04/20/2014
Critical Issues A lot of things are different today then they use to be. Technology is constantly improving and changing. Police are constantly having to get new equipment and update the systems they already have. Each time they improve the technology police have to take new training classes to learn how to properly use the equipment. They also have different weapons. Some of their weapons could be considered lethal and some are considered less than lethal but again it all is part of new developments and they have to be trained to use them. With all of the new technology advancements and new weapons police are constantly faced with dangers and new challenges. Today’s world is all about new technology and the next big thing. Police officers constantly have to learn new technology so that they can more efficiently do their job. Thanks to the changes in technology police officers have a better chance of finding criminals and proving their cases. For example in the 1980’s police officers did not really have DNA testing. Because they did not have this, more people were able to get away with more crimes. Now that we have DNA testing technology it is easier to prove that a criminal was at the scene of the crime. Another example is the Amber Alert system. In Oklahoma a little girl named Amber was kidnapped from her mother and her mother pushed and pushed until she was able to get a system that broadcasted the Amber Alert on every television and radio and electronic billboard across the United States. This was a great idea because it got the word out all across the country and more people were aware to look out for this girl and aid in the search. Now we have social media sites that notify us whenever there is an Amber Alert. Also some police officers have thermal imaging devices so that it can read heat and make it easier to find people who have gone missing in fields. Computer systems are also a great technology for police that way they can input all of their cases and information into a national database so that agencies all over the world can access the information. While all of these technologies are great and can be a great help they also have their flaws. Technology is not perfect. Things can glitch and just turn off or people can hack into systems and mess things up or steal information. When police officers go out to a call they never know what to expect. They need weapons to protect themselves in case someone tries to harm them. Not all cases are bad enough to require the justification of shooting someone. Police officers have some weapons that are considered less than lethal such as pepper spray, a baton, and taser or stun gun. Pepper spray is more mild and can burn someone’s eyes and make it difficult for them to breathe providing the officer with the upper hand. The baton is like a long pole they carry on their hip in some cases a simple hit with a baton is all it takes. Sometimes the criminal is not cooperative and they get violent but not violent enough for a real gun so there is the stun gun which shoots out metal prongs that go into the skin and a long cord connects them to the gun and sends a small amount of electrical currents through the gun to the criminal. Even with all of these weapons and with all of the training and new technology police officers are not completely safe. No weapon is guaranteed to keep them safe and sometimes they panic and hesitate and get hurt and sometimes it is out of their control. Another issue they face is corruption. When in that line of work it is easy to be persuaded. Many officers have let people go in exchange for money or sex or even a chance to join in the illegal activity and protect the criminal because it is less likely to assume a cop is behind the crime. In addition officers are always under stress. They see things that most others do not see. They go to crime scenes where there have been murders of children and raped and beaten women. These things can have a toll on the officer. The best thing that they could do to help keep them safe is to really focus on their training, keep up on the new technology, and do their job as effectively as possible. If stress becomes a factor or their emotions get the best of them the best thing they could do is talk to a psychiatrist about what is going on with them so that they can decide what they need to do whether just talk about their issues, take medication, or switch careers.