Law Enforcement in a Developing Country

When a distress call from 911 was conveyed by the local headquarters to the policeman on duty, they are to respond immediately. With real-time reports from the headquarters and other policemen, they will eventually catch the suspect. This is how Hollywood depicts the ordinary policeman. Though it is a not a distant portrayal of police officers effectively responding to an emergency. Than s to modern technology, they managed to catch the culprits on time and eep the neighborhood safe. !nited "tates has among the well-trained and well-armed policemen in the world. How about their counterparts in developing countries# $et%s illustrate an e&ample. 'n an unnamed (sian country, the national police system is improving. )ut what reality is telling is e&actly the opposite. The situation is far from a considerable *improvement+. $ac of funding from the government and the misappropriation of public funds by corrupt officials are among the reasons. ,eople lost their trust because of the already-stained image of the national police. When a phone call reached the police hotlines, the response is somehow slow. ,olicemen will scramble to the crime scene. When the suspect nows the police are coming, they escape ahead of the responding policemen. When the police officers arrive at the scene, it%s too late. $ives are lost, properties stolen, and the authorities end up dumbfounded. What could be wrong# -verything could be wrong for the law enforcement department. With the e&ception of some cities, the whole country is ravaged with violence. The policemen are nothing but a powerless, ineffective pawn. There are several reasons why the law enforcers are finding it difficult to respond on time. .irst is the absence of sufficient and e&pertly-trained manpower. ,olicemen are e&pected to be physically, emotionally and psychologically fit to respond to any ind of emergencies. "ome cases are quite une&pected and unnerving that a single loss of life is intolerable. Highly-trained officers trained in tactics can be the best weapon in preventing incidents before it gets worse.

/fficers stationed at the police stations and headquarters also require proper training. Ta ing calls and coordinating with front liners is the first step in dealing with emergencies. "econd, an adequate and efficient apparatus is indeed helpful. ,olice cars, weapons arsenal, and long range two way radios are a great ingredient for a successful police operation. $astly is proper management of funds. This involves the action from the society, because crimes can destroy the overall image of the country. There are times that a police station doesn%t even have a decent pair of two way radios. (lso, their police car is not equipped with a two way radio. How can you e&pect policemen to do their duties# This is a sad reality in most developing countries, but times are changing and so do the people. "eries of unfortunate events will enforce change to the rotten police system. 'f that happens, the people in that country will regain their trust to their policemen.

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