Introduction
The police department is one of the most controversial government departments. It has been associated with several cases of harassment, racial disparities, duties ineffectiveness, abuse of power, corruption, among other issues. Even though policemen and women are expected to maintain law and order, many have resorted to breaking the rules (Mac Donald, 2017). Fictionland police department has been accused of causing racial disparities when delivering service to the public and their workplaces. The Fictionland population has been rising significantly over the recent years leading to a high number of minority people in the region and continuously increasing racial profiling cases by the police officers. The officers harass individuals from the minority group, thus widening the gap between the police officers and citizens. The community, particularly the minority population, has lost trust in the police department and has accused the officers of lack of transparency and accountability. This paper will identify the prevailing problems facing the Fictionland population and developing a program to overcome these challenges. The article will start by highlighting the need for change in both the police department and the Fictionland at large.
Problem analysis
Racial discrimination is a significant challenge facing the people of Fictionland. The Fictionland police department accused of racially discriminating against the minority group in the religion and associating them with various crimes in the region. The videotape released by the whistleblower indicated a typical example of how the police officers are racially profiling the minority population. In the video, a police officer knows as Smith physically assault, discriminate and arrest Mr. Jones with no substantial evidence. Besides that, numerous cases of police harassment, assault, and discrimination have been reported to the internal affairs department. But, the department has done no thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to book.
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The public has also accused the department of internal affairs of lacking transparency and accountability since they have been supporting the police department and taking no action against the police officers who commit the crime. Even after presenting the videotape evidence of Smith to them, they did nothing about it and even released the suspect within a week. Smith was then allowed to resume his duties despite the assault he committed. The two scenarios show the incompetence in police and internal affair departments and racial discrimination of the minority group.
Need analysis
With the current state of affairs in the Fictionland police department and internal affairs department, there is a need to develop a solution. But before solving the problem, it is essential to identify the major causes of the issue; this will help create a more accurate and appropriate solution to the problem. The preliminary research will capture the techniques for analyzing the issues and how to solve them. This study will use problem scanning, analysis, response, and assessments (SARA) technique in identifying the challenges and solving them appropriately. The problem-solving approach will involve the scanning of various police departmental components that escalates the racial discrimination and assault in police service delivery (Carson et al., 2019). The program's effectiveness in solving the issue will depend on the analysis and assessment of the police department components.
Documenting the need for change
The first thing in the program is to identify the need for a change document. The process will begin by defining the changes request by highlighting the actual change need, reasons for its selection, and how to use the change in enhancing the entire program's success. The change document is then submitted to the relevant department. The third stage involves the creation of various options and responding to the change document. In the last step, the final decision will be arrived at based on the response, and eventually approving the final change document for implementation.
Required resources in problem definition
The main challenge in problem identification is to access relevant information that would help identify the actual problem facing the police department (Heeks and Ospina, 2019). This study focused on the resources and data associated with cases of police assault and discrimination in the past six years. The program involves thorough research on Smith's videotape and why the internal affairs department released him before conducting a thorough investigation. The program will also consider the data on the general relationship between the community and the police officers.
Causes of the problem
Based on the data collected, many police officers in Fictionland discriminate and assault the minority population because of racism. The Smith's videotape is the leading evidence the police mistreatment of the minority population is racially instigated. The resources also indicated that numerous cases of police brutality and harassment had taken place over the last six years, with most cases involving the minority population. The data also showed that dishonesty was being another challenge in the police department. Corruption is causing the current problem in Fictionland. The fact that the internal department released Smith within one despite the videotape is the highest level of dishonesty in police and internal affairs departments. Other factors were related to individual police behaviors and community influence.
Target population
The main target population in the program includes the police department, internal affairs department, minority group, police chief, community, various police unions, and center of justice. Other possible stakeholders are churches, self-group, mayors' offices, and media fighting racism in the region. For the program to be effective, all the stakeholders should take an active part in the process. Therefore, all stakeholders should be recognized and allowed to participate in both investigation and analysis stages. The stakeholders can also play an essential role in ensuring that the police department follows the code of ethical conduct, and they serve the community without racism.
Barriers to change
All the program stakeholders should be identified, some will agree with the recommendation, and some may resist the program. The community most affected by the problem is likely to support the suggestion to equip police officers with body cameras. However, the police department is expected to oppose such a decision. The internal department is likely to push for policy reforms to enable the conducted better investigation and to maintain their reputation in the community. Implementing change is like reducing racial discrimination cases among the minority population, thus decreasing public complaints. Police powers toward the public are also likely to drop significantly. The mayor's office might as well reject the proposed change on the ground that it could increase the municipal budget. Other stakeholders, like churches, community leaders, and self-group are likely to support the proposed change because they protect the community's interest.
Conclusion
In conclusion, racial discrimination is the main problem facing the Frictionland police department; most police officers are racists towards the minority population. Besides, there is a lack of accountability and transparency in the police department and the internal affairs department. These departments have shown the highest level of incompetence by releasing Mr. Smith after discriminating and assaulting Mr. Jones. The internal affairs department has a bad reputation in the community because of the failure to punish police officers who go against the law. Based on the study outcome, the leading cause of the problem includes racism in the community, dishonesty, and political influence.
References
Carson, J. V., & Wellman, A. P. (2018). Problem-oriented policing in suburban low-income housing: a Quasi-Experiment. Police Quarterly , 21 (2), 139-170.
Heeks, R., & Ospina, A. V. (2019). Conceptualising the link between information systems and resilience: A developing country field study. Information Systems Journal , 29 (1), 70-96.
Mac Donald, H. (2017). The war on cops: How the new attack on law and order makes everyone less safe . Encounter Books.
Swanson, D. J., & Creed, A. S. (2013). Sharpening the Focus of Force Field Analysis. Journal of Change Management , 14 (1), 28-47. doi:10.1080/14697017.2013
