Communication In Law Enforcement

The Police force in America has had to adapt year over year, and stay up to par with the most recent of generations. They must constantly update their equipment and gear and also their policies and regulations. In addition, they must continually adjust to current ways of thinking and what is currently being ruled to be accepted. Police Departments across the nation have the tough duty of protecting the citizens and also keeping a good reputation in the public eye. There are many factors and decisions that happen behind the scenes in management and supervisory teams. Many controversial judgment calls need to be made, while also keeping the public interest in mind. Numerous issues arise within the ranks and within the organization in areas such …show more content…
Two of the most crucial areas in the law enforcement department are communication between officers and other law enforcement agencies and also the effectiveness of community policing. These are two essential practices that make a department successful at their role in the community. Communication has been a lasting issue in law enforcement agencies and really was not put on a pedestal to find a resolution until after the September 11th terrorist attacks. There had been a huge issue of being able to communicate between agencies, wether it be local, state, or federal. There were no set guidelines or even hotlines that agencies could get in contact with each other. Included in this was agencies not having access or a way to receive share information regarding criminals, terrorist, probable attacks or set procedures to follow. …show more content…
The idea behind it is for police officers to help transform their community into a city absent of crime. The main focus is for the public eye to see the law enforcement presence throughout the city and also to build relations with local businesses and citizens. This creates great moral and generates a sense of trust between the officers and the locals. Community policing is defined as having three key components: developing community partnerships, engaging in problem solving, and implementing community policing organizational features. (Discover Policing) This allows the officers to be proactive in their partnerships and problem solving situations. Departments often have charity events for the community while off duty, which creates a positive influence and environment. It shows that the police force care about the community outside of their everyday patrolling. It is also an effective community policing technique when officers are seen patrolling on foot when there are big community events (ie: concerts, festivals, parades, etc) because this, again, shows that they do care and are still apart of the community as is everyone else. Even when the officers can be seen riding around in their vehicles, on horseback, or on bicycles, it shows that they are enforcing the law, showing their presence, and showing that they are watching. This again provides the essence of safeness throughout the community.