Virtual County Police Department the Case Study

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Part II crimes that the Uniform Crime Reporting Program identifies include an additional of 16 types of crime that range from minimal assault to disorderly conduct to vandalism. Part III crimes, on the other hand, include all the criminal activities that are beyond the scope of part I and part II criminal offences. These statistics show that there is a consistent pattern with the most and the least common offences maintaining the statuses throughout the period. From the statistics, it is apparent that from 2005 to 2008, part I offences are the most common as compared to part II and part III offences. Similarly, part II crimes are more common than part III offences in the years given. Among the part I offences, theft rates highest, throughout the four-year period while homicide has the least number of cases reported throughout the same period. For part II offences, vandalism is the leading offence with the highest number of offences reported throughout the four-year period while prostitution has the least number of reported cases during the same period. Part III cases have to do with the offences that relate to the complaints against personnel. Among them, complaints against personnel with regard to their conduct were leading throughout the period while the least number of cases relate to conformance to law. From the statistics on the arrests made, it is clear that there were more adult arrests than juvenile arrests throughout the four years. On the other hand there were more arrests for part II offences than for part I offences despite the number of part I cases reported being more than those for part II do. However, with regard to the offences reported during the four years, there is no consistent progression or reduction in the number of offences. For instance, there were 262 robbery cases in the year2005, 277 in 2006, 244 in 2007, and 257 in 2008.

It is paramount that the police department work towards ensuring a reduction of offences rather than being reactive. Crime prevention is an essential aspect that all police departments should take into account. According to Brandon, and David (2012), it stands out as a significant element of an inclusive policy to reduce crime. This could be through developmental crime reduction, in order to prevent the advancement of criminal prospective in individuals. On the other hand, using situational prevention is crucial in averting the occurrence of crimes by decreasing opportunities and increasing the risk and problems of offending (Clarke, 2009). The police department could also work with the members of the public to design a community prevention strategy that will transform the social environment and institutions that influence offence in suburban communities. There is also need for the department to work towards reducing the number of imprisonments that they make. This will help reduce the level of offences because the cost savings arising from this strategy will be helpful in enhancing hot spots policing and other valuable policing strategies that will avert crime (Braga and Weisburd, 2010).

In order to address the issues that face the Virtual police department, there a number of steps that they can take. The core of the many issues that the department faces is corruption and in order to address the issue of corruption, there is a need to put in place measures that will curb the menace. From the background information, it is clear that promotions and transfers are not on merit, but on personal relationships and corrupt ways. In addition, there is a tendency of policy officers receiving bribes from the public. In order to tackle this issue, it is paramount that the department establishes a stern approach to root out corruption by putting in place a clear channel of communication with the members of the public in order to facilitate the reporting of corrupt police behavior without apprehension of retribution. There is a requirement for an internal investigative system, with an array of internal controls that govern the system, to ensure a fair and transparent manner of carrying out investigations. If there is a need, the authority should act uncompromisingly on actionable investigation results. In addition, having a system where there is an automatic generation of postings by software for each employee after a given time interval (Agarwal, and Transparency International India, 2008). Similarly, there is need to put in place an objective criterion for promotions and transfers so that individual judgment plays a limited role. These processes will work as a powerful deterrent to corruption and give rise to renewed assurance in the department by the citizens it serves.

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Once there is a method in place to discourage corruption, the department should put in place a sequence of comprehensible benchmarks that are related to performance in order to have a scheme to scrutinize and monitor improvement. By establishing a system for monitoring the performance of police officers, this will substantially increase the accountability of individual police officers. According to Agarwal and Transparency International India (2008), these benchmarks will ensure that the department's human resources have a set of firm guiding principles by which they can measure their performance. This will also ensure that the police officers' security is indisputable by the knowledge that they are achieving the expectations of the department's management. Some of the benchmarks that the department's administration might put in place include a targeted reduced crime rate, attainment of a target of positive the public feedback indicators, a given number of successfully accomplished community policing assignments, or setting up a given number of visual impacts per an individual of patrol units traversing their neighborhoods.

Lack of employee motivation is another challenge that the Virtue department of police is facing and there is a necessity to address this issue vividly. Like in any other organization, it is the duty of the supervisors and managers to motivate officers in order to attain the goals of the department (Gaines, and Worrall, 2012). It is crucial that the department develops a merit-based incentive scheme to support motivation for performance and promote improvement. The department should put in place a sophisticated criterion, which allows all employees in the department to have prospects to attain a reward because of merit. The agency should make sure that the criteria they choose have a strong link to the benchmarks of performance, as mentioned earlier. This is because a scantily administered merit scheme can result in allegations of preferential treatment, which will worsen morale.

The philosophy of community policing is pivotal in gaining the confidence of the members of the public. According to Mark and Janet (2010), police departments that engage in clear decision-making processes, which cautiously balances the interests of the department and those of the community are better able to promote collaboration between the people and the police department. A number of policing functions that affect members of the public, and putting in place systems to enhance responsive and accountable local policing is paramount. These functions are local in nature and may include traffic regulations, patrolling, and trial for offences such as eve teasing or public nuisance. A local force accountable to citizen committee can oversee the enforcement of law in these cases, and it should have a small area of jurisdiction, which will result in enhanced involvement and interaction with citizens. It is essential for the leadership of the department to appreciate that community policing might be a useful tool in creating a greater union of purpose among citizens, organizations, neighborhoods, and the broader welfare of the community.

The chief of police of the Virtual police department should have a fixed tenure of office to enhance functional independence. Transfers and postings should not be as a kind of reward or punishment as this will make the chiefs owe allegiance to the county executives, who appointed them. In addition, there has to be in place a committee of experts to oversee the selection of the chief of police in the department. This is to ensure that only competent and qualified officers take the position of leadership. This is because the committee of experts will be at a better position to select, from a given panel of officers, the best-suited candidates because of merit and seniority.

Finally, the police agency should carry out an image management operation to draw attention to the new development. The department should also openly recognize the achievements of the department's employees who advance in the good point system and support supplementary public feedback. This public-relations crusade will motivate employees to keep on executing their duties in a better way and will enlighten the citizens about the successes of these employees, which should enhance benevolence within the community.

From the above report, it is eminent that police departments face a number of challenges, which hinder their overall performance. This could be administrative or operational challenges, and it is important the stakeholders carry out thorough investigations to identify weak areas and make the recommendation. This will ensure that the employees….....

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