Criminal Justice in the Community - 1
Week 12: Week Twelve - Class Discussion
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Only 150 words
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Instructional Objectives for this activity:
Illustrate the realistic and unrealistic expectations of police organizations.
This class has covered a lot of information. It is now important to think about all of the material and apply what you have learned. One of the greatest predictors of the future can be obtained from studying the past. Many experts have countless theories on what the future holds.
Please respond to all of the following prompts:
• Based on everything that you have studied on police community relations, what are the greatest challenges you see for the police in the future?
• Discuss your rationale. Be creative in your response
Chapter 16, "The Media," pages 498-522.
Chapter 17, "Look at the Future," pages 523-555
The Media
The public and political concern about crime-related issues is a natural focal point for the media. Serial murders, sexual assaults, public corruption, drive-by shootings, conspiracies, armored car robberies, kidnappings, etc. capture public fascination media attention. When fear grips a community about a crime wave, the media report it and then turn to the police to what they are going to do about it. If it appears that the police are not making progress, the media asks why. If the police officials seem less than candid, the media will comment on it. If officers are involved in misconduct, the media will immediately report it. These are not criticisms; it is the obligation, professional and ethical, of journalists to inform the public and hold public officials accountable (Carter, 2002, p. 498).
While the reporting of these stories sometimes irritates law enforcement officials, they grudgingly recognize a reporter’s responsibilities. Similarly, the police will frequently call on the media to assist in locating persons or to provide public information on specific issues or problems. In these cases, the media is viewed in a different light.
The media has been characterized as the “fourth estate.” The other three “estates are the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The media interacts with all branches of government at all levels, local, state, and feral on a daily basis serving as surrogate watchdog for the public. Certainly, there are unethical reporters and media organizations. Just as ever there are unethical practitioners of any profession. Generally speaking, how-ever, media representatives view their roles professionally and will try to work with the police in a cooperative spirit.
The singular importance of the media as the primary communications vehicle between the police and public is too evident to require elaboration. Suffice it to note at this point, since public opinion about crime and criminals is substantially influenced by media reports, that what the police do and how they do it are subject to constant monitoring.
Indeed, in a broader sense, in democratic societies where the media are not captives of government, relationship problems between governmental bodies and the media are endemic to political processes. Conflict of interest is, to some degree, embedded in their relationship, and this conflict is seen as a vital aspect of the checks and balances so essential in a democracy. If the newspapers and other media did not “police” the police and other government entities, if they did not challenge information and interpret messages between criminal justice agencies and the public, they would be shirking a significant responsibility.
Page 520
Police and the media:
To blame the media alone for violence obviously makes no more sense than to blame only the police. Occasionally, under particular circumstances, imprudent or even unethical media 9 or police) action may trigger mayhem, but usually the causes go much deeper. Hatred and hopelessness are not manufactured by the media nor by the police, though they may play a part. The fact is that violence is entertainment for many in a popular audience, and this is what the media play to, as entertainment vehicles. But the media have other functions and responsibilities that conflict to some extent with their entertainment aims. This is the conflict in so- called “cop shows” on television. Many such shows are criticized by police as unrealistic. They may ask, why not tell it as it is? The media response is that is that telling it as it is doesn’t have much entertainment value. To sell the products of television advertisers requires, first of all, a good Nielsen rating.
Dorothy Guyot observed that crime news is among the easiest to write or broadcast because potential stories are already outlined with all the facts in place and neatly wrapped up in the form of police reports. She goes on to observe that because the police desk is often the first assignment for fledgling reporters, those covering there police beat change every year or two. Consequently, reporters whom officers must deal with continue to be the least experienced and yet among the “hungriest” because they need to develop a professional reputation. Therefore, stories may tend to be oversensetionalized, somewhat short on corroborated fact, and perhaps even less than objective.
Page 523
A look at the Future:
THE FURTURE, HOWEVER, IS NOT ONLY THIS IMMEDIATE VISION OF TECHNOLOGY CONCEPTUAL AND OPERATIONAL CHANGED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF THE POLICE FUNCTION. FOR EXMPLE, THE USE OF THE POLICE CAR EQUIPPED WITH THE AUTOMATIC VECHICLE MONITORING, THE USE OF THE POLICE CAR EQUIPPED WITH THE AUTOMATIC VEHICLE MONITORING (AVM) THROUGH THE USE OF THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SATELLITE (GPS) SYSTEM AND COMPUTER – ASSISED DISPATCH (CAD) WITH AUTOMATIC RECORDS CHECKS HAVE INCREASED THE EFFICIENCY OF THE POLICE PATROL OFFICER. BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OFFICER’S EFFECTIVENESS? WILL SUCH TECHNOLOGIES HELP THE OFFICER TO QUALITATIVELY PERFORM THE POLICE FUNCTION BETTER? THE ANSWER IS NOT SIMPLE. CERTAINLY, WITH THE ABILITY TO INCREASE EFFICENCY THE POLICE ARE ABLE TO RESPOND TO MORE CALLS, HENCE, BETTER SERVE THE PUBLIC. HOWEVER, THIS INCREASE IN SPEND MAY COME AT A COST THE LOSS OF CLOSE RELATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY.
FOUND INVIRTUALLY EVERY ASPECT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM IN THE COMING GENERATION:
IN NEW COMMUNITY- BASED APPROACHES TO LAW ENFORCEMENT AS MORE POLICE OFFICERS (AND OTHER CRIMINAL JUSTICE OFFICIALS) GET OUT OF THEIR SQUAD CARS (AND OFFICES) AND INTO THE COMMUNITY TO DEAL WITH CRIME AND ITS UNDERLYING CASUSES.
IN NEW APPROACHES TO FIGHTING DRUG ABUSE AND DRUGORELATED CRIME USER ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES, NUNDANCE ABATEMENT EFFECTS, AND THE INTEGTATION AND COORDINATION OF COMMUNITY- BASED ENFIRCEMENT, EDUCATION, AND TREATMENT PROGRAMS.
IN NEW APPLICATIONS OF TECHNOLOGY –MOBILE DIGITAL TERMINALS, HAND-HELD COMPUTERS, AND OTHER DEVICES THAT IMPROVE POLICE RESPONSE IN THE FIELDS, AS WELL AS CRIME ANALYSIS SYSTEMS, ARTIFICAL INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS, AND OTHER METHODS OF MORE CLOSELY TYING THE SOURCE OF FUNDS WITH THE PROBLEMS BEING ADDRESSED.
IN NEW METHODS OF FINAICING THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM USER FEES, PUBLIC SAFETY TAXES AND SURCHARGED, FORFEITURE OF OFFENDERS’ ASSETS, AND OTHER METHODS OF MORE CLOSELY TYING THE SOURCE OF FUNDS WITH THE PROBLEMS BEING ADDRESSED.
IN NEW APPROACHES TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE TRAINING AND EDUCATION CURRICULA DESIGNED TO ATTRACT QUALITY PEOPLE TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSIONS AND TO RETAIN AND DEVELOP THEM INTO TOMORROW’S LEADERS.
IN A NEW FOUCS ON YOUNG PEOPLE, ON THE COMPLEX PROBLEMS THEY FACE, AND ON THE JUSTICE SYSTEM’S REPONSES TO THEIR PROBLEMS.
IN MORE COMPREHENSIVE AND SOPHISTICATED APPROACHES TO THE WAY WE DEAL WITH VICTIMS IF CRIME (AND SOMETIMES VICTIMS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM).
IN NEW WORKING REATIONSHIPS WITH THE NEWS MEDIA THAT STRESS SUCH COMMON GOALS AS IMPROVING PUBLIC SAFETY AND EDUCATING CITIZENS ABOUT CRIME AND JUSTICE.
IN NEW PARTNERSHIPS WITH COMMUNITY GROUPS AND CITIZENS EFFORTS THAT GO BEYOND TRANDITIONAL CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS AND MOVE INTO NEW AREAS OF ACTIVISM AND VOLUNTEERISM.
Reference
Carter, D. L., Radalet, L.A. (2002). Police and the Community (7th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
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