Those of you who pursued a degree in Criminal Justice already know this, most likely. This is what we are missing in so many of our police departments, including my town's police department.
The link and a recap of Peel's Principles:
How 200-year-old police principles could have helped Ferguson - MarketWatch
Perhaps it's a return to these nine Peelian Principles. Here is the essence of each:
A civilian police that prevents crime and disorder is much preferable to repression of crime by military force and draconian legal punishment.
A police force's power to fulfill its functions is dependent on public approval and respect of the police's existence and actions.
Securing the public's cooperation with the work of the police force is critical for the police to be effective.
The more help the police can get from the public, the less the threat of physical force is needed to achieve police objectives.
Police must consistently seek public favor by demonstrating even-handed enforcement of the law, and through courtesy, good humor and a willingness to make personal sacrifices in service to the public, regardless of the wealth or social standing of the individuals involved.
Police should use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion and warnings are insufficient to obtain an individual's co-operation - and then only the absolute minimum degree of physical force needed.
Police should always maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police.
Police officers must refrain from seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary or the state. It's not the job of the police to judge guilt or punish the guilty.
Police officers must always recognize that the acid test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not high-visibility police actions in dealing with them.
The link and a recap of Peel's Principles:
How 200-year-old police principles could have helped Ferguson - MarketWatch
Perhaps it's a return to these nine Peelian Principles. Here is the essence of each:
A civilian police that prevents crime and disorder is much preferable to repression of crime by military force and draconian legal punishment.
A police force's power to fulfill its functions is dependent on public approval and respect of the police's existence and actions.
Securing the public's cooperation with the work of the police force is critical for the police to be effective.
The more help the police can get from the public, the less the threat of physical force is needed to achieve police objectives.
Police must consistently seek public favor by demonstrating even-handed enforcement of the law, and through courtesy, good humor and a willingness to make personal sacrifices in service to the public, regardless of the wealth or social standing of the individuals involved.
Police should use physical force only when the exercise of persuasion and warnings are insufficient to obtain an individual's co-operation - and then only the absolute minimum degree of physical force needed.
Police should always maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police.
Police officers must refrain from seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary or the state. It's not the job of the police to judge guilt or punish the guilty.
Police officers must always recognize that the acid test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not high-visibility police actions in dealing with them.