Cja 444 - Group Behavior and Processes Paper

Group Behavior and Processes Paper

Lorenzo Scrima

CJA/444

Frank Cambest

December 3, 2015

        Problem solving is an important tactic in just about any organization or situation.  However there is one organization that problem solving is of the utmost importance, law enforcement.  Without this important tactic law enforcement professionals could not improve the safety and security of the public it serves.  Now policing agencies have always strived to protect and to serve but it’s tactics have improved with newer strategies over the years on how to prevent crime rather than respond to it.  In the following paper there will be a detailed answer to the second question of the “Learn by Doing” section in the third chapter of the book “Justice Administration”.  This will include what kinds of information would be the most helpful to collect, what kinds of responses might be considered, and what types of assessment would be beneficial.

        In the recent decades there has been a newer strategy of policing that has emerged and seeks to improve the quality of policing using new tools for addressing recurrent problems that plague communities and consume a majority of police agency’s time and resources (Peak, 2012, Chapter 3).  This new strategy is called community-oriented policing and problem solving or COPPS.  There are two principals associated with this process, community engagement and problem solving.  The tools necessary to accomplish this policing strategy are called the S.A.R.A. (Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment).  This is a step-by-step process that officers can use to help them with not only a short-term fix to a problem but also with a long-term solution.  This process is the perfect way to tackle the problem given in the second question of the “Learn by Doing” section in the third chapter of the book “Justice Administration”.

        The first step would be the scanning phase to see what the actual problem is.  This helps the officer to determine if there is a problem that needs further analysis (Peak, 2012, Chapter 3).  The first resource that the officer can use to collect information for this step would be the calls for service database.  This way the officer can determine if there has been numerous calls and for what area.  The next resource is the police reports for this area and talking with the officers that have been involved with those police reports.  After the officer has determined that there is a problem that needs further attention they can move to the next step.

        The officer now has the preliminary information that was obtained from the scanning step and can start to analyze the problem further.  The first thing that the officer could do is to review the property owner’s information and see what info can be obtained from that.  Next the officer should visit the location and document all of the problem areas by taking photos and interviewing residents that have filed complaints and called the police.  According to the scenario given in the question, there are anywhere between 5 – 10 calls for service due to gunshots in every 24-hour period.  Perpetrators stash guns in the thick overgrowth around the low-income housing development.  There is also a large open field behind the development that the perps use to flee when they are approached by law enforcement.  After more surveillance the officer can see that there is a convenience store across the street that has become a hot spot for drug dealers and prostitutes.  There is a T-shaped alleyway behind the store which gives easy access and escape for buyers.  Also there is a known drug house down the street that is contributing to the drug traffic.  Lighting in the area is very poor and often the officer finds that street lights have been shot out firearms.  The last thing that the officer observed is that there are payphones outside the front of the store that are pretty much primarily used by drug traffickers as well as street people who vandalize the neighborhood.