Problem Solving Paper Community Policing Departments

Community Problem-Solving Paper

For a long time, in the majority of local Police Departs in America, identifying crimes and tracking the same for arrest had been a major problem. With a particular focus on home burglaries and vandalism, the Police were experiencing serious difficulties in identifying perpetrators. Based on burglary statistics, it is derived that every year, there are over 2.5 million burglaries, 66% of which are home invasions. Due to a lack of witnesses or tangible evidence, Police only resolve 13% of reported burglary cases (Alarms.org, 2019). Since just 17% of homes have a surveillance system, the remaining 83% are more vulnerable to burglary. Homes without security have a 300% greater chance of being broken into. In 95% of cases, forcing entry is necessary. The most popular tools for breaking into a house are pry bars, screwdrivers, pliers, and small hammers because they are less obvious and easier to hide.

With the advent of closed circuit security systems and social media, police departments can now identify and follow burglary suspects for arrest. This paper, therefore, expounds on the use of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) in conjunction with social media platforms, particularly Facebook, by police departments to identify crime suspects. In addition, this paper also discusses how the installation of CCTV in both public and private spaces has influenced the reduction of burglary-related crime.

Using CCTV and Facebook to identify burglary suspects

Businesses frequently install many cameras throughout their facilities so they may capture shoplifters from a variety of angles and obtain the most detailed information. However, they might not be apprehended immediately after a report is filed and a police officer receives video evidence. At the police station where I work, officers frequently post images of the suspect taken from security footage and announce on the "Police Department" Facebook page that they are looking for a suspect. It is highly possible that the public knows the suspect or has seen them previously.

If not, the town's residents and nearby towns frequently spread the post to encourage anyone who might have seen the suspect emerge and contact the Police. Since most people use social media, law enforcement organizations frequently rely on it to prevent and solve crimes. In the prospect that someone will emerge with information regarding old cold cases that have been forgotten, my department also opens old cold cases from many years ago and posts them on social media. When a home with home security is broken into, the security monitoring firm can come over a speaker and ask the intruder for identification and passcode to ensure permission to be there. The alarm company then calls the neighborhood police department, who are summoned to the area if the passcode is incorrect or if the person is not authorized to be there. The Police can work to remove a suspect from the streets once the general public has recognized them to prevent them from committing the same crime again.

Since almost everyone uses social media, using the internet to spread the word that the Police want someone would be fantastic. Police officers have more time to concentrate on keeping the public secure if we can prevent crime. On the subject of deterrence, there are two distinct kinds of deterrence. These groups are divided into particular and generic categories. Both endeavor to make sure that the punishment for a crime will deter future offenders. Assuming that the punishment will be harsh enough to deter future criminal behavior, specific deterrence primarily concentrates on the individual. General deterrence aims to prevent future offenders from committing crimes out of dread of punishment. Arguments have been made that offenders will not commit a crime because they fear the punishment, particularly the pain. However, other research has revealed that most criminals do not consider the agony of the punishment before committing the crime since they do not believe they will ever face a severe penalty. All facets of criminal justice require deterrence.

CCTV's impact on reducing crime in public spaces

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is now a widely used method of crime prevention. According to United Kingdom estimates, about 4.2 million cameras are in use, or one for every 14 people (Piza, 2018). In the U.S., 49% of local police departments use CCTV, and 87% of those serving areas with a populace of 250,000 or more say they do (Reaves, 2015). The practical application of CCTV mostly relates to deterrence, although various potential crime prevention strategies for CCTV have been proposed (Ratcliffe, 2006). Concepts of deterrence from a situational crime prevention standpoint have their roots in the rational choice theory of criminality.

The rational choice theory views crime as a "purposeful activity aimed to meet the offender's basic wants," in contrast to deterministic theories that see crime as an unavoidable outcome of societal issues (Piza, 2018). The perpetrator considers several "choice structuring features" when making decisions, such as the benefits, drawbacks, and inherent risk associated with committing a crime. According to Ratcliffe (2006, 8), the main goal of CCTV is to get a potential offender to experience a perceptual mechanism "such that an offender believes that if he commits a crime, he will be caught." This is crucial in influencing an offender's choice-making characteristics to encourage them to refrain from committing a crime.