Sir Robert Peel’s 9 Principles of Policing – Principle #9

I am continuing my series of articles about Sir Robert Peel's 9 Principles of Policing.  Today, my focus is on Principle #9. Principle #9 To recognise always that the test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, and not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with them. How do you measure how well a police department is performing?  According to Sir Robert Peel, it is by the absence of crime and disorder.   Yet this response seems overly simplistic and doesn’t take into account the many factors that influence crime. Factors That Influence Crime According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are various factors that influence the crime rate for any particular area.  Some of these factors include population density and the degree of urbanization, age and gender of the population, the transience of the people, poverty level, job availability, median income, modes of transportation, education level of people, family conditions, and climate. [i] Of course, this is not an exhaustive list.  Instead, it is evidence that reducing crime is a more complicated proposition than first evident. In my career, I can recall instances when crime rose despite the department's best efforts.  In other…

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Sir Robert Peel’s 9 Principles of Policing – Principle #8

I am continuing my series of articles about Sir Robert Peel's 9 Principles of Policing.  Today, my focus is on Principle #8. Principle #8 To recognise always the need for strict adherence to police-executive functions, and to refrain from even seeming to usurp the powers of the judiciary of avenging individuals or the State, and of authoritatively judging guilt and punishing the guilty. The police serve a specific role in the criminal justice system as part of the executive branch.  The legislative branch makes the law, the judicial branch interprets the law, and the executive branch (law enforcement) enforces it. Each branch operates independently, although all three are intertwined. The separation of roles in the criminal justice system is designed to ensure fair treatment of people in each stage. Police officers are responsible for arresting individuals who break the law and have the legal authority to take another person’s life under certain conditions. Offices should not take that responsibility lightly. Even so, the police should never act as judge, jury, and executioner.  To the extent possible, police officers should do everything within their power to preserve life.  Deadly force should only be used if there are no other options. The…

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Sir Robert Peel's 9 Principles of Policing

Sir Robert Peel’s 9 Principles of Policing – Principle #7

I am continuing my series of articles about Sir Robert Peel's 9 Principles of Policing.  Today, my focus is on Principle #7. Principle #7 To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police, the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.  Even in 1829, a relationship with the public was essential for law enforcement officers to be successful.  I’m not sure this concept was as understood back in the day as it is today.  In general, law enforcement was a thankless job that relied upon brute force to be effective.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am sure many police officers valued having a positive relationship with the community, but few likely understood how important that concept was at the time. The sentiment expressed in this principle is probably one of the most famous of all of the principles espoused by Sir Robert Peel.  The police are the public and that the public are the police.Sir…

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