City to hire new police officers next year, Supt. McCarthy says - Chicago Sun-Times

City to hire new police officers next year, Supt. McCarthy says - Chicago Sun-Times


A SPECIAL COMMENT ON HAVING MORE POLICE:




Specialized Patrol Functions


Many questions have been raised about the role of specialized patrols and the impact it has on the communities they serve. We have all seen or heard from local news via television or print, of the actions such patrols produce. The major drug bust, prostitution stings, and gang members being arrested. The patrols basic function; drug enforcement, gang control, and stings can have a positive or negative effect on the community it is intended to serve.

Society relies on law enforcement officers to maintain order and eradicate crime. When a problem such as drug dealing occurs in a community, the citizen will expect law enforcement to investigate and arrest those responsible. But what happens if an innocent citizen becomes ensnared in the arrest? For arguments sake; let us say a citizen was walking out of a grocery store where known drug sales occur. The police rush to the scene and detain several people including the citizen. The citizen is pushed, shoved, and handcuffed. Eventually the citizen is released but comes away with a negative impression of the police because of the way he was treated.

Using the same hypothetical scenario with known gang members, the citizen is informed to step back into the store for his or her own safety. Under this scenario the citizen may have a more positive attitude towards police officers because they have demonstrated a concern for the citizens’ safety. The citizen would probably feel more appreciative of the officers doing their duty in cleaning up the neighborhood, by ridding the streets of gangs and drug dealing. The “sting” operation in my opinion is an effective deterrent tool at the disposal of law enforcement. With the sting operation people that solicit for prostitution or child predators run the risk of having there name and photograph in newspapers and the internet. Law enforcements role in keeping the community informed of such offenders may promote trust in the community with the police.

In my own neighborhood specialized patrols have had a positive impact on some resident’s lives. When I bought the home in February 1987 I could see people in the alley on the next block engaging in drug sales. With the persistence of local law enforcement and specialized patrols the problem has likely moved to another location with less of a police presence. Do these specialized patrols have a positive or negative impact on the communities they serve? The jury is still out on that question. You have people in society that do not trust the police and people that do. But if your community is changing like mine; not seeing drug sales in the alley on the next block is refreshing.