The City of Las Vegas Police Department, Essay Example

The City of Las Vegas Police Department has a number of community outreach programs. In one of the programs recently featured by the department, officers conduct training classes that teach girls and young women some basic self-defense techniques and tactical maneuvers. Another program is called G.R.E.A.T, which stands for Gang Resistance Education and Training. This program is aimed at offering young people ways to avoid falling into gang activity, and helps provide information about alternatives such as activities and community-involvement programs.

I belong to the Blume Christian Sorority, which works with girls and young women from all backgrounds to offer spiritual support and inspiration from Christianity. Our aim is to help these individuals develop and realize their full potential in life. Among the ways this is encouraged is through community activism and involvement in such programs as the Three Square organization. I am a volunteer with Three Square, which sees its mission as “passionately pursuing a hunger-free community.” Among the services this organization provides is to deliver food to people in need in the Las Vegas community. By encouraging young people to reach out to their community and help others, we promote individual spiritual growth and also help to build stronger community support systems.

From my own perspective, I tend to take a positive view of law enforcement, as I have some understanding of the difficulties and challenges that LEAs and individuals law enforcement officers must face every day. In response to the question of whether officers are “enforcers, approachable, social workers, etc.?” I think the answer is that they must be all of the above. At the same time, not every member of the community will see them that way, so it is important for law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to do what they can to build strong community relationships and develop mutual support between members of the public and law enforcement officers (LEOs). I have not had much direct involvement with LEOs in the Las Vegas community, but I have found them to be approachable. Like any LEA, I have occasionally read or heard about criticism of the police, but my view is a fairly positive one.

Nevada is home to an organization called Safe Nest, which provides emergency shelter for victims of domestic abuse. The Safe Nest locations are undisclosed, so those who seek shelter there can remain out of reach of their abusers. The Las Vegas police departments and other LEAs work with Safe House to help victims get the assistance they need. The Salvation Army also works with LEAs to assist those who are in need of shelter, and further provides help in publicizing searches for missing persons (especially children).These kinds of partnerships between law enforcement and the community are helpful in building strong relationships and improving the perception of LEAs among members of the public. If I were responsible for creating a new community relations program it would be one that helped to strengthen the role that the agency played in getting runaways and abuse victims the assistance they need and engaging in aggressive outreach programs (rather than waiting until the victims approach law enforcement).