Project 3 - Copy

.docx

School

Southern New Hampshire University *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

Q4452

Subject

History

Date

Apr 3, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

6

Uploaded by PresidentSeaUrchinPerson311 on coursehero.com

CJ 205 Project Three Leah Fossett Southern New Hampshire University CJ 205- Policing in the United States December 18, 2022 The issues of public trust that arise are the issue of homelessness in and around Skid Row. The issue of homelessness causes several different concerns that can impact public trust. Some of the concerns that arise relevant to this scenario are that store owners such as Anne have expectations set for how officers should respond to the situation, when officers respond in a way other than what was hoped for trust can be hindered. In this situation Anne a business owner is mad because she feels as though the man standing outside her store panhandling is affecting her business. Anne expects that the police will quickly remove the man from outside the storefront immediately. Anne wants the issue of homelessness around her store to end altogether and feels like the police should address the issue. Another instance where issues of public trust arise is when the public perceives the response of law enforcement as inconsistent to other occurrences. The officer made the best choice that he could have made in response to the homeless man panhandling outside of a locally owned business. The police officer could have decided to arrest the man however, as Officer Hoakiko stated he believed that arresting the man would be only a temporary fix to this issue and instead decided to offer the individual the recourses needed (VA hospital where they would treat his alcohol abuse disorder and any psychiatric problems) to change his life and aid him back into being an active member of the community. The officer
could have, however, shown the same amount of empathy that he did for the homeless man for Anne by expressing an understanding for her concerns. The officer could have also, after the de- escalation of the incident, spoken to Anne one on one and communicated with her his decisions, and shed light on his thought process when making this choice. It is important for the police officer to communicate with Anne that the man is going to receive help which hopefully will eliminate or minimize the possibility of another occurrence where the man is outside of her store intoxicated panhandling. Discretion was used when Officer Hoakiko decided to not arrest the man and instead take on a different approach. “Discretion can be defined as having the authority to choose between two or more courses of behavior.” Pollock, J. M. (2018) The approach that the police officer took on instead was to assist the man by offering him recourses as he needed help. During the officer's encounter with the man, the man was incredibly open with law enforcement expressing that he was drinking a lot due to stress. The man also shared with the officer that he was homeless, and a Vietnam veteran and he had been struggling with adjusting to normal civilian life since coming home. Procedural justice places special attention on how law enforcement interacts with the public, procedural justice analyzes these interactions to identify the key characteristics possessed by law enforcement that help to format the public perception of law enforcement. For example, characteristics such as: being fair when making decisions, transparency; explaining actions/ decisions, and being respectful are all factors that positively exert influence on the Public's perception of law enforcement being legitimate. Transparency can aid the LAPD in building public trust. In this given situation, law enforcement can use different techniques such as body
cameras. Law enforcement could in this scenario benefit from the use of body cameras, as body camera footage can be presented in court as evidence and many individuals feel as though body cameras hold officers accountable for their actions. Concerning this specific situation, law enforcement could benefit from the use of body cameras to monitor law enforcement encounters with the homeless and to follow up on any procedures that were taken place to ensure that law enforcement is actively working on the issue in an effective manner. However, another form of technology that law enforcement can utilize to gain the trust of the public is social media and the creation of posts. Law enforcement can share with the community the issue that they are focusing on homelessness and provide a list of goals along with a course of action that they plan to take to successfully reach their goal, by creating this outline the public will grow expectations this makes it possible for the public to hold law enforcement accountable. Community policing places emphasis on effective problem-solving and working with the community to identify and solve problems. “Community policing is an approach toward crime that addresses the underlying causes of crime and endeavors to apply long-term problem solving to the issue through improved police–community partnerships and communication.” Carter, S. B. (2018) Law enforcement who take on the community policing approach have a duty as a problem solver. The community policing approach is a valuable approach for problems that we face today. The style of policing is valuable as it puts emphasis on the importance of strong relationships created between law-enforcement and the members of the community. This style of policing also places special importance on law enforcement working with the community as a team to identify and solve problems together. “This model supports Trojanowicz’s belief that “community policing is a philosophy of full-service personalized policing, where the same
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
  • Access to all documents
  • Unlimited textbook solutions
  • 24/7 expert homework help