Reply to both 250 words
1)
1. What do you think about the article?
I like the diagram that they provided. It showed a great example of what police departments go through. I believe the reason we think police departments deal with serious offenses is that that is what the media portrays to us. We do not see the other side of police work. One of the biggest issues it seems they deal with is unfounded radio calls. This takes up a big part of their day.
2. Should we gauge police effectiveness on Part 1 violent crimes?
No, we should not gauge their effectiveness on Part 1 violent crimes. This is not the biggest part of what an officer does. We should gauge their effectiveness as a whole not on one part.
3. Do you think the police should change the way they respond to calls?
I think there are always ways to improve the way we respond to calls. I think these fall to researching what policing ways work the best. You also must look at the area that the officer is responding to. The way police respond to calls is not the same for every department.
4. How could police reduce the time they spend on some of these other types of calls?
I believe more proactive policing would help reduce the amount of time spent on these calls. If they notice a trend in a certain area, they may spend more time in that area, which might lower the number of calls. I also believe that community presence would help reduce the calls they receive. I also believe that they should investigate hiring individuals to look into the unfounded radio calls. This seems to take up a lot of their time. If they could eliminate some of the unfounded calls, they could focus on more pressing issues.
References:
Ratcliffe, J. H. (2021). Policing and public health calls for service in Philadelphia. Crime Science, 10(1), 1-6.
2)
The role of crime in the work of the Philadelphia Police
What do you think about the article?
The article was interesting and pointed to the annual assessment of the nation’s largest city police departments homicide rates. This assessment is conducted by political authorities and media outlets at the beginning of each new year and measures the efficacy within metropolitan police departments based on the yearly number of homicides reported (Ratcliffe, 2016). The approach to assessing the criminal data involves the partnership between different, but overlapping entities within the realm of politics, law enforcement, and communication platforms. Both politician and the media play a role in how law enforcement is represented to the public, so their involvement in assessing the data is important and valid when applying a universal approach to combating crime.
The case study focused on the annual crime rates of the nation’s fourth largest police department, the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD). The PPD responds to millions of service calls annually and a large portion of these calls become incidences (Ratcliffe, 2016). The PPD’s annual assessment includes violent personal offenses (part 1 Index crimes) and the assessment of minor offenses involving police interaction. The map or figure provided pinpointed the particular crime to a particular location within the city (Ratcliffe, 2016). This allows the PPD to have a visual aid that can assist law enforcement administrators and supervisors within the department in deploying resources in the appropriate areas during the appropriate time. It also allows the department the ability to educate their patrol officers to certain criminal activities within their beat (Ratcliffe, 2016).
Should we gauge police effectiveness on Part 1 violent crimes?
No, not necessarily because part 1 crimes involve violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault and in some cases many of these incidences are domesticated such as homicides committed by family or acquaintances or incidences of domestic violence (Ratcliffe, 2016). These acts of violence in many ways are out of the control of law enforcement and involves choices and behaviors of the party’s involved such as drug use, finances, and infidelity. Robbery, rape, and gang violence can be crime related to opportunity and environment, which can be measured in the effectiveness of law enforcement and other sectors of the local government in terms of funding, the supply of social aid, average academic level of residents, and other related social factors. The crime rate (violent and property) cannot fall solely on the backs of law enforcement, according to much of the research I have studied, poverty plays a major role in crime rates and law enforcement have no authority, training, or responsibility to fix or properly address the poverty problems within the nation. That is why community-oriented policing is a useful method that involves key players such as politicians and the media to help shed light and bring change to criminal behavior affecting cities and counties throughout the nation.
Do you think the police should change the way they respond to calls?
I believe police should be more proactive towards crime and criminal behavior instead of waiting for calls for service. Police should still react to calls for service, but police officers should work within the community, especially in areas where crime is high. Police departments should use departmental data to identify problems within the community and form a plan of action based on the information analyzed. This approach allows officers the opportunity to be informed and trained in how to address and respond to certain crimes in certain areas (Ratcliffe, 2016). This approach also should involve all party’s affected by the criminal behavior such as the general public, businesses, and victims (if ethical appropriate) meaning that a response should not only apply to the criminal and criminal behavior but also to the community affected by the illegal activity (Peak & Glensor, 2018).
How could police reduce the time they spend on some of these other types of calls?
Police departments could supply local residents with information related to areas affected by high levels of property and violent crimes. The information analyzed by police departments should be disseminated to the local community, so that residents can better protect themselves from becoming a victim. Law enforcement should incorporate tips for residents on how to better protect themselves and their property and should be involved in neighborhood watch programs (Peak & Glensor, 2018). This can be accomplished by posting the information to the police department’s website and the department’s social media page. Another proactive approach would be to involve the media to broadcast tips and advise local residents about crime and ways to avoid becoming a victim. The department can have an officer host the broadcast to build community relations.
