The Struggles of Law Enforcement Today

Being exposed to danger every day in the workplace is pretty much the job description of being a police officer. But with the changing landscape of common threats, police officers nowadays must be more vigilant than ever before when it comes to protecting both themselves and the citizens they serve. As these threats differ with the ages, it begs to consider what are the most challenging issues law enforcement are currently facing in their line of work.

As the first to respond to civilian dangers, police officers must come prepared for any situations they face. And with the increasing trend of active shooters in recent years, policies are also continuously being developed for the correct procedure in dealing with this kind of threat. Such system calls for our policemen to act without hesitation in dealing with a shooter, keeping in mind that with every second, lives are being taken. In most cases, they are rewarded for their immediate response and scorned if they do not engage quick enough. This policy, however, ignores their very own safety as they try their best to settle the situation without analyzing first the best way to deal with the attacker. This often leads to officers being injured or killed.

In line with the proper analysis of threats, law enforcement is also facing challenges in allocating funds for science. With the dawn of more complicated cases, Forensics must turn to develop better scientific methods for solving a crime, while predictive intelligence can be used for catching culprits. Scientific methods also play a significant role in processing physical evidence in crime scenes. Such funding is hard to justify especially when contending with departments that push for the purchase of guns instead. Without research, forensics will keep stepping backward in its field.

Being a profession that involves crime prevention, officers are also always viewed as role models. Because of this, they are the easiest target of scrutiny among other professionals for simple misbehavior or discourteousness. On or off duty, an officer will find that everything he does will always be under the watchful eyes of the judgmental public, and even the slightest error will cause an internal investigation which can cost promotions. It also does not help that the media exacerbates such viewpoint. Public pressure puts a severe strain on them to always have their best foot forward.

Politics exist in every workplace, and this includes law enforcement as well. And when the powerful are involved in crime, it is inevitable for them to have politically motivated pressures. Often, these high-profile arrests cause serious corruption to the force including bribes or even threats. These challenge the principles of officers as they try their best to keep their tenets intact all the while averting themselves from political pressures which may endanger them even if all they did was enact the arrest.

Nowadays, the horizons that law enforcement face is more challenging than ever before. But these undaunting officers will always honor their vow to serve and protect those who need them.