Crime Prevention
Introduction
Jackson sheriff office is aimed at enforcing the law in the country. In addition, Jackson sheriff office provides investigation and correction services in various places. For example, it provides law enforcement services, investigation and correction services in Jacksonville city and Duval County. Moreover, the agency provides services to Florida residents and United States. The Duval County consists of several areas like the cities of Jacksonville, Neptune beach and Jacksonville Beach. The Jacksonvillie office is one of the biggest departments in south eastern United States. It has more than 3600 employees. It headquarters is located in Bay street Jacksonville Florida.
The organization has a formal structure. The agency is managed by sheriff. The sheriff is elected by the citizens in the county and serves the citizens for four years. However, there is no restriction on the number of terms the sheriff can hold. The sheriff has appointed senior officers. The senior officers consist of under sheriffs and assistant chiefs. The members sworn in by the sheriff perform various duties. For instance, the members can work as law enforcement officers and correctional officers. There are also community officers. The law enforcement officers, correction officers and community services officers are allowed to carry guns and arrest criminals.
The community service officers respond to problems related to traffic. The sheriff appoints various officers in the organization. The organization has also an informal structure. The informal structure in the organization consists of policies, goals and procedures. The informal structure helps in the running of the organization. The management in the organization is supposed to coordinate the formal and informal structure so as to ensure the organization functions well. The organization has a wide range of goals. The main aim of the organization is to protect the lives of the citizens and their property. Also, the organization can enhance peace in the community and prevent criminal activities and disorders. It also protects the liberties of the citizens provided by the law.
The goals identified above are realistic as the organization is able to attain them. For instance, the organization is able to promote law and order in the society hence reducing looses of lives and property. Though the goals listed above are realistic, there are various factors that might make it hard to achieve the goals. First, lack of commitment among the employees might affect the organization and make it hard to achieve the goals. The employees in the organization are supposed to work together to ensure the organization attains its goals.
Discussion
There are different types of criminal theories that are used in criminal justice system. For instance, rational choice theory and social learning theory. The most common theory in criminology is rational choice theory. Advocates of rational choice theory assume that people have the freedom to select what behaviors they should engage in. They make the choices according to rational calculation. They consider the consequences or the benefits the behavior can bring in their life.
In most cases people tend to choose actions that have less harm in their lives. The rational choice theory is applicable in Jackson sheriff agency. The agency believes that people in the society have the right to make the right decision and choice. For instance, people have the right not to participate in criminal activities. People in the society should avoid criminal activities as they have negative impact on their lives. For example, it leads to punishment of criminals and imprisonment. The theory influences the operation of the Jackson sheriff agency when preventing crime. The agency punishes people who commit crime as they did not make the right decision. The choice they made had a negative impact on their lives. Hence, the organizations operations are based on the rational choice theory (Kitchen &Schneider, 2007).
Another theory applicable in the organization is social learning theory. The social learning theory concentrates on learning that occurs in a social enviorment. The advocates of social learning theory believe that people learn certain behaviors and things from other people. One can learn by observing behaviors depicted by others and the outcome of the behaviors. In some cases learning can occur without causing any chance in behavior. Advocates of social learning argue that learning might not be revealed through performance or it might not result to change in behavior.
Social learning theory has been associated with increase in crime in the society. This is because people learn criminal behaviors from other criminals in the society. Jackson sheriff agency believes that criminals in the society are caused by social learning theory. In this case, people learn criminal behaviors from criminals. The organization has targeted the cause of criminal activities in the society so as to reduce criminal activities. In this case, the organization encourages adults to prevent children from involving themselves in criminal behavior by acting as mentors.
In addition, the organization encourages the society to learn from consequences of criminals activities. This in turn helps reduce crime rate in the society by preventing crime in future. There are other theories that can be used to address the issues faced by the agency like increase in crime. The crime prevention theory is suitable as it will help reduce crimes. Advocates of crime prevention theory believe that for a crime to happen. There should be various things. First, there should be a target that is available and offender who is motivated. In addition, there is no authority to prevent the crime from occurring. The organization can utilize the theory to help achieve its objective (Kitchen &Schneider, 2007).
The agency expectations are inline with my expectation. I had various notions about the agency before starting working in the organization. First, I though that the organization was effective in preventing crime in the society. This is because of its past records. Second, I thought that the organization was committed and all the members in the organization were committed in preventing crime in the society. From the actual experience in the organization, I have come to acknowledge that the organization has a systematic plan to prevent crimes in the areas identified above. The plan has made the organization control crimes in the society effectively.
Additionally, the actual experience in the agency has showed that the employees are not strongly committed to control crime. There are various strengths and weaknesses that I discovered during the internship. First, I discovered that I was able to handle criminal justice cases. For instance, i was able to provide adequate investigation when provided with a case. I was also able to integrate the content taught in class and activities in the organization. Thus i was able to deliver the best. The weaknesses included lack of commitment and time management. I was not able to commit myself to various activities in the organization. This affected my productivity and performance.
most of the co workers in the agency appreciated my work as I was able to integrate class content and organizational activities. I would like to continue working in the organization as it will help enhance my skills and knowledge in criminal justice system. The organization offers a wide range of services that enable workers to acquire diverse skills and apply their knowledge (Weatherburn, 2007).
Like other agencies, Jackson sheriff agency faces various issues. For instance, the organization faces managerial issues. The organization has found it hard to manage its workers in the organization. This is because of poor management in the organization. Poor management in the organization has affected the performance of the employees and productivity. Moreover, the organization faces financial constraints. The financial problems in the organization have affected implementation of various projects in the organization. Current research on criminal justice shows that criminal justice agencies face managerial issues and financial issues. The agency is effective. This is proved by the organizations ability to prevent crime (US department of justice, 1995).
The new knowledge acquired from the organization increased my knowledge in criminal justice system. This is because I was able to understand how criminal justice systems function. I was able to apply the knowledge gathered from class in the organizations activities. For instance, I was able to apply the knowledge in investigation of criminal cases and correctional services. The new skills acquired and growth will have an impact on my goals and direction in future. This is because they will help in selecting career and development. The criminology theories learned in class are applicable in my internship experience. For instance, I was able to determine how the theories are applied in criminal justice system (Weatherburn, 2007).
Conclusion
In conclusion, the internship experience in Jackson sheriff office was good. This is because I was able to acquire new knowledge and apply the knowledge acquired in class.
Reference
Kitchen,T.,&Schneider,H.R.(2007).Crime prevention and the built environment. Taylor & Francis
US department of justice. (2008).Critical criminal justice issues. Retrieved from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/158837.pdf on 11/04/2011.
Weatherburn,D.(2007).Strategic issues in criminal justice system management. Retrieved from http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/previous%20series/proceedings/1-27/~/media/publications/proceedings/24/weatherburn.ashx on 11/04/2011
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