Policy issues affecting the police Essay

Just like every other de partment in the g everyplacenment, the patrol force is largely influenced by the policy issues that the authorities adopts. Be it new virtues or strategies, they have to plant their operations so as to fit what the policies dictate. The duty of the police is to fight law and order and in doing this they have to incorporate policies set by the government. As it will be shown in this paper, these policy issues may usurp the activities of the police force much(prenominal) that they may have to completely salmagundi their modes of operations to fit the governments requirements.M whatsoever policies concerning police subscribe to, merciful rights and police duties be have been put ship in umteen forums and conferences addressing internal security. Analysis Unlike in the past where the police had an inviolable power, a police officer nowadays may find himself or herself being sued for violation of human rights such as police man peckling or assault (Freund, 2006 Meadows, 2000). There are several policies that have been put forward following(a) revision of several laws which affect the police directly. Policy issues on human rights requiring specific procedures of arrest and handling of suspects have been made.The fourth amendment has hold in police power especially with the private law that cherishs citizens from un phized searches and seizures. This heart and soul that before a police officer can search or seize private beseemingty, in that respect must be a warrant which is given when the need to search premises is of great importance to protect security. Individual liberty and human rights protects citizens from false handle. The fourth amendment totals as a civil li index to the police officers which limits their activities since they have to pay attention to exclude breaking the law (Freund, 2006).This has affected the police in that it has limited their ability to obtain as much information as possible concerning a crime. Some officers have also found themselves in court over what can be referred to as assault during arrest. Perhaps one of the more or less current policy issues that has affected the police is the governments anti-terrorism policy. A strong policy especially after the 9-11 ardours on the U. S brought issue the importance of the need to heighten security to prevent such attacks from casualty in future.The government aims at slip awaying the possibility of both terrorist attack which must involve the police (Pleck, 2004). The involvement of the police force in the war against terrorism has led to the need for more training on the police officers on incident management and terrorism intelligence. As the government noted, the police force was not well equipped to call such severe incidents therefore the need for training on incident management. Again, there the need to develop intelligence skills to counter any form of threats calls for proper training of the police.In o rder to ensure that the needs of this policy are met, the government has introduced special training schedules for the police which they have to attend to keep updating them on better skills and intelligence on avoiding terrorism attacks as well as how on how to deal with terrorism incidents if by any chance they occur (Pleck, 2004). confederacy policing is a policy issue that has produce up as a result of the need for the union to seduce part in their own security through reporting any suspicious act to the police.This is because the community is at the best position to chance on those that live among them (Palmiotto, 2000). The government requires that the police officers work hand in hand with the community so as to curb crime activities in the society. The force play of this on the police is that there has been need for training to help them be able to deal with the community and aid in identifying between potentiality danger and normal happenings (Palmiotto, 2000).The po lice have also been given the exceptional duty of training and educating members of the public on how to identify potential threats at heart the community and how they can deal with them in conjunction with the police. The community policing for the most part focuses on vulnerable groups such as children and women who are likely to be victims of violence. Policy issues concerning rape have been put forward which has necessitated for trained specialists to handle rape calls as well as interaction between the police and medical practitioners to help in solving such cases (Palmiotto, 2000).The government advocates for forwarding in technology for sustainable developments. As a matter of national security, there has been the rising need for the police to upgrade their technology so as to meet the ever increasing crime rates. Technology has been utilise by criminals to steal from numerous citizens and this has raised an issue of concern. Cyber crimes, phishing and identity thievery have been on the rise. The problem with these kinds of crimes is that catching the perpetrators can be quite an hard due to the advancement in technology that is used to conduct the crimes.Keeping up with these developments poses a challenge to the police who have to come up with more advanced methods to locate cyber thieves, hackers and identity thieves. More frequently than not, the police are subject to the laws of pursuance and provision for nicety. Policies on the procedures of prosecution highly affect the police. For example, the police are bound by law to only file a prosecution when there is substantial manifest for the occurrence of the crime. Different policies exist for different kind of prosecutions.The juvenile justice for example has undergone many changes and new policies have come up following proceedings from various cases. Juveniles have a wide range of rights and detention of a juvenile can only be under sound suspicions of delinquency. Proof that is beyond reasonable doubt must also be established to ensure that the juvenile offender poses a threat to the community (Rick, 2003). Policies on juveniles also require that they be put under prophylactic device detention according to the standards set by the law (Rick, 2003).This differentiates juvenile offenders from adult ones. The police therefore should pay attention to such details so as to be on the safe side of the law. It is also part of their duties to act according to the laws. Conclusion It is evident that the polices activities are highly influenced by policy issues. The government which also determines the rules of a body politic constantly comes up with policies for national development. These policies may alter a surgical incisions activities or increase its responsibilities depending on how the policy issue is to be tackled.It must also be noted that apart from government policies, from each one police department has its own policies which guide the officers (Miller, 19 97). These include the enroll of ethical motive that must be followed by the respective officers. Rules on duties rosters, dress code and punishment for police misconduct within the department are rigorously followed. Breaking of these laws may result in serious circumstances and hence the police officers must follow them to the letter. Word Count 1179 References Freund, E. (2006). The Police Power, universal Policy and Constitutional Rights.New York Callaghan & Company. Meadows, R. J. (2000). A Study of Police muck up and Litigation Findings and Implications. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice. 41(2), 77-92. Miller, S. et al. (1997). Police ethics. London Allen & Unwin, 1997. Palmiotto, M. (2000). Community policing a policing strategy for the 21st century. New York Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Pleck, E. (2004). Police in the fight against terrorism. American Journal of Police, 25(1), 38- 45. Rick, A. (2003). Juvenile Justice. New York Odhams Press.