/ Published in Criminal Justice

Sample Criminal Justice Essay Paper on what is the difference between Proactive and Reactive Policing

Questions and Answers

SECTION A

  1. What is the difference between proactive and reactive policing?

Proactive policing is described as the police officers’ attempt to prevent crime taking place by being present in the suspected areas and by constantly interacting with the public so as to know their security concerns. On the other hand, reactive policing involves the police enforcement reacting or responding to criminal incidents or calls of service.

  • What is a chain of custody?

Chain of custody is defined as a written record or documentation that illustrates the full process that must be followed for an evidence to be legally acceptable.

  • Define the difference between crime prevention and crime repression?

Crime prevention is described as the process of hindering a crime from taking place whereas crime repression is described as the process of trying to limit or control the rate of an existing crime.

SECTION B

  1. Describe some of the factors that make an eyewitness unreliable?

Eyewitnesses become unreliable when;

  • They give false information due to mistaken identities or misidentification,
  • When the eyewitness gives biased information due to self-interests, own race-bias
  • The eyewitness has poor reconstructive memory,
  • When the victim gets intoxicated from drug abuse or alcohol and
  • During a situation where an eyewitness has too much anxiety or stress,.
  • What are the seven basic requirements of a witness?

The seven basic requirements of a witness include; he or she must be of legal age which is 18 and above, he or she must be mentally fit, he or she must have been present during the crime, he or she may be a victim affected by that crime for example a rape victim, he or she must also be physically and emotionally stable.

  • List and discuss at least five of the external factors that influence perception of a witness?
  • Suggestive questioning – The wording of questions during the questioning process may guide a witness towards a specific answer as opposed to the witness giving his or her own narrations. This can significantly affect the witness’s testimony.
  • Lineup biasness: This occurs when law enforcement officials choose distractors to be in the lineup of suspected criminals for the eyewitness to choose from. This may affect the degree of certainty for the eyewitnesses because during most times, the real offender is not present in the lineup.
  • Attitudes and expectations – An eyewitness’s perception on a given crime may be influenced by his or her own attitude and expectations.
  • Cross race bias – Cross race bias also known as own race bias occurs during face recognition by the eyewitness who is better at recognizing faces from his race as opposed to faces from other races. Eyewitnesses are most likely to mistakenly identify innocent victims who belong to a different race.
  • Alcoholic intoxication – Alcohol is known to impair a person’s judgment or way of thinking. This may affect an eyewitness’s perception of how he or she remembers the how a given crime occurred and the people whom he saw at the crime scene.

SECTION C

  1. What factors influence how we interpret what we hear?

Some of the factors that influence how we interpret what we hear are; our own attitudes, the tone of voice that the speaker uses, language barrier, emotional barrier, poor concentration and environmental factors such as noisy background.

  • What is the principle purpose of using radio codes?

Police normally use radio cords so as to communicate quickly and effectively. Radio codes also assist the police to reduce use of speech on the radio especially when the radio channels are very limited.

  • What is the radio code for ‘I have arrived’? Code 10-23

SECTION D

  1. Why do police offices and sheriffs wear uniforms?

Police officers and sheriff wear uniform as part of being professional and so that they can be identified easily by the public. The public can immediately recognize a police officer or a sheriff by their uniform. This is thus important in preventing crime as the presence of a police officer may deter one from taking part in any criminal activity.

  • In what way is a police officer a public servant?

A police officer is a public servant due to the fact that his duty is to serve the public by providing security. A police officer is a public servant since the police fraternity belongs to the department of state government that receives funds from the generated tax revenues.

  • What is the advantage of foot patrol over vehicle patrol?

This is because; the police officers who walk regularly are able to gain the trust of the people living around the area of patrol. On the other hand, police officers on vehicle patrol cannot build a trusting relationship with the community due to the fact that they are always not in close contact with the residents. Thus, police officers on foot patrol are more approachable as compared to those who use vehicle for patrol.

SECTION E

  1. What type of information that the dispatcher need before sending a unit to the scene of a domestic dispute?
  2. The existence of any warrants,
  3. The criminal history of the suspect, the existence of any protective orders against the suspect,
  4. Any other relevant information such as the history of incidence involving the particular address, the parties at the scene of crime and the likelihood of firearms being present at the scene of crime.
  5. If you must arrest both parents at the scene of a domestic dispute, what do you do with the children?

For children who are under 18 years, they may be taken to their other legal guardians or other responsible adults such as relatives. The children may also be transported to safe locations such as Children Homes, where they will be under legal temporary custody. However, children who are 18 years and above may only be monitored and offered different counseling programs so that they can heal from the trauma.

  • What might a person who appears intoxicated but is not intoxicated be suffering from?

The person may be suffering from a genetic disorder named as Atoxia. A person suffering from Atoxia may have loss of coordination, speech and balance. This is because the condition affects some parts of the nervous system which are either responsible for balance, coordination, movement or speech. It is with this profound reason that the person may appear to be intoxicate as a result of drinking alcohol or due to drug abuse.