Capstone Project Sample Assignment
Capstone Project: Final Draft
Part 1:
1.1 Introduction
The selected agency from the agency handout is the City of Manchester, NH Police as it would help in the achievement of the first milestone of the project in Criminology. According to City of Manchester NH (2018), the Manchester Police department is functioning on the mission of providing the best police services to the community and maintaining the safety and security within the environment of the residents. Despite being under the pressure of such commitment, the city police is still facing various issues which are affecting the community. The analysis of the issues has been explained as the milestone of the particular project and the different sections of the study would provide the support to the study as well.
1.2 Identification of the Issue Affecting the Community
The issue which is found majorly affecting the community which the Manchester Police is serving is a street crime. The police department is working hard to curb the crime rate and make a sustainable society that is free from crimes. As explained by Hodgson (2014), there are certain street crime units in the department who are responsible to identify the problems and bring solution by their proactive approach. The main goal of these units is to reach the on scene and successfully prosecute the criminal offender within the Manchester City. To undergo criminal analysis along with surveying their locality to gather information regarding any illegal activity going around and further action on it based on the information.
1.3 Overview of the Issues
Manchester being the second largest metropolitan area within the United Kingdom apart from London is majorly subjected to crimes on a large scale. According to the different reports, it can be stated that a crime is noticed by the Manchester Police every thirty minutes within the center of the city as the most recent statistics reveal that more than 1800 incidents were reported to the Manchester Police within a time frame of 30 days. The 1800 incidents majorly included the possession of a weapon, sexual assault, and drug crimes. The Manchester Police owns a separate unit to deal with these issues within the community and provide a better solution by implementing strict laws for the criminals.
1.4 Description of the Demographics of the Community
According to the survey carried out in 2001, it is found out that the ethnic and racial composition of Manchester was around 66.7 percent are white out of which 59.3 percent are White British, 2.4 percent are White Irish, 0.1 percent Irish Traveller, mixed race is found to be around 4.7 percent out of which 1.8 percent are white and black Caribbean, 0.9 percent are black and white African and 0.1 percent are white Asian. The Manchester city police are well aware of the criminal act which goes around in the city which is the reason why they are very active and strict. They mainly serve the areas where there is a low-income group are present as the criminal rate are more in those areas.
1.5 Description of the Issues Impacting the Community
The street crime severely affects the safety and security of the people or the community as the victim to these crimes can be anyone. It is a major concern for the population to remain secure within the city as the increase in the crime rates have caused havoc within the population. Ellison & Weitzer (2017) mentioned that there is also a fear to the people to avoid certain places in the city where the crime is very frequent. Additionally, the population demands of better security to live peacefully within the city as the crime can sometimes hamper the peace of mind and affect the people mentally. Smaller crimes do not affect the large group of population whereas is the crime rates are increased and the larger crimes appears it might severely affect a huge population.
1.6 Conclusion
It can be concluded from the above report that the required issue affecting the community which is being served by the Manchester city police is being identified. The issue regarding the street crime is affecting the community in a big scale and the police are working on their part to minimize the risk for the people and safeguard their life from the criminal predators. The demographics where the police department serve is also mentioned in the above report which give a clear idea of where their main focus on. A proper description of the issue is also given which helps in the foundation of the project.
Part 2:
2.1 Overview of the Community
The community or the people of Manchester are diverse in nature and is composed of the people belonging to the different age groups. The people of Manchester are also having troubles regarding the different illegal activities going on in the city as the risk of security and safety is in danger. The people are expecting the Manchester Police to help the people and regain the safety and security.
1.1 Description of the Agency
The Manchester City Police is the law enforcer of the city as it aims to provide an excellent police service to the people and maintain the peace and harmony. The pressure of the community on the department is very high and such commitments are being affected by the illegal behaviors of the criminals. The agency is, however, focused and makes the effort to provide the best services to the people of Manchester.
1.2 Identification of the Needs
The needs for the agency as well as the community is to provide a surrounding which is crime free and for this particular purpose, the agency requires special equipment including the active police force equipped with latest technologies. The latest technologies include gadgets and cameras which can track down the criminal from the headquarters itself and the nearby officer can be alarmed of the crime which is going to happen in the area.
2.2 Needs of the Community
The reasons for the needs along with its presence is described below:
2.2.1 Reasons for the Need
Manchester Police are the reason why people in the city are able to move freely without any worry. But over the last few years, there is an increase in robbery in the streets of Manchester City which is the reason why the petrol is conducted on a regular basis. According to Avramidis & Tsilimpounidi (2016), the crime rate is one of the main reasons why the police force is needed to safeguard the citizens from unwanted troubles.
2.2.2 Presence of the Need
In order to address the issue and take the matter into control, the police force of Manchester implemented various surveillance cameras in order to track down the offenders. Also, they increased their police force in the areas where the crime rate was high with the intention to stop those criminals from committing the crime and putting the life in danger of innocent peoples.
2.3 Communication with Agency
The communication with the agency regarding the street crimes is essential to ensure the security and safety of the people. During the collection of essential data, the Manchester City Police provided information regarding the upcoming techniques to solve these issues. As stated by Jouvenal (2016), the police department mentioned that the city would be tracking down the suspected criminals by the adequate analysis of the database and criminal records. It would be very important for the city police to collect the information about the criminals committing crimes. With the help of latest technologies, the suspected criminals would be tracked down which might create a few problems initially but would be effective later.
2.4 Gathering Information of Community
With the help of primary and secondary sources, the data and information were gathered. A survey was also conducted and with the help of Manchester City department police, a clear understanding of the type of crimes along with the increase and decrease in the rate of crime has also being analyzed. After gathering all the data, the final results were found out in which a final conclusion was being reached.
2.5 Literature Review
2.5.1 Application of Criminological Theories
There are different criminological theories which need to be applied for the better operations in the city and the theories include:
- Rational Choice Theory: As mentioned by Leo (2017), the application of the rational choice theory is essential from the perspective of the Police Department as the people indulging themselves in criminal activities act mainly due to the interest even after understanding the consequences. Therefore, proper treatment is necessary for the people attempting to indulge themselves in such activities.
- Social Disorganization Theory: The social and physical environment are responsible for the people to act in a negative manner. Therefore, for the purpose of interventions, the city police would also organize events which would help in reducing the negativity from the society.
2.5.2 Ethical Impact
The ethical impact majorly involves the method through which the city police would communicate with the community and the behavior of the police in the society. According to Desmond, Papachristos & Kirk (2016), the Manchester city Police according to data gathered would be perceived to be more ethical which would allow the people to open themselves ethically and deal with the situation and this would significantly help in the reduction and prevention of crimes.
2.5.3 Impact of Organizational Culture
The judicial remedies should majorly focus on the conduct of the individual as a part of the strategy of the department and seek to understand the different factors which might help in the reduction of violence or crimes. These techniques must remain supplemented by the techniques and procedures which aim to impact the culture and also encourage the tendency to express as a part of the conduct.
2.5.4 Impact of Technologies
As stated by Ellison & Weitzer (2017), the impact of technology can be both useful and harmful for the police department as the misuse of technology would eventually lead a person to become a criminal whereas the police department using it as a method to avoid and reduce crime in the city. The better technologies would be essential for the Manchester City Police to understand the situations and also track the criminal down to the root.
2.5.5 Previously Attempted Interventions
There were many interventions which were applied previously including the creation of the well-targeted programs and also maintained the focus on the control of guns. The Manchester City Police implemented different techniques which could help them to avoid the crimes but, these intervention techniques were not very successful. Therefore, the need to upgrade the intervention techniques is necessary from the perspective of the community as well as a police department.
2.6 Need Analysis
2.6.1 Magnitude of Problem in the Agency
The magnitude of the problem is huge because it directly takes into consideration the safety purpose of the people in the city of Manchester. As mentioned by Jeffery, Tufail & Jackson (2015), the city police department needs to identify the root cause of the issue and then find a proper solution in order to minimize the risk that exhibit. Furthermore, they must understand how deep the issue is and take the required steps to fix the problem at hand as soon as possible.
2.6.2 Resources and Interventions Available in the Agency
Though funding is not an issue which the department should take care of, instead they should focus on the resources that will be required to stop the criminal mined people from committing crimes. Along with these, they also tried resources like street cameras to protect the people from getting robbed in the streets at night. According to Rosser (2017), they must intervene and start filling those areas where there is less patrolling and start sending police officers to those areas so that the matter can be handled with care without harming anyone.
2.6.3 Description of the Impact of the Resources on the Agency
Only installing cameras does not reduce the crimes and in the survey, it is found out that the thieves do not care about the cameras instead they hide their faces with a handkerchief to avoid being identified. These resources kindly have less impact on the overall issue and it did not work as it was thought it would be. However, still, with the proper strategic approach and planning, the crime rate can be reduced.
2.6.4 Effectiveness of the Resources
Though the idea of installing cameras was good, its implementation was not because a regular patrolling in such remote areas where the crime rate is high is urgently needed. The Manchester City police department should take into consideration the fact that the citizens of the city respect and trust their police force and they should never forget that. A proper use of resources like cameras, regular patrolling and handling criminals with proper care.
2.6.5 Obstacles preventing the Addressing of Problem
There are some obstacles that stand in the way of Manchester City police to address the issue properly. First of all, the officers in charge think that after installing cameras the crime rate has been reduced which is different from what the surveys show. As identified by Smithson & Ralphs (2016), no one is taking the matter with such seriousness and due to the lack urge and interest, the criminals are getting the scope and opportunity to commit a crime on a regular basis. They must understand that the criminals are also in need of help due to the reason which they are conducting such things in the first place.
Part 3:
3.1 Statement of Need
3.1.1 Highlighting the Problem
It can be summarized that the Manchester City police department is working on the issue to reduce the street crime rate which has relatively increased in the recent years. Though the agency has a high reputation among the citizens, still it is facing trouble in solving the issue. As noted by Reiman & Leighton (2015), one of the key findings was that the people of Manchester are seriously facing high risk because there is an increase in robbery, murder and other illegal activities like usage of drugs in the street. There is an urgent need to work on it before the matter goes out of hand and due to this reason, they are trying their best effort to find the appropriate solution.
3.1.2 Review of the Data
The data gathered shows the intensity with which the illegal activities and crimes are taking place in the Manchester City. Furthermore, after analyzing the data, the results were even more shocking as the crime rate has increased by a huge number which the police department ignored at the beginning. Due to this reason, it became essentially necessary for the Manchester City police to imply their full force to work for the safety of their people and provide support to them. Though resources such as surveillance cameras were used to reduce and control the crime rate it did not work as expected.
3.2 Program Recommendation
3.2.1 Evidence-based Recommendation
After going through the entire scenario, it can be suggested that the first thing which the Manchester City police department needs to do is to take the matter seriously. They should go down to the areas where the crime rate is high and petrol on a regular basis in such areas. Furthermore, the police need to maintain their ethical standards and not misuse their power such as they need to handle the criminals in such a way that in the future these people do not commit a crime again. Showing friendly nature will not only help them figure out the reason for such undergoing but also will help the community as a whole.
3.2.2 Positive Side of Recommendation
According to Baldwin (2016), this type of strategy will definitely bring a positive difference in the agency because there is so much pressure with which they work to make life easy for the citizens of Manchester. But when such wrongdoing happens, people start blaming them which makes their lives difficult. However, if they continue to take prompt and strict actions against such illegal activities and street crimes, they will surely be able to gain the faith back of the people. The Manchester City police department can raise their bars by working extra hours just for the sake of the safety of their people.
3.2.3 Impact of Globalization
With the development of technologies, there are many types of equipment which are found in the global market that will help the Manchester City police to stop the criminal activities in the streets. The Chinese market has a large variety of high-quality cameras which can be implemented by them to identify the criminals without any difficulty. With the help of globalization, there are less trade barrier issues among countries in which the police department should benefit from.
3.2.4 Role of Technology
The advancement in technologies makes lives easy for the many people and the same goes for Manchester city police department. They should indulge in implanting alarms which are of high quality that would stop robbers from stealing another people's possession. The police department should also buy equipment’s like cameras, walkie-talkie microphones, install high-quality software's into their computer to detect offenders and take record of each of them in a systematic way.
3.3 Goals and Objectives
3.3.1 Aim of the Recommendation
As studied by Pratt (2014). the major aim of the recommendation is to bring the peace, safety, and security to the people of Manchester with the help of the Manchester City Police. The set of recommendations should be used as guidelines for the betterment of operations and tackling the street crimes in the city. Additionally, the police should not only restrict the criminal activities but they should also focus on the techniques which might help the criminals to avoid committing a crime again and maintain the harmony in the city. The set of recommendations if used adequately would help in making a better surrounding for the people and help the society attain growth.
3.3.2 Addressing the Needs
The needs and requirements of the community need to be aligned with the Manchester City Police to provide an effective result. As explained by Weir & Latkin (2015), the needs of the community are highly established regarding the reduction of street crimes and the Manchester City Police is providing an enhanced service to reduce the issues. The needs of the agency are also similar to the community which is to safeguard the people from different kind of crimes. However, the increased number of street crimes have affected the mentality of the people significantly.
3.3.3 Potential Measurable Improvements
There are different improvements in the techniques for the reduction of crime in the Manchester City and one of the most essential improvement is the reduction of crimes which are increasing in numbers. As cited by Cohn, Farrington & Iratzoqui (2017), the potential measurable improvement for the community is the use of better technologies and reduce the crimes in the initial few months. Later during a specific span of time, the number of crimes must be minimized which can provide the peace and harmony to the people of Manchester City. There are different Key Performance Indicators which can be used by the Manchester City Police to avoid the crimes and safeguard the people.
3.4 Administration Needs
3.4.1 Necessity of Resources
In to make the strategy used, the police department needs to equip the necessary resources and use it in their approach to stopping the street crime which is increasing at a high pace. High-quality cameras, guns, alarms, bells and technically advanced software should be taken into consideration by the Manchester City police department to reduce the crime rate in the city.
3.4.2 Requirement for Staff Members
There must be certain criteria for the selection of staff who are going to handle the situation. The police officers need to be well built along with proper knowledge of English, Celtic, Germanic, Romance and other related native languages in order to interact with the offenders. As opined by Sherman et al. (2015), they need to be paid well because it is a high-risk job and they are putting their lives for the sake of others people’s safety. Furthermore, it is essentially necessary to increase the members and send them to patrol in those areas where there has been a regular site for the crime.
3.5 Evaluation Plan
3.5.1 Knowledge of Success
The knowledge of success is heavily dependent on the strategic planning of the agency and its implementation of the strategies. The success of the strategy or the plan needs to examined under the different circumstances which can affect the execution. The planning needs to be implemented in a specific manner which can provide the desired results. Furthermore, achieving the goals from the implemented strategy would result in the success of the plan.
3.5.2 Methods Used for Evaluation of Success
The methods that are used for the evaluation of success are classified into two sections which include the qualitative method and quantitative method. The quantitative method requires data which can be gathered from the primary sources with the help of surveys, observations, and questionnaire. In the case of Manchester City Police, the survey and observations should be used to evaluate the success. Additionally, the qualitative method helps in analyzing, contrasting and comparing the previous data with the present. Improvements in the data result in the success of the plan and moreover, the quantitative data is gathered from the case studies and the documents which are written for the specific purpose.
3.5.3 Type of Data Collected
The resources which are needed for the specific purpose are mainly the raw data which can be gathered from different sources such as feedback forms and interviews. The public forums are also helpful in gathering the data effectively which can be beneficial for the Manchester City Police. In other words, it can be stated that the primary data source can be helpful in collecting the data in different forms.
References
Books/Articles
Hodgson, G. R. (2014). Manchester and its press under the bomb: Britain’s ‘other Fleet Street’and its contribution to a myth of the blitz.
Avramidis, K., & Tsilimpounidi, M. (Eds.). (2016). Graffiti and street art: Reading, writing and representing the city. Taylor & Francis.
Jouvenal, J. (2016). The new way police are surveilling you: Calculating your threat ‘score’. The Washington Post, 10.
Leo, J. (2017). Two Cultures of Policing: Street Cops and Management Cops. Routledge.
Baldwin, J. (2016). Executive summary: Recommendations for criminal justice and community agencies in contact with criminal justice-involved veterans.
Reiman, J., & Leighton, P. (2015). Rich Get Richer and the Poor Get Prison, The (Subscription): Ideology, Class, and Criminal Justice. Routledge.
Journals
Ellison, G., & Weitzer, R. (2017). The dynamics of male and female street prostitution in Manchester, England. Men and Masculinities, 20(2), 181-203.
Desmond, M., Papachristos, A. V., & Kirk, D. S. (2016). Police violence and citizen crime reporting in the black community. American Sociological Review, 81(5), 857-876.
Ellison, G., & Weitzer, R. (2017). The dynamics of male and female street prostitution in Manchester, England. Men and Masculinities, 20(2), 181-203.
Jeffery, B., Tufail, W., & Jackson, W. (2015). Policing and the Reproduction of Local Social Order: a case study of Greater Manchester. Journal on European History of Law, 6(1), 118-128.
Rosser, G., Davies, T., Bowers, K. J., Johnson, S. D., & Cheng, T. (2017). Predictive crime mapping: arbitrary grids or street networks?. Journal of quantitative criminology, 33(3), 569-594.
Smithson, H., & Ralphs, R. (2016). Youth in the UK: 99 problems but the gang ain't one?. Safer Communities, 15(1), 11-23.
Cohn, E. G., Farrington, D. P., & Iratzoqui, A. (2017). Changes in the most-cited scholars and works over 25 years: The evolution of the field of criminology and criminal justice. Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 28(1), 25-51.
Pratt, T. C. (2014). Meta-analysis in criminal justice and criminology: What it is, when it’s useful, and what to watch out for. In Advancing Quantitative Methods in Criminology and Criminal Justice (pp. 58-74). Routledge.
Sherman, L. W., Strang, H., Mayo-Wilson, E., Woods, D. J., & Ariel, B. (2015). Are restorative justice conferences effective in reducing repeat offending? Findings from a Campbell systematic review. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 31(1), 1-24.
Weir, B. W., & Latkin, C. A. (2015). Alcohol, interAssignment, and condom use among women recently involved in the criminal justice system: findings from integrated global-frequency and event-level methods. AIDS and Behavior, 19(6), 1048-1060.
Websites
City of Manchester NH Official Web Site > Home. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.manchesternh.gov/
