CRJS300 U2IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

CRJS300 U2IP - Research Paper Example In fact, counting the number of police agencies in the United States is a difficult task because there are many; ranging from local, municipal and metropolitan police departments, county law enforcement, tribal law enforcement, campus law enforcement, state law enforcement, and federal law enforcement. These all have different jurisdictions and functions. At the first glance, one would claim that a single national police force is good because of the possibility of improvement in uniformity and continuity, better deployment of personnel, better coordination of various services, reduced costs, and better training. A closer look at the issue will reveal that creating a single national police force is an inevitable strategy, taking into account the changing nature of crimes. The first issue that necessitates the unification of agencies is the changing nature of crimes. A perfect example is cybercrime, which crosses national and state borders. Similar is the case of both domestic and international terrorism and narcotics trafficking. This situation is admitted by Finklea in the CRS Report for Congress, â€Å"Organized Crime in the United States: Trends and Issues for Congress† dated 22 December 2010. The paper admits the increasingly transnational nature of crime and expresses concern over a possible nexus between organized crime and terrorism. Thus, it is clear that the nature of crimes has changed. As Tully (2002) points out, issues like domestic and international terrorism and narcotics trafficking are not within the scope and resources of the small police departments, and equipping each small department with these resources is a highly expensive and hence impossible strategy. Therefore, a consolidation of the police forces will offer better se rvices at reduced costs in handling crimes like terrorism, drug trafficking, and such other cross-border crimes. In the opinion of