Law enforcement
Law enforcementWhen I was a young child, I can remember that a lot of shows and movies were based on the exciting lives of police officers. Both shows and movies often portrayed police work as exciting with a new adventure everyday. For this reason I think a lot of children, such as me, had a desire at one point or another to be a police officer. The TV shows and movies focus only on the exciting parts of police work; the truth is that most police work is done without any excitement whatsoever. In all reality paper work and patrolling the streets are what takes up most of the work for police officers.
According to the book, The Career Discovery Encyclopedia, Police officers are responsible for protecting the lives and property of citizens by upholding and enforcing the laws of the country. They must pursue the peace, prevent criminal acts and arrest those who break the law. Their jobs are dangerous and they are trained to carry and use weapons(76). Police officers go to work each day not knowing what to expect. Each day is different and new and different things are occurring all the time. One day a police officer may be having a shoot out with an armed bank robber, the next day the police officer may be looking for a possum in the bushes outside the local post office, for fear that it may have rabies and try and bite someone. Each day is different and surprising to each individual officer(Knudson).
According to the book, Opportunities in law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Careers, The Peelion Act of 150 years ago set forth principals that are still pertinent today. They are set down here because they remain A basic tenet of the law enforcement profession. The police must be stable, efficient, and organized along military lines, the police must be under control of the government, the absence of crime will best prove the efficiency of police, the distribution of crime news is essential, the deployment of police strength, both by time and area, is essential. No quality is more indispensable to a police officer than a perfect command of temper; a quiet, determined police officer has more effect than a violent one does, good appearance commands respect, the securing and training of proper persons is at the root of efficiency, police head quarters should be centrally located and easily accessible, police should be hired on a probation basis, police records are necessary for the correct distribution of police strenght(2).
According to the book, Opportunities in Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Careers, American colonists in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries brought to America the law enforcement structure with which they were familiar in England. The transfer of the offices of constable and sheriff to rural American areas, which included most colonial territory, was accomplished with little change in the structure of the offices. Generally speaking, the constable became responsible for law enforcement in the town, while the sheriff took responsibility for the counties. Also, many colonial cities adopted the night watch system; Boston, as early as 1636, had night watchmen. The New York night watchmen were known as the rattle watch because they carried rattles on their rounds. Gradually, as in England, America cities began to develop such a force in 1833. In 1838 Boston created a day force to reinforce it's night watch(2). In 1844 the New York legislature passed a law creating the first twenty-four-hour organization, and following that model, most major cities unified their day and night forces until by 1870, all cities had full-time police departments. During the remainder of the nineteenth century, a number of efforts were made to reform and improve policing both in the city and in the rural areas. Civil service enactment proved helpful, and some forces moved gradually to merit employment and less political interference. Police training schools emerges in the early 1900's, and although quite modest, they set a standard that by the mid-twentieth century had become generally accepted. During the 1920's came the prophetic leadership of Chief August Vollmer at Berkeley; he advertised in the University of California's student newspaper for young men to serve on the police department while obtaining their college education. Vollmer's criteria for selection were simple and direct: "High intelligence, sound nerves, good physique, sterling character, fast reaction time, good memory, and the ability to make accurate observations and correct dicisions"(3).
According to the book, Careers -Law Enforcement and Security, law enforcement and police work are separated into many different levels. City police have the power to enforce the law within their own city's limits. In some states, under special circumstances, city officers can exercise their power throughout out the state. Each police departments goal is to prevent crime, investigate crime, and to apprehend offenders. City police also work to control traffic, handle crowd control, and deal with emergencies and disasters. In addition, city police officers may perform the following duties, patrol areas and make observations, answer emergency calls, conduct investigations, write reports, and testify in court. City police officers who are assigned to patrol a particular area (beat) are on the look out for stolen auto mobiles, suspicious characters, or odd circumstances. Patrol officers may receive assignments from head quarters over a radio that they carry on their person or in their car. A dispatch officer sends out assignments over the radio(2-3). Lewistown always has a minimum of 2 dispatch officers on duty during the day, which is the slow period. During the evening hours there are usually at least 3 dispatch officers on duty to handle the increase in calls during the evening hours. Lewistowns dispatch is run out of the emergency center in the basement of the court house(Knudson). According to the book, Careers -Law enforcement and security, After the dispatch officer sends out an assignment, the police officers then investigate the reported crime or disturbance(3).
According to the book, Careers -Law Enforcement and Security, State police enforce state laws. Every state, except Hawaii, has a state police force or a highway patrol force. State highway patrol officers, sometimes called state troopers, enforce highway and motor vehicle regulations. They enforce traffic laws, issue traffic tickets to motorists who violate these laws, provide information to travelers, handle traffic control, and summon Emergency equipment at the scene of an accident. Sometimes state highway patrol officers check the weight of commercial vehicles and conduct drivers tests(4-5).
According to the book, Careers -Law Enforcement and Security, the powers of a county police force extend throughout the county, except into town's and cities which have their own police forces. A sheriff, elected by the people, is the chief law enforcement officer in most counties. The sheriff's department may be responsible for all traffic procedures and for prisoners in county jail. It may even be involved in settling business disputes and other civil matters. The sheriff's department also conducts certain police operations and provides training and local services to city police(3). County police also check out automobile accidents, and if at all possible they determine who is at fault for the accident(Knudson).
According to the book, Preparing for a Career in Public Safety, almost all police departments require a high school diploma to apply(90). It is necessary to obtain the proper training in a police academy or other school that offers related classes and degree's to become a police officer(knudson). According to the book, Preparing for a Career in Public Safety, some classes in psychology, sociology, English, law, mathematics, US government, history, chemistry, physics, foreign languages, and drivers education would prove invaluable in the line of police work, Also more and more departments are using computers in a growing number of ways(90). The Mifflin County Regional Police use computers to store and look up information on incidents and criminals; other things computers are used for are running license plate numbers, running background checks on people, checking to see if a car had been reported stolen, and for communicating. A dispatch officer's job revolves around the use of computers(knudson).
According to the book, Preparing for a Career in Public Safety; one thing a person can do in high school to prepare for a career in law enforcement is to get involved with his community and try to improve it. He must understand what the community needs. Most departments are looking for college degrees. Several states including New York, New Jersey, North Dakota, Iowa, and some municipalities require applicants to have a two or four year college degree. More and more junior colleges are offering programs in law enforcement. In 1970 less than 5 percent of police officers had a college degree, today about a quarter of them have a college degree, so it is becoming more and more important(90). One may also want to give up a few years after high school for the military or armed forces. People with a military or armed forces background get what is called a veteran's preference, which means that when they take their test to become a police officer, they automatically get 10 points over anyone else without the military or armed forces background, thus improving their chances of becoming an officer. As part of the Act 120 Certification Act all Pennsylvania police officers must complete training and past tests on the skills needed in everyday police work, such as fire arms use, hazardous materials handling, and CPR and other emergency tactics. Every year each officer must be recertified to keep up with the changing policies and ways of handling situations. This is done by completing a set amount of hours of training and passing tests on all fields of training(Knudson).
The size of a police department depends on the size of the department's jurisdiction and number of people in that area. The Mifflin County Regional Police cover 5 areas: Lewistown, Perry county, Derry, Bratton township, and Burnham. Their police force is composed of 16 officers who are separated into 4 different platoons or groups. Each platoon has four officers, one sergeant, who is in control of the platoon, and three patrol officers that are assigned each day to a certain area to cover or duty to accomplish(Knudson).