Law Enforcement: Linking Investigations to Punishments - Essay Sample

Introduction

Law enforcement is one of the major components of the United States criminal justice system, together with the correctional system and the judiciary. According to Bohm and Haley (2017), even though each of these departments operates independently, the three components form a chain leading from investigations to the administrations of punishments. The law enforcement component generally operates through government police agencies. Bohm and Haley (2017) also suggest that there are more than 17,000 United States police agencies which include highway patrol, County Sheriffs, city police departments and the Federal Law Enforcement Agencies (Bohm & Haley, 2017). The main functions of these agencies are to conduct investigations on criminal activity, temporary detention of suspected criminals, and referring the results of the investigations to the courts pending judicial action. To different agencies and varying degrees of government, law enforcement agencies also have the responsibility to deterring criminal activity, service and enforcement of warrants and court orders and preventing the imminent commission of crimes in progress. Other roles include the operation of some detention facilities, protection of public officials, maintenance of public order, protection of state infrastructure and providing first response to emergencies.

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Law enforcement agencies and the public hold partly different views about the significant aspects of policing and some of the major problems facing the country. For instance, most law enforcers feel that there is a need for more law enforcers in the bid to sufficiently patrol our communities while the majority of the public think the opposite (Carter, 2004). Some of the traditional approaches like the use of assault-style weapon has received a backlash in the country as most people support the campaign to ban these weapons. There have also been constant accusations of racial discriminations by law enforcers, especially in regards to the death of blacks during encounters with the police. Most researches posit that there is a huge racial disparity on how law enforcers use their force. For instance, according to an analysis of the 2015 police killings, the variations are even more prevalent among unarmed suspects. Apparently, some of these disparities are generally explained by social-economic factors such as segregation, unemployment, and poverty. Consequently, law enforcers tend to patrol more on black neighborhoods, thus, increasing the probability of taking policing actions on the people.

In pursuit of changing the traditional negative perspective of the public about the law enforcement agency, the department needs to come up with strategies that would improve public relations and trust. To begin with, one of the main strategies for improving public relations would be creating community immersion. This entails immersing law enforcers into the community through forming partnerships with community leaders who can help in building relationships where tension might be intensifying. These strategies can also involve getting officers out of the car in the bid to create a personable cohesion with the community members. Involvement in neighborhood projects and community programs can also improve law enforcers and the locals' relationship to create a conversation that enhances unity (Buehler, 2017). Additionally, in an attempt to reduce disparities in the administration of justice, law enforcement should become more mindful of cultural sensitivity and backgrounds differences. It is evident that people are always culturally encapsulated with no bias intentions, rather than being ingrained in their norms as people come from different upbringings. With such a diversified population in the United States, it is highly probable that there would always be frictions among people.

Lastly, the government should increase its oversight on law enforcement conduct. Even though the day to day activities of operations of law enforcers are generally done on the local level, the federal department has a significant part to play through its provision of federal funding for the department to buy equipment, hire and train officers. The state also becomes involved when a complaint is made to the Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights regarding law enforcer's conduct. In such cases, there is a need to conduct intensive investigations and upon finding the violation of rights, commences the litigation against the offender. However, over the years, the government has had little involvement in such activities with many people complaining of the deteriorating police conduct. The government should, therefore, take a more proactive approach in setting the expectations for law enforcer's behavior. According to Smith, Rojek, Petrocelli, and Withrow (2017), the government should employ the success-oriented funding approach, which entails that federal funding should be done in accordance with the achievement of goals (Smith, Rojek, Petrocelli, & Withrow, 2017). The federal government has an obligation to ensure that law enforcers are not violating people's civil rights they are charged to protect. This means that they should take a more active role in ensuring that law enforcers are properly trained and supervised.

References

Bohm, R. M., & Haley, K. N. (2017). Introduction to criminal justice. McGraw-Hill Education.

Buehler, J. W. (2017). Racial/ethnic disparities in the use of lethal force by US police, 2010-2014. American journal of public health, 107(2), 295-297.

Carter, D. L. (2004). Law enforcement intelligence: A guide for state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies (pp. 136-37). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services.

Smith, M. R., Rojek, J. J., Petrocelli, M., & Withrow, B. (2017). Measuring disparities in police activities: A state of the art review. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management.