Supervisory Practices in Criminal Justice

Unit 1 Assignment

CJ 345

Supervisory Practices in Criminal Justice

Unit 1 Assignment

The most important concept dealing with education and the safety of children is the school’s policies. Each school should have a policy on threats and a plan to act as necessary. Situations dealing with threats at a school should be taken seriously. As the Chief of Police, it is imperative to act against these types of scenarios. It should be in his or her upmost interest to take precautionary actions to eliminate the threat. As a Chief of Police, you are in a higher authority position to make things happen.

The situation is, authorities believe that there are gang related graffiti markings all around a Riverside High school. There is no confirmed suspect(s) and no leads to start my investigation. To examine this case further as the Chief of Police, I need to start by using the SARA model. The SARA model is an acronym that stands for, Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Evaluation. It is a model used for problem solving. In this situation, graffiti markings have been posted along the areas close to the Riverside High School. To solve a problem, you must find out what the problem is first. I would not make any personal statements regarding who I may “think” the people are or of what nationality they might be. I would trust Officer Armstrong; seeing how he recently attended a gang investigation course. However, graffiti is graffiti. The only way to tell if it is gang related or not, is by continuing the investigation to find out more information (The SARA Model, 2018).

Now that we have scanned the issue and understand that this can indeed be a serious issue, we must move onto the next part of the SARA model, Analysis. Being able to analyze the details and understand why this would happen to a school who has been known to be excellent in all forms of education can be time consuming. It is important to think outside of the box in these types of scenarios. In the analysis portion of this gang related graffiti, I would need to do some research on the school to see if there are any related issues from the past (Murray, 2017). I would then have myself and my officers interview the school to see if there have been any other disturbances in the past. Any and every bit of information that I can receive from this will be collected and annotated. I would contact the school in person or by phone and ask them what their procedures are for this, if there are any cameras outside the building in the areas attacked. I would also insist on updating their protocols.

We have processed the scanning portion and analysis portion of the SARA model. My next step would be to respond. How would someone in charge of a city respond to a gang related incident? Once the individual(s) have been identified, they would be charged for their actions. In addressing the city council, I would inform them that all necessary actions have been taken to eliminate this from happening again. It is imperative to do all that you can as the Chief of Police. You are responsible for everything that happens in your city. I would let the council know that I spoke to other city schools and asked them how they have prevented such crimes from happening, that I plan to implement similar tactics. I would inform the council that we have caught the people who committed this crime and that my team and I are working to find the rest of the groups or a person in charge of the crime committed.

The objective for my response plan would be carried out fully and that I will argue the fact that this school has been safe for several years. One incident does not define a school’s integrity. Since under my charge as Chief of Police, this is the first incident that occurred, and we are taking all necessary actions to prevent it from happening again. I would bring a copy of my hypothesis and conclusion of actions taken to prevent this from occurring again. I would explain to them the tactics and forward decisions that I have idealized.

Leading into the final course of action, the council would have been given all the information obtained from my investigating officers and trace evidence that lead to us capturing the suspect(s). They would be shown my next course of action that would be implemented for the next 5 to 10 years. I would let them know that if something else like this occurred, that we would adjust quickly and accordingly. I would let them know that more cameras have been put into place around the school and that the security has been upgraded. Lastly, I would inform them that my multiculturalism and diversity perspectives would not interfere with the plans provided to them.

In my last step, I will explain the assessment to the city council. In my assessment, I would outline the positive steps that have been taken to ensure a less likely chance of this reoccurring. Seeing how I as the Chief of Police have implanted more community policing in the area, I would ask from my officers a report of the day and if there were any unusual activities that took place while they were on duty. This would allow me to get a better understanding of how the area around the school has been doing (Murray, 2017). The last thing I need to present to the city council is all the information that was gathered from the investigation and the SARA model. It is my soul purpose to protect and serve the community; which involves Riverside High School. All the information collected will be given to them in a professional format. By them reading and observing all my credentials and notes, they should consider my plan and allow me to implement it.

In conclusion, this is my city. What happens here affects not only me but the city. Riverside High School should be treated as a personal matter. As the Chief of Police, I am responsible for not only the children in schools but the safety of the citizens. My plan of action affects everything and everyone. The city council should agree with me that safety is the overall concern (Carlie, 2002). A school who has no record of these types of crimes, randomly has gang-related graffiti written on it. Something somewhere went wrong. We did not catch it, so it is up to me to fix it. They would also appreciate the fact that the criminals have been caught and that the Riverside officers are in route to track down the leader(s).

References

Carlie, M. (2002). Into the Abyss. A Personal Journey Into the World of Street Gangs. Graffiti

and Other Gang Identifiers. Retrieved from https://people.missouristate.edu/michaelcarlie/what_I_learned_about/gangs/graffiti_and_other_identifiers.htm

Murray, Sarah. (August 9 2017). Crime Prevention Proposal Using SARA Model, Crime

Analysis Triangle, & ANOVA. Blueline. Retrieved from https://blueline.news/colleges-and-universities/criminal-justice-degrees/crime-prevention-proposal-using-sara-model-crime-analysis-triangle-anova/

The SARA Model. (2018). Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. Retrieved from

http://www.popcenter.org/about/?p=sara