Criminal Justice

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Running Head: POLICE PATROL

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POLICE PATROL

Police Patrol

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Institution Affiliation

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Abstract

This research paper will mainly focus on the impact of police patrol in Valdosta, Ga. It will comprehensively look at the various ways the Valdosta police department has contributed to the enhancement of safety and preventing crime in the community. During the research, detailed data were collected from different groups of people who shared their experiences with the patrol police officers and their role in promoting safety in the community.

Police patrols have had a significant impact on the public service in Valdosta, Ga by responding to incidents, deterring and preventing crimes which have provided a sense of security to persons who require protection and discouraged those who might engage in crimes in the absence of a patrol. Every police patrol officer is charged with making sure that the safety and well-being of certain areas within a police precinct are maintained (Marx, & Archer, 2016). The act of police officers patrolling the same areas more often helps them acquire some insights and get to know area residents, which helps them become better at judging when something unusual happens. Police patrols in Valdosta serve numerous functions, all with the underlying objective of keeping a certain area safe and free from crime.

Some of the patrol activities that are carried out in the community consist of investigating abandoned vehicles, issuing citations for traffic or parking violations, responding to calls for assistance or investigation and monitoring suspicious or unusual activity. The patrols also involve shooting issues like traffic lights being out missing senior citizens or children. While performing their duties, patrol officers might be called by citizens or be flagged down for various issues such as assault, mugging, robbery, fights and disturbances and trespassing. Other issues that may result in the flagging down of patrol officers include domestic issues, suspected gang activity, vandalism, power outages, medical emergencies and well checks.

In order to collect data about the impact of police patrol in Valdosta, Ga, I conducted several interviews with different personnel in the community. Some of the Valdosta Police Department personnel I interviewed include Sergeant Barrent, Officer Vernotis Williams, Officer William Shirley and Officer Johnson. While interviewing sergeant Barrent who is an overnight sergeant for Valdosta Police Department, he held that he has always had a positive relationship with members of the community. He added that the police department in Valdosta has citizen complaint forms that can be utilized to aid in seeing the type of crimes that the community is facing. In efforts to prevent and reduce crime, the Valdosta police department has embraced certain activities such as “shop with a cop,” in which the youth can shop with police officers during the holidays. It also has a donation center in which donations can be made to help in giving back to the youth. There are also other crime prevention programs that have been implemented, such as the neighborhood watch program, which works with the police department to assist in reducing some of the crimes that take place in the community.

During an interview with officer Vernotis Williams, he also affirmed that the Valdosta police department had developed a successful program known as the "Defined Program," which mainly focused on dealing with the issue of abusing drugs amongst the youth. The program had been stated to be successful because it had significantly played a crucial role in changing the juveniles. Officer Vernotis Williams claimed that one of the factors that had resulted in the success of the Defined Program was having great relationships with people in the community and also getting to know people in the community. The Valdosta police department has twenty-six neighborhood watch programs that help in preventing some criminal activities. The majority of the patrol officers in Valdosta take their cars home, which leads to many citizens avoiding crimes because they fear being spotted or arrested by the patrol officers in the neighborhood.

Besides interviewing different personnel in the Valdosta police department, I also interviewed several citizens in order to gain some insights into the impact of police patrol in the community. The citizens that I interviewed include Jessica Arcia, Sonja Strickland, Eugene Strickland, Janecia Whitlock, Damian Magby and Rose Thomas. Having been a citizen of Valdosta for nearly fifteen years, Miss Arcia feels that the patrol police officers in the community should stop being racists as they perform their daily duties. These officers should move to various places, get to know people in the community very well, and be aware of the different ethnicities in the community. According to Arcia, the greatest crime in Valdosta is racism, although the police department does not make any efforts to prevent or eliminate it. She adds that most of the patrol officers are invisible in the community and only show up when a crime occurs.

Unlike Arcia, Sonja Strickland affirms that police officers have done a great job in dealing with various types of crime in Valdosta. She stated that the most problematic crime in the community is breaking into cars, but the patrol officers prevented such incidents by implementing an effective neighborhood watch program. Sonja believes that the officers need to interact more with the community and encourage citizens to report a crime that might be happening in the community. She also added that the patrol officers had certain traits which made it easy for people to recognize them in the neighborhood. Those traits are being polite and speaking to every person irrespective of their demographic factors.

I also interviewed a citizen who had lived in Valdosta for his entire life, Eugene, who stated that law enforcement had had a positive impact on the community by keeping the crime rates low and enhancing safety. According to him, the main issue in the community was breaking into homes and breaking into cars at night. Despite those challenges, the patrol officers tried their best to respond to the crimes very fast. They have also done a good job in informing the community on the news to keep their doors closed and eventually set up mobile units to aid in keeping some crimes down. Nevertheless, Eugene thinks that the patrol officers should get close to people in the community, introduce themselves and even interact with the kids in the neighborhood.

Based on the data that was collected during the interviews, it is evident that police patrols have had a positive impact on the Valdosta community. It has provided numerous benefits in the community, such as a decline in the number and effects of violence, a promotion of health and safety and a sense of community pride (Ceccato, 2016). Police patrol has facilitated quick response time in the community. Most of the officers on patrol are definitely in a better position physically and mentally to react swiftly and get into a position of advantage at any call. Many experienced law enforcement officers today find themselves at the right place at the right time, which makes it easy for them to detect criminal activities such as impaired or careless driving or robbery. Due to their quick response, they are able to catch the offenders hence preventing any harm, injury or death. According to studies, many offenders have been arrested in Valdosta as the number of victims being rescued keeps on increasing.

Patrol police officers have made a big difference in different ways as they strive each day to respond to various criminal activities in the community. There are various situations where they have changed many people’s lives by helping the homeless, rescuing victims of crime and returning stolen property to their respective owners. The positive perceptions of community safety have greatly impacted the way people in the community feel and interact with each other. Community safety does not only involve crime prevention or injury prevention, but it is also about building vibrant, cohesive and participatory communities (Crawford, & Evans, 2017). Community-based safety promotion in Valdosta has been defined as an effective intervention to promote safety and reduce the burden of injury. This has been achieved by great community development and coalition engagement, and programs in the police departments. Some of those programs that have been implemented in the community to promote safety consist of outdoor safety, safety at work, road safety, water safety and safer public places.

In conclusion, it is evident that police patrols have positively impacted the lives of many people in the community. The Valdosta police department has tried its best to ensure that they implement every effective program that helps in promoting safety in the community. For instance, the police department of Valdosta developed a “shop with a cop” program which enabled the members of the community to interact with the patrol officers freely. This has resulted in the officers creating a positive relationship with the public; hence many people easily report any form of crime that might be happening in the community. Patrols have all played their purpose, with the major goal being keeping Valdosta safe and free from crime. Apart from the police officers preventing people’s vehicles from being broken into, they have also dealt with issues like dispersing unauthorized crowds, investigating abandoned vehicles, issuing citations for traffic, responding to calls for assistance or investigation and monitoring any suspicious activity. Additionally, these patrol officers have promoted equality in the community by maintaining the integrity of crime scenes, safely transporting detained suspects, careful documentation and a lawful approach to law enforcement.

References

Ceccato, V. A. (2016). Rural crime and community safety (p. 424).

Crawford, A., & Evans, K. (2017). Crime prevention and community safety.

Marx, G. T., & Archer, D. (2016). 7. Community Police Patrols and Vigilantism. In Vigilante politics (pp. 129-157). University of Pennsylvania Press.