Possible Gang Activity in Idabel, Oklahoma With the population of Idabel on the rise, so has the beginning stages of gang related activity. From a police officer’s point of view, one must put into play the use of the three distinct policing styles. By looking at the styles of watchman, legalistic, and service styles, one can better assess the situation at hand.
Watchman
The watchman style of policing is defined as “where police intervene informally into the lives of residents to keep the peace” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 171). This type of style brings the police officer into the community and “may include persuasion, threats, or even “roughing up” disruptive people” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 172). Although this form of policing is barbaric, it was known to occur during the …show more content…
Legalistic The legalistic style of policing is known as “enforcing the precise letter of the law. (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 173). This style of policing means that any offense can and will be punished. This includes tickets for going 1 mile over the speed limit, to punishing a child for stealing candy. Although the offenses are seemingly harmless, the police officer upholds every detail of every law. The legalistic style could be used for gang activity in Idabel, Oklahoma. From vandalism to petty crimes a suspected gang member commits, the legalistic style could be used to “fire a warning shot” to gang members and make it known to them that they are being watched, and carefully.
Service
Service style policing allows police officers to “help rather than strict enforcement” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 173). With service style policing, police officers offer assistance to the community rather than writing tickets to the offenses committed. This includes finding rehabilitation centers for drug/alcohol addicts, finding shelters for the displaced on the streets, and other types of community
Watchman
The watchman style of policing is defined as “where police intervene informally into the lives of residents to keep the peace” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 171). This type of style brings the police officer into the community and “may include persuasion, threats, or even “roughing up” disruptive people” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 172). Although this form of policing is barbaric, it was known to occur during the …show more content…
Legalistic The legalistic style of policing is known as “enforcing the precise letter of the law. (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 173). This style of policing means that any offense can and will be punished. This includes tickets for going 1 mile over the speed limit, to punishing a child for stealing candy. Although the offenses are seemingly harmless, the police officer upholds every detail of every law. The legalistic style could be used for gang activity in Idabel, Oklahoma. From vandalism to petty crimes a suspected gang member commits, the legalistic style could be used to “fire a warning shot” to gang members and make it known to them that they are being watched, and carefully.
Service
Service style policing allows police officers to “help rather than strict enforcement” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 173). With service style policing, police officers offer assistance to the community rather than writing tickets to the offenses committed. This includes finding rehabilitation centers for drug/alcohol addicts, finding shelters for the displaced on the streets, and other types of community