You must respond to 3 students post and each post shall be at least one paragraph long (five sentences) supported by literature where appropriate. You are responding to the students paper I will send

What do Travis and Stone suggest as the "new professionalism."

Travis and Stone (2011) describe the new professionalism as stricter accountability for their effectiveness and conduct, increased legitimacy as viewed by the community, continuous innovation in police practices, and national coherence. Has this permeated through all law enforcement agencies? Unfortunately, no, but it is getting better. The recent response to the police shooting at an unarmed civilian through her window in Fort Worth, Texas is a good example. Look at the rapid response from the police chief, the arrest of the police officer and how accountability enhanced their stature in the eyes of the local community. As tragic as this incident was, the community response was much more restrained than other previous incidents across the nation.

Do you agree?

Absolutely. Accountability and legitimacy are probably the most important. It is also relevant to ensure that there is a national coherence about these issues. Standardization of training and implementation, and sharing of best practices among law enforcement agencies will go a long way toward elevating the relationship with local communities.

What is the promise of "Democratic Policing Reform"?

There was a significant discussion in this week’s paper about “community policing,” “problem-oriented policing,” and “strategic policing.” Community policing is the phrase that took hold during the 1990’s while President Clinton was touting the 100,000 police funding augmentation. Strategic policing is the more realistic endeavor that departments have implemented. This involves incorporating new forensic science technology and new surveillance capabilities, constructing elaborate information systems that allow chiefs to hold local commanders accountable almost in real time for levels of crime in their districts, expanding the use of stop-and-search tactics, responding to criticisms of racial profiling, and managing heightened concern about terrorism—this is strategic policing. Many questions arose out of that era: unethical conduct and legitimacy were a natural outgrowth. A complaint about community policing in the 1990s was that it left problem solving to the unrefined skills of frontline officers. Only rarely did senior management invest in departmentwide problem solving type of training (Travis and Stone, 2011). Police departments have been compelled to reevaluate the military-style enforcement, engage with local communities, and submit to civilian or a hybrid style of oversight. These are all components of democratic policing reform. Beginning the conversation, community engagement, and showing a willingness to admit to past abuses are essential to this change.

What has US Law Enforcement contributed to law enforcement accountability throughout the world?

Innovation in practices and investigative techniques are important. However, U.S. law enforcement has had the most scrutiny with legitimacy issues. This has resulted in many changes at the international level. For example, the recommendations for policing in Bosnia-Herzengovina include the need to earn legitimacy in the eyes of the community.

Now that we are at the end of the course, what do you believe are the key elements of ethical, effective, and accountable law enforcement?

I reviewed our previous weekly discussions and papers about law enforcement ethics and came up with four primary elements to ensure ethical, effective, and accountable law enforcement:

Training. This is where it begins. The formative days, where ethical standards, accountability and judgement needs to be taught and engrained into the psyche of young officers. Also, ongoing, annual training to reinforce what was learned in the academy.
Effective Oversight. While all departments have some form of Internal Affairs oversight, the trend is toward adding some type of civilian or external oversight. Another possible approach is Citizen’s Police Review Board (CPRB). An example is the CPRB in Oakland, California. It is composed of civilians, an independent counsel, and adjunct staff (Calderon, Hernandez-Figueroa, 2013). Operating in this environment requires rapid responses to accusations, transparency and strong leadership.
Marginality. Rooting out the “bad apples,” detecting and correcting marginality, and leadership by example. Junior members often mimic what they see, so senior leaders need to set the example for those members. This is increasing more difficult when working in a large law enforcement organization such as Department of Homeland Security. The analogy was made about “steering a large boat” while attempting to instill ethical standards and prevent marginality in a large law enforcement organization.
Legitimacy. How a law is applied is as important as the circumstances under which it became necessary to apply a law.

References:

Calderon, Edaurdo L. (2013). Citizen Oversight Committees in Law Enforcement. California State University Fullerton, Center for Public Policy.

Stone, Christopher and Travis, Jeremy (2011). New Perspectives in Policing. Toward a New Professionalism in Policing. National Institute of Justice.