Politics and Policing

Ravin Galvan
Political Science- Perparim Gutaj

Ravin Galvan
P. Gutaj
Political Science
Fall2015- Research Paper Politics and Policing

Galvan

Policing usually seems to be pushed aside within the large empire of

politics. However, in America it is one of the most popular bureaucracies
there is. Since the very beginning of policing being established, it has
always been set up as a hierarchy of power. The police are the leaders,
enforcers, helping hands and in the end they are the law. When you think of
community power what entity do you think of? The police of coarse, the
police are the executioners of the law. Though unseen to the public there is
politics within politics when you are in law enforcement. To the men and
women of uniform the everyday fight in the streets is deemed to be nothing
compared to the fight in the office.
To understand at what level of politics there may be in policing first you
have to understand that there is a fixed hierarchy. There are different levels
of policing, which are Federal, State, County, City and Private. Each branch
has different sets of rules, regulations, power, and institutions within each
department. Federal is the highest ranked among these and they hold the
most power. Federal agencies still have to cooperate with the other
branches, but they are able to involve themselves in most anything they
want and have no set jurisdiction. As for the other branches, the jurisdiction
is set within the boundaries set by its title. For example State has jurisdiction
within its state, County within its county, City within its city etc. Though

Ravin Galvan
P. Gutaj
Political Science
Fall2015- Research Paper Politics and Policing

Galvan

depending on the specifics of the crime committed in and out of jurisdictions

the agencies will work together if something is pushed between more than
one.
Then there is a hierarchy within each department/ agency. Starting
from the very top is the Police Department Commissioner or Chief of Police.
The Commissioner/Chief is the highest-ranking officer in the department. The
duties of the Commissioner are: Overseeing the activities of officers (either
patrol or investigators), Developing and Implementing various policies and
regulations, Reporting to the mayor regularly, Managing promotions, Ranks
and placement of the officers or investigators. Second is the Assistant Chief
or Assistant Commissioner. The duties of the Assistant Commissioner are to
manage the day-to-day functions of the department and oversee the officer
activities. The next operate within a agency known as the sheriffs
department. The Deputy Commissioner/Chief and the Inspector commander
have different titles but generally operate under the same duties. They are
what are better known as detectives or investigators. They have a higher
rank above other officers that do investigations also because they are more
educated and have more experience then say a regular police officer or
sheriff.

Ravin Galvan
P. Gutaj
Political Science
Fall2015- Research Paper Politics and Policing

Galvan

The Colonel is a state agency Senior Executive. Their duties would be

the same as a chief assistant/commissioner accept only on the state level.
When moving into the smaller agencies such as county or city there are 4
major seniority positions that hold similar duties as well. The Major/ Deputy
Inspector supervises the police stations (as in multiple). They oversee the
activities of all police and investigators also. The Captain also oversees the
police stations, as well as separate departments within each agency. The
Lieutenant supervises a complete station. A Sergeant is an officer who is
responsible for supervising a designated shift. Then when moving out of
supervision positions there are detective and inspectors who work in plain
clothing and work more in depth on cases. They also hold more authority
than that of an officer. Lastly there are Deputys or Officers, these are the
men and women in uniform. They are in charge of maintaining order of the
public and crime prevention. Majority of the work given higher up the ranks
is administrative. While the officers are more physically active and given
community work.
Everyone in law enforcement is being overseen by a higher entity. We
as the public are held accountable to the law and the law enforcement,
though there is a much larger scale of power that few tend to see. Each form
of power is held responsible to a higher power. So if we as public feel like we

Ravin Galvan
P. Gutaj
Political Science
Fall2015- Research Paper Politics and Policing

Galvan

are being held in line, how about the power the government has over law
enforcement? Ranging from a long line of superintendents, if there is a flaw
in the system someone in power is going to see it first before the public
does. That is why it is so stressful as an officer when they are subject to
public criticism. Because we as the public hold law enforcement to such high
standards, yet we forget that these individuals are only human. They are not
only held accountable to the public and the media, during the process of
investigation they are torn apart by their own organization as well. While
cases of police brutality blow up tremendously in the media, cases of police
being shot at, injured, paralyzed, even murdered get hardly any attention.
Except when it comes to their agency.
Police build strong bonds within the different circles of law
enforcement. As a leader to the public it is important that the officers have a
strong support system behind them when issues with the public arise.
Although, if an officer is to make a mistake, those very same individuals will
be the ones to hold you accountable for your actions. In the article Surviving
Police Politics
(http://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2010/12/surviving-officepolitics.aspx), the author refers to this as relationship bubbles. He says, No

Ravin Galvan
P. Gutaj
Political Science
Fall2015- Research Paper Politics and Policing

Galvan

one is truly safe when creating a politically oriented relationship bubble

because it can burst at any time. If you become a political liability or have
spent all your political capital, you will find yourself on the outside looking in.
Sometimes bubble people have a long ride and sometimes they have a hard
fall. Meaning that no matter how close you build these relationships you
are always subject to having them broken in order to uphold the law. Those
who rely on these relationships and do not consider that they make break
tend to fall harder.
In this class we were told that Politics is Power, and power is the center
of what holds policing together. Each department and agency holds each
other together. Thus, it is a form of government.