History of the Police Organization

Description

Focus this essay on your Pittsburgh, PA area police department using some of the academic themes presented in your textbook. Answer the questions in a narrative as if you are being asked to describe your police department to a city council, mayor, or state representative who is seeking an objective citizen’s opinion. Give examples and be sure to specifically describe Pittsburgh and its demographics.

• What are the current strengths or excellent points of the police department?
• What are areas that are faults or problems in the police department?
• How well do the officers get along/relate (or not) with members of the public?
• What is the overall perception of the police officers? (In other words, how are they respected and viewed by the citizens and how does that affect the success of the police?)
• What role or policing style (per your textbook) does the police department operate by?
• What changes would you make to improve the police department, based on your answers above?
• What kind of training would most benefit the police officers that you see or know?
• If you were to develop a standard procedure for hiring police officers, what qualities or personalities would you want new police officers to have?

In answering with detail, try to provide several responses to each of the question points listed. You may need to consult local media reports, official web pages from your community law enforcement agencies, and possibly even justice department statistics. Be creative and have fun responding to this essay.