AC3.4 Flashcards
What is the polices role
The police service is a government-sponsored agency. The police are funded through central government grant and through council tax. There are teams of officers who are responsible for general duties with branches covering anti-terroism, covert operations, firearms, drugs etc. Their role is to protect life and property, preserving order, preventing the commission of offences, and bringing offenders to justice. They also aim to reduce both crime and the fear of crime, to support victims and witnesses, and to promote confidence amongst local people that the Police understand and can deal with any arising issues.
Breifly explain the limitations of the Police
However, the media reports negative aspects of police and social control such as in the Macphereson report (1999) where the police were labelled as being “institutionally racist” following the case of Stephen Lawrence. There are also many examples that show innefective policing and an inability to achieve social control. Such as the case of a 61 year old man who was shot dead when he refused to stay still in a house raid however, it was the wrong house. This was evidently a mistake made by the police however it should be considered that the media sensationalise stories and create moral panic. In that case, the media did not go into full detail and explain the man had a gun and therefore tried to portray the police in a negative way. Furthermore, many statistics can be used to consider the effectiveness of the police. Office for National Statistsics (2017) states that police forces closed nearly half (48%) of offenses with no suspect identified and offences that resulted in a charge or summond have decreased from 14% to 11%. In addition, the Home Office states that crime has increased by 10% with a 20% rise in gun and kife crime and 26% rise in homoside. This certainly suggests a lack of effectiveness from the police force and an inability to tackle crime at a high level.
