Peirspictiochtai Ar An Saol
Zero-Based Law Enforcement
Part Four
Law enforcement officers using Targeted Arrests for Prosecution as their practice focus their attention on a specific individual believed to have committed a specific criminal act or acts or on specific persons believed to be involved in specific criminal acts.
An example of the first type is when evidence has been collected that points to a specific individual who has committed a specific criminal act. Law enforcement officers may utilize a variety of techniques in their attempts to locate and arrest that specific individual so that that specific individual can be prosecuted for the specific crime.
Consider a specific individual who is alleged to have killed someone.
Law enforcement officers may be placed in the vicinity of a home where the specific individual has been known to frequent. The law enforcement officers watching that home might be dressed in street clothes and sit in an unmarked motor vehicle to minimize the risk of attention.
It may include law enforcement officers – in uniform driving in marked cars – visiting with people who have known the specific individual. It may include securing judicial approval to listen in on telephone calls made by telephone numbers associated with the specific individual.
An example of the second type is when evidence has been collected that points to specific persons who have committed specific criminal acts. As with targeting a specific individual, law enforcement officers may utilize a variety of techniques to locate and arrest those specific persons so that they can be prosecuted for the specific crimes.
Consider specific persons who sell drugs at a specific street corner.
Law enforcement officers – dressed in street clothes and driving unmarked cars – may buy drugs from specific persons during a period of time. The undercover law enforcement officers may be wired to record the conversations with the specific persons. Other law enforcement officers may be nearby taking video of the transactions; stationary cameras on telephone poles may also be utilized to capture the drug buys.
It may then include a coordinated response from law enforcement officers – in uniform driving in marked cars – arresting the specific persons alleged to have sold drugs to the undercover officers.
To best be able to understand Zero-Based Law Enforcement, the next news columns in this series will continue by focusing on specific characteristics of law enforcement as it is practiced today in much of the United States, with the next news column itself focused on the overall practice of Problem Solving in Law Enforcement.
Peirspictiochtai Ar A Saol – Gaelic – Irish – for "Perspectives On Life" is a column focused on aspects of accountability and responsibility as well as ways people look at life.
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