Community policing action plan
Introduction
The law enforcement agency should be a strong advocate for smart reforms in the criminal justice whose basis is not only a rhetoric of “ tough on crime” but on a strategy that works from the policing and community point of view. This plan intends promote a region wide best practices and reforms that can address the public complaints on excessive use of force by police, any injustices present in the agency and malpractices that have adverse effect on the community especially the minority. The plan will require collaboration between the law enforcement agency, local government and the community. The collaboration will aim at achieving various objectives; identifying and evidenced-based strategies for dealing with crime with less use of force while upholding integrity of the agency; promoting improved accountability , government and community engagement for better law enforcement outcomes and adopt smart reform in criminal justice that will address any case of discrimination.
Minimizing use of force and upholding integrity
There have been various reports of excessive use of force that borders violence especially against vulnerable and minority groups in the community. A major and basic duty of police officer is protection of ones’ life and the law the use of force when officers are protecting themselves and others from possible injury (Prenzler, Porter, & Alpert, 2013). The plan is to have the law enforcement officers understand the situations in which use of deadly force is acceptable and necessary. This will involve recognizing and raising the standards to more humane and appropriate standard; it may involve effecting changes in policy which can restrict the use of deadly force to only when appropriate. This will ensure that police officers restrain their actions while discharging their duties and dealing with community members especially the minority and people of color.
Organizational theories relating to police behavior comprises of aspects in the immediate environment of the organization including practices, polices and supervision (Prenzler, Porter, & Alpert, 2013). The plan also focuses on the significance of internal control mechanisms in the agency to ensure that police officer’s behavior is controlled. The internal controls will be implemented through tightening of policies that give rise to increased use of excessive force by the law enforcement officers. These policies will have to be clear about what is expected of the law enforcement agency and how officers should behavior in different circumstances. The policies will have to be written down, undertaken through regular reviews and even updated when necessary. In order to review the extent to which the policy has been successfully adopted, a report on the use of force will be prepared and then analyzed and the findings reported publicly on yearly basis. The report will also involve all other adopted force measures. The management system for police should include enough communication lines so that problems can be communicated as they arise. Communication is an important aspect while addressing the various issues raised by the members of the public where the corrective actions to be taken are addressed clearly (Prenzler, Porter, & Alpert, 2013). The reported will be prepared by an Internal Investigation Unit that will also handle the problems that have been identified. The unit can also analyze the various complains by the members of the public and then find the best way of addressing them.
The plan also focuses in police training on the use of force. The importance of combat training cannot be understated in this case. Combat training involves being aware of one’s environment, making quick decisions and taking actions on the basis of changes in this situation (Lee, 2016). The training will also extend to other areas including firearms and handling life-threatening situations. Instead of just using much time in classrooms or on range, the agency should adopt blended programs for learning such simulators for advanced use of force. These will provide efficiencies in police training and allow the agency to gain more from the programs with not additional human resources needed. The use of simulated scenarios can offer special hands-on training that enable officers to learn how they can remain focused (Lee, 2016). The officers can also learn how they can rightly respond to high-stress situations in approaches that can be replicated with in different areas
Promoting accountability and engagement
The policy reforms are intended to create conducive environment for the law enforcement agency and the community to engage through various collaboration efforts. The reviewing of existing policies , practices and even training of officers must address the lethal force use by police , which will be a proof to the community that the agency is committed to remain accountable to the public. The accountability mechanisms can be achieved by reforming the oversight function which will ensure that officers’ use of excessive force is only allowed when there is a risk serious injury and death. The gaps in accountability of law enforcement officers can be addressed by ensuring that polices issues are structured in a clear way so that the agency’s accountability intent is addressed (O'Reilly, 2017). The policies must reflect the best practices in law enforcement agency and the right content so as to address the community concerns on police conduct. The metropolitan government should choose to focus more on agency-community partnership and co-provision of safety. Policy-community collaboration needs a great emphasis on accountability through shared information, transparency and equity and necessary changes in the training, evaluation and promotion of law enforcement officers (O'Reilly, 2017). The accountability aspect will be achieved if communities are rightly engaged in the entire process of oversight and planning.
The community will be engaged through conversations about the use of lethal force and how it affect the relationship between the agency and the community and working together to in the development of a strategy for violence prevention. The local residents input will be sought while developing the safety plans for their neighborhoods, meetings between the community members and the officer where people can raise concerns about the use of force. This should also be extended to include the business community and private sector. Collaboration does not just involve cooperating with community agencies and businesses. It should consist of a shared vision and problem solving through participative efforts and even sharing of available resources (Terpstra, 2011). In collaborations, all partners will commit their efforts and resources to achieve the same goals. Collaboration also needs an improvement in information sharing especially when the law enforcement officers are dealing with offenders or when operating among neighborhoods considered to be of high risks. The community can help the officers to identify with offenders and thus prevent much confrontation with the community while searching or arresting them. This calls for increased trust between the two parties, when residents start seeing the law enforcement officers as meaning good for the public. Any programs adopted by the agency have to embrace the input of the community so as to promote the feeling that they are being adopted with them rather than for them (Terpstra, 2011). Collaboration can go a long way in eliminating various barriers between the parties involved. The officers at any level of the law enforcement agency can work with other officers in charge of schools and public health to sensitize the need for collaboration with the member of the public. A cohesive relationship between the officers and community will increase trust and accountability.
Address any cases of discrimination
The concern over the use of excessive force has greatly been influenced by the notion or the reality of conflicts arising from differences in national origin, color or even race. Therefore, the plan also seeks to address the prevention and resolution of discrimination cases that dampen the effort to have an effective cooperation between the police and the community. The aim is to avert or even respond to any alleged violent actions of the police that can be related to perceived or actual traits of the suspect offenders. Balancing how and when to apply force when operating in neighborhoods whose residents are majorly the minority should be one of the skills those officers must possess (Wilson, Wilson & Gwann, 2016). The case of discrimination related to maintenance of ethical practices within the agency. In communities where confidence between the public and law enforcement officers is low especially due to real or perceived discrimination, the approach will be to develop a platform where such concerns can be addressed. Such issues also involve concerns that there is insufficient presence of police or inadequate representation of community in the police force. The strategy is to develop a high confidence and improved relations within the members of the minority community and averting any use of force that may jeopardize the existing integrity. The agency and the community have to work in conjunction to ease any discrimination related tensions such as due to race, use effective communication lines and thus rebuild trust. Community trust, safety and stability can be achieved for all people when officers and residents come together and build the necessary trust and confidence (Wilson, Wilson & Gwann, 2016).
The agency should take preventive actions that are timely to avert targeting of persons on the basis of distinctive background, color or origin which can potentially bring about conflict and disorder. The use of minimal force will prevent hostile reactions from the community and this safeguard or improve relations with the community. In case there use of force has already happened the officer who arrive at the scene must maintain community peace, investigation should done thoroughly and the right action taken. The standard procedures for police operations highlighted in the aforesaid reformed policy must be adopted at this point. Some appropriately prepared press statements should be availed to prevent destructive media coverage. Moreover, ensuring officer presence or representation is in place will solve any tension.
Conclusion
Dealing with concerns over excessive use of force requires police reform to ensure there is collaboration with the community and which will be achieved when accountability in the law enforcement agency is assured. Maintaining ethical practices among the officers will prevent discrimination related issues that can jeopardize agency-community relations.
References
Prenzler, T., Porter, L., & Alpert, G. P. (2013). Reducing police use of force: Case studies and prospects. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 18(2), 343-356.
Lee, C. (2016). Race, policing, and lethal force: Remedying shooter bias with martial arts training. Law & Contemp. Probs., 79, 145.
Wilson, C. P., Wilson, S. A., & Gwann, M. (2016). Identifying barriers to diversity in law enforcement agencies. Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice, 14(4), 231-253.
O'Reilly, K. M. (2017). Transparency, accountability, and engagement: A recipe for building trust in policing (Doctoral dissertation, Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School).
Terpstra, J. (2011). Governance and accountability in community policing. Crime, law and social change, 55(2-3), 87-104.
