Criminal justice organization and management

Criminal Justice Organization and Management: The Paramilitary Model Adopted by Police Organizations
Introduction
The paramilitary model provides a degree of discipline and training to police officers that they might not otherwise obtain. The paramilitary model not only gives law enforcement officers the knowledge and skills regarding how to use force in an effective manner, it also gives police a type of professionalism that helps them to be more organized and opposed to corrupting influences (Potter, 2013). I believe that the paramilitary model adopted by police organizations is effective in some ways but has its limitations in others. For that reason, I think that it should be balanced out by a model of policing that takes into account the fact that police are not engaged in a military campaign against an enemy but are actually working among civilians in communities and are there to serve and protect them. Because police are routinely interacting with communities, there is also a need for them to apply a community-oriented model of policing so that they are not constantly applying military principles and militaristic examples of force on members of the community who would rather see a more open, supportive, and communicative relationship develop between law enforcement and community members.
Why the Paramilitary Model Can Help
Military training and discipline can bring a level of professionalism to a law enforcement organization that helps officers to take their role seriously, maturely and with great care and commitment for what they are meant to be doing. The paramilitary model is rooted in a type of hierarchical order or chain of command in which the decisions are made by leaders at the top (Cruickshank, 2013). Individual officers, like soldiers in the field, are meant to follow orders and if they do not follow orders, they are relieved of duty or disciplined so that they learn from their mistake. The focus and emphasis is on obeying the chain of command, which means that police departments must have very good leaders capable of making good decisions and training their officers to follow commands in the line of duty.
The paramilitary model can also help officers to feel more confident, united, and aligned on the same page, as there is less of sense of individualism and more of a sense of serving a greater ideal, which is defined by the organization at the top. The model insists that officers reflect the values and principles of the organization in all their actions, because every officer under this model is viewed as the face of the organization and the respectability of the organization is what matters most. If an officer dares to put a blemish on the organization by behaving in a way that is contrary to the morals, ethics, principles and values of the organization, that officer will be out of employment very quickly. In this model, values and principles are ingrained into the thinking of the officers so that they manifest these values in their everyday lives.
Finally, the paramilitary model gives officers access to greater weapons and tools so that they are safer and more forceful when the time comes for action. Because the world is an increasingly dangerous place where terrorists and others may be armed and on the prowl, police have to be able to respond in a way that is even more forceful and capable of diminishing and neutralizing the threat. The paramilitary model option provides exactly this kind of support.
Why the Paramilitary Model is Limited
Not every community is a war zone nor do its members want to feel like they are in one. When they see their local officers driving around in Humvees that were used in Iraq, they can feel uncomfortable or offended that they should be put on a level with a third world country as they their own streets were being patrolled by an occupying force. This type of projection of power and force can undermine community law enforcement relations and cause tension, fear, and hatred to grow in communities. The paramilitary model is thus not a sufficient or appropriate model for every law enforcement department in every community.
Another limitation is that fact that law enforcement is not the same as soldiering in the military. Police officers have to constantly be making judgment calls and using their own discretion when they are on duty. There is no other way to go about the job: they have to be prepared to respond on a minute by minute basis. While protocol should always be followed, there will be many times where a situation does not quite clearly fit into any one sort of situation on which protocol has been provided. In cases like these, officers have to be able to look at what is presented to them and make a decision in the moment. There is not always sufficient time or even the possibility of radioing back to headquarters, explaining the situation to the chief and awaiting a response. Police chiefs do not even want that kind of authority usually: typically they want to train officers to make decisions on their own—albeit the right ones based on their training, the values and principles of the organization, and the need at the time. Officers have to feel empowered and able to make a call independently. Paramilitary training can make them feel empowered because they have the ability to use force to overcome threats—but in terms of de-escalating a situation, or knowing what to do in various cases when officers are dealing with suspects, with people on the street, with members of the community or with issues that are very gray areas in terms of which way to proceed is best, the paramilitary model is limited.
The paramilitary model of policing can also attract the wrong kind of candidates to the police force. People who want to be soldiers on the battlefield should join the armed forces. People who want to be police officers are tasked with a different kind of duty—i.e., serving and protecting the people. It is not a job in which the officer should expect to go out and kill the enemy. There are often stories in the media about an over-eager officer gunning down an unarmed civilian—and this type of thing really upsets a lot of people because it is so unnecessary and should not be happening in a community. The type of mentality of some officers is much better suited to the battlefield than to the streets of America. The example of the Arizona officer who scratched the words, “You’re fucked,” into his service weapon, which he used to kill a teen in a hotel, shows that some officers are more oriented towards the battlefield than to the streets and towns of America (Friedersdorf, 2017). The paramilitary model of policing might attract this type of officer because it focuses on military style weapons, force, training, and discipline—which presents a risk in communities where the aim is not war but rather the service of civilians. In other words, the paramilitary model can create a culture that is a breeding ground for contradiction. It is limited in this sense and for that reason, it should be moderated, if applied, with another model that teaches officers that they are not soldiers in a battlefield but rather peace officers there to serve and protect the community at all times.
An Alternative: The Community-Oriented Model
The paramilitary model of policing provides an organizational structure that can be effective in terms of bringing officers together on the same page and training them on the values and principles that they are meant to uphold and reflect. However, it hinders change within police organizations that are trying to be more community-oriented and not so much perceived as an occupying or threatening force.
Instead of going about in Humvees, armed to the teeth and with protective gear on their heads, shades over their eyes, and shields everywhere, police officers looking to change their organizational structure so that it is more appealing to the community should look to implement more foot patrols, where officers are more positively engaging with members of the community, where officers can get to know the people by sight and by name, and where officers can stroll about, make conversation with people in the community, get to know their problems and needs, and offer support that is rooted in exercising social and emotional intelligence rather than brute force (Brunetto, Teo, Shacklock & Farr-Wharton, 2012).
When officers reflect civility in their own personal approach to policing, they inspire civility in others. When they escalate situations, situations can lead to violence. In a peaceful society, officers should try to keep the peace rather than escalate tense situations and conflicts so that violent outcomes occur. The idea of community-oriented policing is that it places more focus on peace-keeping tactics so that violent outcomes are reduced in number.
Community-oriented policing also helps to give members of the community more voice in how law enforcement is conducted. Instead of departments run like a military platoon in the Middle East, they are run by chiefs working with boards of external members of the community who have a say in what policies and measures the organization is developing and implementing. Community members and leaders often want a say in how their streets are patrolled and serviced, and it should be remembered that police officers are not above or outside the law. They are simply there to help enforce the law.
Moreover, the law is not something that has to be enforced at the end of a barrel of a gun. It can be enforced with pleasantries, with officers simply willing to be among the populace, spreading a positive force in every direction through their example, their good will, and their support for the community. Paramilitary model of policing can be helpful in some ways—but when it comes to promoting a positive image of police to communities where people are already suspicious of the aims of the police or where the people feel frightened by their presence, a community-oriented approach can be a much better model to help change the law enforcement organization and give it a more meaningfully positive structure in terms of benefiting community police relations.
Conclusion
The paramilitary police model can help officers obtain discipline, structure, an understanding of the values, principles, ethics and ideals that they should reflect on duty, and a sense of unity and what it means to follow the chain of command. However, this model is more likely to be of use in training camp rather than in the actual field, where officers will have to make judgment calls and subjective decisions on a daily basis. They will also have to be able to work with community members, listen, and communicate with people in a positive and non-threatening manner that is more likely to come from a model like community-oriented policing rather than from the paramilitary model.
References
Brunetto, Y., Teo, S. T., Shacklock, K., & Farr?Wharton, R. (2012). Emotional
intelligence, job satisfaction, well?being and engagement: explaining organisational commitment and turnover intentions in policing. Human Resource Management Journal, 22(4), 428-441.
Cruickshank, D. (2013). Evaluating the paramilitary structure and morale. Retrieved
from https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/perspective/perspective-evaluating-the-paramilitary-structure-and-morale
Friedersdorf, C. (2017). Footage of police shooting that jurors chose not to punish.
Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/footage-of-a-police-killing-that-jurors-didnt-punish/547868/
Potter, G. (2013). The organization of policing. Retrieved from
http://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/organization-policing