Fundamentals of Policing
Why is there a need for proper relationships between the police and the community? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this understanding? Communities are dependent upon the police force to be available to handle crime, control law and order and work to maintain a secure area for the residents within the community. The police force needs to be viewed in the eyes of society as being available to assist them but not to rule over them. Law enforcement agencies are dependent upon a good working relationship with the community that should involve the public in assisting as the eyes and ears on crime since there are not enough officers to be everywhere all the time. The advantage of this close working relationship is that people can come to trust and believe in the police and are much more likely to assist in not only providing potential evidence to solve a crime but also even to prevent crime. The negative to this is that people will tend to watch the officers very closely. If one officer was to do something wrong or unethical, the community may lose faith in all or doubt all officers.
Identify at least two different communities outline in Chapter 9 and describe the relationship of the police to these communities. There are many communities that the police must interact with each day. These relations have often become strained with minority communities. There has been tension and even obvious hostility between law enforcement and these minority communities. African American communities have had the most notable hostile relationship with law enforcement. This tension can be traced back to times before equal rights came and times then when African Americans were greatly discriminated against. The use of racial profiling has greatly added to this tension that exists between African Americans and the police. Hispanic Americans have also had a relationship with law enforcement that has been plagued with...