Police Operations
Fenisa Williams
CJA-214
October 24, 2011
Kimberly Rieson
Police Operations Policing agencies have a number of responsibilities and operations they must perform regardless if they are at the local, state, or federal level of the government. Even though there are similarities and differences between the agencies, there is still room for improvement in reference to the working relationships and communication among them. In addition, regardless if the agency is classified as a local, state, or federal agency, these agencies encounter the same day-to-day police dangers, use similar technology, and use the same basic types of weaponry.
Dangers of Policing Each day an officer awakes to go to work his or her life is in danger. The dangers can range from getting into a car wreck on the way to work, while responding to a call, poor nutrition, assaulted on the scene of a call, and from handling of apprehend suspects. Driving is part on an officer’s daily duty; however, that does not make him or her immune to a car crash. Not only do they have to pay attention to what they are doing but also must be aware of the other hundreds of vehicles to who they are sharing the roadway. When an officer gets into a police chase, the likelihood of a wreck increases significantly. Therefore, an officer must have a valid reason to initiate a car chase. Another danger to an officer is the issue of his or her health. Police officers normally work rotating shifts and eat large amounts of fast food. The rotating shift alone can make someone’s health fail, let alone adding the fast food to it. Shift work can have terrible effects on one’s circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms, also known as the body’s internal clock, are a 24-hour cycle. The rise of the sun and nightfall affects the rhythms (Psychology Today 2009). When the rhythm is interrupted by rotating shifts, it cause sleep disorders and unhealthy eating patterns. This can also add to the chances of an officer involved wreck. In reference to eating, what happens is the officer will get sleepy and to combat this feeling, he or she will grab something to eat. If the officer is on nightshift, after a certain time most places to get something nutritious to eat are closed. The officer will grab doughnuts, chips, soda, or fast food. If this keeps up, it will eventually cause severe health issues such as high blood pressure and obesity. Out of many dangers an officer can come upon, the biggest threat to an officer is to his physical wellbeing by the suspect of a crime that he or she are trying to apprehend. When a suspect realize that he or she is about to be arrested, there is always the chance the suspect will resist and result to further acts of violence. This time the violence is directed toward the arresting officer. Suspects have been known to spit, fight, or even shoot at the officers. All three of these acts can ultimately lead to loss of life of the officers. With spitting and fighting, the main concern is the transference of bodily fluids. Today there are so many diseases spread through body fluids. One of the main diseases that can be passed onto the officer if a suspect spits in his or her face is tuberculosis. This disease can be deadly. If the officer gets into a fight with the suspect and lacerations occur in the process, most likely the officer will be exposed to his or her blood. Two of the scariest diseases could be passed onto the officer, HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Both of these diseases are deadly and without the proper treatment, the officer’s life is in jeopardy.
Technology Used in Policing Technology currently being used in policing is far more advanced than it was 20 years ago. Computers have made it so officers no longer have to rely on radio communications only. In addition to the integration of computers to aid the officers in the daily activities of the officers, advancements have been made so the officers have other options to choose from the having to use deadly force. Great strides have been made to implement the use of less lethal options. Police officers currently have access to mobile computers. The mobile computer also known as MCT (mobile computer terminal) or MDT (mobile data terminal) are mounted into each officer’s vehicle. By having the computer in the vehicle, it allows the officer to get the information instantly from the communications center and not have to rely on radio communications only. With the addition of the computer to the officer’s vehicle, it has had a great impact on response times. While one officer is getting the information over the radio, another officer can look at his or her MDT and see any pending calls in the area. The benefit is that the officers can go ahead and assign themselves to the call and already be in route to assist the original responding officer. The next advancement in technology was with the weaponry used. In the past, an officer’s defense mechanism in an emergency was his or her firearm. This resulted in an overuse of deadly force. Now the officers have many less lethal options to choose. Some of the options are a baton, beanbags, baton discharger, and rubber bullets (DOJ, 2010). A baton is a round wand like mechanism that can extend to different lengths. It can be made of metal or plastic. Bean bags are squares made of cloth. They are filled with birdshot made of lead and is inserted into a shotgun shell. The shotguns have to be modified to use beanbags. A baton discharger is usually a shotgun that has been modified to discharge batons, depending on the situation the discharger can launch a single baton that is lengthy or numerous smaller ones. Rubber bullets have been used in many riots. It allows the officers to take control of a crowd without severe injuries. The bullets are inside a normal shotgun shell. The firearm of choice for rubber bullets is normally a 12-gauge (DOJ, 2010). Less lethal options only have not been used to protect the officers but also to keep the suspect from harming themselves and other civilians. Future of Policing. The future of policing will depend on how well the relationships among the agencies improve and collaboration in using the technology. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has concluded that in order for advancement in counter-terrorism, natural or manmade disasters, and technology issues, there must be better communication, information collection, and sharing of the information between the agencies that carries these responsibilities (Grant & Terry, 2008). The agencies at all levels must be will to work with one another as set the egos aside. No one agency is superior to another. Each must work toward one come goal, the prevention of crime. A great deal of time and research has gone into discovering the types of technology that would help propel law enforcement in the future. However, with advancement of technology also comes vulnerability. It gives criminals a new way of committing crimes, but similarly it gives officers innovative tools to bring the criminals to a standstill. In the future, law enforcement can be a step ahead by the sharing of information with the appropriate agencies. Because of the constant advancements in technology, police operations, communications, and weaponry, the future of policing can be taken to unknown limits.

References
Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC 2009. Retrieved October 24, 2011. www.psychologytoday.com/basic
Department of Justice Use of less Lethal Weapons. October 2010. Retrieved October 24, 2011. www.justice.gov
Grant, H.B. & Terry, K.J. 2008. Law Enforcement in the 21st Century, 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Walker, S. & Katz, C.M. 2008. The Police in America: An Introduction, 6th ed. New York, NY. McGraw-Hill.