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The role of a police officer
Recruitment and selection of police officers
Roles of a policeman
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The average United States police officer is presented with great power that could greatly impact very citizens that they serve. The officer is at liberty to use their authority to detain citizens, search their belongings, use physical force against them or deprive them of their normal liberties (Moll, 2006). Based on that fact, it is expected of the individual to conduct themselves in a manner that is worthy of such power. So the question that has plagued citizens and governing officials alike is; how can we determine if an individual will exercise those liberties responsibly? How do we teach individuals to police responsibly? How do we retain those that are proficient officers? In order to produce effective and responsible police officers, special attention must be given to the recruitment, training, and retention of qualified individuals.
The hiring process is the first step in separating the qualified individuals that will comprise of tomorrow’s police force from those who do not meet the standard. An applicant must first pass a series of tests, interviews, and background investigation to even qualify as a potential hire. The process begins with an application and a questionnaire that will communicate the individual’s interest in the field along with determining eligibility. Then the applicant will be asked to take an entrance exam which will gage the applicant’s reading comprehension, problem solving and writing skills for these are the basic skills needed to perform the simplest of police duties (Discoverpolicing.org). Following that will be a background check accompanied with a drug screening that will ensure that the individual does not have any personal or professional issues that will prevent them from active duty. If t...
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...imited to: career counseling, in-service training program and rotation of assignments, educational reimbursements, employee contracts, and offering take home vehicles (Hubbard, nd). As far as poor morale, individuals must feel as they able to give honest and candid feedback to colleagues and superiors without fear of humiliation or reprisal (Heartbeat staff, 2013).
Those we entrust to effectively and responsibly police our community should be exceptional and ethical individuals. Once they pass the checks and balances of the hiring system, they must be given proper and proven training in order to do their jobs successfully. Furthermore, agencies must provide incentives and active involvement in the careers of officers in order to retain such individuals. This will then provide the opportunity to build a stronger community by increasing the faith in those we empower.
The Thompson Valley Police Service is seeking to double the number of police recruits over the next three years. In an attempt to attract more applicants, the newly appointed Police Commissioner, Commissioner Jason DeVillain is proposing two key changes to the current selection process. Firstly, Commissioner DeVillain is proposing to eliminate the requirement for partial or completed tertiary education. Secondly, it is being proposed that psychological testing should be removed from the selection process. As a research and policy officer for the Thompson Valley Police Service, the validity and likely impact of the above two proposed changes will be investigated thoroughly, followed by recommendations to Commissioner DeVillain to ensure the selection process is as effective as possible in selecting the most suitable candidates for the new police recruits. The role of a general duties police officer is broad in nature and requires the officer to be efficient in many areas, ranging from administrative duties to conflict resolution and problem solving. In addition to the recording and logging of all jobs attended while on duty, the officer may be required to prepare documents for court hearings, where written communication skills will also be
Police misconduct is as rampant as ever in America, and it has become a fixture of the news cycle. Police brutality is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. The media is inevitably drawn toward tales of conflict, hence why there are so many crime and police stories on the news. Despite the increasing frequency of misbehaving cops, many Americans still maintain a high respect for the man in uniform. Still, police misconduct is a systemic problem, not just an anecdotal one. Here are some reasons why it is a problem. First, many departments do not provide adequate training in nonviolent solutions. With this, police are unfamiliar with what to
Within our police system in America, there are gaps and loopholes that give leeway to police officials who either abuse the authority given to them or do not represent the ethical standards that they are expected to live up to by society. Because of the nature of police work, there is a potential for deterioration of these ethical and moral standards through deviance, misconduct, corruption, and favoritism. Although these standards are set in place, many police officers are not held accountable for their actions and can easily get by with the mistreatment of others because of their career title. While not every police abuses his or her power, the increasingly large percentage that do present a problem that must be recognized by the public as well as those in charge of police departments throughout our country. Police officials are abusing their power and authority through three types of misconduct known as malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance and these types are being overlooked by management personnel who rarely intervene even though they know what is happening. Misconduct is wrong because it violates rights and causes people to be wrongly accused of crimes or be found not guilty and set free when they are still an endangerment to other people. The public needs to be educated on what is happening in the police system in hopes that someone will speak out to protect citizens from being violated by police officers.
Police misconduct is as rampant as ever in America, and it has become a fixture of the news cycle. Police brutality is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. The media is inevitably drawn toward tales of conflict, hence why there are so many crime and police stories on the news. Despite the increasing frequency of misbehaving cops, many Americans still maintain a high respect for the man in uniform. Still, police misconduct is a systemic problem, not just an anecdotal one. Here are some reasons why it is a problem. First, many departments don’t provide adequate training in nonviolent solutions. With this, police are unfamiliar with what to do in a non-violent situation, often resorting
The use of discretion in the profession of law enforcement has shown to be an inevitable practice. Police officers routinely use their own beliefs and judgments to make critical decisions that include the life and liberty of the citizens in the community they serve in. Although discretion has both negative and positive sides to it, discretion is impossible to be eliminated from law enforcement. The best way to use discretion in a safe manner is to practice using discretion while on and off duty as well. While practicing discretion, officers should keep their own beliefs and prejudice to themselves and out of line of duty. When police officers are on duty, they must have knowledge of what is going on around them and eliminate discriminatory factors and use confidence to make a lawful
This paper will show four different police departments that are currently hiring or recruiting for police officers. There will be a summary on the research found on the process used to recruit police officers. It will also show their current hiring trends and what hiring practices they have that are successful or not successful. The paper will also go over the different methods departments use to train their new officers and their values.
"A policeman’s first obligation is to be responsible to the needs of the community he serves…The problem is that the atmosphere does not yet exist in which an honest police officer can act without fear of ridicule or reprisal from fellow officers. We create an atmosphere in which the honest officer fears the dishonest officer, and not the other way around.", -Frank Serpico.
The first step is to weed out the ones who just are not right to be a officer. The next step is to find the ones who fit the needs of the department. Medical and psychiatric testing, personal interview, and background information is used when identifying if a person is a good fit. There is research that has identified five personality characteristics that allows a police officer to excel in his or her job: extrovert, emotional stability, agreeable, conscientious, and open to experience. People also need to be aware of working in a high crime area. Even if the person has all five traits, but can’t handle the stress they may need to find another profession. There may be times new hires come from another department, but before hiring they need to talk to the previous employer. There may be certain reasons that the officer for hire is wanting to move to a different department. They could have been disciplined or terminated if they had not agreed to resign. This is not okay for the officers are not taking the consequences for their behavior.
When political anarchy, social injustices, and crime end up leading to civil depravities that go against the foundation of democracy, society depends on the police to come in and keep the peace, while attempting to restore the order. These officers are asked to pursue criminals in vehicles, and on foot, repeatedly expose themselves to the dangers of the crimes, and remain calm while being under pressure at all moments on the job, and even off duty. Being an officer of the law takes a special person
It is often said that power brings corruption, but in reality it is an individual’s lack of character, self-discipline, and integrity that leads to corruption. Law enforcement can bring many temptations on the job, and maintaining an up most level of personal integrity can often times be very difficult. The very nature of the job surrounds officers with all of the bad things that society, produces. There can be an endless amount of training and rules put into place to try and deter officers from committing unethical acts, but in the end it really just comes down to the specific individual and their willingness to do the right thing.
Police officers have a very reputable job, meaning they must be professional at all times. The job of a police officer is to protect and to serve the public. Since most of their time is spent in the public eye, they are expected to maintain professional behavior. The first step in projecting their professionalism is their dress. They should be dressed neatly,
In today’s society, most cops are looked at as the “bad guys”, but what if you had the opportunity to change that? What if you could pick and organize your own police force in the manner you think it should be? If that was the case police forces would get worse or better. He is how I would recruit if I was the chief of my own department.
♦ Make a strong commitment to community-oriented policing. Everyone in the police department should be involved, not just a few units or off...
Police recruitment is very important to all law enforcement agencies; it seeks to recruit, select, train and maintain the best possible officers (Grant et al, 2012). This paper will give you the reader a general understanding of police recruitment and also discuss some of the problems happening in police recruitment; past and present, along with remedies to these problems.
Communication is a vital tool in our society today because police officers could not serve the public effectively without good communication skills. A lack of the ability to listen or to speak effectively could result in a misunderstanding. Communication plays a very important role in the lives and jobs of police officers. Communication allows officers the ability to better manage evidence by interrogating witnesses and suspects and gathering information. This allows them to make quick and informed decisions. Police officers can only succeed if they master communication, both social and professional, so that they can be comfortable with the public and get their jobs done behind the scenes.