For these reasons and many more, policing is a special profession.Īs a result of the difficult and often dangerous duties that police work involves, the occupational stress that officers face is cumulatively debilitating and consuming. Yet, at the same time, they must possess the capacity to lawfully take someone’s life under the most stressful conditions, often in a split-second decision. Officers must chase criminals expose themselves repeatedly to danger and show compassion, kindness, courtesy, and respect to citizens. No other profession requires its employees to make complex legal and moral decisions that impact the lives of others quite like policing. When political turmoil, poverty, crime, and social injustice lead to civil unrest that challenges the very pillars of democracy, society asks the police to intervene to restore order, protect lives, and safeguard property. How society perceives law enforcement’s performance serves as a barometer for a community’s sense of peace and well-being. Policing inherently offers law enforcement personnel the opportunity to either represent or misrepresent those values and ethics of democratic government.
An organized, well-run, ethically just, and evenhanded police department tenaciously committed to excellence and the people it serves contributes significantly to a city well represented by its government. Policing as an institution reflects the health and viability of its social fabric. This arm of government defends against anarchy and preserves the rules of law and due process in a democratic society. No societal institution so critically links citizens to government like policing.
0 kommentar(er)
