Policing

Policing Policing refers to the act of regulating, controlling or enforcement of law and order in the society. In America, this is to a larger extent mandated to the government and there are several governmental agencies that work collaboratively to ensure that there people follow the law and that there is order in the society. Policing as a role has been changing overtime and one of the major changes that have been witnessed is the development of an intelligence-led policing (ILP) framework. This paper discusses the intelligence-led policing highlighting its importance and failures. Intelligence-led model of policing is a young concept which first use is believed to have been in the UK in Kent and Northumbria Constabularies (Jones, 2011). Application of this model in these constabularies entailed carrying out systematic analysis of these offenses to understand the nature of the criminals and the crime patterns in different areas. Of interest to them was also the repetitiveness of crime commission among the criminals (Engel etal, 2010). After carrying out the research on the nature of crime and criminals, measures were put in place to make sure that the crime rates were reduced. This was a major shift in the tradition of policing as traditionally policing was a reactive activity where the policing officers responded only when crime had happened (Edmund etal, 2007). In the US, there is a myriad of external, internal, and transnational threats that affect the American security and this has led to changes in the security system changes which include the adoption of intelligence-led policing model (Jones, 2011). For example, after the 9/11 attacks, the US security systems have changed intensively (Edmund etal, 2007) and the developments being advanced are aimed at successfully, competently and decently improving the U.S. security systems’ capacity to address terrorism and other crimes which are ever-trending in the country (Alach, 2011). Initiatives such as the creation of fusion centers, the NCTC and the ODNI are notable initiatives that have been seen as a response to the call of intelligence-led campaigners. Today, intelligence-led policing model is not uncommon as it is commonly used in dealing with terrorism (Edmund etal, 2007) and its application is founded on three models which include community policing, problem-solving policing and continuous improvement of business (Alach, 2011). In community policing, the policing officers work closely with the citizens to ensure that there is order and the law is respected in the community. Diverting from the traditional view of policing where policing was seen as chiefly the mandate of the police officers, community policing gets everyone in the community on board in policing (Jones, 2011). Community policing has had successes and failures with the success being attributed to the feeling of ownership of the policing process by the people. On the other hand, giving people policing powers has sometimes been abused with some people using extreme powers (Engel etal, 2010). The problem solving model entails carrying out research on the recurring crimes. The police use the findings of the research to develop interventional measures which ensure that the cycle of these problems is cut (Edmund etal, 2007). The situations which facilitate the commission of criminal activities are also analyzed and the police work with the findings to ensure that they eliminate these situations (Jones, 2011). Instead of focusing on the criminal, this model focuses on the problem and therefrom works to eliminate the problem and not the criminals. This model has been applauded for not bringing victimization to the criminals. Lastly, the continuous improvement of business model proposes a continuous positive development in the security systems (Jones, 2011). For example, it emphasizes on the importance of buying superior equipment, employing more staff and designing organizations in such a way that they work best in provision of security for the people (Engel etal, 2010). This model has been adopted by many security agencies to ensure that they offer protection to the people in both effective and efficient manner. Intelligence-led model has had remarkable successes but not without some failures also (Jones, 2011). First, the intelligence-led model has been praised for utilizing pseudo scientific and logical aspects in finding solutions to the problems experienced by people in society in regard to security. These aspects were never there in traditional policing. Intelligence-led model is a research driven model and this acts as the developing point for this argument. Intelligence-led model involves gathering information about the criminal environment, processing that information into intelligence through analysis, identifying priority areas and then using the intelligence in developing viable interventional measures to criminal activities (Alach, 2011). The intelligence-led model is also widely accepted by people as it gives preventive measures and not giving curative measures after the crime has happened (Alach, 2011). Traditionally the role of policing was more curative and many people suffered before the police officers responded to their problems. With the research in intelligence-led policing, criminal activities can be detected and deterrence measures put in place before they occur (Engel etal, 2010). This model has been criticized for being too wide that it has lost validity. For example, the definition of intelligence-led model has been problematic since its development and some scholars claim that it is not only definition that is problematic but also the principles of its application. However, this model has won the hearts of many security professionals as well as security scholars and it has become the commonest model more so in the fight against terrorism. References Alach, Z. (2011). The Emperor is Still Naked: How Intelligence-Led Policing has Repackaged Common Sense as Transcendental Truth. Police Journal . Jones, B.J. (2011). The Necessity of Federal Intelligence Sharing withSub-federal Agencies. Texas Review of Law & Politics . Edmund F. McGarrell, J. D. (2007). Intelligence-Led Policing As a Framework for Responding to Terrorism. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice . Engel, J. R. (2010). RETHINKING LEADERSHIP AND “WHOLE OF GOVERNMENT” NATIONAL SECURITY REFORM: PROBLEMS, PROGRESS, AND PROSPECTS.