Pros and cons of requiring police officers to wear body cameras

Ideally, studies confirm that post the introduction of the body cameras, there has been a significant reduction in incidences where the police have used force on civilians; as well as an overall drop in the number of complaints filed against sworn officers. Essentially, the advantages associated with the incorporation of this technology in the police force includes the strengthening and improvement of police accountability and transparency, improvement of officer professionalism, as they know that they are being monitored. Further, complaints filed against officers can better be resolved by retrieving evidence from the camera records. The cameras have the effect of improving evidence collection and documentation as well. The records collected can also be used in officer training and retraining. Up to some point, the deeds are acceptable, given the nature of the job and the end goal being for the better of the society.

The tactics that are employed are legal and are potentially not harmful to any individual that is involved in the investigation. To this, it is acceptable up to some degree. Why is it difficult to measure police performance? Are declining crime rates indicative of effective policing? Why or why not? While the measurement of police performance is essential for corrective policies and improvements; it is generally difficult to measure police performance. This is attributed to a number of factors. In a majority of the cases the police have been used by the media as “infotainment”; where the focus is placed on random and often bizarre crimes-that are then blamed on the ability of the police to manage such crimes. The reporting is often negative in nature, and one can accurately conclude that the painted image is not as accurate.

Media has the tendency of placing emphasis on bad police behavior and seldom report heroic conducts by the very police depicted in the negative reporting. Social media and the entertainment industry, often present distorted and mostly untrue image about the police that has the effect of overly changing the public perception of the way the police are viewed by the public. How are citizens able to hold the police accountable for their actions? Citizens can essentially hold the police accountable via their power to vote and elect leaders. The organizational structures of the police resembled the military more and more with the chain of command. The uniforms, too, were fashioned to resemble the military, with the order system being made more streamlined.

Essentially, the roles of the police were redefined from just crime control to guarding against external threats as well; which had been a reserve of the military and the federal government. Why it is important to study the history of policing in America? Studying the history of policing in America essentially helps in the comprehension and appreciation of the changes that have occurred in policing over time; since the institution of policing was set up. Essentially, some aspects of policing have changed great deal, while others have hardly change. With the technologies, the work is made easier and both the civilians and the officers are able to feel confident as they go about their tasks. While a number of these technologies are already in application, the law enforcement agencies would be improved if they adapted edge computing technologies with dedicated servers.

This would improve data processing and speed up justice delivery. Further, information about different departments can be integrated to be accessed from a single device. This would incorporate the various sensors and devices used in policing. Ideally, the alliance and loyalty of these officers is often owed to their fellow officers; while those in managerial positions are often interested in the achievement of the agency goals and objectives. This creates a rift. Further, while “street cops” seek to maximize their autonomy, those in managerial positions seek to limit it. There are many differences between the two sides, given that field officers seek to do their work to completion, while those in managerial posts are generally concerned with how the work is presented.

This creates a somewhat mutual dependence between the two; as street officers can make work difficult for those in managerial positions, and those in managerial positions can as well make work difficult for those in the field. These are mostly natural resources, public resources and state and government property. Please explain the major differences between large and small law enforcement agencies. There are generally visible differences between a large a small law enforcement agency. First off, there is a difference in the number of staff in the two variants of agencies. Larger agencies like the Watertown Police Department in Massachusetts have more staff and sworn officers than the smaller agencies. While there have been a number of changes and improvements, a majority of the structures and operations are handled in a manner akin to a bureaucracy.

Discuss the challenges of managing police organizations. Police departments and organizations operate differently and are thus structured differently. A majority exist as bureaucracies; and are consequently faced by a number of challenges. Management problems associated with police departments include the management of discretion. These involve helping out people in emergency situations and solving many non-crime emergencies and situations. A vast majority of the people who call on the police ideally do so for many other emergencies that are necessarily not related to crime. Patrols also make up a significant amount of the time spend on activities by the police. Ideally, the police spend more time helping out in the neighborhoods of their jurisdiction than on crime matters. The police essentially handle a variety of calls; and when analyzed, these are mostly non-crime related calls.

Legalistic policing style puts the enforcement of the law as the top priority while watchman style of policing places top emphasis on the maintenance of order and elimination of disorders. Service-oriented policing style on the other hand place citizen satisfaction as the top agenda on their list. To this, it is thus notable that legalistic style police departments will make more arrests and issue a lot more citations; while the service-oriented departments will ideally seek to serve the community and the citizens-and the arrests will only be made when it is necessary to do so. Each of the styles will have varied effects, different pros and cons; but essentially are all geared towards the maintenance of law and order and primarily to prevent as well as solve crimes.

The existing link among the varied approaches is in the prevention and solving of crimes. Ideally, it is worthwhile to consider the idea that deterrence takes into account many factors. The consequences of the curbed behavior may not necessarily be implicating on a personal basis to all individuals; and the reason why a person chooses a certain behavior over another cannot be determined openly. Further, some people would not commit crime even when there are deterrent features, other will still commit crime even with the features in place and others will only stay clear of the crime in the event of the deterrent being in place. It becomes difficult to identify the three types of individuals in a set of individuals, leave alone the society.