Final report on Presidents task force

Final Report of President’s Task Force: Key Points in Building Trust and Legitimacy
Key Points
The key points of Pillar One of the Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015) are that 1) People are more likely to obey the law when they see that those who enforce it follow the law as well and thus have the legitimate authority to enforce it; 2) trust and confidence play an important part in developing relations between officers and members of the community; 3) appreciating diversity is instrumental in promoting community relations; and 4) a democratic approach to leadership can help cultivate a more integrated and cohesive police department, which in turn can help to promote systematically the values that the department wants to implement.
The report recommends several action items; however, the most important of them have to do with the integrity and legitimacy of law enforcement officers; the need for community members to be able to trust police officers; the benefits that respect for diversity brings; and the value of having an integrated police department. Each of these can help to build a police department’s rapport with a community because each, ultimately, is focused the idea of serving. The police are there to serve and protect communities, and the service part is often forgotten with the modern trend of militarization of police departments. The idea and concept of service thus has to be reinstituted in order for the community to accept the police in the capacity of an organization that serves and protects—and each of the key points of Pillar One is orientated towards restoring that acceptance.
Role that Trust Plays
Trust plays a significant role inside a police department in terms of maintaining order within the unit and order outside the unit within the community. A police department must exude orderliness and commitment to the rule of law. It is often the case that communities distrust police because they see police officers as being above the law: they might see officers speeding while others obey the speed limit; they might suspect the law itself in all its incarnations, such as the “terry frisk” or rules regarding wearing seat belts. They might see what they take as a police state growing around them, which can fuel resentment and uneasiness.
When a police department focuses on building trust by showing that it legitimately cares about the community’s concerns and needs and does what it can to reduce the risk of bias within its ranks, it demonstrates to the community that the department is not out to abuse the law or to oppress members of the community. Trust conveys the sense the police are going to hold themselves accountable just like they do citizens. Confidence, satisfaction and trust all go together when communities and police departments are on the same page (Cao, 2015). The more that police departments can do to build confidence, achieve satisfaction in the community and demonstrate trustworthiness, the more likely there will be synergy between a community and its police officers.
How Trust Impacts a Department’s Effectiveness and Legitimacy
Trust impacts a department’s effectiveness and legitimacy by creating an environment in which all people are respected. That translates to the community in the sense that the community sees the police department as being an organization that appreciates diversity, that welcomes, and that therefore is not going to maintain any biases towards particular groups or minorities. This in turn allows for communities to appreciate what the police are trying to do in terms of serving and protecting the community.
Trust supports a police department’s legitimacy as well: it acts as the foundation for the authority. A department that cannot be trusted is one that is undermining its own legitimacy—and because of the fact that the nation is a democracy, the people will take action against the department. The office of the mayor is their way of working through democratic channels and the department that has not built up trust with stakeholders is one that is asking to be renovated by the mayor, who represents the will of the people at the highest local level. If the department is seen as an occupying force, the public will reject it (Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015).
Why Trust and Legitimacy are Important to Other Concepts
Recruitment
The recruitment of good officers depends upon the police department putting itself forward as a law abiding organization rather than as an occupying force or as something that is above the law. If the department projects a demeanor that is not reflective of the trust and legitimacy it needs to establish, its recruits will be a reflection of its shortcomings.
Community Policing
Community policing is one of the best ways for a department to build up trust and establish legitimacy: the officers get to know the community they are assigned to and see them on a daily basis. Respect and appreciation develop as a two way street: the officers learn to respect and appreciate the members of the community and the community gets to see and know personally the officers and welcome them as members of their own community who are legitimately attempting to serve and protect the good people of the community (Peak & Glensor, 1999).
Ethics
Ethics are also tied to trust and legitimacy in a police department. The police have a duty to serve and protect regardless of the demographics of a community. The system of duty ethics says that action is moral insofar as it conforms to one’s duty. For the police, the moral action therefore is to serve and protect all in their jurisdiction under the law. It would be unethical for a police department to establish itself as an occupying force as though it were there to rule rather than to serve, to harm rather than to protect. The ethical aspect of building trust and establishing legitimacy is oriented therefore to the idea of duty ethics.
Police Discretion
The ethics of policing is also tied to decision-making and the proper use of authority (Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, 2015). Police have a responsibility to make good and moral use of their authority, to reflect the values of the community in their decision-making, and to uphold the law in fairness and justice. However, police must be mindful that just because certain actions on their part are permitted by policy it does not always mean police should exercise those powers. There are moments when restraint, compassion, empathy and sympathy can go a long way to building trust and establishing legitimacy. The letter of the law is not what makes a community thrive, after all; it is the spirit of the law that counts—and officers must reflect that spirit.
References
Cao, L. (2015). Differentiating confidence in the police, trust in the police, and satisfaction with the police. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 38(2), 239-249.
Final Report of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. (2015). Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qkyvcmq379R6_xw-Phd1DhUYgIGmgb2A/view
Peak, K. J., & Glensor, R. W. (1999). Community policing and problem solving: Strategies and practices. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.