Community Policing

Community policing is increasingly being adopted around the world. This has made it necessary for police agencies to employ special problem-solving strategies in addressing public concerns. One of such strategies is the use of the SARA (Scanning, Analysis, Response, and Assessment) model. This problem-oriented policing (POP) has enabled many police departments to effectively solve the issues affecting the local communities. The current report presents the usage of the SARA model in addressing crime in a truck stop arbitrary referred to as X.

The Situation

You are a patrol officer assigned to a beat that has a truck stop located near a major highway with hundreds of trucks parked in the lot. Prostitution and drug use is reportedly common. At this particular truck stop there is a fast-food restaurant. Your supervisor has been receiving complaints from parents about the location. The complaints generally are about seeing the drug syringes and “ladies of the night.” Parents are not happy they can’t stop in with their children for food and a romp in the play area without seeing these things. The kids are not happy either. There is also a diner near the truck stop. Patrons are complaining to your supervisor about the same things the parents were calling about. They are also being “harassed” by panhandlers near the restaurant. Your supervisor tells you to work on this Problem-Oriented Policing matter, apply the SARA model, and submit a report to him with recommendations. Your supervisor is a stickler, and expects you to put in the effort to “do this assignment right.”

Application of the SARA Model in Solving the Problem

Scanning

X is a fast growing truck stop located on a major highway. It provides a parking space for hundreds of long-haul trucks. The hub sits on a 247-acre piece of land. It has a population of over 75,000 people. The population comprises local residents, immigrants, and truckers. About 17% of the population is below the age of 24. Since X is an ethnically diverse neighbourhood, many languages are spoken in the area. However, English is the most common language of communication. The commercial region of the centre consists of a parking lot, fuel stations, garages, convenience stores, guest rooms, liquor joints, butcheries, shops, a fast-food restaurant, and a diner. The residential area is made up of residential houses, rental houses, churches, schools, and a college. Just like other truck stops in the country, X has developed a history of robbery, sexual harassment, drug trafficking, use of illicit liquor, and getting drunk and disorderly among other crimes.

The local police department has been instrumental in maintaining of law and order in X. Police patrols have played a significant role in trying to curb some of the common crimes that occur in the truck stop. However, the locals are still concerned that their lives are at risk. Most parents have complained to the local police supervisor that some of their children are now engaging in drug abuse and prostitution. On their part, the patrons who frequent the diner at the stop have raised concerns about the harassment they get from panhandlers who are common in the area. Moreover, the local businesses are losing customers. Most of the local residents are not happy with the “ladies of the night” and usage of drug syringes.

Apart from depending on police patrols, the X community has adopted other problem-solving techniques. These include monthly community meetings. In one of such meetings, a local a police officer asked each of the members of the community to list the most common crime affecting the people in the area. To his surprise, prostitution, drug abuse, robbery and other major crimes did not feature in most of the lists presented to the officer. Instead, majority of the locals noted that child abuse was the major issue. When asked to explain why, many of the people in the meeting reasoned that child abuse was one of the major causes of the other crimes common in the area. For this reason, this problem became the priority of the police department.

After the meeting, the police department decided to dig deeper into the issue of child abuse. Using the available data, it was found that the most common type of child abuse that occurs in truck stops is child labour (Churchill et al., 2021). This crime commonly occurs at the liquor stores, restaurants, diners, and the parking lot (Westra, 2019; Churchill et al., 2021). It was also established that majority of the children involved in child labour come from poor families (BJA & NIJ, 2023). Many choose to engage in the practice so that they can get money from driver and other people at the truck stops.   

Analysis

Child labour entails involvement of children in any exploitative work that is physically, mentally or morally harmful to them (Vashistha, 2021). According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, more than 60 million children around the world are engaged in child labour (UNICEF, 2023). Some of the major causes of child labour include poverty, low access to quality educational opportunities, lack of decent work, climate change, mass displacement, and lack of awareness about child labour (Thévenon & Edmonds, 2019; UNICEF, 2023; US Department of Labour, 2023). In truck stops child labour takes the form of child sexual exploitation, drug trafficking, and engagement in hazardous work (Atkinson-Sheppard, 2019; ILO. (2023). What happens here is that parents tend to avoid their parental responsibilities (Atkinson-Sheppard, 2019). This pushes the children to engage in child labour. The consequences of child labour include physical and mental harm, economic or social exploitation, and school drop-out (Thévenon & Edmonds, 2019; Churchill et al., 2021). Thus child labour is indeed harmful to children.

Like in other truck stops, child labour is a common problem in X.  The number of child labourers in the area has doubled over the last decade. This trend is what prompted the local police department to carry out further research into the root cause of child labour in the X community. It was hypothesized that child labour in the area was mainly caused by the economic hardships of the locals. To test this hypothesis, a team of five police officers was given the responsibility of collecting primary data on the factors that led to child labour. The exercise of data collection began immediately. The researchers engaged both offenders and victims of child labour. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews conducted through the usage of questionnaires. It was analysed, presented and reported using both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The collected data was used to ascertain the fact that in X, child labour is indeed caused by economic hardship or poverty.  

Using the collected data, the police department resolved that it was necessary to address the problem of child labour in order to curb other crimes associated with the vice. As a result, the department came up with a tentative goal of making an attempt to eradicate the practice of child labour. This resolution is in line with the target number 8.7 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals that seeks to end all forms of child labour by the year 2025 (ILO, 2023). Eradication of child labour in X calls for investment in social protection of all children. This can be effected through establishment of clear policy, legal, and institutional measures that can help to curb the problem (Thévenon & Edmonds, 2019; ILO, 2023). An example is ratification of International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions numbers 138 and 182 that directly deal with child labour.    

Response

After conducting thorough scanning and analysis, the police department came to realize that the problem-solving strategy would be comparing various interventions before settling on one. There are various strategies that can be used to address the issue of child labour in X truck stop. One of the most significant strategies is prevention of the future occurrence of the problem by way of deflecting offenders (Atkinson-Sheppard, 2019). This can effected through efforts that centre on increasing access to quality education, ensuring that all children are in school, and sensitizing the locals on the cause and negative impact of child labour. Another important strategy that can help to curb child labour is protection of the likely victims (Thévenon & Edmonds, 2019). This undertaking can be achieved through protection of child rights, and promotion of decent work for the adults, and ending harmful gender practices and norms.   

In comparing the available alternatives, the police department observed that promoting quality education at X requires more investment in education (Atkinson-Sheppard, 2019). However, this depends on how willing the government is ready to support the sector. All children can be in school if there is good collaboration between parents, teachers, the local administration, and other education stakeholders (Churchill et al., 2021). If there is no such collaboration, some children might end up dropping out of school. The department also noted that sensitization of the local residents on the issues of child labour can work if the children are involved (Churchill et al., 2021). The involvement can enable the children to understand what child labour is all about. Protection of the rights of children can help to reduce child labour (Thévenon & Edmonds, 2019). However, this solution may not work if the child rights are violated in the society. If adults are given descent work, their children will not be forced to engage in child labour (Veiga, 2020). Yet, this depends on the willingness of the government to create job opportunities. It was as well found that if something is done about gender norms and practices, some forms of child labour like child sexual abuse might come to an end (Vashistha, 2021). This is achievable through media campaigns targeting the locals.

The police department determined that the goal of eradicating child labour in X can be achieved through the implementation of the plan shown in table 1 below. The table presents the activities of the plan, parties responsible, and the timeline of implementation.

Table 1

An Outline of the Plan for Eradication of Child Labour

Activity	Party Responsible	Timeline	Remarks
Sensitization seminars and workshops on child labour	Police department, local administration, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and faith-based organizations (FBOs)	June 1 to 30, 2023
Media Campaigns on gender practices and norms	Government, NGOs, and FBOs	July 1 to 31, 2023

The plan can play a significant role in accomplishing the police department’s goal of eradication of child labour in X truck stop. If the locals are sensitized on the cause and effect of child labour, they will come to understand the negative consequence of the practice (Westra, 2019). The understanding can enable them to abandon the crime. Media campaigns against gender norms and practices can help to curb exploitation of female children (Veiga, 2020). They can play an important role in reducing rape and sexual harassment of girls.   

The police department also found that implementation of the plan is likely to face some challenges or problems. One of the major problems is lack of financial support (Veiga, 2020). This can make it difficult for the police department to organize effective workshops, seminars, and media campaigns pertaining to child labour. To get enough funds that can help to support the activities, there is need to seek the help of donors and well-wishers. Another serious challenge that can affect the plan’s implementation is resistance from the locals who see child labour as a normal practice (Veiga, 2020).However, collaboration with FBOs, NGOs, and other parties can help to mitigate the resistance.      

Assessment

The above plan was implemented as scheduled. The goal of the plan was to eradicate the crime of child labour that is rampant in the X truck stop. This goal was achieved since the number of children engaged in child labour in the area has since gone down. It has decreased by about 20%. The rate of crime has also reduced significantly. Cases of prostitution, robbery, and drug abuse that used to be common in the area have decreased. It is as well important to know that most children in the region have come to understand their rights. This explains why those who dropped out of school have decided to go back.

If the plan remains in place, more change is likely to take place in terms of elimination of child labour. It is expected that people in the X community will come to understand the harmful nature of child labour. As a result, many will dissociate themselves from the practice. For the plan to work effectively, it is necessary to have regular sensitization seminars and media campaigns. This will help to enhance the locals’ understanding of the issue of child labour. If the plan is removed, whatever has been achieved in terms of eradication of child labour can be eroded. The locals will probably get back to the practice. In the future, the sustainability of the plan can be measured through quantification of the extent to which child labour has been eliminated.

Post-implementation planning of the eradication of child labour in X may involve an increase in funding of the sensitization programmes, collaboration with other government agencies and NGOs, and involvement of various stakeholders concerned with the protection of child rights. The plan also needs some modification for the set goal to be attained. For instance, other activities like increasing children’s access to quality education and promoting decent work for adults need to be incorporated into the plan. It is as well vital to note that after modification, it is necessary to conduct follow-up assessment some years after implementation of the plan. This may include determining the level of literacy and rate of employment in the community. These indicators can help to determine whether or not the plan was well implemented.

References:

Atkinson-Sheppard, S. (2019). ‘Illicit Child Labourers’: Exploring Street Children’s Involvement in Organised Crime. In: The Gangs of Bangladesh. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18426-1_5

Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)., & National Institute of Justice (NIJ). (2023). Standard Functional Specifications for Law Enforcement Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) Systems. Retrieved from https://bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/leitsc_law_enforcement_cad_systems.pdf

Churchill, S. A., Iqbal, N., Nawaz, S., & Yew, S. L. (2021). Unconditional Cash Transfers, Child Labour and Education: Theory And Evidence. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 186: 437-457.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2021.04.012

ILO. (2023). Global Estimates of Child Labour: Results and Trends, 2012-2016. Retrieved from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—dgreports/—dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575499.pdf

Thévenon, O., & Edmonds, E. (2019). Child Labour: Causes, Consequences and Policies to Tackle it. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, 235: 82. https://doi.org/10.1787/f6883e26-en

UNICEF. (2023). Child Labour. Retrieved from https://www.unicef.org/protection/child-labour

US Department of Labour. (2023). International Child Labor & Forced Labor Reports. Retrieved from https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor

Vashistha, S. (2021). Crime against Children. (2021). (n.p.): K.K. Publications.

Veiga, J. M. F. (2020). Child Labour: Slavery XXI Century: The Invisible Workers. (2020). New York: José Manuel Ferro Veiga.

Westra, L. (2019). Child Law: Children’s Rights and Collective Obligations. Berlin: Springer International Publishing.