...The role of police in our society today has not really changed all that much from many years ago. Our officers of today are still responsible for enforcing the laws, apprehending law breakers, preventing crimes, preserving the peace among citizens and providing any other needed services to the community (Schmalleger, F. 2011). The actual role that a police officer plays will depend on the situation that they are placed in at the time. If the role of the police were lessened as it applies to the theory and practice of community policing there would be a major setback in the relationships between police and community. When our police are involved in the various communities it actually creates a healthy relationship between the officers and those that are in the community. Having officers actively involved in the community allows us to see a different side of the police and we get to know them better instead of them just being law enforcers. Probable cause affects the police from a legal standpoint because if their judgment of the situation is incorrect they could arrest an innocent person. Probable cause has to be dealt with very carefully because all the bases have to be covered before any accusations are made of someone’s guilt or innocence. To insure that a person is not being accused unfairly or unjustly there has to be checks and balances in place so that all areas of detection have been followed. When these steps are followed there will be less of a chance of the police...
Words: 291 - Pages: 2
...Police Roles and Functions CJS/210 2-26-12 Police Roles and Functions Police officers have many roles and functions. Society sees police officers as problem solvers of last resort. Police officers themselves see themselves as keepers of the law and protectors of the community. Whatever role or function of police officer, police officers ensure the safety of America’s communities. The main objective of police officers is to ensure preservation of peace and public safety through the enforcement of local, state, and Federal laws, and by providing support and assistance during emergency or crisis situations (Duluthmn). The police officer has three major functions that it does: social service, order maintenance, and crime control. Social service is the area where the police help people who need emergency assistance, whether it is giving first aid or finding lost children. Typically, over 50 percent of the telephone calls to the police requesting assistance involve social service as compared with less than 20 percent relating to crime. The police presence in society is also intended to preserve order by serving as a deterrent to misconduct and by providing a quick-response mechanism for potential or low-level problems (Katz, 2011). Order maintenance is the activities which involve: traffic control, crowd control, resolving domestic disputes, and moving prostitutes from the streets. The focus of order maintenance is on handling situations to preserve the peace rather than...
Words: 1074 - Pages: 5
...Q3. The main role of the police has always been one of maintaining public order. Discuss. While the main roles and functions of police have evolved and developed over time the major responsibility of maintaining public order has remained the primary role. There are many varied roles and positions within the police however it seems there is a shared focus on maintaining public order. This is evident through all of the eras of policing and portrayed through a number of incidents, events and periods of time. A small sample of these will be used throughout this essay to depict the main role of police at different stages. Public order regulation is defined as the policing of behaviour in public places, maintaining public order and can also be done through crime control and prevention (White & Perrone 2010: 225). Maintaining public order through various methods of crime control, crime prevention, order maintenance and regulation is evident in the functions of every era of policing (Broadhurst & Davies 2009: 47). Police are often required to conduct public order surveillance, intervention and monitoring at major public events for example sporting events, parades such as Mardi Gras, strikes, funerals or marches (White & Perrone 2010: 289). Upholding public order can also extend to policing domestic violence and other disputes (White & Perrone 2010: 289). The above outlines of the functions through all of the eras of policing reinstate that maintaining public order is...
Words: 1119 - Pages: 5
...The role of police in society is to maintain order and enforce justice amongst the community. Their duty is to bring those who are criminally charged with a crime to the courts in the state to be punished properly for their actions. The role of the police is to protect the community at all costs. Millions of things would happen if the role changed or was lessened for them from different needs within the structure of the facilities and squads needs and to the community that it lessened for. These changes are in things such as organizational structure, changes in management, strategic planning, and changes in programs and certain crime analysis systems. Probable cause can affect a police officers job in the most extreme ways. Probable cause is a certain type of evidence that can be contributed for reasonable suspicion of a suspect or criminal. When the probable cause is not as strong on the fact of evidence against that person, it can make the job of an officer harder as they try to arrest the criminal. When the probable cause is in the stronger side of reason or evidence, the officer’s job becomes much easier to explain and an easier decision for them to make as an officer also has to make sure to abide by our rights and laws. I believe we can help the officers facing these issues by supporting and contributing to their needs as a force that is against the majority of our crime in our communities. Keeping watch and setting priority to the needs we have for an officer. Respecting...
Words: 290 - Pages: 2
...Police Roles and Functions Adrian Royals CJS/210 05-31-2015 Jacqueline Smith-Haines Police Roles and Functions There are various functions and roles of a police agency. The police are responsible for maintaining public order and the prevention of crimes along with the detection of them within the jurisdiction that they are responsible for keeping order. The policing agencies are also charged with protecting life, liberty, and property of the people. On a daily basis, the crimes increase and so does the complexity of the crimes that are committed, and the complexity of the investigations that go along with solving the crimes. Without the police, the society would live in a state of chaos where people would live in a state of solitude, afraid to go out due to the crimes around them. The police agencies play an important role in the direction of justice. Some of the ways that the police agencies execute these functions is to execute all orders and warrants lawfully issued to the officer by authority. They also collect intelligence and communicate the intelligence that affects the public peace. They are also responsible for the prevention of the acts of crime or public annoyance and apprehend offenders and bringing them to justice. This is just to name a few of the functions of the policing agencies. There are mainly three different types of policing agencies. They are federal policing agencies, state policing agencies, and local policing agencies. Each type of police agency...
Words: 1068 - Pages: 5
...Police Roles and Functions Paper There are many different policing agencies that help keep the United States protect against criminal activity and the uses of there crime, but in this paper we will be going over the one that are the most important to the free standing of the United State of America What are the effective roles behind the pole agencies are to try and deter crime patrol for crime happening and also to arrest criminals that are committing the crime basically fight the war on crime is the effective over look. This is said when coming to police officers thy have the everyday job of fighting crime and making sure that they can get as many criminals off the street as possible by one being on constant patrol for criminals meaning that they will have the job of going out every day and looking for possible crime to stop and they will be able at the same time to deter criminals from wanting to commit the crimes, and they can also go to places where calls are being made from meaning that they also promise to be reactive police and when someone calls in the closest police officer will report to where ever that might be in order to resolve the issues at hand and will not leave until a possible outcome has been made and that will come with either being able to resolve the issues or making an arrest for whatever issues was caused. This is not all the same for when it comes to the federal and state policing agencies they have to ha the means to get everything done if needed along...
Words: 1063 - Pages: 5
...Police Roles and Functions Police agencies perform similar duties and responsibilities such as maintain law and order, investigate crimes and provide assistance to the community. There are various functions that each level of policing agencies handle and are broken into local, state and federal levels. In this paper I will discuss the various functions of a police agency, compare the functions on a local, state and federal level, explain what would happen if various functions and policing were limited in a community. Law enforcement is one of the three major components of the criminal justice system. Communities are dependent on the law enforcement agencies to prevent crime and assist people when they are in need. The local policing includes city, town and county. They protect citizens and maintain law and order within their assigned jurisdiction. Local police are responsible for maintaining order, enforcing criminal and traffic laws and investigating crimes. According to Walker & Katz municipal police are the most important component of American law enforcement. (Walker & Katz, 2011). Local police work closer with the community and provide a more direct service to the community they are assigned to. The municipal police play a more complex role than any other level of law enforcement due to them being on the frontline on a daily basis. “Cities and big cities in particular represent the most complex environments, particularly (Walker & Katz, 2011)”. The city police have...
Words: 729 - Pages: 3
...Police Roles and Functions The various functions of a police agency is to enforce the law, prevent crime from happening, investigate crimes and apprehend criminals, maintaining order, and providing other emergency services (Samuel Walker, 2010). Police agencies also control the behavior and conduct of individuals who may appear to be a threat to someone’s life or property, they help those who may be in need of assistance or may be in danger dealing with physical harm, through this it will help them gain a feeling of safety and security within the community (Samuel Walker, 2010). The police functions differ at the federal, state, and local levels in many ways, according to the CJI (interactive) the local police agencies are the first line of defense against crime, they functions include traffic duty, patrol, providing public assistance, and responding to certain calls for service (CJI, Interactive). Most of the officers spend more responding to calls and patrolling, local police agencies enforce the law of that specific city or town but are limited by certain jurisdictions (CJI, Interactive). State police functions include calling for service, traffic enforcement, criminal investigations, and controlling crime on the highway (CJI, Interactive), they have a state wide jurisdiction, state officers mainly deal with investigation, training duties and court related duties (CJI, Interactive). Federal police functions are investigations, security and protection, corrections related...
Words: 1044 - Pages: 5
...There are many various functions of police agencies. Patron, traffic, juvenile services, intelligence and undercover, and special operations are just some of the various functions of police agencies. There are many differences between the functions of the police agencies and the federal, state, and the local levels. There are reasons of why you need to have various functions and roles of policing in any community. There are a few various functions of police agencies such as patrol, traffic, juvenile services, intelligence and undercover, and special functions. There are many functions of the patrol and consists of protecting the lives of people and their property, repression of criminal and delinquent behavior, identification, apprehension and conviction of offenders, traffic flow, collision reduction, maintenance of order and public safety. Patrol functions are a major part of policing agencies. Traffic functions consist of identifying potential traffic problems and hazards, arresting offenders, investigation property damage and personal injury automobile accidents, regulating parking on the streets and municipal buildings (Grant & Terry, 2008). Traffic functions keep the roads safer and make things flow better for traffic. Juvenile services are there to help juvenile offenders go to counseling and counseling for the juvenile’s families. There are also programs that can help juveniles learn about drugs, alcohol, abuse and gangs. There is a program called (D...
Words: 1174 - Pages: 5
...Police Role and Functions By Odweeds CJS/220 What are the various functions of a police agency? There are many departments within police department, there are various functions that each level of police agencies handles. Department function can be broken down into what certain officers do or what is the best way for the officers to help out with the community. Patrol services serving in the community preventing crime and assisting people in their time of need. Patrol officers handle different calls throughout their day on the job, some calls they will need different officers to handle a situation that may be going on such as gang activity which would be handled by gang task force. Dare officers that go to schools in the community and hold town hall meetings about keeping children off drugs and preventing them from getting involved with the wrong crowd that may be in to the drug scene. Within the department help starts at the front window with clerical service window attendant. Clerical employee handles all walk in clients that come to the police station, and will direct them who they need to speak to or where to go in the department. Clerical handles parking ticket payments requests for police incident reports, keeping track of police data and various other secretary duties. Police officers of the department occasionally...
Words: 1086 - Pages: 5
...Police Department Roles and Function CJA/214 August 21, 2015 Police Department Roles and Functions In today’s day and age in the United States there are numerous functions of police agencies. Traffic, patrol, juvenile services, undercover investigations, and special operations are just a few of the many functions of a police agency. There are three levels of police agencies they are local, state, and federal. Each level has some similarities as well as their differences. All functions and roles of policing in any and all communities are valuable and all serve a purpose. Police agencies have several roles and functions such as traffic, patrol, juvenile services, undercover investigations, and special operations are just a few. Police officers tasked with traffic functions are responsible for ensuring the safe movement of traffic, identifying potential traffic problems, arresting offenders, automobile accidents and injuries, safe movement of pedestrians, investigating damaged property, and regulating parking on and off the streets. Traffic functions help keep the roads safer for the public and assist with the flow of traffic. Patrolling functions and patrol officers are the most visible in the police department and are always providing police services within the community. Patrolling officers are always in the eyes of the public and working day in and day out. Patrolling can be done by vehicle, foot, bicycle, and/or horseback riding. Patrol officers...
Words: 1333 - Pages: 6
...Police Department Roles and Functions Justin Lewis CJA/214 April 23, 2014 Mr. Wheelen Police Department Roles and Functions Police departments are one of the most important parts of the criminal justice system. Our police departments are the frontline of defense for society. If society does not feel protected by the police then they are less likely to trust them. Along that same line, some of the citizens will become vigilantes in their own minds trying to “stop criminals”, making the officer’s jobs more difficult than it already is. In the United States, the duty of the law enforcement is to uphold public safety, first and foremost, by reducing the amount of crime in the environment. To achieve this responsibility worldwide, police officers have to partake in many roles. Several of those roles are conflicting roles, depending on the method of the organization, some accentuated over others. All police departments, no matter the location or size, have goals set up. These goals set forth a sense of purpose and direction. The primary goals of policing are the prevention of crime and protection of life, to uphold and enforce the law, to combat public fear of crime, to promote community safety, to control traffic, to encourage respect for the law, to protect the civil rights and liberties of individuals. These goals are important because they help to mode organization in a police department. The five responsibilities of police officers are to enforce the law as instructed...
Words: 1141 - Pages: 5
...Police Officer Roles as Social Servants Erika Jones Albany State University Abstract This report addresses duties that are carried out by officers in their roles as social servants. Social service has always been a key part of policing. It is important that officers have to maintain a large tie-in into the community, not only the community, but a large variety of social agencies. Other than fighting crime, our law enforcement system, including police officers, make any necessary steps to ensure the safety for everyone. Social services has dependably been a key piece of policing while serving casualties of wrongdoing and guilty parties has been a significant stress of social work. Law implementation and social work have served the same target aggregate yet with shifting achievement. Keywords: social service, social servants, community To most people today, the basic duty of police officers is to “provide for public safety by maintaining order, responding to emergencies, protecting people and property, enforcing motor vehicle and criminal laws, and promoting good community relations” (Police Patrol). What most people do not know is that a police job does not limit those expectations. In a way, a police officer job is never done. As an officer, you are also expected to work as a social servant to your community. Aside from the every day anxieties and bothers of patrol cops, uncommon weights are accomplished by higher-ranking officers who are involved in the investigation...
Words: 560 - Pages: 3
...Including minorities at all ranks in police services is simply a method known as 'window dressing' that is meant to give the public an outward appearance of tackling the issue of racism without actually achieving much progress. "In 2000, an African Caribbean police officer, when asked to make plain his thoughts on the overall impact of the Machperson Report, including its policy initiatives, declared to me: 'it's just better for appearances'." (Insert article citation here) This policy of hiring minority's as a tool to strengthen the relationship between citizen and police is seen as nothing more than a myth that has yet to be proven or effective. It's main objective is "to better reflect the populations they are policing", (insert article...
Words: 385 - Pages: 2
...C1) Which of the following is true with regard to groups? A) A group is characterized by the independence of its members. B) A group typically lacks definite roles and structures. C) A group influences our emotional reactions. D) An informal gathering cannot be considered a group. E) The membership of a group does not affect how its members treat outsiders. E2) Which of the following is true regarding formal groups? A) They are natural formations that arise in response to the need for social contact. B) They lack clearly defined structures and roles for their members. C) They have negligible impact on employee performance and behavior. D) A group of people who come together to protest against a new law make up a formal group. E) They are marked by stipulated behaviors in pursuit of organizational goals. D3) An informal group is characterized by the ________. A) stipulation of expected behaviors by the organization B) predetermined designation of tasks of members C) pursuit of particular organizational goals D) fulfillment of the need for social contact E) creation of timelines and rationale E4) Which of the following differentiates between formal and informal groups? A) The timeline of reference for formal groups is greater than that for informal groups. B) The impact of formal groups on organizational performance is less than that of informal groups. C) Formal groups pursue the goal of social contact, while informal groups have definite organizational...
Words: 1697 - Pages: 7
