Law and order maintenance and implementation is a necessary requisite for the smooth running of a country. Law and order, basically, keep the damaging agents, that may disrupt normal and routine way of life, at bay. The beneficiaries of an efficient law and order system are the businesses, public and private properties and day to day social and professional activities. Maintaining law and order is the primary duty of the police force.Police forces are usually government organizations charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order, and protecting the general public from harm.
In order for police officers to do their job well, they are vested by the state with certain powers. These include the powers to arrest, search, seize, interrogate and if necessary, to use lethal force. In many countries the rule of law, the law of criminal procedure has been developed to regulate the discretion and authority of the police officials, so that they do not exercise their powers unjustly.Because the police and other agencies are created to carry out government intentions, and are dependent on government for their existence, authority, and resources, they are said to be part of the executive arm of the government. In this paper an effort has been made to understand several factors that may have an impact on the policing practice and law enforcenment. Such factors can be political, historical, socio-cultural, legal, technological and environmental.
The history of police and the origin of the institution is presented in the beginning, followed by the policing structure in Australia. Various factors affecting policing are discussed before the conclusion in the end. History of Police The concept of police in the modern sense was developed by French legal scholars and practitioners in the 17th century and early 18th century, with notably Nicolas de La Mare's authoritative Treatise of the Police published between 1705 and 1738.The first police force in the modern sense was created by the government of King Louis XIV in 1667 in Paris. The royal edict defined police as the task of ‘ensuring the peace and quiet of the public and of private individuals, purging the city of what may cause disturbances, procuring abundance, and having each and everyone live according to their station and their duties’ (Carswell, 2004).
In the United Kingdom, on June 30, 1800, the authorities of Glasgow successfully petitioned the Government to pass the Glasgow Police Act establishing the City of Glasgow Police.This was the first professional police service in the country and it practiced preventative policing. On September 29, 1829, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed by Parliament, allowing the establishment of London Metropolitan Police. It became a model for the police forces of United States, where the first organized police service was established in Philadelphia in 1833, while a formal police force was established, based on the Bristih model, in New York in 1844 (Wikipedia, 2006). American watchmen were required to walk their rounds slowly and silently.They were to stand still and listen, as well as call out the hour, weather conditions and maintain the street lamps.
During this time, the police department and the police force had the duty to protect life and property, prevent crime by detecting and arresting offenders and preserve the public peace (Leine’s 10-42 Hideaway, 2005). The Police Force in Australia Law enforcement in Australia is served by police, sheriffs and bailiffs under the control of state, territory and the Federal governments (“Law enforcement in Australia,” 2006).Each state including Northern Territory has its own police service. However, the Australian Capital Territory Police are under the jurisdiction of the Australian Federal Police. Each State as well as the Northern Territory is responsible for maintaining its own police force which is responsible for policing at the state and local level. This involves general law and order, traffic policing, major crime, anti-terrorism branches, water police, search and rescue and in some states transit police.
The state police setups are enumerated below:• New South Wales Police Northern Territory Police • Queensland Police • South Australia Police • Tasmania Police • Victoria Police • Western Australia Police With the exception of the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Crime Commission, police forces in Australia are under the control of the State and Northern Territory Governments, but their members perform certain functions on behalf of the Australian Government, and in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police and other Australian Government officers they enforce various Commonwealth Acts and Regulations (“Policing,” 2006).Factors Affecting Policing in Australia In Australia, the principal duties of the police are the prevention and detection of crime, the protection of life and property, and the enforcement of law to maintain peace and good order. There are a number of additional duties performed by the police in the service of the State, such as undertaking the prosecution of summary offences, regulation of street traffic, and acting as clerks of petty sessions, Crown land bailiffs, mining wardens and inspectors under the Fisheries and other relevant Acts.Without understanding the deep rooted relationship between the State and the police, we can not comprehend the nature of policing in the country. It is a mere fact that the police are created to carry out government intentions, and are dependent on government for its authority, and resources, as they are part of the executive arm of government. The police is therefore naturally bound to be effected by the State influences.
Over the years, political factors have had profound impact on the performance of police which can be in terms of their role, organisational changes, leadership changes, authority, availability of resources and most importantly on the investigative process in particular cases. It clearly reflects that policing system is an open system and is vulnerable to outside influences. When we talk of the open organisations, they are in constant interaction with their environment.Resultantly, such organisations will be responsive to external influences through the openness of the system boundary. This in turn implies that a more open system will potentially experience higher levels of unplanned changes as the organisational system will not be in sufficient control of its environment to prevent such events (Cole, 2000). When we consider the historical factor, it is well known that historically the police came into existence because of a given political situation and that the ‘function’ as always been to maintain the existing political power structure.
The historical record demonstrates the enduring and mutually advantageous nature of the links between the police and their political masters, from nation building and the suppression of dissent, to policy advancement more generally, to the current ‘security’ policing environment (Davis, 1999). While evaluating the socio-cultural aspects, there is a deep rooted relationship between the society and the political system of a country. The politicians are part of the same society from which police personnel are recruited.The police organisation is open and volatile and thus becomes increasingly subject to the values and attitudes of its members.
It is but natural that the police service is constitutionally representative of the society it protects, and if society changes through time, then so too will the police service. As already discussed, the policing system is an open system and therefore the socio-cultural changes will be reflected in the characteristics of the policing system (Hart, 1996). Another major factor affecting the policing is the advent in information technology.The increasing use of surveillance and data collection and storage and the analysis of this information into intelligence may itself transform policing from low to high policing.
Despite decades of emphasizing the importance of information sharing and the need to make a commitment to analysis work in order to produce truly valuable strategic intelligence, the police remains at the mercy of the public sources which are controlled by the government. The incorporation and making effective use of technology is therefore dependent on the political aspirations of the current leadership (“In Search of Security,” 2003).One of the biggest and most important issues facing police agencies and their officers today is litigation. With the rise of legal action against the police department, the cause is a lack of focused policy by police agencies, as proved in numerous court cases through investigations. Countless officers are questioned by litigating attorneys regarding an explanation of their actions in a variety of cases (Thompson, 1999). All this process can be streamlined and the political forces is backing the policing will keep the police personnel motivated and dedicated to their work thereby enhancing the efficacy of the system.
On the other hand, if the police organization is left to be played in the hands of legal forces unnecessarily, the policing is bound to be effected negatively. The modification and evaluation of various environmental factors leading to incidence and fear of crime has become very important in order to increase efficiency and effectiveness of police work. For example, in an environment of lower efficiency of law and order, crimes will become rampant.This surge in crimes will be due to the law enforcement environment manoeuvred by the political forces making it vulnerable to abrupt changes and lack of adequate support by the government. As a result, the citizens will become skeptical to the role and authority of police, which would make them uncooperative.
The people will stop reporting criminal acts and will refuse to act as witnesses, further encouraging the crime wave (Hill, 2003). The political leadership often exploits such a scenario for implementing their vested plans, using the police force as a scape goat (Beare, 2004).The concept of police as a neutral instrument is nothing more than a myth. Even in a democratic government, police is used politically from time to time.
The political bosses remain deeply involved in making policies for the policing, and in appointing members of the police heads, all for their vested interests (Manfred, 1982). Theoretical, policing may still be independent but in practice, the police organizations function in a political context. They operate in a public political arena and their mandate is defined politically.Patterns of police and politics within the community are tightly interlocked. The sensitivity of the police to their political audiences, their operation within the political system of criminal justice, and their own personal political attitudes undermine their efforts to fulfill their contradictory mandate to appear politically neutral (Miller, 2001). The police organisations as we know are basically the open systems and are prune to be manipulated by a wide variety of factors like history, government, socio-cultural environment, technological developments, and legal system.
The policing in any country is dependent on all these forces which when accumulated start driving the police effort in different direction. All these factors on the other hand are directly influenced by the political atmosphere of the country at a certain period of time. The police systems therefore are in the constant phase of progression and regression simultaneously. If political forces in a country are effectively harnessed by the strong institutions, then policing gets better and better.On the other hand, if there is no check on the political hierarchy (like in most third world countries), then policing in any country gets most effected.
Conclusion Australia is a democratic society where individuals enjoy the freedom and rights to pursue the lifestyle of their choice. Those rights are protected by laws passed by elected governments. It is the role of Police Services across Australian States and Territories to uphold these laws equally for all Australians. The vast majority of law enforcement officers of all ranks, nationwide are dedicated men and women committed to serving all citizens with fairness and dignity.
We can not however, ignore the outside forces influencing the policing service. The relationships between the police and politics are deep, varied, and sporadic. Political ‘enforcement’ campaigns are very useful to politicians and likewise political involvement in policing issues is undeniable. All other factors affecting the police performance are managed and controlled by the politicians in chair. In nut shell, we can say that policing is an open system, which remains hostile to numerous factors, all having direct linkage with the political system in the country.
