.

Taylor, R. W., Fritsch, E. J., & Liederbach, J. (2014). Digital crime and digital terrorism. Prentice Hall Press. Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/a685/bdf3f2ac28bc295ba66bc76f4b630d0cb122.pdf