Contemporary law enforcement, especially in the 21st century, is being faced with a number of critical issues; some of which are new twists to the existing challenges while others emerge from sophisticated problems whose existence could not be imagined some years ago (Dunham & Alpert, 2015). The three leading critical issues in contemporary law enforcement include restoring public trust, social media, and mental health (McDonnell, 2017). This article focuses on discussing law enforcement critical issues posed by restoring public trust, social media, and mental health. The article further discusses in details, the critical issues posed by restoring public trust.
On the issue of restoring public trust, a recent study has shown that most citizens in nearly all the nations are either having little or no faith with their law enforcement bodies (Dunham & Alpert, 2015). For instance, high profile cases such as those witnessed in Ferguson have greatly rocked public confidence in the U.S. (McDonnell, 2017). This greatly challenges police operations as the public is very important in providing the police with vital information regarding criminal acts in the nation. Social media, on the other hand, presents enormous problems for both local and state law enforcement procedures. This is because some terror groups such as ISIS are very adept in their utilization of social media to spread propaganda as well as recruiting new individuals into the group (McDonnell, 2017).
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Besides, social media provides the terror groups with secret information on the police plans to deal with terrorism. Some of the police information on their operation needs to remain private and confidential, and if exposed, it reduces the police efficacy in their operation (Dunham & Alpert, 2015). Mental health is another challenge that the law enforcement departments encounter while executing their duties. According to McDonnell (2017), nearly 1/3 of the jail population suffers from a mental health issue. In fact, about 5,000 jail inmates in Los Angeles require some sort of mental treatment (McDonnell, 2017). This indicates that a large number of prisoners commit criminal acts due to mental failures, a situation that creates a dilemma on whether they should be imprisoned or set free. This article aims at discussing the issue of restoration of public trust in depth.
Dr. David J. Thomas (Police Foundation Senior Research Fellow) asserts that to improve efficacy on law enforcement program, there is the need for the law enforcement department to regain the public’s trust. Some incidences that happened in the past within the law enforcement body have greatly created a bad notion from the public about the department. Such cases include the brutal activity by the law enforcement towards the African American community as was televised in the 1960s and a video footage of officers beating a man named Rodney King in 1991(Thomas, 2016). In this regard, the public has developed a negative attitude towards the law enforcement department. The public plays a vital role in providing the police with necessary information concerning the ongoing criminal activities (Dunham & Alpert, 2015). If the public fails to cooperate with the police due to the negative attitude towards the police, then the law enforcement faces a great challenge in its operations.
In addition, police have the behavior of commanding the public to comply with their instructions. The public then responds by resisting to the police command, a situation that makes the police to become angry, impatient, and aggressive enough to use deadly force (Dunham & Alpert, 2015). When the police brutality is broadcasted or televised, the public becomes angry, and the reputation sometimes results in destructive demonstrations; further widening the public distrust with the law enforcement. Therefore, there is the need for the police to change their behavior of acting like masters and instead act like public servants in order to restore their trust with the public, a situation that may prove useful in mitigating the law enforcement challenge posed by public distrust, such as cooperating with the police in exposing and dealing with criminals.
In conclusion, contemporary law enforcement faces several critical issues. The challenge of restoring public trust is the greatest critical issue the police face in their daily operations (Thomas, 2016). The law enforcement departments, therefore, need to change their attitude from working as masters to working as public servants to restore their trust with the public. It is recommended that law enforcement execute their duties professionally, while the community is sensitized to develop trust with law enforcement.
References
Dunham, G. & Alpert, P. (2015). Critical Issues in Policing: Contemporary Readings (Seventh Edition). Downloaded on https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=nqW3BgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=critical+issues+in+contemporary+law+enforcement&ots=CEjzQBGbxa&sig=v5tzcbzuOMFWqh3PHTE5KG-reSI&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=critical%20issues%20in%20contemporary%20law%20enforcement&f=false
McDonnell, P. (2017). “Challenges Facing Law Enforcement in the 21st Century”. Downloaded on file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/806767.pdf
Thomas, J. (2016). Law Enforcement Must Regain the Public’s Trust. (Online). Retrieved from https://www.policefoundation.org/law-enforcement-must-regain-the-publics-trust/
