Streetwise Community Policing to Inform United States National Policy

Abstract

The provisions of the 10th Amendment of the United States Constitution defer policing as a reserved and sovereign power of the States, representing a significant obstacle for community law enforcement. The problem is embedded in the complex nature of local policing strategies enforced in communities in direct public contact but without sovereign status. Cities, where police report to local jurisdictions, are considered non-sovereign. Nevertheless, police must respond to a variety of looming social issues, such as the opioid crisis, immigration, and sex trafficking with limited or no formal guidance. This chapter suggests that sovereign entities (e.g., federal, state) empowered with authority to create law can generate policy by using a “ground up” approach. In this scenario, local police solutions can be used to inform and establish national and state policy to avoid cultural clashes between police authority and citizens that have devastated the fabric of American society. This chapter provides an overview of vexing social problems and the need to develop solutions that provide local law enforcement agencies the protocol to uniformly address violations. The recommendations effectively “uncuff” the hands of police officers by removing the variety of independent actions decided in a split second and replacing them with successful alternatives found to be effective in various localities.

Glossary

 A-M-P Model

Consists of a framework of actions, means, and purpose for police to identify sex trafficking.

 Community policing

A philosophy that promotes organizational strategies that support the systematic use of partnerships and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.

 Detainer

Judicial tool of U.S. immigration authorities; an administrative order compelling the local jail not to release the individual back into the community until there was a disposition on the individual’s immigration status.

 Human trafficking

The illegal movement of people, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation.

 Memorandum of understanding (MOU)

An agreement between parties to act or respond to a situation or circumstance in a prescribed and uniform manner.

 Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)

Nongovernmental organization.

 Opioid

Highly addictive pain relief medication.

 Sex trafficking

Sexual exploitation of trafficking victim.

 Sovereignty

The power of a government or entity to self-regulate.

 Visa

A U.S. Visa is a document, or official endorsement, obtained from a U.S. consul (abroad), that allows its holder to apply for entry to the United States; two primary types are Immigrant Visas and Nonimmigrant Visas.