Read the case study linked below. After reading the case study from an earlier assignment, you will have to prepare a response from two viewpoints. The first viewpoint will be that of a patrol officer assigned to foot patrol. The second viewpoint will be that of a community member who has lived in the community for 25 years. From each viewpoint, you are to answer the following questions and provide justification for your answers:
How did the impact of the media coverage about the crime rate in the Anonymous Community (e.g., strained community relationships and
national/international perceptions) demonstrate the importance of a good relationship between the police and the media?
What strategies could police employ to ensure an accurate picture of the citizens, crime problem, and solutions for addressing the crime problem in the Anonymous Community are communicated to the media?
How could police and the media partners help address the crime problem in the Anonymous Community?
What should the dynamics of the partnership between the media and police look like in regards to addressing the crime problem in the Anonymous Community?
You will also need to provide a summarization paragraph that includes the following:
Identify which lens was the most difficult to answer the questions from and why.
Identify any aspect of the scenario to which information shared in the textbook could not be applied.
Each section of your case study must be clearly labeled using the following section headings:
Lens 1: Patrol Officer,
Lens 2: Community Member, and
Summary.
Each section should be a minimum of 200 words. Your entire case study should be at least two double-spaced pages. Be sure to cite, in APA format, any source used to influence your response. Therefore, your reference list should at least include a citation of the textbook as you are required to apply the concepts discussed in the textbook to the scenario.
Anonymous Community Scenario
The Anonymous Community has been in the global news lately because of its unique location in the center of its city, its cultural diversity, and its gang problem. The Anonymous Community is located in a 5 mi.² radius in the heart of Progressive City. This community has consistently been criticized by members of Progressive City because of the condition of the houses, schools, businesses, and infrastructure of the community. Many of the houses and businesses in the Anonymous Community are over one hundred years old and are in need of serious repair. The infrastructure in this community has not been upgraded in over 50 years. Citizens of Progressive City have actively pushed the Modern State to condemn the Anonymous Community so that Progressive City can bulldoze the community and turn it into a city park. The Modern State has refused to condemn the Anonymous Community because it is a historic community and is one of the most diverse communities in the world.
There are many members of the Anonymous Community who still live their lives in the same manner that members of the community lived their lives when the community was founded over 100 years ago. However, there are some members of the community (middle-aged and youth) who have chosen to fully assimilate into the Progressive City culture. Most of the community members who have assimilated are law-abiding citizens. However, there are a few of the assimilated members of the community who have formed a gang and are engaged in criminal activity (primarily related to illicit drugs) in the Anonymous Community and in Progressive City. The gang activity that has originated in Anonymous Community and overflowed into Progressive City has added additional tension to the relationship between members of the Anonymous Community and the Progressive City.
Several news outlets on the local, state, national, and international levels have begun reporting about the happenings in the Anonymous Community on an almost daily basis. The Anonymous Community has been portrayed as a community plagued by crime and as a community whose members do not seem to care about the condition of their community. Local law enforcement has been portrayed as a containment force that uses militaristic tactics to keep crime from the Anonymous Community from spilling over into Progressive City. This media coverage has put tremendous pressure on the members of the Anonymous Community and local law enforcement to address the “substantive issues” in the Anonymous Community.
Several community forums have occurred in which local law enforcement and members of the Anonymous Community have come together to discuss establishing a relationship between the community and law enforcement that will result in a collaborative effort to address the gang problem in the community. The initial community forums consisted of heated discussions about: 1) the perceived
Anonymous Community
Progressive City
militaristic presence of law enforcement in the Anonymous Community and the perceived gatekeeping
role that law enforcement played for the Progressive City; and 2) the perceived unwillingness of members
of the Anonymous Community to assist law enforcement in investigating crimes that occurred in the
Anonymous Community.
Communication between law enforcement and community members in the Anonymous Community
began to improve after one of the most historic buildings in the city was vandalized by the gang that
originated in the Anonymous Community and one of the eldest members of the community was seriously
injured during the vandalism. The building was used as a school for students with disabilities and was
considered the best school in the Anonymous Community. The school had seen an increase in the
number of fights, theft of school equipment, vandalism, and suspensions related to illicit drugs. As a
result, overall school attendance had significantly decreased. School administrators were able to connect
the increase in violence, crime, vandalism, and suspension related to illicit drugs at the school to the
enrollment of several members of the gang that originated in the Anonymous Community; however, they
had been unable to develop a plan to address the issues.
As a result of the improved communications between law enforcement and members of the Anonymous
Community, law enforcement and members of the Anonymous Community agreed to implement various
community policing strategies that would improve the relationship between the community and law
enforcement, and reduce crime in the Anonymous Community. The implemented community policing
strategies included increased foot patrols, community sponsored youth activities, gang awareness
programming, and restorative justice community service programs for the Anonymous Community
members convicted of non-violent and violent crimes. Members of the Anonymous Community, law
enforcement, and members of Progressive City also formed a coalition for addressing criminal activity in
both communities. This coalition also requested federal funding to assist with the restoration of the
buildings, houses, schools, and infrastructure in the Anonymous Community as a way to demonstrate that
there is a sense of care and concern for the community.
