The criminal justice system has a vast amount of different jobs and careers that I could pursue. I am sure that everyone has some knowledge of what police do and what the FBI does, but there are also jobs that deal with fraud, guns, border patrol, natural resources. All of these jobs deal with some kind of potential crime that has to be either deterred or dealt with. The easiest way to explain my field is to talk about the people that the public interacts with the most, and that is police officers.
Police officers jobs are a conglomeration of almost all criminal justice fields, because they deal with drugs, illegal firearms, alcohol, prostitution, and of course traffic violations. The point is that police officers are out there to deter crime, catch the people that break the law and serve the general public. They do this because they are interested in the publics safety, which their motto best describes "Protect and to Serve". Especially as more studies are done about crime control and what works and what doesn't, police are being more proactive in the field and there is less of just waiting for 911 calls to come in so they have something to do.
People think sometimes that this is not always the case and police are just a bunch of party poopers when they break up a party and hand out minors, but really they just want to make sure people are ok and not getting hurt and cooperating with the police so they may not get minors, and this is coming from a conversation I had with a Fargo Police officer.
Another phrase that you might have heard that goes along with police is that that they "Clean up the street" though this phrase is meant to mean that they clean the streets of crime, policemen actually do clean up the streets. Order maintenance is part of law enforcement which involves making sure stores keep their store front clean or getting rid of a bunch of old tires in an alley that gangs are hanging around and in a rare case even having the city bulldoze a house that is vacant and is attracting homeless people.
These are just a few examples of what police officers do. For the most part officers share the same values, keep the community and their families safe, make a difference, and help people when they need it, what ever the situation. Having these values I believe is a must if someone wanted to in law enforcement because these values are an everyday aspect of law enforcement.
Sometimes when I find myself questioning police officers and their motives, I have to sit back and realize that they are just human beings doing their jobs, The true question has to go back to the laws themselves. This is a whole different, very complicated side of criminal justice. There are many different factors that go into today's laws ranging from historical context to ulterior motive (whether people want to admit that or not). Do I agree with every law? No. But I have come to know better than to make law enforcement the "whipping boy".
ReplyDeleteI have always been under the idea that criminal justice majors are only wanting to be a police officer when they are older. I enjoyed learning about the other opportunities that people in this major have with border control, natural resources and any other field that deals with the law. As college students, police officers can seem to be bad guys at times with giving parking tickets and giving minors. But in all reality, their number one concern is safety for everyone. The amount of laws and other situations that police officers must learn about is very broad and they must be well-rounded in all aspects of the law. I don't agree with everything that police officers enforce, but I know who I can count on in times of need.
ReplyDeleteAll my interactions with officers in the past have been very positive, they always have been understanding and willing to help. In my experience if you are cooperating with an officer he is likely to be much nicer to you as well.
ReplyDeleteI concur with Eric, the police receive a negative facade due to things not based in reality (TV, movies, etc.) when in fact most of their job is making sure the inebriated individual makes it home safe or people observe local ordinances (which are in place for their benefit). I think back to a recent traffic stop that I was involved in: the officer in question was nothing but kind, helpful and concerned for my safety.
ReplyDeleteBeing a CJ major I knew most of this and it was very well written.
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