Recruitment, selection, and training of police officers

Recruitment, Selection, And Training of Police Officers

Being a police officer may be considered as one of the most dangerous and life- threatening occupations of today. Upon the hands of police officers is given the great challenge of enforcing the law and ensuring security over the community. In addition to these crucial tasks that a police officer should be able to handle, their jobs also inevitably call for them to take on the role of a counselor, negotiator, diplomat, security guard, traffic controller, and even more! Aside from preventing and solving crime, the role of a police officer also entails direct cooperation with the activities of the communities that they have to dutifully serve and protect.

With all of these important tasks, it is then important to be assured of a police force that is fit to take on the role of a "hero" of the community- and by this, I am defining a "hero" not as someone with supernatural powers but someone who is dedicated to serve the people and committed to stand by his badge of honor, loyalty, and trust. In order to achieve such a police force, it is then imperative that police officers be carefully recruited, selected, and trained.

Recruitment

The recruitment of a police officer is the first significant task of building an efficient and skilled police force. In order to be a police officer, physical prowess, mental competence, psychological and emotional readiness, and even social skills are tested. Since pursuing a professional career on being a police officer entails taking on different roles, flexibility and the well-roundedness of a person's character should be considered.

All of these aspects are equally given weight to ensure that a police officer is smarter, stronger, more resilient, and more skilled than all other criminals lurking around. On the other hand, they should also maintain a sense of being approachable by the civilians. In a sense, they should be feared by the criminals but trusted by the community. This is achieved by having a police force that represents the varied interests and different faces of the community. After all, being a police officer should not be limited by one's gender, color, or social status.

Maintaining such a diverse police force is now the very situation that is challenging the different police departments all over the country. This is very essential basically because a homogenous police force of for instance, white Americans do not necessarily gain the trust, respect, and cooperation of a community with a heterogeneous mixture of Mexicans, African-Americans, Asians, etc. Likewise, a police force that is predominantly composed of males will also have difficulty relating with the interests and problems of the females in a community.

Again, the goal here is to achieve a police force that can work hand-in-hand with the community. One of the ways to achieve this is to have a police force that reflects and generally represents the same interests, values, and social circumstances that the community has. The police force is then granted a deeper understanding of the community they are seeking to serve and the contexts by which certain crimes may occur. The community, on the other hand, is granted the assurance that the police force will in no way abuse their power based on physical or social differences. The people are then assured that they will not be harassed by the police force that is actually granted by the constitution to use legitimate force. This advocacy to increase diversity in the ranks of law enforcement is shown in the following studies:

In Chicago, it was discovered that a significant under-representation of minorities and women among police officers, particularly those who speak other languages (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1995).

In Washington, D.C., it was revealed that careful recruitment and selection procedures would improve diversity in the police force and a police officer's ability to deal with community members without resorting to discriminatory practices or harassment (U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1995).

In South Dakota, it was found out that the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other U.S. Department of Justice divisions that serve Native Americans must expand efforts to recruit Native Americans in order to guard against the police's abuse of power (South Dakota Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 2000).

In the small town of Caruthersville, Missouri, where the general population is predominately black and Hispanic, almost 80% of the police officers are white, which some community members believed contributed to the abusive attitudes toward black residents (Missouri Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 1994).

This just shows that the first step, the recruitment process, is already a very crucial stage. A diversity of police officers should be created and no monopoly of any race should be done, so as to ensure the safety of everyone and the unbiased treatment of police officers to the citizens.

Training

The training for incoming police officers is rigorous. An officer's physical endurance, strength and stamina are put to the test. The training program usually lasts for months. This is done to ensure the total workout of the officers; and to avoid half-cooked training services. This is also done for more effective and efficient police officers ready to hit the roads. A well-trained law enforcement professional deals effectively with community members and works with them to create a safe and orderly society. The interpersonal and intrapersonal skills of police officers are honed so as to develop an approachable yet responsible characteristic. Proper training on pertinent interaction with constituents, together with the use of force, is the cornerstone of police-community associations. Twenty-first century police practices must demonstrate sensitivity to the increasingly changing communities being served to entirely recognize police departments mandate to serve and protect.

Different commentaries and reactions were received regarding the proper training police officers should undertake. Training courses should be focused on-the-job training, programs in human relations, and grounding for the social service purpose of police officers. Later reports focused on the biases and prejudices in the training process that may affect police-community relations. Police officers seemed to be oppressors people were afraid to come near to, regardless of them being criminals or civilians. James Fyfe who made a transcript on police practices stated that a better way to define the police is to understand that they are there to maintain order and not necessarily to look for criminals. He recommended this viewpoint should pass through police training programs. James Fype also said that the avoidance of discriminatory behavior at the early levels of police officer training would make a significant impact since when these officers are still at the initial stages, they are more receptive and eager to learn.

Insufficient training plays a role in circumstances wherein police officers may opt to avoid troublesome areas and refrain from superseding in potentially conflict-ridden situations, particularly in large public gatherings, where a possibility exist that aggressive police action will create a violent reaction. They fear that the public may feel awkward and this may lead to panic attacks.

Therefore, having meticulous and comprehensive training is a very important component in the making of effective and efficient police officers. It should not be taken for granted and everything, from the recruitment stage to the final and polishing stages, should be given due considerations and attention. The committees assigned in choosing the police officers should also be impartial. No form of racism or sexism should be done. Overlooking certain training levels could also be a symptom that could lead to even greater problems.