Financing Police Services and the Possibility of Outsourcing

In actuality, policing services play an important part in the maintenance of the public order and public safety. In such a situation, the city should consider the possibility of outsourcing policing services to the state police because, at the moment, growing costs of the maintenance of the local policy become an unbearable burden for the city budget, while the effectiveness of the city police is comparable to that of the state. In addition, outsourcing does not just allows the city to save costs but also to expand opportunities for the crime investigation and prevention because the state police can conduct investigations statewide and has access to a larger database compared to the city police. As a result, the state police can investigate crimes more effectively because they can process information related to crimes better. In addition, the city can use saved costs, which it used to spend on the city police, on the development of the community policing, which allows the community to maintain the public control over the police, on the one hand, and to enhance law enforcement, on the other. Therefore, outsourcing policing services to the state police is the best option for the city so far.

Balance between the costs of policing versus the value

Today, costs of policing are unaffordable for the city. The cut of costs without obtaining back-up from the state police can raise the problem of rising crime rates because the local police will be unable to perform its law enforcement functions properly. The steady decline of the city police funding will deteriorate the quality of policing services. In such a way, the maintenance of the local police will prolong the agony of local policing services, which quality will deteriorate steadily.

The value of policing is decreasing since the declining crime rates decrease benefits from maintaining the city police. As a result, costs outweigh the value of city policing. The high costs become an unaffordable burden for the city. On the other hand, the high costs of policing services affect consistently the public safety because the lack of funds spent on the police may raise the problem of corruption within the police and other related problems.

In such a situation, the outsourcing is the best strategy to balance the costs of policing and its value since the state will be able to maintain the public order using the available police forces (Renauer, 2007). At the same time, the city can use funds more efficiently, developing community policing, for instance, which involves community members.

Crime strategies, community policing and actual trend to violence

In actuality, the community and policy makers should distinguish the crime and the fear of crime. Since the late 20th century, the steady trend to the decline of the violent crime rate has persisted. At the same time, the fear of violent crime remains stable or even grows higher. Hence, the police has to deal rather with the fear of crime than the crime proper. In such a context, the city does not need the local police to deal with the fear of crime rather than with the crime itself.

The declining violent crime rate allows the city to outsource policing services to the state. Instead, the local authorities should focus on the elimination of the fear of crime (Harcourt & Jens, 2006). Therefore, the violent crime rates are likely to remain low and there are no actual threats to the rapid growth of violent crimes within the city. Hence, the city should focus on the prevention of violent crimes through identification of risk groups and implementation of polices that can help to prevent crimes.

At the same time, the local population can enhance the protection of their property to minimize the risk of the property crime (Kerley & Benson, 2000). In such a situation, the community can focus on the protection of their property through the introduction of the automated system of the intrusion detection. Other strategies and tools may be used to enhance the interaction between community members and the police, which can prevent property crimes.

The city should focus on the development of the strategy of the community policing to decrease the fear of crime and actual crime rates, through the involvement of community members in street patrolling along with or, to put it more precisely, under the supervision of state police officers.

Mission of the police and recommendations concerning its attainment

The mission of the police is to maintain the public order and to ensure the public safety through the prevention of crimes and investigating crimes successfully (Lasthuizen, van Eeuwijk, & Huberts, 2005). The police should meet its mission to perform its functions successfully.

The police can attain its mission through the development of the closer cooperation with community members. In such a situation, outsourcing policing services to state police can help the city to save costs, while the development of the community policing allows maintain the work of police under the public control of the local community.

In such a way, the considerable reduction of costs spent by the city on policing will not cause any harms to the public safety or effectiveness of policing services. On the contrary, the higher level of the public control and the involvement of the state police can increase the effectiveness of policing services. For instance, state police can conduct investigation of crimes statewide and has access to information statewide. As a result, the state police will conduct investigation of crimes more effectively than the city police because the state police can have access to larger databases and can process information more effectively than the city police.

Furthermore, community policing will increase the public safety since community members will collaborate closely with the police. They will be able to prevent crimes and inform the police of crimes fast. Hence, the state police will be able to respond to crimes fast and effectively.

The continual evolution of policing and law enforcement

The law enforcement evolved in the course of time. Today, it is possible to trace the growing trend to the wider involvement of community members into policing services (Roh & Oliver 2005). At the same time, policing services tend to focus on the crime prevention than on the further investigation of crimes and punishment of offenders, while, in the past, the police focused on the investigation of crimes and punishment of criminals mainly.

Conclusion

Thus, outsourcing policing services can help to save costs the city spends on policing services. At the same time, outsourcing policing services to the state police will allow the city to maintain the public safety at the high level, especially if the city develops the strategy of community policing, which involves community members into policing services.

 

References:

Harcourt, B. and Jens, L. (2006). “Broken Windows: New Evidence from New York City and a Five-City Social Experiment,” University of Chicago Law Review, 73, 231–271.

Kerley, K. and Benson, M. (2000). “Does Community-Oriented Policing Help Build Stronger Communities?” Police Quarterly, 3(1), 46–69.

Lasthuizen, K., B.A.P. van Eeuwijk, and L.W.J.C. Huberts. (2005). “How Policing Can Reduce Feelings of Insecurity: Results from Survey Research in the Netherlands,” Police Practice and Research, 6(4), 375–390.

Renauer, B. (2007). “Reducing Fear of Crime: Citizen, Police, or Government Responsibility?” Police Quarterly, 10(1), 41–62.

Roh, S. and Oliver, W. M. (2005). “Effects of Community Policing Upon Fear of Crime: Understanding the Causal Linkage,” Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 28(4), 670–683.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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