Policing strategy in the United States encompasses two critical aspects, including crime-fighting and community care-taking responsibilities. The police must adhere to the key professionalism standards to meet the assigned tasks and enforcement functions. Therefore, the concept of professionalism in law enforcement is the critical feature of the legalistic style of policing, together with the implementation of single standard enforcement throughout the community. According to Cole, Smith & DeJong (2017), police officers are expected to “detain a substantial number of young offenders, take vigorous action against illegal enterprises, issue tragic tickets, and perform the violation arrests” (p. 227). With that said, I believe that police officers should be professional, polite, and law-abiding when performing their policing functions.
Professional courtesy in law enforcement implies the high-standard anticipations from the current society based on trust and public safety. As such, the police should strictly follow the existing law and lead by example, which cannot be achieved by solely efficient work that allows an unethical policing attitude. Considering the latest events of severe and highly immoral police actions, it is of the utmost importance for the police officers to stay rational, respectful, and act with a clear mind. Enforcement officers should always be ready to serve the community without hurting it and undermining people’s trust. This might be accomplished through proper communication, high level of integrity, excellent technical skills, and resilience. In my opinion, the community policing style is the best approach to address the crime-fighting stance through problem-oriented law enforcement. This style of policing is fundamental because it helps to prevent community-based crimes and shifts the focus of patrol activities to non-urgent services. Most importantly, it increases the responsibility delivered by the police towards the public and engages residents in the decision-making process.
Reference
Cole, G. F., Smith, C. E., & DeJong, C. (2017). The American system of criminal justice (16th ed.). Cengage Learning.