Analyzing the Application of competing Theories of Justice into American and Pakistani Policing Strategies

• Published in: Pakistan journal of criminology Vol. 9; no. 3; p. 1
• Main Author: Albrecht, James F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Peshawar Pakistan Society of Criminology 01.07.2017
• Subjects: Arrests; Capitalism; Criminology; Law enforcement; Police; Social justice; Society; Victimization; New York; Pakistan; United States > US
• ISSN: 2074-2738; 2222-6648

Law enforcement agencies across the United States have implemented a number of enforcement philosophies since 1960 in an effort to counter rising crime rates, violence, and prolific victimization. The primarily reactive deployment of police resources in the 1960s and 1970s had proved to be ineffective. With drug related violence escalating, frustrated American police administrators opted to implement community policing with its proactive crime reduction and problem solving approaches. Crime control results were limited before showing signs of improved effectiveness in the mid-1990s. Many government and police leaders, as early as 1994, often instituted a 'zero tolerance' enforcement mandate, which directed that the police universally address both serious crime and quality of life infractions. Combined with timely crime analysis, the proactive arrest-oriented strategies quickly drew the attention of government and police leadership across the United States and internationally as crime rates in America continued to plummet. As a result, the 'get tough on crime' mindset rapidly replaced the neighborhood and public oriented approaches fostered by the traditional models of community policing. American state, regional, and local police agencies had thus shifted their enforcement strategy from one supporting the 'leftrealism' community focused theory of justice to one that has firmly grasped the 'right realism' crime and disorder control based ideology. However, with occasional allegations of racial profiling and police brutality following rare but dramatically sensationalized incidents, the reported successes of American crime control tactics may need to be re-evaluated. The potential impact of this transformation as it has affected the perceptions of the citizens of the United States will be comprehensively analyzed. The experiences of the New York City Police Department will be specifically highlighted as an example of American policing practices at the municipal level. In addition, the relevance of this evaluation as it relates to criminal justice and law enforcement policies and practices within the Islamic Republic of Pakistan will be noted.