Law Enforcement Today Essay

Law enforcement is something that is needed in our country. As time has passed, crime rates have gone up. New types of crimes are created by just about anything. Let’s take a look at an example of a new crime starting up. People who are driving and texting is now becoming a crime. This may seem like something minor, but it can lead to something horrible, like the cause to a fatal accident. The driver who was busy texting his buddy that he was on the way to the bar could of caused him to get to close to another car and crash into it, causing vehicle damages and even death. With technology advancing, crime has gone up with it as well. Now people commit crime online by stealing credit card numbers and even a person’s identity. Our law enforcement agencies now have to stay on top of things in today’s world, because if they don’t, the bad guys will win. Our law enforcement agencies are made up of local, state, and federal. They interact with the U. S. Department of Homeland Security to ensure success with enforcing the law and keeping communities safe. They might not have the best relationship but there can be ways to improve that. Many people do not really understand the importance of law enforcement until they desperately need them to help in their time of need. Some of the things that we do not understand are that the law enforcement officers face many challenges in today’s society. Our officers have to go through much training to be where they are at today. They have witnessed horrible crimes that could possibly leave them traumatized for life. Aside from that, they face issues of racial profiling, extreme dangers during work hours, and learning how to deal with stress and facing a multicultural society. These officers have to suppress their emotions from what they face every day. They might even have to keep their business private from family members or they could face some type of judgment. People already act different toward any police officer. In some people’s eyes, the police are the bad guys. It is understandable because there have been many corrupt police officers that make it hard for the good guys. Some people feel that if the officer is a certain race, the officer will be for their own race and against theirs. For instance, a black police officer may be judged on his skin color and the citizens might feel that officer is protecting the black criminals. We have many law enforcement agencies with good people who are doing their best to serve and protect the people. The local law enforcement consists of different agencies, like the city police department, county sheriff’s office, transit authority police, school district police, and university police. Those are just a few. The state enforcement agencies consist of the attorney general, highway patrols, and department of criminal justice and there are more. The federal law enforcement agencies consist of the U. S. Department of Homeland Security, U. S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement, the FBI, and more. All of these agencies work together to keep our country balanced and in order. The Department of Homeland Security has the local, state, and federal agencies set to handle situations that involve natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other types of disasters created by people. All agencies have a person who supports or recommends causes or policies that have to be enforced. These agencies are also provided with a point of contact for DHS in case of any situation arising that might involve them. With the law enforcement agencies working together, crime can be controlled and even prevented. I think if the police departments could be trained more on what the DHS does, maybe the relationship between them could become better. A way to build a better relationship would be to empower state and local agencies to have more power over things so in case of some type of terrorism or natural disaster, they will know what to do. Communication is a big factor in building the relationship between the agencies and DHS. If the right information is passed along the departments, this could allow for everyone to stay up-to-date with current crime and could possibly be prevented in the future, or help to better handle the situation once it happens. The relationship between law enforcement agencies and the people of our country needs to be improved as well. Many people do not realize what these officers go through. If a relationship bond could be formed with the people and the agencies, then that could also help for crimes to be stopped and prevented. Ensuring the safety of our country is what we need to focus on. There are too many crimes going on where it is basically our people against each other and that needs to stop. References http://www. golawenforcement. com/LawEnforcementAgencies. htm http://www. spiritofthelaw. org/sol1art6. html http://www. golawenforcement. com/StateAgencies/TexasLawEnforcement. htm http://www. dhs. gov/xlibrary/assets/foia/plcy_directive_252-11_office_for_state_and_local_law_enforcement. pdf http://www. heritage. org/research/reports/2011/08/homeland-security-4-0-overcoming-centralization-complacency-and-politics Schmalleger, F. 2011 Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Te4xt for the 21st Century