More Than Crime Fighters
Competencies Addressed in This Assignment
- Competency 1: Analyze police-community relations issues from an ethics perspective.
- Competency 2: Differentiate criminal justice social control concepts.
- Competency 4: Explore the use of police discretion in complex criminal justice issues.
Introduction
Due to television and movies people may often think of a police officer’s duties as constant crime fighting. This assumption and perception is not an accurate representation of the day-to-day duties of the typical police officer. Most often, the police respond to non-crime calls for service. These calls range anywhere from domestic disputes to people being locked out of their car or house. During these non-crime calls, the police are not making arrests; nevertheless, it is important that the police respond to these issues. There are many who believe the police response to non-crime events is just as or more important than fighting crime.
Some types of non-crime situations include:
- Maintaining social boundaries.
- Relieving unpleasant situations.
- Counterpunching or misdirecting police attention.
- Obtaining an emergency service.
In preparation for this assignment, you will view three scenarios in the More Than Crime Fighting media. You will be analyzing each scenario and answering questions about them.
Instructions
For this assignment, submit a minimum one-page paper for each scenario (a minimum of three pages total but not more than four) in which you answer the following questions for each scenario:
- Determine which of the four non-crime situations people call the police is being presented.
- Identify the informal action the police can take to resolve each issue.
- Describe how solving each scenario informally can lead to positive police-community relations.
Hint: In the scenarios, each of the four non-crime responses will be represented. One of the scenarios deals with two combined non-crime call responses. You will only use each of the four responses once.
Refer to the More Than Crime Fighters Scoring Guide to ensure you meet all evaluation criteria.
Other Requirements
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
- Written communication: Must be free of errors that detract from the overall message.
- Resources and citations: Format according to current APA style and formatting guidelines.
- Length of paper: 3–4 typed, double-spaced pages, not including the title page or the references page.
- References: A minimum of three references. (If you create a hypothetical case, references will not be necessary.)
- Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.
You are required to submit your paper to Turnitin. Once you review your results and make any needed changes, submit your paper for grading.
Note: Your instructor may also use the Writing Feedback Tool to provide feedback on your writing. In the tool, click the linked resources for helpful writing information.
Resources
