Cop's Responsibilities: Beyond Enforcing Laws - Essay Sample

It is important to note that as part of law enforcement strategies, cops have various complex responsibilities that they perform. Preventing crimes, enforcing different laws, providing support services to the people, and responding to emergencies are examples of such duties (Turnbull et al. 513). However, even though the majority think that the only responsibility of a cop is to enforce laws, the other responsibilities mentioned above are equally important. While discharging their duties, cops protect the property and lives of citizens as they patrol in the streets on foot or in squad cars. They work as detectives investigating various crimes and also control traffic. While back in the office, a cop may be assigned in the record department or the crime laboratory. All these responsibilities of a cop are dangerous and need all kinds of support from various stakeholders (Turnbull et al. 515). Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to discuss this issue while stating the main reasons supporting this topic. Also, a discussion on the reasons why cops may not necessarily need national support will be made. Lastly, the paper will discuss the whole issue by mentioning the reasons for and against both sides of this issue.

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However, despite all these efforts and the nature of their duties, cops have been accorded enough support but are still engaged in unlawful activities like massive bribery (Turnbull et al. 516). As a result, cops do not necessarily need additional support from the national government but instead should be made to understand that they are also not above the law. By doing this, many cops will realize that they have been given enough support by the national government and will start toeing the line (Carbado et al. 159).

There have been several cases of civilian deaths resulting from careless police shooting and coercion across various states (Carbado et al. 159). A recent example of police carelessness and the use of force was the death of George Floyd, which happened in Minneapolis. In this scenario, it is the civilians that need support and not the cops. The killing of unarmed civilians by cops have drawn much attention in the recent past. As a result, the relationship between the police and the citizens with whom they are responsible for their safety has greatly deteriorated (Carbado et al. 159). Because of the low levels of trust created by the cops, the most pressing question is how citizens will survive among these cops who continue to kill them in cold blood.

To be able to deal with such cops and streamline the police department across the states, stringent measures and policies should be taken (Nix and Scott 84). In the distant past, the police department had many problems that the national government chipped in to offer massive support. During this time, when they were hardly surviving in their jobs, the cops were disciplined and determined. However, after the government commenced offering support in improving their living standards and general welfare improvement, the cops began to feel that they were above the law (Nix and Scott 86). Undeniably, and as mentioned above, cops play a vital role in citizens' lives and welfare. However, it has reached a point that their actions should be scrutinized so that the government can be able to have a focused, disciplined, and a hardworking police department. Cooperation with the public and other stakeholders, the cops' responsibilities will not be observed as dangerous because of the smooth and easy coordination of their activities. In other words, it is the cops that have made their jobs dangerous by creating and increasing enmity between them and the citizens (Nix and Scott 87).

Understandably, to curb the behavior of rogue cops that increase the enmity between the police department and the public that leads to the desire for support from the national government, some measures should be put in place (Ma et al. 25). One of these measures could be in the form of conditions in acquiring and revoking of the state licenses. In this manner, cops with current or past questionable behaviors or conduct can be revoked. It cannot be denied that some cops do not follow simple directions given, cannot communicate properly and respectfully through clear thoughts and recollections as well as poor performance in general (Ma et al. 28). In such a case, according to such a police officer, enough time and appropriate training will not correct or change his deficiencies.

It is my belief, therefore, that cops do not have dangerous jobs. Still, it complicates the nature of their duties to look dangerous as a result of their various unmatched behaviors across states against the citizens (Carbado et al. 159). These should be classified as part of individual and departmental reflections within the states, and therefore they do not require any form of national support. Instead of the support in any way, the national government, through the state departments, need to act beyond just revoking the licenses of rogue cops. Another important measure that should be put in place is introducing legislation that will help disaccredit police departments that do not meet the national police (Ma et al. 29).

The complexity of the police's responsibilities and duties points to the fact that they require extra support from everyone, not only the national government (Turnbull et al. 518). One of the reasons that support the fact that cops deserve national support because of their dangerous job is the sacrifice they make. In most cases, cops put their lives in the line while protecting the citizens' properties and lives. They are people too, and therefore they need support from everyone so that they can perform their duties effectively. Cops also have children, fathers, and mothers, but they sacrifice because of their country (Turnbull et al. 518). Because of this, they require maximum support. Cops are always elevated by their willingness to sacrifice by setting citizens before them.

Another factor why cops need support is their commitment to excellence. Police officers cannot know the new challenges they encounter or any new threats they are expected to confront. At the same time, on duty, and this makes their job to be very dangerous hence require physical, mental, and even emotional support from everyone (Turnbull et al. 520). In most cases, cops do not know what the day holds for them. It could be an encounter with a loaded weapon or a high-speed collision, and this is the reason why they put in the training, time, and effort that it takes to confront the unexpected events. Their commitment to perform at the highest level, no matter the situation, makes them effective even in the most stressful circumstance (Nix and Scott 90). Because of this, the cops require national support and from every citizen.

Also, the cops perform their duties because they are committed to serving all the people (Frank et al. 348). The officers love where they live, and therefore, they want citizens to thrive in their various endeavors. Their need for public safety is a public service, and that exactly what their work entails. Because of all these, there is a need to support the cops so that they can perform their duties (Frank et al. 350).

For a long time, police offices have been living in deplorable conditions. However, because of the dangerous nature of their job, they require support from everyone. Notably, for them to have good living conditions, the government should establish an effort to correct this situation (Nix and Scott 95). For example, to support the police force, the government should build modern housing for the cops. Also, by offering good salaries and wages to the police, they will happily discharge their duties without feeling the difficulty and the dangerousness of their job. Alternatively, the public can also offer support to the police department by ensuring that they report the wrongdoers and not by taking the law into their own hands. This will enable the cops to execute the cases with ease. Further, the public can also support the cops by ensuring that they avoid engaging in unlawful activities that can entangle them with the police (Nix and Scott 106).

Just like other professions, police officers also make a lot of mistakes that make it an undesirable profession to many people through their acts (Frank et al. 355). As mentioned above, a higher percentage of the dangerous nature of the duties of cops are caused by the cops themselves through recklessness and neglect of laws and regulations. Because of this, and with keen observation, there is no need for extra support because it is not only cops whose duties are dangerous (Frank et al. 360). For example, firefighters risk their lives too, and they also require maximum support to safeguard their lives.

It is understood that for proper coordination of all the agencies, they all need support from everyone and especially the national government (Bell 2054). However, it cannot be denied that the duties of a cop are a little bit dangerous because of its nature and, therefore, requires everyone's input in terms of support. The benefits of offering this support cannot be understated.

The issue of supporting the police force or not is a very precarious matter. However, caution should be taken while deciding to support or not (Bell 2054). A proper procedure should be put in place to ensure that this process is a success without interfering with other departments that may also require such support. The importance of this is that it ensures smooth operation of other related departments without causing panic that would otherwise be caused by open support of a single department (Carbado et al. 159).

In conclusion, it cannot be denied that the nature of the duties of a cop requires extra support. The support can be through the government's support by employing various ways like improved living conditions and salary, among others. However, in some cases, the cops are responsible for the hostile and dangerous nature of their jobs as a result of their recklessness and indiscipline. Therefore, they might not need support as this may only exacerbate their bad behavior by feeling protected. With appropriate strategies, it is important to note that it would be easier to identify areas where cops’ duties are threatened and their need support, as well as where the jobs are safe and do not need to be supported.

Works Cited

Bell, Monica C. "Police reform and the dismantling of legal estrangement." Yale lJ 126 (2016): 2054. www.digitalcommons.law.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6141&context=fss_papers. Accessed on 15th July, 2020.

Carbado, Devon W., and Patrick Rock. "What exposes African Americans to police violence." Harv. CR-CLL Rev. 51 (2016): 159. www.harvardcrcl.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2009/06/HLC104_crop.pdf. Accessed on 15th July, 2020.

Frank, James, Eric G. Lambert, and Hanif Qureshi. "Examining police officer work stress using the job demands–resources model." Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice 33.4 (2017): 348-367. www.researchgate.net/profile/Hanif_Qureshi/publication/319405082_Examining_Police_Officer_Work_Stress_Using_the_Job_Demands-Resources_Model/links/5b5f1f200f7e9bc79a6f32ca/Examining-Police-Officer-Work-Stress-Using-the-Job-Demands-Resources-Model.pdf. Accessed on 15th July, 2020.

Ma, Claudia C., et al. "Shift work and occupational stress in police officers." Safety and health at work 6.1 (2015): 25-29. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2093791114000766. Accessed on 15th July, 2020.

Nix, Justin, and Scott E. Wolfe. "The impact of negative publicity on police self-legitimacy." Justice quarterly 34.1 (2017): 84-108. www.digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1067&context=criminaljusticefacpub. Accessed on 15th July, 2020.