Introduction
The issue of policing continues to face changes due to different factors such as technological changes and advancements, which have a major impact on policing issues. The changes and transitions experienced in policing have helped in moving from the traditional policing into the modern-day policing. The transitions in policing have a significant role in defining policing eras based on different characteristics in the policing era. The transitions from the tradition policing into the modern-day policing have impacted on the general welfare in the society considering the implementation of different measures that define the modern-day policing. The focus of the paper will involve analyzing two policing eras based on their key features, strength and weakness. The two policing eras that will be addressed include the reform era and the Community policing era, which are significant in policing history.
Eras of Policing
Reform Era (1930-1980)
The Reform Era of policing, which took place between 1930 and 1980 focused on the utilization of middle management, which is a measure that sought to reduce police corruption. The main objective of the reform era of policing was to ensure that the police were held accountable for their individual actions. The police in this era were required to use the chain of command and be in a position to control crime in the society effectively (Hess, Orthmann, & Cho, 2013). The main strengths associated with the reform era involved increased emphasis on the professionalism of the police through education and training programs, which were aimed on enhancing the level of performance of the police. However, the main weakness of the reform policing era was the level of corruption in policing, which was associate with lack of adequate measures to follow up on issues such as bribery.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Community Era (1980-Present)
The community era of policing focused on creating an improvement on the quality of lives of people in the society. Considering the challenges experienced in the previous eras, which involved brutality and violence against the people, the community era policing sought to create a solution by improving on strategies and measured implemented to ensure that the police were focused to protect people in the communities. The main strength associated with the community era of policing involves the fact that the police became in charge of the controlling crime and protecting people (Oliver, 2016). The strategies implemented to enhance policing during the community era involve ensuring that the police engaged in patrols on foot, which focused on creating a close interaction with the members of the public. In this policing era, police spent more of their time talking to people to solve their problems rather than focusing just on crime.
Issues Facing Law Enforcement
The law enforcement continues to face a wide range of issues that impact on the ability to perform effectively and to achieve the set goals and objectives. The main issues faced include racism and anti-terrorism, which are issues that have a major impact on the welfare of the people in a community. Anti-terrorism is a major issue in the society considering the various terrorism attacks that took place in different parts of the United States (Hess, Orthmann, & Cho, 2014). The law enforcers face the challenge of balancing between fighting terrorism issues in the society and keeping the citizens safe. The second issue involves racism, which is a crucial issue considering that the United States is becoming home to people with diverse racial background. Overcoming the issue of racism is a vital among the law enforcement considering the fact that the issue occurs in a more personal level in the community.
Future of Policing
In the next five years, I believe that policing will be more advanced and that the police will have more skills and strategies to fight and overcome issues associated with crime in the society. The advancements in policing will be experienced as a result of technological advancements, which will provide the police with tools and strategies to detect and deal with different forms of crime in the society and capitalize on establishing measures to protect the public. The main challenge that can be foreseen in the future policing involves lack of trust between the law enforcers and the public owing to increased cases of criminal issues, where the police feel that all individuals may be armed and dangerous. The pubic has a significant role in overcoming the foreseen challenge. The public should focus on establishing a close relationship with the law enforcers, which may help in increasing cooperation and building trust.
Conclusion
The issue of policing continues to face changes, which are attributed to changing factors in the society. The two main policing eras that are significant include reform policing era and the community era, which helps to provide a glimpse of the issues and changes experienced by the police. Each of the policing era is characterized by factors that help in portraying major strengths or weaknesses. The modern-day policing has an important impact on the society considering that it helps in enhancing protection measures as well as reduce crime rates. Although the law enforcement faces different issues that impact on effectiveness, it is important to acknowledge the strengths and positive impact associated with modern-day policing.
References
Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. H., & Cho, H. L. (2013). Police operations: Theory and practice . Cengage Learning.
Hess, K. M., Orthmann, C. H., & Cho, H. L. (2014). Introduction to law enforcement and criminal justice . Nelson Education.
Oliver, W. M. (2016). Policing America: An Introduction . Wolters Kluwer Law & Business.
