Law Enforcement in USA: Violating Constitutional Sureties? - Essay Sample

Introduction

There have been controversies surrounding the law enforcement practices and measures in the United States of America where the law enforcement bodies have been keeping records of citizens' activities that were deemed as suspicious or against the American culture even though there was no evidence of any committed crime. The act violates the basic constitutional sureties and rubs the American sense of fairness with respect to the state's intervention the wrong way. It is so unfortunate that there are no set boundaries on what the police can collect and keep about the life of a perceived criminal. Some of the guidelines set are contradictory to one another, and thus it becomes hard to invoke what the law says concerning the issues raised (Carter & Carter, 2012).

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Apart from what the law advocated for, new intelligence strategies used by the police lacked the determination, the objectivity and the due process required in such procedures. Focus on the historical law enforcement methods is significant as it played an integral role in what law enforcement is all about currently and will also play a role in the shaping of future practices. Focusing on the issues fronted in the paragraph above, it helps check on the relationship between the national intelligence and the law enforcement bodies in the United States of America which have been so dynamic since the 20the century. The changes were either politically instigated or through the legal due process required, or also through the recent counterterrorism measures.

Law enforcement is on rapid evolution in the 21st century as the problems and challenges faced by the police change as the years go by. Major of the law enforcement bodies are focusing on implementing new levels of transparency that were not present from the fore years, taking into consideration of new policies improve community-officer relations, employing the use of new technology to be used by the police and emphasizing on the need for education on matters law enforcement. One of the trends being adopted to facilitate the changes enumerated above is the emphasis on community-oriented policing. Community-oriented policing is not a new dimension in the law enforcement methodologies, but in recent developments, it has been thought to be more relevant and, therefore, a necessity.

Community-oriented policing involves having and building on the trust and faith that is mutually shared by the police and the community at large. It is imperative that the police force establishes trust with the community as it is critical in ensuring a secure community always. The partnership will ensure effective ways of provision of security and allocation of the available resources. A community with a healthy partnership and trust between the two parties have had lower rates of crime and more advanced in making development-oriented moves. However, for that to be achieved, the police officers need to be educated on the importance of community-oriented policing. Officers trained on the policy be more empathic and are less likely to use deadly force while they also demonstrate a more in-depth understanding of the issues at hand.

Another change in the trend of law enforcement practices is the increased use of technological advancement in the daily activities of police officers. Technology has made it easier for police officers to provide security to the various communities they reside in. Social media, for instance, has been used and continues to be used to gather and disseminate issues on matters of security. There is also the use of body cameras which monitor the activities of police officers while on duty. The act has much helped against advocating against deadly force by police officers. The use of facial recognition equipment has also helped in checking the criminal rates in states. Other technologies used include the use of drones, robots, and predictive recording.

With the increased calls for gender equality in the modern world, law enforcement forces have been left behind. Police forces around the world continue to expand the opportunities available for women in law enforcement bodies. Traditionally, there were lesser women in police forces globally. That is not the case anymore as more emphasis is laid on the need to train, develop, admit, and hire women in the police force. Women officers are great in their conflict resolution skills, communication, and the ability to forge relationships in communities easier is an add-on. Women are also less likely to use deadly force when on duty as compared to men. The involvement of women also provides an easy route to solving sexual related cases and a crime against the female gender (Fritsvold, 2016).

With the technological advancements in the world in the 21st century, there is also a rising security concern, which is the rise in the levels and cases of cybercrime. Municipals, companies, and police departments are usually not well equipped to fight with a high level of cybercrime activities, and this leaves individuals, corporations as well as governments at risk of losing important data to hackers. Local police officers are forced to deal with questions thrown at them on how they plan to deal with cybercrime threats. For instance, a client of a particular bank may lose their cash from the bar, which is located from a criminal who is also on the other side of the world. One thing that is certain is that cyber threats and crime are on the increase and grows on every instance with each technological advancement step. Law enforcement bodies need to come up with ways to deal with and combat crime.

Finally, there is no department or company which can be said to be successful if they do not transmit and hand over power to equally talented generation and successors when they leave service. As older people are retiring and taking other positions in society, vacant positions are being left and which need to be filled. The aspirants promoted through the ranks may lack the requisite leadership abilities to fill up the void left. The leadership skills are also on some sort of evolution, and thus the new generation leadership needs to adapt faster to changing trends. Essential leadership skills required for the police leadership positions in the 21st century include critical thinking, analytical expertise, conflict resolution skills, useful communication abilities, awareness of budgetary allocation procedures, and understanding of the public law and safety many more. Having such capabilities sets one at an advantageous position when the leadership positions and opportunities present themselves.

The above are the trends in law enforcement as the years go by. It is imperative that police officers and other players in the law enforcement field familiarized themselves with the above directions to be able to cope with the 21st-century world. Failure by any stakeholder to adapt t change will lead to a crash in the system and a consequent drop in security levels characterized by lawlessness from the communities. In combatting the severe crimes of the 21st century, the modern law enforcer needs to ensure that they are responsive to change and that they can use whatever the world deals them and still deliver their mandate. Their sole responsibility is to ensure that there is security at all times and that any criminal activities are corrected with the right measures, as stated by the law.

From the above paragraphs, law enforcement continues to change from the old style in the 20th century to the 21st century. The changing trends include a focus on community-oriented policing, increased use of technology in law enforcement, expanding opportunities for women in the police forces, the continuously dynamic increase in threats from cybercrimes, and the need for the current leaders to mentor their juniors. Police officers must familiarize themselves with the trends to make sure they deliver the best in the job.

References

Carter, J. G., & Carter, D. L. (2012). Law enforcement intelligence: implications for self-radicalized terrorism. Police practice and research, 13(2), 138-154.

Fritsvold, E.D (2016). 2. Criminological Foundations. Incarcerated Interactions: A Theory-Driven Analysis of Applied Prison Communication, 3.