Police officer dangers: physical threats and psychological toll

Policing Operations:

Hidden Dangers, Real Weapons, and Potential Technologies

Police officers are, undoubtedly, society's primary protectors. These individuals undertake assignments knowing that they could be placed in lethal danger, and do so in order to help complete strangers and keep a community safe. For this reason, police officers ought to be very much admired. Despite the personal and professional satisfaction that comes with being a great police officer, these individuals are also well aware that, as mentioned above, there are various aspects affecting their daily professional routines, many of which are not present in other careers, and many of which involve great risks. Yet despite knowing this, many police officers absolutely love their job. The paragraphs below will thus discuss policing operations in detail in order to better understand this particular and very important field of work. The essay will be separated into five sections focusing on the dangers of policing, various weapons, technology, homeland security issues, and the future of policing.

Less than Lethal Weapons

Whereas the previous section has focused on the dangers that policemen and women face, this section will focus on the weapons utilized by the force, many of which, in the past, posed lethal dangers to those being pursued. Less than lethal weapons (LTLs) are those weapons utilized either by a police force within a community, or by soldiers in combat, to apprehend potentially dangerous individuals without lethally harming them. The advocates for LTLs, whose voices have been increasing gradually, state that these weapons are just as effective as conventional weapons, especially when seeking to stop civilians from violent actions, and they do not deal unnecessarily violent consequences.

LTLs today include weapons of various capacities. First, one could utilize a type of foam, which has the potential to spread over an area of 400 square meters, and which contains such chemicals as tear gas, to contain a riot. Another LTL is a 'high tech lasso,' which is similar to an ancient gladiator's net. Yet another LTL is composed of microwave waves that can remotely deliver a painful, but harmless, burning sensation on the skin and which, as the weapons described above, could contain or stop a violent occurrence.

Technology Used in Policing

The LTLs described above give examples of just a fraction of the new technology being developed for the police force, and for citizens' protection. Other examples of technology used in policing, for both police and citizen benefits, are laser scanners, various contamination containment apparatus that laser scanners can promote, 3D scanning, and instruments that prevent falsification of evidence and of documents. Laser scanning, for instance, has much utilization, and is quite a comprehensive and helpful technology. For one, it speeds up the mapping of large crime scenes and enables investigators to glean for detail. In another instance, specifically that of minimizing contamination, an individual could also utilize laser scanning in order to see what has been touched and restrict that area for non-contaminated individuals or objects. Laser scanning, lastly, also prevents the falsification of documents by capturing certain images and enabling certain functions that cannot be duplicated.

Issues of Homeland Security and Law Enforcement Relationships

In addition to being utilized by police forces across the nation, the technologies described above can also be connected with and utilized in the case of scenarios arising from or relating to homeland security cases. Though the weapons and issues described above focus mainly on policing, homeland security can become a part of this field. According to experts:

"A great deal of the responsibility for preparing for and responding to terrorist events rests with local police departments. Community policing presents an overarching philosophical orientation that agencies can use to better deal with the threat of terrorist events and the fear that they may create. The community policing philosophy can be roughly divided into three interrelated elements: organizational change, problem solving, and external partnerships. Each element applies to the issues of terrorism prevention and response, as well as to fear."

For the reasons mentioned above by homeland security experts, it is vital for law enforcement agencies to keep close relations with homeland security officers within the proper departments. It is in this way that individuals can work across many areas of society to keep the nation safe from future attacks.

Future of Policing

The future of policing holds much promise, especially from what has been described above. New technologies, for instance are being invented daily. With new technologies, however, come new threats, and police officers across the nation must work not only within their departments, but must also cooperate at national levels to ascertain the security of the country. In an interview for the National Public Radio (NPR), former Los Angeles Police Department chief Bill Bratton states that the future of policing is as unpredictable as it is stationary. For one, policing works as it is, but also contains a certain amount of randomness that sometimes works in the law force's favor. Thus, with good policing, many crimes can be apprehended and stopped, though, as the chief states, not all will be.

Conclusion

The paper above has analyzed in detail the five most prominent aspects of policing, which involve dangers, new technologies, efforts at cooperation intra and inter-state, as well as nationally, and lastly, a bright hope for the future of this field. Though the dangers are many, police officers remain committed to utilizing all resources in their power to continue their quest for a safe and secure community, and nation.

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