Running head: POLICE RELATIONS 1

Police and Public Trust

Student

Professor

Course

Date
POLICE RELATIONS 2

Police Relations

The police are not doing enough to improve their relationship with their respective community

members in the US. First, they do not endeavor to discuss and acknowledge the problems that

community members face. In the United States, the police also focus on doing their work. They

only show up during criminal incidents or when maintaining law and order in society. As Pryce

and Chenane (2021) state, improving the relationship with community members can be

undertaken in various ways. First, the police need to hold regular meetings with the community

members to discuss matters that affect them. This will help them establish and break criminal

patterns. However, the US police rarely hold meetings with the public and have little or no

knowledge of the challenges that affect community members.

Secondly, the police are not doing enough to address the underlying issues that affect minority

groups in society. For many decades, the rights and privileges of Black Americans have been

infringed or violated (Kamalu and Onyeozili, 2018). There is a negative history in America of

Black Americans being killed with little or no action being undertaken by the police. In the

United States, the majority of black Americans have negative attitudes and hatred towards the

police due to pre-historic injustices. The police should do enough to reach out to the black

American community to improve trust and mend relationships with such minority groups.

However, the American Police have done nothing to repair the police relationships with such

minority groups.

However, I also believe that this is not entirely the police problem. Justice institutions in

America should also support the police and help them mend their relationships with the public.

For example, congress should introduce policies that will compel the police to hold meetings

either weekly or monthly. As Kamalu and Onyeozili (2018) state, the absence or weak policies
POLICE RELATIONS 3

have also contributed to the existing problems between the police and the public in the United

States. Moreover, the federal and state governors should also draft policies that could help

improve the relationships between the police and the public. For example, they can draft policies

that restrict the police from using excessive force when performing their duties. The relationship

between the police and the public has deteriorated over the years due to their handling of the

suspects. In the George Floyd case, for example, the use of excess police force ruined their

relationship with the public.

In a complex democratic society, there are various strategies that are effective in crime control.

First, the police need to interact with the public to establish crime patterns. This will help them

improve their surveillance in order to control or arrest criminals. Secondly, they can also

introduce rule settings. This policy should discuss with the public the appropriate rules that

govern the security of their communities. Discussing the rules and strategies will help the

community members abstain from criminal activities (Pryce and Chenane, 2021). These

strategies do not intend to promote police violence during crime control. In a complex

democratic society, the government should ensure that the police force promotes cultural

competence. The police need to be given training programs on cultural competency. This will

ensure that they avoid biasness when handling citizens from minority groups. 
POLICE RELATIONS 4

References

Kamalu, N. C., & Onyeozili, E. C. (2018).

A Critical Analysis of the ‘Broken Windows' Policing in New York City and Its Impact:

Implications for the Criminal Justice System and the African American

Community. African Journal of Criminology & Justice Studies, 11(1).

Mending broken trust: Police and the communities they serve | Charles Ramsey |

TEDxPhiladelphia.

Online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbNCatXqcLw

Police Chiefs discuss race relations.

Online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbNCatXqcLw

Pryce, D. K., & Chenane, J. L. (2021).

Trust and confidence in police officers and the institution of policing: The views of

African Americans in the American South. Crime & Delinquency, 67(6-7), 808-838.