By me being the police chief, it is my responsibility for all the behaviors of the police
officers that are under me. One of the responsibilities as police chiefs is to manage the law
enforces that are in my district to promote equality to all citizens no matter their race or skin
color. Safety in a fair treatment to all citizens no matter their sex, religion, or race is my number
one priority.
The first thing that I will do is speak to all that has occurred in the community regarding
the death of an unarmed citizen by one of my police officers. I will then state all that must take
place in order for my officers and the community members to create a safe environment for
everyone to live and work in.
In my opinion and from what is scene minorities tend to suffer most from the shoot first,
investigate later mentality. Every single police officer should be educated and trained more in the
order that they should handle a situation before they shoot. A bullet can cause life changing
damage not excluding death. There are steps that need to be taken before a gun goes even into
play in situations.
When it comes to de-policing it is a way for law enforcement agencies to avoid racial
profiling. When this comes into action officers ignore petty crimes to avoid being accused of
racial profiling. The attitude that comes along with de-policing is that the cops do not want to act
because they are in fear of getting in trouble. In an article by Psychology Today de-policing is
defined as “doing your job as a cop, but not much more. No proactivity, no assertive police work,
just sitting somewhere safe (mall parking lot, back of a restaurant, near the station but not too
close) and waiting to be called on the radio” (Sussex publisher). Police scrutiny creates the
attitude of de-policing.
As a police chief it will be my priority to engage in the community in a way that creates
mutual respect for everyone. We will all treat each other with respect and establish concern for
everyone’s wellbeing no matter their race. I will create different types of outreach programs so
that members of the community can speak freely of their concerns and know that they will be
heard and addressed. As myself being the police chief I will be running the task force through
procedural justice to create a mutual respect for everyone.
References:
Bohm, R. M., & Haley, K. N. (2021). Introduction to Criminal Justice (10th ed.). Columbus, OH:
McGraw-Hill Custom. ISBN: 9781264250776.
Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). Should we discipline cops for "de-policing"? Psychology Today.
Retrieved September 13, 2021, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-act-
violence/201612/should-we-discipline-cops-de-policing.
