Preface: Last week I (foolishly) accepted a challenge to write a 250 word essay on what the most important part of 21st Century Policing is and why. The incentive for this is two essay authors will be invited to have lunch with Santa Cruz County Sheriff Hart at the Shadowbrook Restaurant.
This is the verbose, Odd Stuffing version. A much slimmer, 248-word extract was submitted by this morning’s 8 am deadline.
The link to the Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing is at the bottom of the page.
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The title implies a couple of things, the adoption of high tech tools and techniques and a new way of policing. Integrating the latest & greatest technology is essential, however I reject the premise that there is a need to once again reinvent policing. The key to effective law enforcement is the community. It always has been and always will.
Police have come a long way from the original officers walking a beat. Talking to people on the street and in their shops was normal. Information was shared, issues averted and crimes solved. Growth and progress made communities larger and more difficult to effectively patrol. Automobiles gave us greater mobility and the ability to cover distance quickly, but separated the officer on the beat from the community. With it, the simple task of building one-on-one relationships with the community was gone.
With the loss of casual contact, the most common interaction with officers is through some kind of enforcement action. Getting out into the public, on the public’s terms instead of at department-sponsored events, allows communication on a more personal level. Only by stepping out of the primary enforcement role and into that of being a member of the community, can that one-on-one trust be established.
Law enforcement agencies should be a reflection of the communities they serve, each one a little unique as its constituents. At the core is the officers themselves. Many agencies prefer to hire younger, less experienced recruits so they can be molded into the proper culture. While this approach helps with a consistent mindset, it ignores the true diversity of knowledge and experience within the community. With limited non-law enforcement life experience, it may also promote an ‘us vs. them’ mindset. Agencies themselves can reinforce this by promoting policies, practices and perks that separate the officers from the communities and only serve to drive a wedge further between them.
The role of officers has also become more complex over the years. Officers are now expected to play the role of social worker, mental health, drug and marriage councilor, medic, educator, facilitator, consultant, guardian and warrior – all potentially within a single shift. The publics mandate for multidisciplined officers demands a far higher level of commitment to officer training and agency support than ever before.
The final report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing outlines six pillars for a modern, model law enforcement agency. These topic areas are: Building Trust and Legitimacy, Policy and Oversight, Technology & Social Media, Community Policing & Crime Reduction, Training & Education and Officer Wellness & Safety.
While a great piece of reference material with the full weight of the President of the United States behind it, it didn’t see any breakthrough ideas in it. The concepts of trust, transparency, technology, community policing, training, and so on have been around for a long time. The two main issues for agencies wanting to implement any of these recommendations are time and money.
Law enforcement is expensive and can range anywhere from 10 to 50% of a community’s budget. Every department is challenged by maintaining their current level of service with less funding, even as the community demands more services from them. Core functions such as patrol/enforcement and investigations are forever short staffed. Pulling personnel for other activities, even vital community relationship programs, which will have a positive impact on crime prevention, can have a ripple effect through the agency. Shifts and functions need to be covered with less people or left open. Grants can provide short-term program relief but not long-term operational support. Short of tax increases for larger budgets, the priority will always be for core enforcement functions.
This leaves agencies with difficult choices to make. To make gains in one area usually means cutting another. However, there is another possibility. When the walls between the agency and communities come down, additional options for cooperation and collaboration with the public and private enterprise emerge. Untapped resources for solving the community’s problems are available, when the agency is part of the community again.
Bob
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http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/pdf/taskforce/taskforce_finalreport.pdf