CJE-1300-171
Policing Today:
An Overview
April, 14th 2014
Table of Contents
i–Cover Page ii– Acknowledgement of original work iii–Table of Contents
Page 1– Generalist and specialist concepts of law enforcement activities
Page 2&Page 3– Various types of patrol techniques
Page 4&Page 5–Effective written police reports
Page 6 – Good rapports with citizens
Page 7& Page 8–Media inquiry procedures
Page 9 &Page 10 –Presentations to citizen groups
Page 11 –Oral communication techniques
Page 12 – References
Generalist and Specialist Concepts
Most police agencies are highly specialized, diving into different units, bureaus, or divisions. Each unit has distinct duties that they perform. Some agencies chose to implement community policing, they did so by creating specialized community policing units.
Having a group of specialized officers in different units has its advantages. This approach ensures that officers have sufficient amount time to dedicate to problem-solving efforts. Having specialized units within agencies find it is easier to develop the knowledge and skills needed to maximize efforts in community policing. According to the Illinois Model, “generalists are semi-prepared for a wide variety of circumstances. They have limited resources which are spread across a variety of options. They have moderate success for many conditions; limited failure for many conditions. They have the best approach with unknown future.” The Illinois Model also believes that specialists are well-prepared for one or few occurrences. They have limited resources are consolidated or united. They have high success for one condition; high failure for rest. They have the best approach with a known or high-certainty of future.
Generalists in law enforcement have many duties they are required to perform. Field officers are the most known for being generalist in their field. They are expected to handle a variety of situations. Specialists on the other hand are only needed when a special situation arises. For example, if there is a person holding someone hostage inside a building and they appear to be a threat, field officers are first to respond then typically SWAT responds then someone that is specially trained to deal with these situations, like a negotiator. People that are specially trained for a certain situation don’t respond to every single situation that arises. They only respond to a scene if the situation calls for their specialized training.
Various Types of Patrol Techniques
In the law enforcement agency there are many patrol techniques. According to the textbook, “the police mission in the U.S. is (1) to enforce and support the law, (2) to investigate crimes and apprehend offenders, (3) to prevent crime, (4) to help ensure domestic peace and tranquility, and (5) to provide local communities, states, and the nation as a whole with needed enforcement-related services.” (Schmalleger & Worrall, 2010, p. 176) Patrol officers are the most visible part of the police department, engaging in preventative patrol, incident response, and traffic enforcement. Officers work to prevent crimes from happening in two major ways, crime-prevention programs and preventative patrol.Crime-prevention techniques include surveillance systems, access control, theft deterrence devices like locks and alarms.
Preventative patrolis when officers canvas neighborhoods and making themselves seen so it can discourage people from committing crimes.
The oldest form of patrol is foot patrol. This form of patrol still exists around strip malls, downtown shopping areas, and tourist destinations. Being on foot can limit an officer’s ability if they need to chase a suspect.
Now, it is more likely to see officer’s on automobiles patrolling. Automobile patrol can have some advantages and disadvantages. On one hand it improves the officer’s mobility. On the other hand, this form of patrol can be expensive,