Police Organization and Administration Differences between Generalist and Specialist Concepts of Law Enforcement Activities In the police department, duties are assigned in two options: generalist and the other for specialist. Thus, they are two types of officers, that is general officers and specialist officers. Altogether, the two sections differ in the manner in which duties are performed. First, as the name suggests, generalist officers entail conducting a wide range of activities without a specific way of operation. They can multitask without necessarily concentrating on one particular issue. For instance, they can deal with narcotics and homicide simultaneously. On the other hand, specialists officers are assigned specific tasks at a time and cannot multitask. Unlike the generalist units, special unit officers have to deal with an issue until it is concluded. If it's narcotics, they deal with it to the end, and they can proceed to another homicide or any other task (“Careers in Criminal Justice: Police Issues in Employment”. Web Solutions LLC, 2021). Therefore, the difference manifests in the manner the two units operate. Another difference manifests in the training and job experience. The generalist officers are not trained for a specific job, and they lack the skills to deal with any issue appropriately. Therefore, the officers will identify a problem and deal with it to their best level, and in the instance, they cannot solve it, they request assistance from the special unit officers. Therefore, special officers are highly trained to deal with an issue or two. They can deal with homicide, including investigations and the chain of custody. However, the available unit is limited to certain areas. Their training will have them dealing with an issue at once. For instance, a forensic officer cannot perform narcotics unless they are adequately trained (“Careers in Criminal Justice: Police Issues in Employment”. Web Solutions LLC, 2021). Thus, specialist unit officers, like the SWAT teams, have prestigious jobs and will be called to duty whenever needed. On the other hand, generalist officers are to deal with all tasks and are always on duty. Comparison of the Various Types of Patrol Techniques Patrol enhances general security in cities and other areas. It is a substantial undertaking in law enforcement, and it exists in three categories: active patrol, random patrol, and directed patrol. They differ in the strategies and techniques employed. To begin with, dynamic control entails the officers on duty are supposed to use their skills to curb unusual events. They do not have a specific clue as to the occurrence of a criminal act, and as such, they observe and use their skills to determine the likelihood of an event involving a criminal act. Unlike other units, they are supposed to use general knowledge to determine and predict an issue bound to occur. Therefore, active patrol officers analyze the problem in society and depend on their judgment to discover abnormal events in the field (Zhang & Brown, 2013). Thus, active patrol is based on the officers' duties skills to determine an event and its likelihood of being a criminal act. The second type is random patrol involves paying unexpected visits to areas likely to have criminal events. The patrol routes are random and varied to ensure criminals do not detect the event. It follows that police officer is often seen if they use their work attires. As such, random patrol officers dress in a civilian manner to avoid being detected by various gangs. Therefore random patrol depends on being undetected to catch up with the issue before it is being done. It is their strength, and if noted, the entire operation is compromised. The third strategy that is directed patrol, usually targets criminal prone areas. They target an event as it takes place to revert the situation before it gets out of hand. Under the third wing, the crime has to be at its peak to take actions (Zhang & Brown, 2013). Altogether, the patrol types differ in the strategies employed and the target on the hand. Elements included in an Effective Written Police Report An effectively written police report is essential in solving criminal acts and bringing an issue to justice. Sacramento State Police Department (2014) outlined that a police report should have the following components: first, the initial information describes how an officer became aware of the issue. At this juncture, specific details are provided, and the activities are undertaken at the crime scene. Second, identifying the crime or incident includes the facts about the crime and determining the act took place. The third component is identifying involved parties: the perpetrator, the victim, and the witness. It also includes their address and their undertakings which aid in determining the facts about the three parties. Fourth, the parties’ statement is collected to resolve the issue in the hand and the facts surrounding it. Fifth, the crime scene description includes the photographs and the physical evidence that can ascertain an event. Sixth, the property information determines the probability of a crime taking place. The component describes the location of a property, its colour, value and model. They are essential in determining the relationship between criminal activity and its likelihood at the site. Therefore, the element should describe the property set's details and why it is likely to have triggered the event occurrence. The police action is the seventh and the last component in the police report. It describes the people involved in crime report building: the officers involved in the crime scene, their role and duties, including their deductions about the crime. The component describes the officers' account of the event and the reason they arrived at the inferences. Thus, the officers should give their perspective and observations on the crime scene (Sacramento State Police Department, 2014). As such, an effective police report should detail the above elements and give a full description for it to be reliable in crime disintegration. The Importance of Establishing Good Rapport with Citizens Statistics have it that law enforcement is effective in situations involving public participation. However, there is a poor rapport between the public and the police officers, facilitating partial criminal case identification and solving. It is the sole reason why police officers need to establish a connection with the public. It has its benefits to the two parties. First, it creates trust among the two parties. On the one hand, the police department benefits as it gets timely reports about various criminal acts as they happen or are about to happen. On the other hand, the public benefits as they are sure the criminal act would be curbed or brought to justice ("Building Trust and Improve Police-Community Relations Starts with your Mission". Envisage Technologies, 2021). Therefore, a rapport will stand as a guiding principle between the authorities and the public. As such, it is upon the rules to ensure they have a relationship with the public. It comes at a cost, and they have to be ready to answer the people behind their decision making. Second, it creates confidence from the public where they appreciate their efforts in their problems. The public will include the law enforcement in their needs at this stage, resulting in issue solving. The point-blank is that: the public will benefits as the police department will assume transparency explaining the reason for undertaking a particular decision. Rapport plays a significant role in such a scenario in that the public gets to know the cycle surrounding an event and the mission. As such, the units' benefits as they had the opportunity to secure communication benefits with the public ("Building Trust and Improve Police-Community Relations Starts with your Mission". Envisage Technologies, 2021). Thus, trust and confidence are essential, and they only build up if a good rapport exists between the public and the law enforcement units. It is a symbiotic relationship where both parties benefit from the opponents' action. Proper Procedures for Responding to Media Inquiries The rivalry between Media and Police department is not a hoax. It is accurate and affects how police respond to media inquiries. Media plays a significant role in keeping law enforcement on its toll. It acts as a watchdog, which is a rampant issue as it contributes to the rivalry. There is a need for the authorities to align their duties to include better ways to deal with media inquiries as media is unavoidable. The best way to do this is to enhance its relationship with the media. In one way or another, media can help the police department stay informed about criminal acts in society. For instance, media connects police departments with youths through platforms such as Facebook and Twitter (Shead, 2017). It is recommendable for the police department to neutralize the rivalry by involving the media in its operations. However, the media happens to be a disruptive body, and it could interfere with police investigations. There are multiple ways in which the media can influence police investigations, and it has to be put in check. It is upon the authorities to disseminate what it feeds to the press and what to withhold. It is essential as it aid in ensuring police work is confidential. Perhaps, later on, the authorities can give the media full details about the plan and how it proceeded. The goal is to ensure the public gets complete information concerning an issue but should not be the platform where plans are destroyed. Therefore, it is recommendable for the police department to identify strategies to deal with the media. Media is the public eye and should not be dismissed (Shead, 2017). Thus, the best way to deal with it is to identify ways to become hectic in police work rather than engaging it in rivalry.
The Value of Making Presentations to Citizen Groups The police administration answers directly to the public. Schreurs et al. (2018) affirmed that police organization makes informed decisions when it involves citizen groups in its duties. One way of identifying issues affecting society, for instance, insecurity, is addressed by applying citizen groups, enabling the department to understand the process and the philosophy involved in dealing with such issues. It follows that the public groups understand the society appropriately as compared to the general group. They are in a better position to understand the problem and the solutions. Thus, it is of value for the police department to ensure the public groups are involved in the decision-making process. Such groups are central in determining the outcomes of a problem-solving process There is the aspect of moral behaviour, and public groups understand it better than the police officers. It follows that public groups such as drivers or teachers understand society's welfare more than the police department. They are the real drivers of such issue, and it is ideal if the department is to work alongside them. The motive not only addresses the problem affecting the society but enhances community policing policies. As such, citizen capital should be involved in solving the issue affecting them in one or the other. It is upon the authorities to engage with the groups. For instance, drivers will enable traffic police to understand how they should traffic congestion related crimes. On the other hand, teachers will allow them to understand drug traffic issues and so on (Schreurs et al., 2018). Given that, the police department needs to identify how moral disruption can be addressed, and citizen groups are essential in such areas. Effective Oral Communication Techniques
Communication is the key to enhancing quality working protocols and procedures. Fritsvold (2021) pointed out oral communication enables police officers to survive in the streets. It follows that society values communication better than anything else. It is not an option for police officers to integrate nonverbal communication into their daily activities. For instance, body language, which does not necessarily involve talking, can suggest that a person is dishonest. More so, gestures can indicate a person is under pressure or naïve about a situation. However, in most cases, the use of body language enables police officers to identify with the public. It is ultimate in that people like using signals whenever they are in dangerous positions. For instance, to signify a person has a gun, a civilian may designate the police officer by rolling their eyes. Therefore, it is only natural for police officers to understand the use of gestures for effective performance.
More so, police officer should develop their listening skills. It follows that misunderstanding has impacted poor decision making by many police officers. Chances are a situation could have been reverted if the COP in question took their time to listen to a person explaining the situation. As such, it is recommendable for police officers to work on their communication skills. Being clear and concise also plays a significant role[. In most cases, the public shun away police officers as most of them fail to express themselves. They tend to be vaguely making them sound insincere and dangerous. No one would want to engage in such a conversation, and it is primary for them to work on their expressive skills (Fritsvold, 2021). As such, communication skills come in handy in community policing, and it is only vital for police officers to identify ways to enhance their oral communication skills.