Abstract
As much as the police are a critical element in the city’s life, this work shows those police officers also have many problems. Several other studies have been provided and analyzed to improve specific parts of the police system. This work examines the police department on street patrol. Several ideas for strengthening the department based on additional research are also discussed in the footnotes. The opinions and solutions to them presented in the study will primarily focus on improving the morale of police officers and only then on good communication with the community. This work also reveals the issue of mass dismissal of police officers. Accordingly, this study presents ideas about reforming certain things in the structure. Attention is paid to relations in the form and communication between the community and the police institution.
Keywords: police, morale, community, reforms, changes.
Introduction
The police are an essential element of society and play a critical role. Carrying out duties daily, most officers get tired and lose motivation for work. They consider that most people dislike the police and try to avoid contact with the officers. There is a certain amount of pressure from society on police officers, regardless of whether they work in a small town or a large one. Over time, the activity of police work decreases due to the employees’ morale because when they are under pressure, they do not receive appropriate treatment. The main task in any department is to maintain confidence and motivate employees for effective results. The department regarding patrolling the streets and arresting petty thieves was considered. Therefore, all the ideas presented below will relate to this part of the police.
Improving the Morale of the Police Department on Street Patrol
Due to the large amount of work, employees of the police department often lose the desire to perform their duties well. Given that the public often puts pressure on such structures, it is an obvious fact that the motivation of employees will decrease. Most employees do not understand the importance of their work to the people in the city, so the main problem is increasing the interaction between the city population and police officers. The main task is attracting and organizing activities that improve police and community communication.
The problem of communication between the community and the employees of the police officer is one of the main factors related to practical work. The main idea is that it is worth raising awareness among the population about the results of the work of employees. And the police should understand for whom they do it and how vital their work is for people. Implementing these ideas can assume that work efficiency and employee morale will increase. In turn, the community will have a positive attitude towards what the police do.
It is worth organizing monthly reports on how the police work and how effective such work is. For this, it is worth applying various mass media used by people in the city. A large body of research shows that positive media coverage of the police affects employee motivation (Shjarback et al., 2017). Here it is worth emphasizing that the range of the results should be different. That is, not only positive events but also negative ones can help get citizens’ approval «changes in arrest behavior may be a function of changes in police behavior, citizen cooperation, or both» (Shjarback et al., 2017, p. 44). Truthfulness and openness will help improve the city’s state of affairs, as the quality of police work and public perception are direct factors.
Conducting training for citizens will improve communication between these two environments. Several studies show that community-police cooperation is a significant source of negative performance (Shjarback et al., 2017). Most cases happen because of the high tension between the police and the community. Thus, the motivation of the workers decreases. The racial factor often plays a vital role in the relationship between people and the office. It is crucial to develop conversations about race and conduct various training between the public and workers, establishing good cooperation.
Organizational training is key to establishing an order between the police and the community and motivating staff. Implicit in this work is working with the community to support the officers and show it publicly (Shjarback et al., 2017). In this way, developing an understanding of justice and generally spreading support for the department among the public will help police officers do their jobs much better. Introducing a specific structure in work with the community will improve the attitude towards the police officer and give results concerning the set goals.
A favorable environment in the department is essential for self-development and self-realization. Research shows that self-fulfillment at the workplace is a significant obstacle for government employees. All this is since such people are usually under a certain pressure in their duties (Crilly et al., 2017). In this way, it is worth allowing the police officers to organize more work meetings and implement ideas. That is, the organization of one’s workplace is vital for employees to feel comfortable in the workplace.
The workload is also an essential part of employee motivation. Knowing how many officers work and are there, the department should organize a schedule the employees themselves could make. Considering this factor, officers can partially control and allocate their day (Crilly et al., 2017). That is, understanding partial control over their work can improve their understanding of their comfort and bring efficiency to their work.
Stress is also part of the work of police department employees. The creation of a police officer involves many stressful situations every day. Arresting criminals is part of their everyday life. As we know, stress has a very negative effect on a person’s work and overall well-being. Thus, taking care of the psychological state of its employees is vital for the department. That is a necessary part of the department because it is the most common reason for police officers to be fired (Hilal & Litsey, 2020). It is important to have weekly conversations with a psychologist so that employees can get rid of all their worries.
The department team must influence the morale of its employees. A study by Hilal and Litsey (2020) demonstrates that one of the reasons for the dismissal of police officers from municipal agencies is their lack of interest and disillusionment with their collective (p. 74). The team plays an important role not only in the motivation for a person’s work but also in the efficiency of each employee (Purba& Demou, 2019). If a team has good cooperation in the middle, mutual understanding and respect allow employees to improve themselves and their work experience accordingly (Hilal & Litsey, 2020). Therefore, it is crucial to organize work meetings correctly. And it is even more essential to organize joint vacation trips to improve communication in the middle.
In addition, the management of municipal departments must listen to their employees. After all, a person’s comfort means entire interest in his work. Therefore, it is necessary for government structures that managers allow employees to give ideas on how to improve the workspace (Hilal & Litsey, 2020). In addition, management must listen to how employees feel and what needs to be changed in the environment.
Regarding funds, the proposed ideas are not very costly. The only significant investment should be in meetings and planning vacations together. In this way, the costs will not be enormous, and small police departments will be able to afford to improve the environment for their employees. If we mention the meetings with the community, then the funding will go from two sides, and the investment of money by the police will not be significant. An important thing that will require a large amount of money is a psychologist. Still, it is essential to understand that such a person is necessary to improve a person’s emotional state. The rest of the proposed ideas do not cost much money, so that they can be easily applied now.
Consistency between management and employees is a critical stage in making changes to the policy agenda. It is vital that every employee has a say and can speak about what worries him and what prevents him from working effectively (Deuchar, Fallik, & Crichlow, 2019). Accordingly, the management should make changes and possibly reform their department’s system to allow the employees to function normally. In addition, it is vital that some of the proposed ideas are simple and do not require significant resources to implement.
Many of the proposed ideas are somewhat challenging to implement. However, here it is worth considering that employees will have the opportunity to realize themselves, which is necessary for a large part of the police administration and, in general, in most parts of state structures. Also, it the importance to look after your employees no matter how big your municipal facility is, they are all part of an extensive system, and it all needs to be well coordinated and well thought out.
Conclusion
Thus, the importance of moral development is vital for the development of the system itself. Employees interested in work are an essential and influential part of such a system. You have to listen to your employees’ leadership and follow their suggestions. In any case, it is crucial that if you want, you can change any system and make your adjustments.
References
Crilly, J., Greenslade, J., Lincoln, C., Timms, J., & Fisher, A. (2017). Measuring the impact of the working environment on emergency department nurses: A cross-sectional pilot study. International Emergency Nursing, 31, 9-14.
Deuchar, R., Fallik, S. W., & Crichlow, V. J. (2019). Despondent officer narratives and the ‘post-Ferguson’effect: exploring law enforcement perspectives and strategies in a southern American state. Policing and Society, 29(9), 1042-1057.
Hilal, S., & Litsey, B. (2020). Reducing police turnover: Recommendations for the law enforcement agency. International journal of police science & management, 22(1), 73-83.
Purba, A., & Demou, E. (2019). The relationship between organisational stressors and mental wellbeing within police officers: a systematic review. BMC public health, 19(1), 1-21.
Shjarback, J. A., Pyrooz, D. C., Wolfe, S. E., & Decker, S. H. (2017). De-policing and crime in the wake of Ferguson: Racialized changes in the quantity and quality of policing among Missouri police departments. Journal of criminal justice, 50, 42-52.