Criminal Justice

Posted: December 11th, 2013

Instructions

This essay is your chance to demonstrate both your understanding of the subject-matter content and your ability to reason, analyze, and synthesize the information covered in this course.

Given your analysis of the trends and issues of today, is the direction taken in this present era of policing better able to satisfy the needs of the communities than the direction of past eras might have been? In answering the question, provide brief explanations of the major advantages and disadvantages of each of the three policing eras identified in this module. Clearly state whether or not you think that in this era of policing we are heading in the right direction and explain the reasoning for your judgment. Your response should demonstrate a consideration of the work and direction of both the public and police administration.

–Please pay attention to the questions! You MUST read ALL of the readings EACH line below in order to answer these question right! Also the three eras are in the readings below! And the readings for public and administration are below as well in the readings!!!!!

—-REFERECING! Please pay attention to this! You must reference right!!!!! What ever you copy or even paraphrasing must be cited and referenced!!!!! PLEASE USE QOUTES! MEANING DIRECT QOUTES TO BACK UP WHAT YOU HAVE WRITTEN! Meaning you explain something in your words but then you find a quote that states what u wrote it true! You must use quotations meaning “ at the start and end of each direct quote! The quote u use must be copied word for word! Example “this is where the direct quote would go” (author, pg#, year) notice how there is “ at the start and end!!!  Paraphrasing means when you use a quote but change the words around so its half yours and half the authors this must be cited to! But doesn’t need the “ at the start at end: example:

• Original: Any trip to Italy should include a visit to Tuscany to sample their exquisite wines(Italy, 1999).
• Paraphrase: Be sure to include a Tuscan wine-tasting experience when visiting Italy (Italy, 1999)

There are some pdfs below in the readings use some of those as your reference!!!!

Especially these ones:

https://ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/114213.pdf

http://www.drtomoconnor.com/4090/4090lect02.htm

I am going to pay for 5 sources Use as many as u need! YOU DON’T HAVE TO USE FIVE BUT I DON’T WANT TO HEAR A EXCUSE I DIDN’T PAY FOR A ENOUGH U CAN USE 4 TO ! also what ever sources u use you must cite and reference!!!!!!

SCROLL DOWN FOR THE READINGS!!!

Readings:

The Eras of Policing

Outcome 1: Identify the three eras of policing said to have taken place over the last century and explain the effects of each on policing styles and philosophy

It was their looking toward the future and their anticipation of the trends and opportunities they would have to deal with that caused past police leaders to develop the philosophy and to proceed in the direction that they did. Of course, as comprehensive as some of these forecasts might have been, they could not have anticipated every influence. Perhaps this is why policing has experienced the changes it has. The literature suggests that in the past century policing has passed through several eras known as the political era, the reform era, and the community era.

The political era took place between 1840 and 1930. During this era, the police provided an array of services to the public, including social service. They had a considerable level of interaction with members of the community. For example, police were known to have run soup kitchens and to have provided beds to the homeless. The problem in this era, as it turns out, was they were accountable to politicians and the law.

The reform era took place between 1930 and 1980. During this era, the police cut ties with politicians and became accountable to the law and professionalism. Their priority became crime control and their focus shifted to efficiency, motorized patrols, and rapid response to crime. The problem in this era was that police became detached from the communities they served.

The community era began in the 1980s. Since then, the police have been attempting to rejoin and be accountable to the community. The importance of crime control has not changed; however, there is recognition that community can significantly increase the effectiveness of police.

This new era has resulted in the adoption of new methods of policing such as community policing, problem-oriented policing, intelligence-led policing, and others that result in various structural and cultural changes for the particular agency. As in all other eras, these moves are being made in an attempt to become more effective. However, much of the literature on these new strategies indicates that many police and communities are torn between these new strategies and the older, more traditional law enforcement approach of the reform era.

As the communities police serve question these approaches, so should police because the police approach to a situation can trigger or contribute to the escalation of conflict and may actually be dangerous (Rosander & Guva, 2012). The most effective means of response by police is perhaps not always obvious.

Trends Now Shaping the Future of Policing and their Impact

Alberta’s Response to the Trends and Issues

Outcome 3: Identify and expound on the steps being taken by the public and police administration within Alberta to address the identified trends and issues of today

In 2010, Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Solicitor General published Alberta’s Law Enforcement Framework which outlines the vision for the future of law enforcement in Alberta. The framework reflects the realities of law enforcement in Alberta and recognizes community policing as the foundation of effective law enforcement. It is meant to deal with the complex reality of policing within the province by setting the strategic direction for law enforcement, ensuring their roles, responsibilities, and competencies will be clear, relevant, and consistent.

In 2011, a steering committee was formed to implement the strategic direction as set out in the province’s framework. In 2012, the Alberta’s Minister of Justice and Solicitor General suggested the committee did an effective job in ensuring the safety and security of the citizens of Alberta during the 2011-2012 fiscal year. The amendments introduced as a result of the framework included: changes to the Alberta Police Act, the signing of the provincial police agreement, and the integration of the Alberta Sheriffs with the RCMP Traffic Services. These and other moves were said to allow for more effective management of these roles and services.

Outcome 2: Identify key trends affecting the work of police administrators today

As was suggested earlier in this module, leaders attempt to gain profound insight into key trends affecting their work in order to identify threats, understand their implications, and capitalize on opportunities. There are many trends that will prove challenging for police in the future. They include, but are not limited to, increasing budgets, technologies, and artificial intelligence, demographic shifts, changing values and cultural norms, and specialization and training.

Public and Police Administration in Canada

2.1 Introduction

In our first module we participated in a mapping exercise which demonstrated how various police-related organizations that exist at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels could be categorized and separated according to their relationship with each other. Despite the fact you were able to classify or separate the organizations, perhaps you noticed that from another perspective they have similarities, that many are somehow connected or related despite their differences. You may have noticed, for instance, that each of the areas mapped have organizations that perform similar roles and functions, such as those that perform a police oversight role.

Module 2 takes a closer look at the similarities. It examines what some might simply see as a rather simple review of world and Canadian history. It may even be seen as an examination of information that is somewhat irrelevant to the study of police organization within Canada. In order to understand policing and the functions police are asked to perform today, students must understand the big picture and recognize they play a part within it.

This view is of importance because, all too often, police officers see themselves as being outside what is commonly referred to as community. Many officers see themselves as part of an organization that hovers above or controls the community; one that oversees, guides, directs, and punishes the members of the community when they fail to obey the law. An increased understanding of the environment in which police organizations exist will provide a changed perspective about the relationship between police and the community, it will explain what many police officers find are the perplexing functions they are asked to perform, and it will also bring about a greater awareness of the many and varied influences and pressures all police officers face on a daily basis.

In this module, we explain the term administration. In preparation for our examination of police organization and how it is administered, this module examines what is known as public administration.

If you have not already recognized it as such, you should begin to see that this course is not about gathering information about the various components of policing. It is rather a means to provide an understanding of policing, how it is administered, and where it fits in the big picture we call Canadian society and the impacts of this reality.

Please note: Throughout the modules, you will find words in bold font. These words are key terms for the course. The key terms are defined in the Glossary, which can be found in the Lessons tab.

Public Administration

Outcome 1: Explain what is meant by the terms administration, public administration, and police administration

Some suggest that public administration has no generally accepted definition. However, theAmerican Heritage Dictionary defines administration in part as the act or process of administering, especially the management of a government or large institution; the activity of a government or state in the exercise of its powers and duties; the executive branch of a government; the group of people who manage or direct an institution, especially a school or college. Woodrow Wilson, who later became the president of the United States, once suggested administration is the most obvious part of government; it is government in action; it is the executive, the operative, the most visible side of government, and is of course as old as government itself (Wilson, 1887, p. 198).

Given these definitions, this course accepts and suggests that public administration is the administering or managing of government and its activities and the exercise of its powers. It is sometimes used synonymously with the term management or leadership. As such, those involved in the administration of government are often referred to as leaders, managers, or administrators. It follows, this course suggests, that administrators work to manage the power and activities of government.

There are many who would debate what these activities are or what the role of government is and what it should be. There is much debate about how and why activities of government are conducted as they are. It is perhaps opportune to announce here that this course is not an evaluation of government, bureaucracies, or bureaucrats. Offered here is a purely technical point of view that suggests to adequately and effectively provide governmental services, bureaucracies consist of established structures, rules and regulations, and well-trained personnel that provide specialized service, depending on need.

Basically, this course suggests citizens want government to help them cope with the problems of day-to-day living; they want government to treat them fairly and to provide the services that respond to their needs.

To attempt a level of fairness, governments generate regulations that are compiled in rule books called statutes. To ensure adequate and effective services, governments call on others for help. For example, one thing they do is set up various organizations they call bureaucracies to perform needed functions. Policing is one of those bureaucracies; yet, as stated previously, some officers are unaware that police are asked to fulfil government responsibilities and objectives. Let’s take a closer look at public administration.

 Public Administration, Continued

The purpose of this activity is to illustrate the extent of the Act.

Schedule I provides a list of departments to which the Act applies.

An even better appreciation might be had if you scroll through the regulations on the bottom of the page.

• For instance, these regulations tell us that if we were to attend training at the police academy at RCMP Depot Division in Regina, Saskatchewan, we could expect to pay $17 a day for accommodation and $31 per hour of classroom instruction. (See Royal Canadian Mounted Police Training Academy Fees Order)
• Then, in the upper left hand corner click on Consolidated Acts and then work to locate the RCMP Act which, in Module 1, we defined as a consolidated act of parliament. You might want to spend a minute or two here to appreciate the number of Acts that the government uses to provide services to the citizens of Canada.

To combat the complexity and to make our examination of public administration more relevant, this module narrows the field to two major roles of government: its service and regulatory functions.

In 2.3 we take a closer look at how government services are provided.

A Closer Look at Public Administration

Outcome 1: Explain what is meant by the terms administration, public administration, and police administration

As this module suggests, governments, at least Canadian governments, are viewed as organizations or bureaucracies that exist to provide various services that respond to the needs of its citizens. To deliver services and to enforce these laws and regulations, government uses the various departments which are known as bureaucracies. Bureaucracies are organizations or systems that allow leaders to administer areas and people under their authority.

Bureaucracies have been used around the world for thousands of years and haven’t much changed except that where once they were used to control subject populations, they are now used to fulfil government roles which, to reiterate, is to provide services and to enforce regulation (Riggs, 1997).

All bureaucracies tend to have an organizational hierarchical structure; unity of command; specialization of labour; employment and promotion based on merit; full-time employment; decision based on impersonal rules; importance of written files; and bureaucratic employment totally separate from the bureaucrat’s private life (Weber, 1947). Some suggest the creation of bureaucracies allows for a collective behaviour and focus. The strength in bureaucratic structures is the ability of such a structure to allow for the effective coordination of complex operations and resources to provide expected services.

While these bureaucratic features have been in existence in various parts of the world for centuries, they were not developed in Canada until the 1800s. As one might imagine, early in Canadian history, life was much simpler for its citizens and so too for its government. In a country as young as Canada, it is perhaps not difficult to image a time when the demands on government were few as a result of our country’s small population and the expanse of our Canadian geography. It is perhaps not difficult either to imagine that those limited needs could be met with fewer governmental departments or bureaucracies and with less far reaching rules and regulations. RCMP officers, for instance, provided services that were other than fighting crime.

Over the last century, however, a number of developments or changes have resulted in ever more complicated needs and increased government. For instance, there were the impacts of population growth and expansion; globalization; information technology; and past and present economic challenges, such as the great depression of the 1930s. There were the impacts of Canadian confederation, the quiet revolution and the 1970 October Crisis in Quebec, the world wars, the Oka Crisis and the Gulf War, as well as our participation in Afghanistan.

As the needs grew or changed, bureaucracies have grown or gotten smaller, or were established and abandoned depending on the perceived needs of citizens and the various contexts of Canadian society.