The Impact and Aims of Police Advice

Police play an integral role in the provision of personal safety advice to community members. This section will explore a number of aspects involved in the provision of this advice including:

The importance of police credibility;
Effects of poor police publicity;
The three main factors contributing to why many people do not effectively maintain their personal safety;
Three aims of police personal safety advice; and
The long term effects of quality police personal safety advice as opposed to poor advice.

Credibility

Police are generally viewed as highly credible members of society. As such, community members expect that police will provide them with quality personal safety advice. This advice is likely to have a significant impact on an individual’s safety habits and fear of crime, as reflected in their lifestyles and quality of life.

It is therefore imperative that advice given by police is not only accurate, but empowering. Advice provided should encourage all community members to be both committed to their personal safety and confident to live with the freedom of lifestyle that they are entitled to. Community members should be educated to identify their safety options and to take action when required. These two factors will directly impact on their ability to effectively enforce preventative strategies and take appropriate action should their personal safety be threatened.

Poor Publicity

As the Police Service serves a ‘guardianship’ role within the community, it is not surprising that community members expect a high standard of service and behaviour from its officers. When this standard is not met, community members will often publicly and fervently express their dissatisfaction. Whilst, admittedly, there are occasions when this response is the result of misunderstandings generated by biased media coverage, there are certain occasions when police criticism is justified. Unfortunately when these incidents occur, the poor actions or advice of individual police officers can result in the image of all police being tainted.

Therefore it is important that all police should strive to maintain a high level of credibility within the community, by providing quality advice as well as performing their duties to the highest standard possible. As a direct result of these actions, community members are more likely to be supportive of police and view them as respected members of society. They are also more likely to view police advice as professional and accurate.