Letter to the editor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Letter to the editor - Essay Example Although police officers require sophisticated weapons and equipment there should be a limit on the type of arms that police officers should carry. The main reason why the country has both the police and the army is that the two forces have different responsibilities and training. Soldiers are trained to defend the country by eliminating the enemy through all possible means (Franceschi-Bicchierai web). On the other hand, police officers are expected to maintain law and order through sustainable public relations. The differences in duties of police and military officers indicate that the two officials require different equipments. Acquisition of military equipments indicates that police officers have neglected their duties or the police departments have misplaced priorities. Fighting crime is a significant duty of the police officers. However, the role prevents the police officers from concentrating on other duties that are critical to the public. For instance, a police officer is expected to ensure that people conduct their businesses without hindrance. Acquisition of heavy weapons indicates that police officers are more concerned with criminals than with the citizens. I think that the police departments would have considered acquiring more ambulances and fire fighting equipment instead of the military equipment. Through the acquisition of such equipments, the police department would show that its operations are of public interest. The other aspect demonstrated by the move, is the level of crime within different cities across the United States. In the last decade, crime level increased by 10% across major US cities. Armed robbery and drug trafficking are among the common crimes. According to the criminologist theorists, criminals respond according to the authority. This indicates that the move taken by police departments would have a similar response from the criminals. Criminals are likely to acquire