Gun violence is one of the major challenges experienced in the United States today. Injuries caused by gunshots increase every day and almost a hundred individuals succumb to death due to homicides resulting from gunshots. A study by Braga et al (2008) shows that approximately thirty-four thousand deaths were caused by gunshots in the United States in the year 1996. We are surrounded by firearms and guns in schools, streets and even homes. To curb this challenge, by 2008 the U.S government put in place an estimate of 1.133 million law enforcement officers. This implies that 352 officers provide security for one million people. There are programs that were established since 1996 with an objective of curbing the use of firearms and guns in the United States. These programs have helped in seizing and confiscating most of them. This report focuses on collaborative initiates and different programs that I agree with and those that I oppose.
The collaborative initiative presents different positive aspects. It has been able to reduce criminal activities and use of guns since the police collaborate with the community and work towards achieving a common objective. The main purpose of establishing a community-based initiative was to maintain peace and justice in the states that faced criminal activities. The collaborative initiative comprises of youth programs that were established to empower citizens by educating them on the methods of reducing criminal activities and promoting justice ( Brogden & Nijhar, 2013). To fight crime, more law enforcement officers were employed and police hours increased to the states where the crime was rampant. The initiative ensured enumeration was done to determine the number of people in the affected states. The initiative empowered the public by educating them on how to combat crime and how to report criminals to the authorities. Victims of domestic violence were assisted by this initiative. This implies that the initiative was of paramount importance to the citizens. The initiative empowered youths by training them so that they would train others on the necessity of criminal justice. The initiative educated the youth on the impacts of drug abuse since it was the cause of most criminal activities. The initiatives led to a reduction of most criminal activities as well as substance abuse.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Since most juvenile crimes were carried out after school because the kids were not under any supervision, the initiative established methods of making sure the kids were given directions and given homework to keep them busy after school. The initiative also established recreational centers where the young people would keep themselves busy. Through the establishment of community policing, the initiative ensured the existence of a stable relationship between the law enforcement officers and the community. The officers were able to interact with the members of the community and understand their problems better. Moreover, this relationship enables the community members to help the police in fighting crime by reporting the criminals to the right authority and helping the authorities carry out investigations ( Brogden & Nijhar, 2013). Police officers conduct patrols to ensure security in the communities. The initiative succeeded in fighting crime since they helped all the affected individuals without bias.
In the collaborative initiative, I feel law enforcement officers are less needed. This is because the initiatives are based on empowering the youth through educating them but not employing more police officers. The initial officers were not able to fight crime; I think increasing them would not save the situation. Moreover, most officers are unfriendly to the citizens and this instills fear in them. Interactions between police and the people would not bear fruits when fear is involved. Again, the citizens understand the community better and therefore they are the right people to be empowered. For instance, an initiative by Easton Hotspot concentrated on empowering the youth and educating them on how to survive without drugs rather than involving police ( Ness et al., 2018). This implies that crime can be eradicated without police involvement. Most criminal activities are carried out by young people who are involved in substance abuse, therefore, youth programs that help in eradicating substance abuse would definitely help in eradicating crime.
In my opinion, the state criminal justice commission and the board would be of paramount importance for the success of this initiative. This is because the objective of the entity is to educate the public on how to eradicate crime. The board gives financial support to the local programs for the development of kids and youth. According to Aronson and Hilley (2010), the initiatives require funding for a smooth operation. The board also establishes juvenile justice policies to ensure criminal justice for the kids. The state boards provide financial support to help the youth and the minority groups in the society. Since the state commission works towards promoting justice through fighting crime, they would ensure the success of the initiatives. Since most criminal activities are carried out by the young people as a result of substance abuse, the commission is important for the success of the initiatives. The commission provides funds to facilitate recreational centers and other programs that keep the youth busy instead of participating in crimes and substance use. The government has the responsibility to ensure its people are well taken care of, therefore, the initiatives should collaborate with it.
The initiative could have involved the information service entity. This entity is responsible for taking and recording people’s fingerprints for quick discovery of criminals. It ensures justice through promoting the security of the people ( Chun et al., 2010). Through the involvement of this service, the personal information can be easily retrieved. This helps in ensuring that the criminals do not escape after committing atrocities. The information recorded by the information service is not biased and therefore justice is maintained. This service also empowers the public through educating them on issues related to justice. Collaborating with this service would make the community-based initiative succeed.
References
Aronson, J. R., & Hilley, J. L. (2010). Financing state and local governments (Vol. 22). Brookings Institution Press.
Braga, A. A., Pierce, G. L., McDevitt, J., Bond, B. J., & Cronin, S. (2008). The strategic prevention of gun violence among gang ‐ involved offenders. Justice Quarterly , 25 (1), 132-162.
Brogden, M., & Nijhar, P. (2013). Community policing . Willan.
Butts, J. A., Roman, C. G., Bostwick, L., & Porter, J. R. (2015). Cure violence: a public health model to reduce gun violence. Annual review of public health , 36 , 39-53.
Chun, S., Shulman, S., Sandoval, R., & Hovy, E. (2010). Government 2.0: Making connections between citizens, data and government. Information Polity , 15 (1, 2), 1-9.
Ness, A., Lew, J., Poznachowski, E., & McOrmond, A. (2018). Empowering the local community through a flexible education program. International Journal of Integrated Care , 18 (s1).
