Foundations of the Development and Functions of Police, Draft

Foundations of the Development and Functions of Police, Draft
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Political and reform eras of policing
The political era of policing gave rise to the increase in number of cops who were professionally connected. One of the main reasons for this phenomenon is that there was no oversight authority overseeing the activities on the police, and the well-connected people would populate the police, with political elites appointing their and supporters (Dunham & Alpert, 2009). As such, there was rampant crime because the police overlooked enforcing laws that would hurt the political backers, whereby favoritism and discrimination was rife in the rank and file. On the other hand, the reform era policing was a framework that sought to have statistics to inform the police on whether there was improved performance. Since entry into the police force had no minimum requirements political favors were more important to recruiting the police officers, and this combined with ineffective supervision was inadequate to deal with criminal activities.
The reform era differed from the policing ear given the need to prevent crime rather than simply arresting offenders. Political reforms had a positive impact on this resulting in the police force being more centralized and non partisan unlike the political era where political favors were more important than meritocracy (Dunham & Alpert, 2009). The introduction of minimum standards in the reform era mean that there was better oversight in the recruitment process unlike before, where the police could be hired , fired or disciplined depending on their performance. The political ear policing was not well organized with the police officers patrolling on foot, but during the reform era, the police were provided with patrol cars. Another difference is that the police were not only concerned with community problems but fighting crime and enforcing laws in an impartial manner.
Skills and knowledge of police trainees
Police officers need to be knowledgeable on criminal law and when to use force or not as they rely on logical skills to make decisions. The case for firearms and self-defense skills is that it prepares the police officers to deal with real life situations when they may encounter violent individuals. This is because the police officers face situations when they may need to arrest or stop the activities of a violent person while protecting the life of other persons. The police officers also pursue suspects, and they need to make the right decisions while defense driving, pursuit driving and making risk traffic stops.
The police officers need to be physically fit and of sound mind to be able to deal with threatening situations and make sound judgments when faced with different scenarios requiring their input including crime scene processing. Some urban areas have high crime rates, and the police should carefully assess the situations while patrolling such locations. In any case, police officers who are critical thinkers are better placed to handle different situations and perform duties in a manner that enforces the law, while respecting the arrest procedures without disregarding the rights of suspects or using deadly force unn...