Police Description In The Media Essay

In maintaining peace and order in the society, the police force specifically the police officers definitely play a profound and significant role that they need to accomplish (â€Å"Police Discretion,† n. d. ). As such, in any given social disturbance or violence, the police officers are the primary people that commonly respond in order to address these issues (â€Å"Police Discretion,† n. d. ). In addition to this, the function and presence of police officers in these given situations are essential wherein these people commonly represent the law and usually serve as a mediator that resolve differences or problems of the situation (â€Å"Police Discretion,† n. d. ). With the above written facts and information, and the reality of the nature of a police officer’s job, it entails various difficulties, it is evident that the duty and the profession of a police officer is indeed important towards the achievement of a healthy human community (â€Å"Police Discretion,† n. d. ). Likewise, such complex and risky job of a police officer is absolutely helpful in protecting the safety of the public against any detrimental acts such as violence, crime and street transgression (â€Å"Police Discretion,† n. d. ). However, what supposed to be a positive and uplifting profession that would be essential and helpful in the community is sometimes affected by the presence of media (â€Å"Police Discretion,† n. d. ). At the present time, the media is responsible in the numerous names or labels, which characterizes police officers according to their role in the society. In a sense, police officers are often identified with several definitions that have been already established in the past. One of the main roles of police officers in the society is the perception of people that they are the protector of the public against situations and individuals that might threaten their well-being. Nevertheless, there are also other roles that police officers are associated with such as: Crime Fighter, Social Servant, Order Maintainer, and Crime Preventer. Crime Fighter The major responsibility of police officers is to assure that the law is properly implemented. They have to make sure that all individuals abide by the rules of the country. By doing so, they have to combat all those individuals who disobey what the law states. A good example of this is when police officers arrested 175 Mexican drug trafficking suspects. The prosecutors stated that this incident is a momentous step in addressing the problem of drugs that is observable on the U. S. -Mexico border. In relation with this, the Justice Department said that the 175 people that were captured are believed to have relations with the violent drug cartels of Mexico (Schmitt, 2008). This article that was written in The Los Angeles Time, explains the efforts of the Justice Department to address the worsening problem of drug trafficking. The police force has an essential part in capturing the 175 suspected member of the drug cartel. However, this importance is not seen in the article. The writer did not give much emphasis or consideration in the pivotal contribution of the police officers in the success of this operation. As such, the role of police officers is not given the appropriate recognition that it deserves. This should not be the case because they are the one who are risking their lives in order to fight crime. Social Servant The function of police officers does not stop in fighting crime but they also see to it that they attend to the other needs of the people. They are also considered as public servants that give attention to other social issues. The mere fact that there job entails a huge amount of responsibility as well as putting their own life at risk is enough proof that they are indeed a servant for others. This is clearly seen in the case of new Detroit Police Chief James Barren. Even though accepting this kind of position is very difficult with all the duties that he needs to accomplish he still took the job. Furthermore, he is willing to exert the extra effort in order to provide a safe environment for those under his responsibility. He showed this when he said, â€Å"It’s no secret that public safety and the safety of our city are among my top priorities†. â€Å"We need to work hard to restore faith and trust and integrity back to the police department and to the great people of this city† (Schmitt, McGraw, and Gorchow, 2008). The media was able to highlight the new task that Barren has to face through this article. Order Maintainer Public order is also the job of police officers. It is part of their task to protect and uphold the society and deal with any incident or individual who poses a threat to it. There are cases wherein some people are often the cause of public disturbance, which can inflict harm on other people as well as on his or her self. A good example of this is when a chief officer pulled a gun off a teen that was running amok and fighting with his fellow classmates right after dismissal. The police chief was relived that he was able to take the gun because the situation could have been worse (Van Sack, 2008). The portrayal of the police officer in this article shows his role as someone who implements social order. He appears as a hero who was able to save the day and prevent people from being hurt. Crime Prevention As they say, â€Å"prevention is better than cure†. In the same manner, Police officers are also doing the necessary steps in order to address the causes of problems before they even materialize. This is exemplified by the police force initiative to unite together in order to combat marijuana. Law enforcement officials of the whole state are doing the necessary action against campaigns that encourage teenagers to use marijuana. In relation to this, they also call for the participation of parents to closely monitor the development of their children so that they could avoid any bad influences that might affect their children (Ellement, 2008). The image of police officers tends to vary based upon how a particular tool of media portrays them. The discussed articles above mostly shows a police officers that is all powerful who could with stand anything. However, it must be remembered that these police officers are also humans that have to be given protection and due consideration. In order to do so, the media should treat them with respect even if other officers are not rightfully doing their duties, not all police officials should be generalized as such because there are still those who are doing their jobs like the officers exemplified in this paper.