commenting on classmates discussion on Community-orientated policing and narcotic usage and its influence on crime rate
Demonstrate more depth and thought than simply stating that “I agree” or “You are wrong.” Please tell them why u disagree or agree and have a strong feedback
Classmate # 1 Russell on Community-orientated policing.
The topic I have chosen is Community-orientated policing. It is one that I have been practicing and mentoring rookie officers to follow. By definition, “Community policing is a philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder and fear of crime” (U.S. Department of Justice, 2012). It is a fact that being active in the community will make the job significantly easier and reduce crime. “The NYPD has been one of the most notable agencies to make a shift to community policing in recent years, largely in an attempt to combat a rising crime rate and growing disconnect between officers and residents. Since their adoption of a community policing policy they have seen the major felony crime rate drop 5.3% across the city from 2013-2015 and have amassed a plethora of success stories from their modified procedures” (Lortz, 2017). Police officers are more likely to get assistance from the community when they are directly involved, getting out of the patrol car and getting to know the business owners and homeowners, developing relationships with the people the officer serves as this gives the impression that the officer genuinely cares about the community and has a stake in what is happening rather than an outsider there to collect a paycheck.
By being involved in community oriented policing officers can break the old stigma of that unapproachable cop that is only interested in making arrests, harassing the kids, meeting quotas and writing tickets. Police officers are members of the communities they live in and at one point in time they too can become victims of crime; therefore, fighting crime can be a personal thing to them especially if they actually live in the community they serve or if it has similarities. In order for the community to trust officers it is important for them to make appearances at community events during their patrol shifts such as graduations, birthday parties, old home days, parades, church events and sporting events.
Classmate # 2 Monet on narcotic usage and its influence on crime rate
For this week’s discussion I’ve chosen to address narcotic usage and its influence on crime rate. Narcotic usage can be viewed as a link to the national crime rate. Addicts and recovering addicts will give you different reason as to why they began to use drugs.Some will say peer pressure initially led them to experiment with drugs while others will claim depression and anxiety drove them to use drugs. Regardless of the initial reason, it has been documented, through data collection, that illegal narcotic usage has a direct correlation on crime rate in many communities. According to the Bureau of Justice, “17% of state prisoners and 18% of federal inmates said they committed their current offense to obtain money for drugs (2004).Also, the Department of Justice states, “provisional data shows that among adult respondents (ages 18–49), those who use cannabis (marijuana) or cocaine were much more likely to commit crimes of all types than those who did not use these substances” (DOJ, 1994).
In my opinion, there is no one theory that justifies the influence narcotics have on our nation’s crime rate. One could apply the opportunity theory to justify criminal behavior in those who use narcotics. This theory has two aspects that assert target attractiveness and accessibility as a motivation to engage in crime. Users who commit crime may justify their actions, based off this theory, as a low-risk high-reward criminal act (Swope, 2001). This theory holds significant weight, especially if the need to get high supersede rational decision making.
