Criminal Justice System: Law Enforcement
Introduction
Police on Terrorism
The events of 9/11 forever changed the roles and responsibilities of the police in USA. Previously the police department was involved in internal criminal activities such as murders, robberies and assault cases. This has however changed as the scope of their responsibilities has increased. Terrorism is an international threat as it is made of individuals/groups with networks across the world.
The police agencies are now faced with the tasking role of serving and protecting the population from terrorism. To ensure that they are well equipped, training has been revamped. Up to-date training guarantees that the police have adequate skills to counter any terrorism efforts. The LAPD counterterrorism program is one example of efforts to improve the capabilities and strategies of the law enforcers (Downing, 2009). Different law enforcements organs have also been able to come together and centralize their information. Agencies such as the FBI, homeland security and local state police officers come together to share sand discuss intelligent information. This has guaranteed that the operations of the police system are properly managed and that the information gathered is correct.
Law Enforcement and Personal Liberties
In the line of duty the police agencies are still required to execute appropriate law enforcement behavior to fight terrorism and maintain personal liberties. Questions have arisen on how the police should operate when gathering terrorist intelligence. With part of their role being to protect civil liberties, there have been concerns as how terrorism suspects should be handled. There have been disagreements over the use of force to gather intelligence information on terrorist activities (Delattre, 2011).
Use of force means going to the extent of torture to gather information. Engaging in torture as a form of interrogation is wrong as the law enforcers will be going against their initial responsibility to the society i.e. uphold the citizens personal liberties. The torture of Abner Louima in New York City was for instance wrong.
Social Stigma in Law Enforcement
Social stigma in law enforcement agencies has been a controversial topic of discussion. The attitude and perception that the public has greatly influences the operation of law enforcement agencies. After 9/11 the public got the perception that Islamic adherents were responsible for the attacks. This was after the Islamic extremist Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility. Since then there have been increased stigma in the western world.
The religion has come under intense criticism due to the few extremist that are causing the loss of lives in the form of terrorist attacks (McLachlin, 2009). The situation was made worse when the extremist justified their actions as the right thing to do and a lesson to the western world for their interference with the Arab countries. There was increased animosity among the public for individual from Arab descent. Law enforcers are required to overlook and judgmental prejudices and look at all citizens as equals.
However, it cannot be forgotten that the law enforcers are also individual who hold varied opinions. If a police officer holds the assumption that individuals with Arabic characteristics are a threat, then it will interfere with their effective execution of their duties. A police officer with xenophobic tendencies against people from Arab descent will harass and manipulate them thus furthering corruption (McLachlin, 2009).
Ethical Forces in Law Enforcement
The public, rely on the police to serve and protect them. There are several ethical forces that guide these law enforcers when executing their responsibilities. First, the ethics of service to all. The police are required to serve all citizens regardless of their race, gender, religions etc. ethical requirements also mean that the police should not engage in any form of misconduct, intimidation of sexual harassment. Engaging in corrupt dealing is also prohibited under the code of ethics (Pollock, 2011). The ethical forces behind police corruptions are thus the same as those involved in police abuses of force. Corruption is diverse and ranges from police receiving free goods or services to police protecting criminal gangs/activities. Worse form of corruption however is when the police are actually involved in criminal activities.
Components of Public Corruption
There are several forms of public corruption within the criminal justice field. The first is opportunity. Police work generally is unsupervised and officers in their line of duty may encounter tempting situations that they may be accept to engage in. this is especially so, for crimes that are considered victimless such as gambling. The individual involved may offer the police office something of value so as to drop the charges. The police thus find him/her self in a tempting situation that is difficult to ignore. The second cause of corruption is the assumption that the law enforcers are poorly paid. They thus work under the impression that they require more perks and compensation for their work. With this in mind, they strive to receive perks and rewards where available (Delattre, 2011).
The severity of corruption in the society as a whole also greatly contributes to corruption within the police force. If corruption is found in government agencies, in the courts as well as in the business world then it becomes an acceptable norm. Not to be left behind the law enforcement agencies also join the band wagon and everyone in the society becomes corrupt.
Strategies to Stop Police Corruption
The government should strive to improve the pay perks for the laws enforcing officers. Attractive pay packages increases the commitment of the police officers to execute their duties. It is also important to lay emphasis on police ethics. The police should regularly be trained on the need of upholding ethical standards. Emphasizing to the police need to uphold ethical standards ensures that they think of their actions before they act. By thinking they will only undertake those tasks that are ethically proper. Regular reshuffles and transfers are also advisable (Pollock, 2011).
The police are mostly on the ground interacting with individual in various criminal activities. Over time they can get accustomed to each other thus tempted to participate in criminal acts as well. With reshuffles and transfers, it is guaranteed that the risky levels of familiarity with be curtailed. Subsequently, corruption will reduce.
Individual Conscience and Police Assignments
Ethics guide an individual in any profession to develop the right conscience that will aid in executing the expected duties and responsibilities. In law enforcements police ethics are defined as guidelines that have been established to guide the law enforcers in determine which actions they undertake are right. With ethics the police officers have conscious in doing that which is right. The ability to have conscience is essential in aiding the officers to proper undertake their task (Delattre, 2011). With the right conscience, the police officers will not engage in unethical acts such as dishonesty, torture, racial/gender/religious discrimination, extortion, and violation of privilege communication. The officer’s conscience will act as the guide on the right action to undertake.
Ethical Dilemmas
It is inevitable for police officers to be faced with numerous ethical dilemmas in the course of their work. To survive the dilemmas they will face, it is important to be mentally prepared. Adequate preparation is done through training for would be police officers. By being well prepared they will be better placed to make rational and ethically right judgment when faced by a situation (Papenfuhs, 2011). Training exposes the would-be police officers to various scenarios that they can encounter. They then determine the appropriate course of action. The trainees are taught on analyzing a situation form the perspective of the law enforcer and society and determining the repercussion that will have the minimum negative effect.
Conclusion
The police are placed in societies so as to serve and protect the population. They thus are required to uphold the highest level of ethical standard in executing their responsibility to the public. However, this is not as easy as it sounds. High levels of corruption, engaging in suspect torture and brutality have been reported in some instance. Training program should thus be accorded to existing police officers as well as new officers to ensure that ethics, and integrity is upheld.
Reference
Delattre, E. (2011). Character and Cops. Rowman & Littlefield
Downing, M. (2009). Policing terrorism in the US. Retrieved from
http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1729&issue_id=22009
Papenfuhs, S. (2011). Ethical dilemma cops face daily. Retrieved from
http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/3467115-Ethical-dilemmas-cops-face-daily/
Pollock, J. (2011). Ethical dilemmas and decision in criminal justice. Cengage Learning
McLachlin, B. (2009). The challenge of fighting terrorism while maintaining our civil liberties. Retrieved from http://www.biicl.org/files/4778_ottawa_wcc.pdf
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