Police Operations the Police Have the Most

Police Operations

The Police have the most dangerous, though the most rewarding, job in the world. They risk their lives to protect the weak and maintain public order. Because of the many hazards they face, many officers die in the line of duty. A police officer must be well-trained and well-equipped in order to protect herself while protecting the public. Thesis: Technology is allowing the police more effective non-lethal weapons for restraining offenders, although firearms are still essential. More importantly, communications technology such as infrared and thermal imaging promise to improve protection and surveillance.

Dangers of policing

There are a number of dangers encountered during policing. The first and most conspicuous type of danger comes from criminal offenders or potential offenders. Such individuals might attempt to harm the intervening officer or deceive him/her. Typically, this danger comes in the form of unarmed violence, e.g. shoving, kicking, and punching. In particularly critical altercations, criminal offenders may make use of make-shift weapons, such as clubs, baseball bats, and bricks.

Even more disturbing is the increasing use of firearms among criminal offenders. The Constitutional right to bear arms has always made U.S. citizens a well-armed society. However, most of the firearms used by officers are no owned by licensed users and are often possessesed illegally. Normally restricted to organized or professional criminals, firearms are now coming into the possession of younger, less mature, and less professional criminals. In these hands, which are often panic-stricken and irrational, firearms become even more dangerous to police officers.

Less than lethal weapons

Pepper spray is a very common non-lethal method of incapacitating criminal suspects. Pepper spray is typically the weapon of choice when there are no suspects present who are armed or capable of physically overpowering the officer. (Hess 98). Pepper spray is also effective in dispersing large crowds of people.

Because of the difficulty of maneuvering projectiles such as handguns or pepper sprays, the Police have developed close-range, non-lethal weapons called TASERs. These TASER guns shock the victim with over 10,000 watts of electricity, enough to incapacitate the victim, in rare instances fatally. (Hess, 98).

Because of advances in technology, the Police are finding more clever and less violent ways to incapacitate or restrain suspects. One promising example is the new "sticky foam" that hardens like taffy and can effectively immobilize a person. (98). There is also a more aqueous "water foam" that can be used to fill the space of an enclosure (e.g. back seat) so that the person cannot see or hear but still breathe. (Hess, 98)

Technology used in policing

Perhaps the most ubiquitous technology in Police use is Radar speed-detection technology. Originally developed for military reconnaissance during the Cold War, radar was adapted by domestic law enforcement for the war on dangerous drivers. (157-8). Radar often makes use of infra-red or radio technology and is considered very accurate, though is not always judged to be 100% reliable in court. (158).

Thermal imaging is a very valuable imaging technique for seeing in the dark as well as seeing past obstacles and other obfuscations. The image produced is somewhat similar to an x-ray, with certain physical features discernible because of the color scheme. In thermal imaging, the camera detects radiation, essentially heat. Objects possessing a lot of heat, such as warm-blooded human beings, are distinguished from their much colder surroundings, such as an enclosure or a forest.

Issues of Homeland Security and law enforcement relationships

Homeland Security is a term that has come to encompass all threats, internal and external, to the United States or its citizens. Being a nation-wide issue, is within the purview of the federal government. Thus, law enforcement authority would rest with the federal executive (e.g. I.C.E., F.B.I., U.S. Marshalls). However, some states have challenged such broad, deep authority. The Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution provides that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." (U.S. Constitution, Tenth Amendment) This is interpreted to mean that the states have implied powers in addition to the powers explicitly enumerated to them in the Constitution. (Gardbaum 1996, 1252)

Certain states are not happy with the federal government's progress on crime problems such as drug trafficking or illegal immigrants. Some of these states wish to claim some of the implied powers back from the federal government in order to play a more active role in solving local crime problems. As a result, law enforcement relationships between the states and the Federal government and are set to undergo some tinkering.