Recent and unfortunate events have led to officers in this department being exposed for corruption, excessive violence, and racial profiling. There is need for in massive change in administration and management organization in this police department. The community has lost a large part of their faith in the effectiveness in this police department. As the Chief of this police department in the city of Las Vegas, I will seek to reform this police department and erase all corruption, while restoring a community-trusted and ethical department. This government is a gateway for the average citizen to contact this police department with questions, information on crimes, or feedback on our officers. With that being said, I have some plans I would like …show more content…
to install that will directly improve this police organization and its ties with the community. The corruption issue in this department has led to the dismissal of multiple officers and law suits filed against them.
As a direct result of this, launching a full investigation into this police department wouldn’t be entirely resourceful due to the scope of this organization’s employees; although it would assist in the efforts to remove all corruption. However, there are positive efforts we can make in the form of a more effective hierarchy. The span of control concept refers to the number of officers or subordinates that one supervisor can properly and effectively monitor (Gaines and Worrall, 2012). The traditional police methods of supervision exerted a large presence of authority and control towards their many subordinates in an attempt to reduce negative behavior and waste and in turn increase productivity (Gaines and Worrall, 2012). It is important for us to note the ratio of supervisor to subordinates as this ratio can show us if a department head has a number of subordinates that is too large to properly manage. If this ratio becomes too high a supervisor will encounter troubles with devoting …show more content…
enough time to each subordinate allowing opportunities for illegal acts and even corrupt ones. This department has many supervisors that are not capable of properly monitoring each individual subordinate and this needs to be corrected. My goal for this department is to reduce the number of subordinates per supervisor to a reasonable range of 7-10. The more experienced a supervisor is will land them 10 subordinates and the weaker skilled a supervisor is the smaller that number will be. This will raise the accountability of each subordinate and will allow the supervisor the required time and attention needed to properly oversee their subordinates. This policy will lead to a decrease in corruption because the individuals enticed by corrupt practices will have a larger microscope on their activities which will steer them clear of police malpractice. It is our responsibility to the community to prosecute these corrupt officers to the fullest extent of the law and seek proper justice for their crimes.
As a police department, if we do not fulfill our role in prosecuting these individuals we will have lost the trust and faith of the community that we need the support of. We need a rational and effective strategy that will progressively increase our positive community relations; rebuilding the trust and confidence the citizens once had. Community policing is an age-old method that works to reach out to communities that have presented issues with the police force and makes efforts to improve the conditions of the community. One aspect of community policing is to demand the police to be accountable to the community (Gaines and Worrall, 2015). When the community holds the police accountable for their actions, the officers will use more discretion in situations and provide solutions that work best for the citizen and the community. The second aspect of community policing is placing a larger emphasis on being personally connected and involved in the community rather than an officer ostracizing himself as different (Gaines and Worrall, 2015). This personal connection will allow the community to have a stronger personal bond with officers and this in turn creates a trust level that is unmatchable. The final aspect of community policing is adjusting the police force’s attention towards solving the root of the problems rather than
focusing on one individual incident at a time (Gaines and Worrall, 2015). Developing a police officer to seek out the root of a problem, and not passively handle an incident like it is something ordinary, gives the community a sense of closure that is needed when dealing with crime. Holding the guilty accountable while focusing on the three main aspects of community policing will raise the confidence and trust level of the community; resulting in a more effective and community-first police department. Implementing an organizational model that prevents the corrupt and illegal acts committed by this police department is a necessity that goes without saying. There are quite a few actions and policies that we can implement to assure the community this type of activity does not happen again. The relationship between the police executive and the government executive needs to be an active partnership that involves direct collaboration regarding police decisions and policy making (Gaines and Worrall, 2012). This partnership will create an image of clear and effective decision making that will trickle down to all department heads resulting in effective communication between supervisors and subordinates. Communication is key when dealing with a police administration that struggles with hierarchal organization. The more effective departments can communicate the closer they can follow the rules and principles required to run an efficient and publicly acceptable police force. Diversification among the hierarchy will allow for fluent interaction with various views on police issues. This diversification will lead to reduced racial profiling, stereotyping, and malpractice. A culturally diverse police department will show communities that the police are representing the community as a whole, and not singling out and identifying with one certain race or gender. This will build a lasting cultural tie with the community that will generate positive relations with the citizens. A principle developed by Max Weber, known as specialization, tells us that division of labor and job specialization is crucial when an organization expands (Gaines and Worrall, 2012). If every individual is assigned a task that they are responsible for, then duties would never overlap; avoiding the issues of negligence and corruption. Specialization allows for the right individuals to be held responsible for their job actions. If every unit performed its specialized duties, then there would be no reason for the whole organization to run un-smoothly without internal incidents. The department as a whole, needs to implement these three strategies as soon as possible. A proactive government-police partnership, administration diversification, and specialization will create an administration with effective, long-term principles that will prevent future corruption and malfeasance. The final adjustment I want to make to our police administration is to implement a review board composed of civilians that will monitor the ethics of the police force and take action if necessary. This board could positively impact the force because officers will be under monitor and held accountable for any actions deemed out of line by the civilian board. This board will serve the community and will seek to prosecute any officer that commits any unwarranted crimes. This board is not being established to expose police corruption but to maintain ethics and principles among the police administration. A public review board possesses authoritative power to collect internal information and details to prevent the petty misconduct of police officers. Implementing this review board will be my final plan of action installed in the reduction and prevention of the malevolent and corrupt departmental practices. The community and this police department have a long road ahead of them if we continue to neglect our need for drastic police administration reform. This police force needs to make a proactive effort in satisfying the policing needs of the community and implementing them effectively. Ridding the department of corruption and racial profiling by becoming more diversified and hierarchal structured will ultimately strengthen the community-police relationship. Focusing on creating personable connections with the community between the civilians and police officers and implementing a civilian review board will create a tight community bond ladled with trust and respect. I believe these key strategies will eliminate corruption, improve community relations, and prevent police malpractice from occurring within this city of Las Vegas.
Policing is a very difficult, complex and dynamic field of endeavor that is always evolves as hard lessons teach us what we need to know about what works and what don’t work. There are three different Era’s in America’s policing: The Political Era, The Reform Era, and The Community Problem Solving Era. A lot has changed in the way that policing works over the years in the United States.
In conclusion, the Rampart scandal was terrible for LAPD’s image and reputation, it was terrible for the people who were harassed by the police, and it was bad for the officers who were sucked into being corrupt and unethical. Throughout this paper there is a resounding aspect of supervision. With better supervision there may be some dislike, but it will keep the department in order and it will create the cohesiveness that a department needs to be successful.
“The LAPD struggled during the first dozen years of its existence, going through sixteen chiefs of police and developing an unsavory reputation for corruption and brutality.” (Escobar, 1999, p. 27) From the notorious “Bloody Christmas, to the infamous Rodney King scandal, the Los Angeles Police department has been at the forefront of unprofessionalism for the past few decades and has been deemed one of the most corrupt police departments in the country. Greed, race and politics played a role in the development of the LAPD. “To Protect and To Serve”, this is the motto of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD, 2014). Professionalism has changed throughout the decades within this police department. A majority of it has been designed around incidences
In order for the police to successfully prevent crimes, public cooperation is needed. Various community policing programs have been implemented and it is important to discuss the benefits and limitations of these programs. Community policing allows the community to be actively involved and become a partner in promoting safety. This partnership increases trust of police officers and helps citizens understand that the police are on their side and want to improve their quality of life (Ferreira, 1996). The role of the police officers goes beyond that of a “crime fighter” and expands to multiple roles including that of a victim-centered
Police corruption is a difficult issue cities have to deal with and one of the oldest problems in the police force. Corruption can be defined as the mistreatment of public power for personal benefit or private and the use of excessive force either emotional or physical. In this essay I will explain in detail federal indictments of Los Angeles Country Sheriff officers use of mistreatment of jail inmates and visitors. Another topic I will explain is the transfer of Los Angeles Country Sheriff hired officers with questionable background. Finally I will end by analyzing the hiring of new Sheriff deputies under the “Friends of the Sheriff” program. There are several ways police departments could take to reduce police corruption. The three areas I think should change are the training officers further in how to diminish abuse, improving personal character of officers, and incentives program.
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.
Community policing allows officers to be actively involved on the streets alongside the community. Their focus is not only to solve crimes but to interact with the people in their neighborhood, establish a rapport with them. This initiative has gained popularity within recent years as the police and leaders of the community pursue more significant ways to promote public safety and to enrich the quality of life of their community members. The police and the citizens often come in contact with each other for a multitude of reasons other than criminal purposes. Police officers often engage in community service by providing an abundance of information for those in need, and they offer educational services at schools and outreach
Community policing is a strategy used by various departments in order to create and maintain a relationship between the law enforcement agency and the community being patrolled. Community policing is composed of three critical components, community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving (Gardiner, 154, 2016). Community partnerships are pivotal in community policing since they increase public trust and create am improved relationship in law enforcement agencies better serving the community (Gardiner, 87, 2016). These partnerships not only offer public input but also encourage the public to cooperate with law enforcement agencies in order to minimize crime within the community (Gardiner, 88, 2016). Unlike, the traditional strategies of policing, community orientated policing has been adopted by two-thirds of agencies in order to improve public safety and control crime. (Gardiner, 148, 2016).
One may ask themselves, if law enforcement officers are working to protect the public, why would they commit corruption like they do? As it is described above, corruption is a big part in the law enforcement sector of society. The entire concept is quite complex although it may seem self explanatory to many people. Learning the many types of corruption and misconduct is only the beginning, then, to understand why the officers commit the conduct for which they do. With all this, it becomes apparent to the certain measures that need to be taken to rid society and police departments of the conduct that is constantly present.
There are many different ways of policing in the 21st century and all address and apply different theories and ideas to try and control the crime this day in age. One of these methods is called community policing and many law enforcement agencies around our country and the world use it as a model for policing and interacting with communities. Community policing is based on the belief that policing agencies should partner with communities with the goals to prevent or reduce the amount of crime in those areas (Pollock, 2012 p. 99). There are 3 main aspects of community policing that I will talk about in this paper and they are community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving. After hearing about the
Not being overseen made it easy for the officers to do whatever they pleased with a smaller chance of being caught. There was so much corruption in the police department, yet no one decided to speak up to help stop it. The first part of preventing corruption in the police force is realizing corruption happens. Even police officers are human and may not make the best decisions.
In order to have effective policing I believe integrity and ethics play a huge part in helping build trust within communities. Sound conduct by police improves community interactions, enhances communication, and promotes shared responsibility for addressing crime and disorder. There are three ways that police departments can strengthen community relationships just by training officers about procedural justice, bias reduction, and racial reconciliation. If we implement these concepts, we can create an environment in which effective partnerships between the police and citizens can flourish.
In our times, the police have become the criminals. Some police are using their power to do bad things, and society has come to fear police. The law enforcement system needs change. The courts have failed the police, and the police have turn to other means of justice. We must stop the corruption in the police force.
To conclude, Community policing represents a major development in the history of American law enforcement, but the extent to which this approach is a success and dominates contemporary policing remains a source of debate. In my point of view, community policing is good for communities. It has challenged the traditional concept of the police as crime-fighters by drawing attention to the complexities of the police role and function. In addition to the police officer hard work; citizens can also make a difference and contribute to make neighborhoods a better place to live. For instance, citizens can hold community meetings to talk about concerns and agree on solutions help organize healthy activities for children in your neighborhood, join or starting a neighborhood crime watch program, and talk to your community police officers and share information and concerns.
♦ Make a strong commitment to community-oriented policing. Everyone in the police department should be involved, not just a few units or off...