Policing Styles

Policing Styles

Policing in the United States and has been around since 1838. The first police department was founded in Boston, Massachusetts due to reoccurring urban mob violence. Soon other major cities formed police departments which replaced the existing old and outdated systems (Siegel &Worrall, 2010, pg173).Over the years, police departments and police officers have evolved and changed to counter crime. Technology has played a gargantuan role in the overall preparation of a police officer and his department when it comes to the successful apprehension of criminals. There are three main styles of policing today's society, and they are all similar in many ways because they send criminals running like scared puppies.

The first policing style is called "community policing." Siegel &Worrall (2010) define community policing as consisting of a "program that brings the general public and police officers together for a more cooperative environment" (p. 223). This is an effective style because a police officer is seen as more of a protector of the community than a "bad guy." The "bad guy" reputation that the public gives police officers is not an easy thing to get rid of. It takes years of hard work and a lot of community involvement to show the people in the general public that the police officers of that department care for their safety and well-being. There are a lot of ways police officers get involved with the community that I have seen personally. Events such as fairs or public social gatherings where society has an open invitation to come are some of the most common. This allows the police officer to get a direct contact with the people in his/her community and provide first hand protection for them as well.

The second style of policing is called "problem-oriented policing." This style involves "police management that stresses proactive problem solving instead of reactive crime fighting" (Siegel & Worrall, 2010, p. 225). This method demonstrates the old saying, "if you take care of the small things, then the big things will work themselves out." For instance, if a certain area in the community has had problems with prostitution then police officers might set up a sting operation. A sting operation is when a certain police officer goes undercover when his/her fellow police officers are watching, while staying out of sight, until a crime has been committed. After the crime has been committed, the police officers that are concealed, spring into action to make the arrest and put the criminal into custody. A proactive officer would not simply be waiting to respond to a call over the radio. A proactive officer is getting to the small problem before it becomes a massive problem. In order to keep police officers proactive, their departments will keep them in areas where crime levels are high, and over a period time, the crime level for that given area will show decline.

According to Siegel & Worrall