New Modes Of Governance Criminology Essay

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Governance refers to the exercise of authority or the method or system of management in a particular place. There are various forms of governance which have evolved in the past decades and centuries. This forms of governance are; anarchy which is a society with no government, Authoritarian a form of rule in which citizens' rights are restricted for the society's stability and security, Autocracy a government led by a dictator, Cabal a government ruled by powers from the outside such as secret society, Dictatorship a government ruled by one person who makes the rules, Federation where a state has its own leaders and make rules for that state, Junta a government that is controlled, democracy a governance where people have the right to put in leaders in places of leadership and a monarchy a governance system where a hereditary head such as a queen governs the people among others.

Governance is practiced everywhere in our society today such as in government, the business world and even basic units such as the family. In the past few decades, governance systems in the world have evolved with the most current one being democratic governance which is still evolving too. People expect that in the next few years the world to be run as one under the rule of only one leader. Various changes have also been made in the mode of governance with new modes coming up. In this essay, we shall discuss the new modes of governance that have sprung up in the past few years and if they have diluted the core role, business and duties of police officers. As we well know, police officers have the duty to protect the citizens' and to make sure law offenders are punished. Their presence in the community is very important.

Evolution of Governance

Governance in the past few centuries has evolved. The type of governance in the world today is totally different from the governance in the eighteenth or even the nineteenth century. Battle for good governance has between the social classes and the leaders. Before the eighteenth century the word constitution didn't exist. People lived in communities and it was the role of each community member to ensure that the community is safe. There was a thin margin between the poor and the rich, power and people. Everybody was considered powerful in their own way irrespective of how little an individual contributed to the society.

However, as the gap between the social classes widened, the rate of insecurity increased and in England for example, the Rich people and some clergymen sat down and decided to that there is need to have higher authority and the monarchy system arose which is still there to this present days. As centuries passed by, this system was implemented in many European countries. Capitalism and socialism then arose. Capitalism was a system where the people in power and the rich had the government rule in their favour and socialism was where the government ruled in favour of those who would bring benefits of them.

This system of capitalism and socialism was then replaced by democracy. As stated earlier, democracy gives people the right to elect their leaders and also question the credibility of their leaders. Democracy is widely practiced in the world and as a system it continues to evolve. The people have the power to decide what they want and have a hand in control of the government systems and also in the law-making process. The people are represented by leaders who they elect into various positions of power to speak on their behalf.

Core role, business and duties of police officers

The two main roles of the police are; law enforcing and maintaining social order (Dempsey, 2011, 127). Police offers are encouraged to be public servants, practice common sense, mature judgement, must react quickly and effectively to assist in problems that arise. They should also employ the appropriate concepts of policing that guide in particular situations. Finally, the concepts that govern the police work are the effort to improve the welfare of the community and a respect for the individual's worth and dignity. They should also avoid use of force by primarily using effective and creative communication.

The police are expected to prevent crime and this is done by creating a sense that the police are always there. They have daytime and night time patrols. They have introduced community police where the citizens have access to the police call centres. They are encouraged to report any form of criminal activities. The police also recover stolen and missing property and ensure that they are returned back to the owners. They also encourage people to take to them any item that they find so they can be taken to the rightful owners. Lastly, they deliver services not available in the community.

Challenges that face the police face is that every member of the community has an expectation from the police and the police have to work through this hardships. For example the elderly people in society expect the police to chase the young people away from the streets, the young people consider this a violation of their rights, while the parents want the police to crack out all the drug peddlers and make the society safe. The police have to maintain a neutral stand and still be friendly to all diverse people of the society.

Changes in police administration

The carrying out of duties in the police force has also experienced change with the change that has been experienced in governance. The work of the police in ancient times was to protect the palace of the king and partially maintain law and order. The private citizens of early days arrested offenders and also punished them with no help of the police or the magistrates. They partially maintained order by protecting the city from intruders who would want to conquer their territory. Therefore, they kept off from the affairs of the city unless they were instructed by the king or leader to do something within the city. In the latter centuries, people were divided into groups to protect each other.

The police were primarily under the order of the leader and they were given orders from the leaders. Their ability to perform was directly under the approval of the head of state and they were to fully comply to his/her orders. This changed and the work of the police was no longer to protect the city and the palace, but to also prevent crime, protect the people and lastly prevent disorder. The ability of the police to their duties then became dependent upon public approval. The police were allowed to use physical force to secure observance of the law and to restore order when the case of persuasion, advice and warning is found to be sufficient. Military discipline was introduced so as to have an orderly and disciplined police department. The test of the efficiency of the police over time has been the absence of crime, disorder not with the evidence of the visibility of the police action dealing with it. This form of new policing methods formed the basis of community policing.

Changes in police administration

Community policing was introduced in the twenty first century with the aim of having a system that links the police to the citizens'. Citizens doubted the credibility of the police officers as the rate of crime in most countries worldwide had increased. They had the perception that police officers had joined forces with the gangs to participate in crime. The governments introduced this system so that people would partner with the police forces to bring these rates down. The public were encouraged to turn in suspects and also to report any rumour about a particular crime.

Despite this efforts made by the police, the public still needed reassurance, that this was the best method to fight against crime. The police carried out campaigns and convinced the public that this was the best way to reduce the rate of insecurity and crime. With time, this has been the most effective way to curb crime. Several researches have proven that involving the community has increased the public confidence on the people and has significantly reduced the rate of crime. The police unit in most countries has been made an independent unit thus free from interference by the government and political leaders.

The police community have embraced technology in that they use technology to interact with the public. On social media sites such as facebook, twitter among others, one can search for the police in their area and chat with them and also launch their complaints. It is also a method that the police use to update the public on progress they are making or have made in certain crimes they are investigating. This is an advantage to the public, according to me; the new modes of governance have diluted the core role business and duties of the police officers.

New modes of governance affecting police officers

The people have the deciding power for the actions of the police. Every human is different and they all have different ideas. The diversity of human beings makes it impossible for a unifying idea to be met. With the new governance modes, people are given the power to decide. This makes it impossible for the police force to implement a new idea because they have to consider the view of the public. In the past, the police officers would implement new rules for the good of the general safety of the public.

Another way the new modes of governance for the public have diluted the role of the police is that they do not have power to act in case an emergency arises. This limits them to create order as soon as the problem arises. The police have to wait for instructions and also consider what the law requires. This may make the situation get worse and even lead to damage of property. This has a lasting impact in the economy of a region. The police should be awarded this privilege in order for order and peace to be restored with immediate effect.

In addition, the police unit has been denied the power to hold suspects in custody while conducting investigations. The suspects are to be arrested if evidence is fully collected and there is a case against the suspect. If the suspect is guilty and becomes aware that the police are investigating him, then the suspect can hide or destroy the evidence making the police not bring the offender to justice. This is a set back because the offender will carry on with his offensive activities. The new governance mode and its law makes in not favourable for the police officers.


The major debate that has risen in the past years is to make the police force a totally independent unit. The police should run on its own with the ability to make its decisions and inform them to the public. Scholars argue that this system will give the police the power to harass the citizens. I believe that combining the new governance modes, making a few necessary changes; the police force won't be diluted. For instance, if the police is separated from the government, then combined with the community policing rule. The police will have the power to act on issues with immediate effect and the people are allowed to practise their democratic rights. The police will have had the power and the people are satisfied that their rights have been put into consideration therefore creating a win-win situation.

Finally, the modes of governance and the laws that come with it need to be amended so that the police are given more power. Forums, seminars and conferences should be held so as to come up with the perfect solution and law that will bring satisfaction to the people as well as enable the police to be a strong force in the society. In conclusion i believe that the police can still be a strong force in the society even as the new modes of governance are being implanted and changed from time to time. Fears of the citizens should be well addressed by government and the law enforcers constantly reminded that they are the people's servants and any form of mistreatment to the public be punished. This will create trust from the people to the police officers and the general public will even assist the police officers to create a peaceful and a secure environment where everybody is happy.