Summary: The Civil Rights Movement

In the past, our police structure was formed around concepts of social control used by the English. Over time, our criminal justice system evolved. During the political stage politicians controlled the police and used that power as an instrument to provide social services to gain power, but abused it to their advantage against their adversaries. However, the reform stage introduced commissions to investigate police and government corruption to take the control out of the hands of politicians. Reformers wanted police to take their jobs seriously and provide quality services. This was a time when standards, civil service, promotions and testing of select officers were put in place (Gaines & Kappeler, 2011). In the 1920s reformer sought to …show more content…
The civil rights movement of the 1960s brought forth the need to improve police and community relations due the social and economic oppression. The civil rights movement opened up the change to address citizens’ rights and emphasized the need for community programs. Community relations evolved into community policing in the 80s to address fear, crime and community partnerships. In the early 90s, the Clinton administrations allocated more funds to improved community partnerships and provide the element of problem solving (Gaines & Kappeler, 2011). After the terrorist attacks, surveillance moved away from community relations and impacted the concept of community policing (Gaines & Kappeler, 2011). However, it was realized that intelligence-led policing and communities complement one another in the grand scheme of things because citizens and police working together formed a greater bond in addressing security and problem …show more content…
Factors in coping with stress could take in how much experience an officer has in dealing with difficult situations and identifying stressor pertaining to job duties, shifts, etc., that needs to be modified in some way between the officer and administration. As a result, stress can be reduced by increasing officer cognitive problem solving skills through training to improve deficiencies and counseling for the officer and their families (Gaines & Kappeler, 2011). Officers may deal with isolated feelings and shut out those around them. Signs such as these are a clear sign that the officer needs the help of group counseling or mental healthcare provider. That said, officers have found confiding in peers within the workforce to be helpful in coping with stress, since peers understand the issues related to the job more than family and friends. According to William and Katz, (2011), some officers volunteer their time in peer support groups to be available for fellow officers facing difficult family, work related, and substance abuse