Running head: 255 3ABC

1. Vehicle Pursuits

            Generally, among the things that law enforcement administrators are most concerned about is motor vehicle pursuit. The potential for negative public relations, damaged equipment, lawsuits, and officer injuries can be very daunting, especially when pursuit management strategies are inadequate. Studies reveal that over 300 civilians are killed every year as a result of police vehicle pursuits (Yates, 2009). At present, one of the most recognized methods to end a pursuit is by means of tactical intervention; however, law enforcement agencies still do not take advantage of the method’s wide usage, particularly among the large urban police departments.

            Vehicular pursuits are essentially peculiar in view of the fact that their dangers are generally aimed directly at innocent victims. However, notwithstanding the dangers, most agencies across the United States have continued the practice of such type of pursuits. According to the past data from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, no methods were used in roughly 94.3 percent of the vehicular pursuits (Yates, 2009).  In view of that, danger not only exists for the suspects and the officers but also for all innocent citizens that happens to be on the road during pursuits. Therefore, because of the numerous casualties each year as a result of high speed chases, vehicle pursuits have become a serious threat to public safety and one of the most common high-risk areas of law enforcement.

1. Illegal Immigrants

            Immigration continues to provide new energy to the country’s economy as well as strengthens the American culture, as several of the leading industries in the United States are dependent on immigrant workers (Kaine, 2008). However, when law enforcers implement policies relating to illegal immigrants, their executions often unconsciously extends to legal immigrants as well as law-abiding business owners.

            The public attention continues to focus on the thriving execution of laws relating to illegal immigrant, but significantly overlooking their common problematic enforcements. Americans are not recognizing the consequences of continually undertaking emotion-driven rhetoric. Accordingly, while law enforcements fight with the consequences of illegal immigration, they are also sending a message that the United States is hostile to those who would legally come into the country (Kaine, 2008).

            Obviously, America is challenged to implement the laws; to uphold a controllable system of backing up legal immigration without unnecessary delays; and to avoid forceful solutions that impair the country’s economy and demean communities. For that reason, several States passed wide-reaching course of action to discourage illegal immigration. In view of that, State and local police are allowed to apprehend someone they suspect as illegal immigrant and can impose the law by simply engaging in racial profiling. The people they ask to prove their citizenship or immigration status are often the people who sound or look foreign. As a result, when law enforcements implement the law, they often engage in racial profiling or unduly target the minority groups.

III. Pieces of Unfinished Business

            In his book, Ullman demonstrated an impressive knowledge and deep understanding of how five pieces of unfinished business have formed the keystones of the dangers and challenges that await the country. Basically, he points out that open and free society must carry out actions to defend itself but, all the same, must still remain true to its deep-seated values (Ullman, 2006).  Consequently, because accessibility, lack of restrictions and freedom are the strengths of the United States, they also present the opportunity for terrorists, such as al Qaeda to strike.

For instance, Osama bin Laden and others like him are maneuvering the exceptional openness of American society (Ullman, 2006). Therefore, notwithstanding the sincere effort of safeguarding the country’s way of life as well as fundamental freedoms, any reactions that the government put together may still result in the impairment of those basic American freedoms.

            Second, the American infrastructure, such as the networks of commerce, emergency, food, energy, transport, finance, and communications services are inherently susceptible and vulnerable to attack. Despite the fact that the American government can form a new cabinet office for Homeland Security, the reality is that dynamic, advanced and open societies can never be fully secured and safe from terror.

            Third, the government of the United States is still largely structured on the Cold War basis of the National Security Act of 1947, and as the report of the Hart-Rudman Commission describes, the government is dysfunctional (Ullman, 2006). The vertical, bureaucratic, authoritarian, strict structures presently correlated with diplomacy, defense, law enforcement, and intelligence cannot effectively and fully contend with the horizontal, cross-cutting dangers fronted by terror and extremism and, for that reason, must be reorganized.

            Fourth, the crescent crisis that spreads out from the eastern end of the Mediterranean and Israel to the Bay of Bengal is a breeding ground for extremism and terror. The different sources for terrorism take place from the white-hot Indo-Pakistan and Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflicts to poverty and dictatorial regimes. Unfortunately, the difference these days is that terror can strike even in the heart of the United States seeing that it is no longer contained or isolated in the crescent of crisis. In addition, numerous weapons of mass destruction are easily available to those who desire to take advantage of them.

            Finally, Ullman comments that the fight against terrorism will be an uphill one unless NATO, China, Russia, the European Union and other major nations are included in the latest strategic framework of fighting extremism.

References

Kaine, T.M. (2008, January 13). Let Reason, Not Emotion, Lead the Debate. Americas Society Website. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://www.as-coa.org/article.php?id=863

Ullman, H. (2006). America’s promise restored: preventing culture, crusade, and partisanship from wrecking our nation. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers.

Yates, T. (2009, March 23). Analysis of the IACP report “Police Pursuits in an Age of Innovative and Reform.” PoliceOne. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://www.policeone.com/chiefs-sheriffs/articles/1800003-Analysis-of-the-IACP-report-Police-Pursuits-in-an-Age-of-Innovation-and-Reform/