Discourse Community In Law Enforcement Essay

Improved Essays
The law enforcement profession is essential to our society and without it...things would mostly likely be chaotic. The main goal in law enforcement is to protect property, life, and to sustain our nation’s constitution. There are multiple agencies in law enforcement, for example; Federal Police, Military Police, Police department, Private police, Secret Police, and State Police. We depend on this professional field to make us feel safe and to lessen the actions of violence in our society. To enforce justice upon those who opposes it and commits actions that are not humane.The field of law enforcement is very massive and meets all six characteristics of John Swales concept of a discourse community but I’m not aiming to discuss the general community of law enforcement but one group in particular who are connected to it. As a freshman at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tennessee, I found interest in our University’s Police Services here on campus. The research I’ve obtained have meet all the characteristics of a discourse community. In this ethnographic study I hope to highlight the multiple literacies the UofM Police Services has to utilize in their discourse community.
UofM Police Service Goal-Focus
Our Police
…show more content…
Police code is majority of the time use through radio communication, e-mail, reports/memos and face to face; Examples are: 11-25 Traffic Hazard, 240 Assault, 415 Disturbance, 586 Illegal Parking, Code Purple- Gang Activity etc. There are multiple codes memorized and are used on a daily basis in this profession. Captain Langellier said that generally they use Plain Speak, which is acronyms and phrases that are not formal but are their quickest way to transfer information to one another. They tend to abbreviate majority of their words while on the field, for example: perp- for perpetrator or wit- for

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Introduction My last semester at Middle Georgia State University as an undergraduate student was filled with a wonderful opportunity to intern with the Bibb County Sheriff Department. My internship experienced was supervised under the leadership of Cindy Gresham, the executive assistant of the agency. Historically, social control in Bibb County was maintained by two separate entities, the Bibb County Sheriff Department and the former Macon Police Department. There were multiple attempts to consolidate the two agencies in efforts to decrease the amount of tax payer dollars allocated to public service and to increase the effectiveness and efficiently of their service performance.…

    • 1146 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Jerome H. Skolnick’s piece, “Justice Without Trial: Law Enforcement in Democratic Society”, published the 4th edition in 2011, A praise and principle investigation of police cultivation and operation, political responsibility, utilization of and dutifulness to the administer of law in stops and captures, and the quandary of law versus arrange in free social orders. He discusses the book is in light of a long observational investigation of conditions in the police bureaus of two states which are assigned to be California and New Jersey. Although it's mostly legally focused specifically to the state of California, its ideas and conclusions apply all around to America's police…

    • 106 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    ROLE OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONAL Criminal justice professional field is wide with differing responsibilities and roles allocated by position and the level of an officer in the criminal justice department. These criminal justice professionals assume/play a key part in guaranteeing law and order to the citizens. This paper outlines the key individual and societal needs that necessitate the roles and responsibilities of a criminal justice professional and their role in serving these needs. Societal Needs…

    • 840 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Introduction Secrecy is a common factor in the government, they will always hide something from society. It could be to protect us or just to avoid something even bigger. A police officer role is to “serve and protect the community” by enforcing the law in a safe way to those that break it. Every citizen have the right to be treated fairly in this country. Police officers are supposed to help the community follow the law, by making sure that everything is in order and no one is acting illegal.…

    • 1196 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In America today, there are some very different views on the police and how effective they are in protecting and serving. Many citizens believe police officers do their best to protect and serve the public. Though, some segments of the population see law enforcement in a negative light. The major differences in how people view law enforcement have traditionally been most clearly seen along demographic lines. One statistic showed, “68% of Whites and only 18% of Blacks expressed confidence in law enforcement,” (Casandra & Ray, 2013).…

    • 1501 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Police Brutality Issue

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages

    It is no secret to America that police brutality has been a rising issue in the current news. Police brutality really “came to light” when Michael Brown, 18, was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Many issues following Ferguson have raised questions about the morals and ethics of police departments all over the nation. It has brought up issues of brutality, race, and profiling. Close to home, the Los Angeles Police Department has been under fire for issues closely related to the ones listed above.…

    • 967 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Policing In America

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Policing in America today has grown to become a one-of-a-kind economic, social and political force. In order to recognize how policing in the United States of America relates to the existing relationship between the police and the distinct social classes and ethnic groups, one needs to understand how the history of policing has developed in order to emerge as what it is currently. This paper will discuss the background history of the United States of America police as it relates to the current relationship between police and different ethnic groups and social class. This will help to have a better perception of how the different social classes and ethnic groups relates with the police.…

    • 961 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in social work, with the hope of obtaining a master’s degree in the same, I will move through multiple threshold concepts within my discourse community. I will analyze the ways in which social work is a discourse community and the influence my degree program at Washburn University will have on my future in social work. A threshold concept is an area in which one learns what they need to do in order to be part of a discourse community (Wardle and Downs, 2014, pp. 1-11). A discourse community is a community that shares common goals, beliefs, lexis, and genres (Swales, 1990, pp.…

    • 1949 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Police Legitimacy

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the United States, police legitimacy has grown to become one of the most prevalent issues in the national dialogue. With the recent occurrences in the country, research has continuously indicated that minorities are increasingly questioning the legitimacy of the powers of the police against citizens. Indeed, police legitimacy stems from the constitution. In the creation of a Leviathan, the people, through the constitution gave up their individual powers to the government to administer their legitimacy for them. It is from this grand norm that the government deemed it proper to exercise its mandate for the protection of its people against the threat posed by the dangerous elements in the country.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Law enforcement and other professions dealing with large, diverse groups of citizens face scrutiny as part of the job requirement. This not only exposes them to delicate situations or other cultures but, to the social activism sprung from the under lying problems of the communities. Poverty stricken communities are forced with stereotypes of violence and looting promoting the idea that this is the way of the entire community. (Text 4) This leads to an underlying problem of misunderstanding contributing to other problems, such as law enforcement brutality.…

    • 1042 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Becoming Officer

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This paper will be an introduction into the behind the scenes of what people thinking of becoming officers should know, the way they speak, the way they crack cases, etc. Most of the nation receives their information on law enforcement from television. That’s why I knew the Maranda rights by heart before I was even 12. Law and Order, Criminal Minds, NCIS, and shows similar to this are why some enter into the law enforcement field they want to be like the famous profilers that solve cases in one hour plus commercials. Yes, I was one of the people that first want to become an officer because of television, nevertheless that is how society learns.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Annotated Bibliography Walker, Samuel. “Police Accountability and the Central Problem in American Criminal Justice.” Holding Police Accountable. Ed. Candace McCoy.…

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Police Subculture Essay

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The accepted definition of police subculture is described as a particular set of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors displayed by those who work in the field of law enforcement. Such values are typically shaped by the experiences that police officers underwent along with many other factors, such as the partners that they worked with, their leaders, and the criminals that they faced. Although, since most of the time that law enforcement officers spend is involved in trying to control crime, it has made the police become wary of the public and has caused them to develop an “us versus them” mindset (Herbert). There is also the “blue curtain” or the “blue wall of silence,” which is something of a code of silence among the police and it only serves…

    • 1375 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Law enforcement has always been the first line of defense when it comes to protecting the public. Public policing must provide public services to the people on a large scale. Furthermore, Police officers are highly trained and skilled when it comes to…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Crime Control Strategies

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages

    When it comes to law enforcement there are two types of strategies used to make police officers more efficient and effective in their line of work. Throughout this paper, we will discuss the two different types of strategies- community relations and crime control strategies. In order to understand the strategies available to police officers, it’s important that we look at all the responsibilities and tasks officers have to face. Most people don’t really think about the type of situations a police officer faces on a daily basis. It can be something as simple as a traffic stop to a high-speed chase or even a shootout.…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics