Critical Issues in Policing
Critical Issues in Policing
CJA/ 214
Critical Issues in Policing
Introduction
There are a number of critical issues when concerning policing and this task quite frankly is not an easy one. Police officers have to be mindful of many things that affect how their job must be done. This paper will discuss the dangers of policing and how it affects police officers; less-than-lethal-weapons and the benefits that it has for officers and our community; past, present, and future technology of policing and some of the benefits that they entail; Homeland Security and law enforcements relationship; and Police Deviance.
DANGER POLICING
There are many dangers concerning the work of a police officer. Officers face various types of dangers and risk. When a person signs up to become an officer of the law, they already know the nature of the job means that they will be putting themselves at risk of different dangers. Possessing the job of protecting others and keeping peace within the community is a risk in itself. Some of these dangers that officers face every day of their lives are health problems like getting the following high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive hormones, heart problems, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a big one is suicide and this is from the stress of the job (Zink, 2012). It does not only affect an officer’s physical health but also their mental health and with that is where suicide can come into the picture. Driving is also another danger that an officer faces because they can crash or get hit while on a traffic stop due to other drivers either not paying attention to what they are doing, not knowing how to drive, or they are under the influence of something; not the officer but the other driver. A big danger is getting hurt on the job in some way or another and even death. Officers face different people every day that can be in bad situations like fighting, on some type of drug, or just plain hate life and the
CJA/ 214
Critical Issues in Policing
Introduction
There are a number of critical issues when concerning policing and this task quite frankly is not an easy one. Police officers have to be mindful of many things that affect how their job must be done. This paper will discuss the dangers of policing and how it affects police officers; less-than-lethal-weapons and the benefits that it has for officers and our community; past, present, and future technology of policing and some of the benefits that they entail; Homeland Security and law enforcements relationship; and Police Deviance.
DANGER POLICING
There are many dangers concerning the work of a police officer. Officers face various types of dangers and risk. When a person signs up to become an officer of the law, they already know the nature of the job means that they will be putting themselves at risk of different dangers. Possessing the job of protecting others and keeping peace within the community is a risk in itself. Some of these dangers that officers face every day of their lives are health problems like getting the following high blood pressure, insomnia, increased levels of destructive hormones, heart problems, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and a big one is suicide and this is from the stress of the job (Zink, 2012). It does not only affect an officer’s physical health but also their mental health and with that is where suicide can come into the picture. Driving is also another danger that an officer faces because they can crash or get hit while on a traffic stop due to other drivers either not paying attention to what they are doing, not knowing how to drive, or they are under the influence of something; not the officer but the other driver. A big danger is getting hurt on the job in some way or another and even death. Officers face different people every day that can be in bad situations like fighting, on some type of drug, or just plain hate life and the