What is the need of discipline?
The need for discipline in the Public Services in my opinion is very important. If the uniformed public services did not have discipline and rules about the way their employees should behave, then they would be free to do anything they wanted and be able to get away with it without consequences. If there was no discipline, targets would not be met and jobs would not be done properly. Such as in the police when a crime has been committed and the suspect is being prosecuted there is paper work that needs to be done and if there is no discipline then it would not be done.
Police – The Police need to be disciplined because there job is to protect the people in their area of derestriction. They need discipline so that they can do their duties as required, like arresting people: if they are not disciplined enough they could miss evidence or could arrest the wrong person because they couldn’t be bothered to work properly.(Codes of Professionalism) They need discipline so that they can report to emergencies properly and on time, like at a robbery: if they don’t get there on time they could miss the suspect or if they go there not paying attention someone could get hurt, whether that be hostages or people in the street.
Fire and Rescue – Fire and rescue services like the Fire brigade need discipline because if they didn’t, the chance of people being harmed and the chance of accidents rises. They need discipline because they need to be able to get to accidents quickly, like getting to a fire or getting to a collision: if they are not disciplined, they could be on call and an accident could happen and they would just casually take their time getting there, people could die or be harmed. They need to be disciplined because they need to follow the rules ‘by the book’ because the rules have been made to save lives: if they have no discipline and disobey the rules they are not just putting themselves in danger they are putting the people in an accident at danger.
Army – The Army need discipline because they usually wok under very extreme conditions and without discipline they could easily get killed. They need discipline because they need to stay calm in high pressured situations, like if you are in the bomb squad you are expected to be calm in whatever position you are in whether that be when you are de-fusing a bomb or being under fire from the enemy. They need discipline because they need to follow the rules they have been given by higher ranks (hierarchy) because they could be told to take a position round a corner so that they can report whether the enemy is coming or if they need to get to a high place and keep watch there. These orders are given to try and protect and save lives.
What would happen if the public services were not disciplined?
Police – if the police are not disciplined rules and procedures would be broken. An example for this would be if a police officer didn’t read them there rights to silence/codes of conduct to the suspect then they would not be able to hold the suspect for more than 24 hours. Some people think of the police as role models and if they weren’t disciplined then those people wouldn’t think that anymore. If a police officer doesn’t abide by the code of professional standards (http://www.ggm11.plus.com/code.htm) they could be put in a disciplinary act to try and make them respect the rules they have to abide by. This could include demotion, suspension or even getting fired.
Fire and Rescue – if the fire service are not disciplined they could put not just themselves at danger but the people in an accident whether that be a fire or a car collision. An example of this is if there is a fire and the fire fighter doesn’t get there fast enough because they were too busy having a cup of tea for example, rather than getting to the fire to putting it out, then people could get hurt or could even die. If a fire fighter is not disciplined enough to turn up to fitness days (a day they tribute to the teams fitness) they get put on disciplinary. Which means that they are given a warning and for the next 2 weeks they are watched during their time on call and if they do anything that is thought of as endangering the lives of the public or the team. This could include demotion, suspension, getting fired or even causing a death and that could hurt the most or even make them mentally unstable.
Army - if the Army are not disciplined they put the lives of themselves and of the public in danger. An example of this is if they are in an enemy country and they are under fire and if one man stays in the vehicle because he is too scared to move and his commander tells him to get out of the vehicle and he doesn’t listen he puts himself and his commander. ‘The mark of cane’ shows the consequences of this.
Would they be able to carry out their duty’s effectively without discipline?
Police – if the Police were not disciplined they could not because they would not be able to ‘protect and serve’ the community they work in.
Fire and rescue – if the Fire service were not disciplined they could not because they would be putting themselves before the community they are protecting (from fires)and they would be a hindrance to the team.
Army – if the Army were not disciplined then they could not because they would be too scared or too lazy to even try and protect their team or even the civilians they are trying to protect. And if they don’t protect their team then there team won’t protect them witch could end up in there death.
