Criminal Justice - Policing Styles Term Paper

Total Length: 1951 words ( 7 double-spaced pages)

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The most common modern incarnation of this style has evolved into "community policing" including the establishment of specific units within police agency dedicated to public contact and community relations. Typical examples of the community relations element of service style approaches include making officers available to grade school presentations and the establishment of child safety seat checking facilities, inviting citizens to have their child safety seats inspected by officers to ensure correct use and optimal occupant protection.

According to many crime theorists (Ellison 2006), service style and community-oriented policing styles are not appropriate to all communities. In particular, high-crime communities are better served by more proactive, legalistic styles.

Surprisingly, while middle class communities provide the optimal environment for implementation of service style policing and community. On the other hand, more affluent communities manifested a definite preference for a more watchman-like policing style, preferring little or no direct involvement with police functions outside of emergency need for their services (Nolan 2005).

Conclusion: Policing is a dynamic field that requires adaptation to the working environment and the adjustment of policing philosophy to the specific needs of different communities.

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As a result, various different styles of policing have evolved corresponding to the law enforcement functions considered most appropriate and beneficial to the community. In the earliest era of municipal policing, manpower and resource availability dictated the widespread use of the watchman style to the virtual exclusion of other policing styles, by necessity. As policing evolved as a public institution, other styles emerged, most notably, the legalistic style of strict, across-the-board code enforcement that severely limited the application of discretion employed by individual officers.

The service style, in several variations, is the most common approach to policing in the U.S. primarily because it allows for incorporation of elements of community policing in communities whose structure and demographics are conducive to its success.

At the same time, the service style is flexible enough in its application to address serious crime in a more focused manner without compromising the other necessities of essential police functions, including community relations......

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https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/criminal-justice-policing-styles-30342