Last week I talked about whether or not the police actually fulfill the goals and expectations that we imagine them to. This week I will be talking about the different trends in policing and whether they should be changed or not. Just like everything else in society, the policing system has trends. I will be talking about the top 5 trends in policing today.

Focus on Community Oriented Policing

The first is the focus on community oriented policing. Obviously community oriented policing has always been a concept, but after recent events between the police and its community, I think it is time for some form of reform within the policing system. According to the Department of Justice, which launched its Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) back in 1994, “Community policing begins with a commitment to building trust and mutual respect between police and communities. When the police and communities work together, crime is delt with in an easier manner. According to discoverpolicing.org, community policing “involves three components: developing community partnerships, engaging in problem solving and implementing community policing organizational features.”

Increasing Use of Technology & Tools

It is the 21st century, so obviously technology has advanced since the policing system started, We went from just a simple 911 call to now having body cameras, social media, facial recognition, GPS applications, robots, and so much more. The police are expected to be trained on using and handling these different devices and platforms. This is where I think we can start to see some issues because we are still using the training programs from before when we need new training programs that cover all the new technology.

Expanding Opportunities for Women in Law Enforcement

This one makes me excited. Women have traditionally made up a very small percentage of police officers, but those numbers are gradually growing (12.6% nationally, up from just 3% in the 1970s). In addition, the need to recruit, train and promote more female officers is receiving far more attention than ever before for several important reasons. Studies have found that women receive better evaluation in conflict resolution, communication, problem solving and cooperation with community members than men.

I think it is time to stop the excuses that we make for women not being capable of doing the same exact things as men.

The Fast-Growing Threat of Cyber Crime

Going back to what I said about technology advancing, the threat of cyber crime is the highest it has ever been. Police departments are not equipped with the specialized knowledge that is needed to address these high-tech crimes. This can really become a problem especially with hacking. If the people that are in charge of protecting highly classified information on the internet do not know how to stop someone hacking int the system, THAT IS A HUGE PROBLEM.

Promoting a New Generation into Leadership Roles

The baby boomers are retiring so that means there is going to be a new generation of policing. With a new generation means a new generation of leaders, meaning new style of policing. I think this a trend we are going to see drastically change because of how different the current generations are and how different they view different topics.