As the world continues to use technology in new and upcoming ways, law enforcement must stay up to date. The first policy deals with the application of drones in law enforcement. Drones are unmanned aerial vehicles, also known as UAVs, that have any kind of camera on them. The application of drones in law enforcement can significantly help find criminals without having the loud sound of a helicopter. Drones in law enforcement will be smaller than the drones in the military and unlike drones in the military, the drones in law enforcement will not be able to fire bullets or missiles.
Thirteen out of fifty states have already passed the legislation for drone use (Smith, 2015). The usage of drones will come with many laws and regulations. With the introduction of drones, the possibility of violating the Fourth Amendment is possible. Due to the possibility of violating the Fourth Amendment, most of the thirteen states require a search warrant before being able to fly the drone, with certain exceptions.
Alaska even requires “law enforcement agencies to keep records of their flights” by recording the “date, time, and purpose” every time a drone is used (Smith, 2015). With every state having different laws and regulations, our beautiful city can have different laws, or we can imply some of the same laws from different states. The introduction of drones to our city will help save money by not having to use a helicopter and will help identify various crimes and criminals faster than being on foot.
This policy will require some money to implement but will be the most beneficial to our city.
The second policy deals with the application of curfews among teenagers and children. A curfew is commonly applied to young adults in families for their safety. A curfew for certain ages will help significantly with the crime rate in our beautiful city. Most people that do crimes have been doing it since they were children, and the implication of a curfew will help children stay out of trouble. Curfews are not uncommon in cities, with the first curfew implemented in 1880 (Patrick, 2012 ). In 1991, Dallas, Texas applied a curfew after discovering certain times crimes were committed. The data showed that delinquency increased “between 10 to 16 years of age” with most murders happening between “10 p.m. and 1 p.m.” (Patrick, 2012). The new application of this policy decreased juvenile victimization by “17.7 percent” in just three months (Patrick, 2012). Dallas had the option to give warnings, give tickets, or take them home. Even though no one was arrested during these curfews, juvenile victimization still decreased. The decrease in a fast period shows that the policy is beneficial. Even though the curfew is only for younger adults and children, this will help with the potential of juvenile crimes in the future. Seventeen percent might sound like a small percentage but over time the percentage has the potential to increase. The implementation of the curfew policy will set stricter rules on children and teenagers and can benefit the city in dealing with juvenile delinquencies.
The third policy includes the introduction of public education programs. These programs will be free of cost to the citizens of our city and will include many topics. These topics can include how to properly store a gun in your home, saying no to drugs, and why the police are important. Certain police officers can go to schools to teach elementary and high school students about the use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs. Our city can also hold certain classes in the court house to the public about defense and gun safety. Our city can also start a summer camp with children that want to become police officers with all kinds of activities. The possibilities with the interaction of the public are endless. Many cities have already started the idea of public education programs with programs like DARE and GREAT. DARE, also known as Drug Abuse Resistance Education, is the “most prevalent school-based drug-use prevention program in the United States” (Ennett, Rosenbaum, Flewelling, Bieler, Ringwalt, & Bailey, 1994). DARE has been around for a long time and it gives children the chance to see what happens to you when taking drugs. In addition to the DARE program, there is the GREAT program. GREAT, also known as Gang Resistance Education and Training, was introduced in 1991 “to provide students with real tools to resist the lure and trap of gangs” (Esbensen & Osgood, 1999). GREAT, along with DARE, was taught in a school setting with officers providing the curriculum. GREAT has two objectives, to “reduce gang activity” and to educate young people on the “consequences of gang involvement” (Esbensen & Osgood, 1999). Both programs positively affect the children in America by showing the children firsthand what the consequences are of making bad decisions. This policy will cost money to implement, but it will benefit the children of our city. Since there are already many program options for children, making a program for adults will be beneficial. Implementing this policy will provide our citizens feel safe knowing that our law enforcement cares enough to provide classes for the public.
One extra policy is to introduce saturation patrols. Saturation patrols are patrols near high crime rate areas, also known as hot spots. Hot spots can be anywhere from a street corner to a parking lot. Our beautiful city will not be the first city to implement this policy. “More than seven in ten police departments with one hundred or more sworn officers reported using crime mapping to identify ‘hot spots” (Weisburd, 2005). With other cities already implementing the introduction of hot spots, this goes to show this policy can be beneficial. Our city can take a small percentage of police officers and place them in hot spots to start, and then we can see how the crime will reduce from there. This policy would be the cheapest since the police officers will just be placed in certain areas to patrol.
In conclusion, these four policies can decrease the crime rate in different ways. We have four different strategies at four different price points to help determine which will be the most beneficial. These four strategies require time and effort to be the most beneficial for our city.
Reduction of Crime in Our Beautiful City. (2022, May 13). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/reduction-of-crime-in-our-beautiful-city/