Establish credibility in desired career path in criminal justice Essay

Establish credibility in desired career path in criminal justice - Essay Example Because their duties and responsibilities require them to uphold the law, police officers have their work defined and described by rather high standards of integrity. It is therefore imperative that police officers, just like the other professionals in criminal justice system, be on the look out for any issues that may jeopardize their credibility. Several factors have been cited to compromise the credibility of police officers during the execution of their duties. First, failure by police officers to recognize and respect the dignity and values of every individual and group in the community could compromise the integrity of police officers. Second, courtesy is the also important in the execution of police duties as it not only encourages understanding and cooperation but it also makes the police force trustworthy. To achieve high standards of courtesy, police officers must bring violent or assaultive people under control and protect other officers and the public from imminent harm. In other terms, police officers must only apply reasonable force to bring criminal incidents or disorders under control (Gottschalk, 2010). Poor public information dissemination and reporting has also been mentioned as a possible compromise to the credibility of police officers. To avoid this drawback on credibility, police officers should prepare public reports and statistics on incidents such as shootings, seizures, arrests, complaints, investigations and departmental recommendations (Davidson & Gottschalk, 2012). The provision of periodic feedback on the performance, practices, and behaviors of law enforcement agencies and personnel is thus one way of establishing integrity and credibility. Importantly, information on police procedures and policies on issues such as non-discrimination, community policing, recruitment and investigation should be disseminated to