Analysis Of A Career In Criminal Justice

The criminal justice system is a set of institutions that works as a unit to protect the society from all sorts of evil acts that may pose harm to its members through controlling and preventing criminal activities. Law enforcement an aspect of criminal justice system is a career that is both rewarding and at the same time very violent. Law enforcement unit sees to it that the law is upheld at all times and the people in a particular community served optimally. Today, law enforcement plays a crucial role in the global realm because life has continued to be very complicated and therefore law enforcement unit struggles to keep up in combating criminal activities in every different aspect. The strong desire that burns within me to help people made me want to venture into law enforcement career because, it allows me to give back to the society through the use of mu intellectual skills that this field tends to usually stimulate massively. Catching a criminal who has harmed another human being and caused them pain and injury elicits satisfaction within me since I know I have tried to make the world a better place than I actually found it by keeping these criminals off the streets making my community a safe one for everybody.

Usually law enforcement is a very challenging career that yields positive results in the long run. it is considered a type of public service provided by the state, city, and also federal government. Public protection within our community is a job tasked to the law enforcement officers. These people protect the society every in twenty-four hours in every facet of their daily lives. People are kept safe where they live, when they travel and in their works places. Just like any other career choice, this path is not suitable for everyone. To be a successful law enforcement office offer, one must have the desire to serve running deep within their veins like the blood sustaining their life. This job goes against all human instincts since it necessitates the need to run towards the source of danger, while human instincts dictates one to run away from the source of danger. The nee to make this world a better place than we found it is usually a very noble mission one can take up and therefore any individual who chooses this career path for all the right reasons becomes a very special person automatically. This career is very dignified in that these individuals put their lives in total danger for the benefit of the others, therefore it goes without saying that they command a certain level of respect in the society. A real difference can be made in other people’s lives, something that may not be said in all type of careers out there.

Since the Genesis of European migration, law enforcement had already existed. One of the major founders of federal bureau of investigations J. Edgar, stated that ‘justice is incidental to law and order’. This shows the importance of having laws in a society and the need of enforcing them. It also means that justice in a system can also be served efficiently if the rights and freedom of the citizens are being protected in the first place. Law enforcement therefore is just ensuring that the laws of the land are adhered to as it should. The structure of the constable office was brought about by the Americans colonialists when they migrated to Europe between the 1700s-1800s. in the year 1838, the first local modernized police department was established in Boston, in the united states, and in 1845 New York police department establishment followed. People kept on migrating to the US, and moving west, meaning new cities were coming up and there was need for individual protection. This necessitated the build up of more police departments in these new territories so as to maintain a civilized society throughout America. For there to be an existence of safe society, law enforcement is mandatory. Many people will pursue career in law enforcement; however, the sad reality is that not everyone will be suited for it at the end of the day. My maternal grandfather served as a police officer for nearly fifteen years before being a sheriff. The respect I had on him as well as the other officers who are in this line of duty is what really motivated me, to pick up this career path.

For now, to pursue a professional law enforcement career, one needs to accomplish certain basic things first. An individual is required to do a written civil service examination paper. This paper is given by The Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS). This department is not only in charge of administering the examination, it also lists the names of the people who have qualified the test. The name of the list of candidates that have passed is given to the respective police departments, this then marked the beginning of the applicant processing division. Most police departments require that a candidate should have completed sixty credits of their college work with a GPA of 2. 0, however, this varies from state to state since others would only want a high school certificate to qualify. A person who has served in the military for two years, can use this as a substitute for the educational requirement. A medical examination is also necessary to see how healthy one is and thorough character background check is done. When all these requirements have been looked through and the candidates fit in well in all them, then a consideration for appointment can be done. Most officers who succeed are thee ones who exhibit a reasoning that is above average, and are in perfect physical health. Great interpersonal skills as well as showing readiness to learn also goes a long way in qualification. Before being appointed to the police academy, thorough background check of the individual is conducted by the police department. Dismissal can be made immediately it is discovered that the person has a past criminal record, meaning sound character is very critical to be able to get an appointment. The candidates previous work experience goes a long way in giving the investigators a positive feedback that increases one’s chance of actually qualifying to the academy.

After being appointed, the first five years the individual is assigned to work as a patrol man. Depending on the assignment given, the working conditions will differ greatly. Ones the individual graduated from the police academy, they get to be assigned to a training officer, whom they work under. In the academy, rookies have been trained on the text book version of cases, therefore, the training officers’ main function is to introduce the rookie to the real work environment. This is very helpful in cushioning the new officers experience through leveraging the veteran’s officers experience as well as boosting the rookie’s confidence. The new officer will definitely find that some assignments they encounter tend to be difficult more than others since the crimes differ depending on intensity and part of the city, they are assigned to. Most of the time the total work hours is forty and these hours vary since cities needs police protection throughout the day. Shifts can be drawn from 8am-4pm, 4pm-12am, 12am-8am, so that officers patrol in shifts throughout the day. Variations may however arise depending on certain types of assignments.

Most American police departments have 28 paid off days annually, and the sickness day off is usually unlimited. Medical coverage also comes as part of the package of being a US police officer. Currently, an officer can retire after 20years of offering their service, and they get to be eligible to half pay on what they were earning totally exempted from taxation. When an officer gets a permanent injury in line of duty, they are eligible to three quarters of their original pay untaxed. by around May 2008, most of the police officers and the sheriffs get a medium annual wage of about $51, 410. The police and detective supervisors medium annual wage was reported to be $75,490 around May 2008. Most police departments like NYPD have their salaries beginning at $41,000 and increases slowly up to $60,000 within the first five years of being employed.

Police officers tend to be more vulnerable to emotional stress compared to their peers in other set of careers. For any patrolman who works in the streets, they can attest that no two days can ever be the same. There is also the aspect of physical stress that come by the physical danger they are posed with as well as the working shifts, they are supposed to adhere to. This stress may not only be restricted to the officer, but it may be channeled down to the officer’s family. This is seen in the many incidences of divorce reported from the previously married police officers. Healthy mental health of the officers is mandatory for efficient functioning at their jobs, therefore dealing with work related stress and family pressures should be well managed to achieve a healthy mental wellbeing. When a police officer is undergoing severe stress, they show tendencies of increased absenteeism from duty causing a marked decrease in their level of productivity. It is therefore crucial that the candidate wanting to take a career in law enforcement, understand themselves with regards to how they respond to situations causing them anxiety and the way they deal with it ultimately, also, it is very critical for the candidate to be able to reduce stress levels using police department counselling programs available as well as other extra sources that may be presented at their disposal.

Typical for any career, there are both advantages and the disadvantages presented law enforcement career not being an exemption at all. The major advantage in this career is the possibility available for an individual to take up examinations and pass making one be eligible for promotions all thee way to the captain’s level. The sole responsibility an individual has, is to get the motivation and drive needed to be able to pass this written examination given. The disadvantage is in the fiscal constraint one is subjected to that causes an impact on the pay scales as well as other benefits that may follow. This can be decreased by collective police officer’s union bargaining since they always have the best interests of these officers at heart.

This career path shows a solid employment future since cities shows the need for law enforcement officers most of the time. The ideal career oath I would actually follow is being a police officer for five years straight then take up a sergeant examination. This sergeant examination has to wait for about three years before being able to get examined for the lieutenant position. The captains position requires a wait of about two years before thee examination could be done. This would mean I may need a total of ten years or a little bit more to enable me attain the captains position depending the level of dedication and hard work I put across. Also, the desire that I will posses is what will be an essential motivating factor to enable me get the drive I need to get to this position eventually.

The police department has so many sub specialties that one can venture in throughout their career life. There are divisions like scuba, detectives, narcotics, mounted horse division, marine, aviation and K-9 unit among others. The most interesting for me in these is the forensics docket, that entails application of one’s scientific knowledge and analysis of a criminal case that is ongoing investigation. Usually the captain position remains the highest examined position in the police department before the getting the political appointment to be an inspector. There is need for constant education and training of the officers, regarding the different departments’ rules and regulations and human behavior, proves to be the best path one can take in their advancement program. As stated earlier in this work, physical and mental stress tend to wear down police officer greatly. This therefore means that, only the individuals who have successfully met the physical, personal and psychological qualifications in the department applying for a promotion will be accepted. The rest that do not meet this criterion will be encouraged to try out next time, when they have got all that was required in check. Adding to the emergence of new job opportunities due to growth in the law enforcement sector, there are many other job opening that may arise for fresh rookies form the police academy due to; the need of replacing the veteran officers that have retired, those that have moved from local police service to federal service and the private security jobs. It proves too be so easy for one to get a job in the relatively low paying police departments. Although it would also be easier to secure a job in urban areas that register relatively high crime rates annually. Small police departments have very limited budget at their disposal, therefore they lack the luxury of hiring additional offers even if they wanted to do so. The people with the best shot at securing a job in the police departments are those individuals who are bilingual and have served in the military or applicants with a college training in police science.

Law enforcement departments have codes of ethics that guide them in their daily operations when making their everyday decisions. This ensures that the departments work efficiently throughout all seasons. Most law enforcement officers are tasked with so much power and due to the different nature of problems encountered by these officers, they get to have very serious conflicts that generally needs sufficient guidance, that is provided by these codes of ethics. The fact that code of ethics helps an individual in decision making makes it very important to enable the smooth and correct operations of law enforcement agencies. The law enforcement superiors are required to lead their juniors in the best of example since if the leader is the one who is corrupt, it goes without saying, that the rest of the subordinate staff will also follow suit in that corrupt nature.

Some behaviors such as bribery, forgery, extortion, and use of excessive force, are totally unacceptable in the law enforcement departments. Therefore, police officer should familiarize themselves with these prohibitions and at no time should they be found exercising such behaviors on the members of society. Most citizens have entrusted their security to the law enforcement officers therefore, it would really be in bad taste when, the people who are supposed to protect its citizens is the one who they need protection against since they are not using their power in the most appropriate manner.

Law enforcement is usually the lifeline of any form of law and order in the society. Therefore, it is very crucial for the police personnel to comment thee utmost respect of its citizens to enable its effective function. The relationship between members of the public and the police officers is usually very important to be able to maintain this law and order. Police officer therefore need to conduct themselves in the most appropriate manner.

It is definitely clear that law enforcement is a bit challenging for a career choice, but it results impacting positively in the society. Police officers are normally given so much power that no other government employee can come close. Therefore, a true police office should be a servant to the public exhibiting alertness, courage, sound judgement, and compassion. Choosing a career, I law enforcement is challenging but also rewarding in the same measure. Career in law enforcement is perfectly tailored for me since I enjoy helping people and making an impact in the society. Generally, I enjoy staying out in the community and my temperament is understanding. I am definitely aware that this career path would want me to be in my best self, whether it is mental, physically or emotionally.

References

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3. Pound, R. (2018). Criminal justice in America. Routledge.
4. Territo, L. , & Sewell, J. D. (Eds. ). (2007). Stress management in law enforcement. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.