Police and Community Relations Literature Review

Article 1

Davies (2022) identifies that law enforcement and the police department have been increasing the implementation of body-worn cameras among their officers and have been building a solid knowledge on the advantages and drawbacks of this tool on policing. The author identifies that the police officers have been intensifying their level of scrutiny by capturing real time incidences to help in case investigations. The author continues to pinpoint that the most outstanding paybacks of these cameras relates to the fact that they would help in improving the relationship between the citizens and the police officers. The author uses descriptive qualitative research to present the findings of a research assessment performed by the Australian New South Wales Police Force Body Worn Camera initiative. These findings will add knowledge to the pool of studies associated with understanding the opinion of body-worn cameras' influence on the relationship between police officers and community members. The author concludes by identifying that there is a high level of positive influence and optimism on the impacts of the camera in areas pertaining to transparency, behavior change, and accountability of the community member and the police

Article 2

The authors pinpoint that states like Wisconsin and Madison are in the middle of performing a bold new experiment to improve the relationships between the police and the community. The author is performing a literal qualitative analysis to analyze a four-year study where an ad hoc committee recommended that 177 reforms had been designed to improve policing and the community members' level of trust in police officers. The author identifies that these recommendations marked the development of a new civilian oversight technique such as setting up a new office that will allow for independent police monitoring and a citizen oversight board. The authors performed a detailed summary and recommendations of the follow up civilian committee that was examining the relevance of body-worn cameras. After debating with the community members, the author identifies that majority of them were positive towards this technique although there were some drawbacks as well although they were not significant

Article 3

Headley (2018) identifies that a lot of attention has been focused on the problem surrounding communities of color and the police. The author reports that a successful remedy for this problem has played an integral role in reforming the law enforcement department, which is considered a corporate-level solution. Despite this finding, minimal efforts to rectify this have been fabricated in empirical research to provide an understanding of the underlying relationship between the police and the community. Therefore, the author performed a qualitative analysis focusing on identifying the impact that law enforcement departments and managerial attributes have on community and police relationships. The author finds out that the solution to this was identified by looking into complaints by community members, assaults targeting police officers, police use of excessive force when handling the members of public and the number of civilian deaths under the police's care. the author concludes by identifying that only a limited number of managerial attributes of the police departments directly influence the police relationships with the community

Article 4

According to (Jacobs et al., 2019), in an effort to improve the relations between the police and the community, there was a project illumination that was developed in the American state of South Carolina by the Charleston Police Department in association with the respected organizations and community leaders. The author used qualitative research and identified that this program's main purpose was to directly involve all groups within the metropolitan community and provide an active avenue for conveying anxieties and outlining public priorities. As a way of assurance to the minority groups, there was an introduction of specific attention that ensured all groups were involved. The project ended up being a resounding success because the community was allowed to identify and provide inputs directly into the Charleston Police Department methods and the growth of the policy.

Article 5

The research done by O’Brien and Tyler (2019), identify that most societies globally have segments of the general public that strongly distrust the legal and political authorities. Without considering how the distrust may arise, it decreases the possibilities for future democratic government, social cohesion and successful economic growth. the authors believe that for authorities to build trust amid a legacy of distrust, they are focusing on relations between the police and the society and conclude on two psychological literatures that eloquent evidence-informed trust-building methods. The author performed literal qualitative research identifies that the procedure of justice approach focuses on implementing a fair and respectful exercise by the police officers during a major part of the day when interacting with the community members. The other type of reconciliation is towards the police officers using gestures that are acceptable to the community by showing the willingness to resolve the past conflicts caused by injustices to the community and a promise to bring new changes to boost future relationships with the community. The authors conclude their literature analysis by providing policy recommendations. The authors provide a detailed process of trust building with the community members, which involves making substantial improvement in the justice process along with the reconciliatory gestures signaling the intention to empower via the services to the communities.

Article 6

York (2019) identifies that he is not surprised that some portions of the population lack trust in police officers. This further intensifies with an increase in reports showing that civilians are dying in the hands of these law enforcement officers. Communities that developed the most disrespect about the law enforcers were in the beginning trustful until the mass killing of civilians by police officers. However, the main goal for the communities is to have their needs and concerns voiced. Therefore, the author finds that using open data initiatives will help in guiding the entire process. Also, the police agencies should be involved in the open data initiatives as it will help them build community relationships. This will ensure that the officials have a sturdy background to establish peace. The author concludes by identifying that easy access to response to community needs.

Comparison

The pros of using a body cam include that there will be evidence to present before a court of law, contribute to deterring crimes. The cons include that body cams are similar to spying which is an invasion of an individual's privacy, and that the poor quality of the videos as a result of officer movements make it impossible to identify how an issue took place. the other tool analyzes organizational factors that affect the relationship between the police and community members. Therefore, the pro includes that by bringing these aspects to light, critical assumptions will be cleared on the matter, and the department can proceed with clear parameters. However, the con includes that there was no physical verification that organization and management attributes did influence the outcome of the relationship between community members and the police.

The other element is employing measures to help rebuild trust with the community members. This will be beneficial because it will help many people to clear the stereotypical mindset that all police officers are bad. Similarly, this measure is similar to helping the community members blossom their relationships with law enforcement as accepting the police officer back into society is essential. On the other hand, there is no identified drawback to this end. Another tool is implementing open communication initiatives to enable police officers to rebuild their relationships with community members. The goal of the open initiative is to provide a clear ground that the officers can reflect on to decide on the issues that will help them close the gap between them and the community members. Another advantage includes that the team will have robust measures to identify the issues that the community needs help with.

Approaches I would have taken.

My favorite approach is using a body cam because it will provide supporting evidence to a particular case preventing innocent individuals from being convicted for crimes they did not commit. Also, the presence of cameras tends to make individuals rectify their behavior which is the goal of these cameras. Also, usage of body cameras is an affordable operation that the law enforcement department can execute because it is durable and can serve for an extended period before needing replacement..

References

Davies, A. (2022). Through an Australian Lens: Exploring the Impact of Body-Worn Cameras on Police–Community Relations.  Policing: A Journal of Policy and Practice.

Findley, K. A., Brown, T., Figueroa, V., Jorgensen, K., Myadze, C., & Schieve, L. B. (2021). Final Report and Model Policy of the Police Body-Worn Camera Feasibility Review Committee.  Univ. of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper, (1673).

Headley, A. M. (2018). Understanding the Organizational Factors that Impact Police-Community Relations.

Jacobs, R., Seidler, M., Middleton, K., Mullen, G., & Whitaker, G. (2019). The Impressive Impact of Project Illumination on Police-Community Relations in Charleston, South Carolina. In  Policing and Minority Communities (pp. 163-179). Springer, Cham.

O'Brien, T. C., & Tyler, T. R. (2019). Rebuilding trust between police & communities through procedural justice & reconciliation.  Behavioral Science & Policy,  5(1), 34-50.