US Death Penalty in case of Minors

The application of the death penalty within the constitutional framework of the United States has gone through a lot of changes over the course of history. Most recently, it was decided that the application of death penalty upon individuals under the age of 18 be abolished because of various reasons. This brief report will attempt to identify the main arguments behind the above mentioned ruling.

The application of the death penalty in regards to minor raises significant ethical as well as moral issues. In 2007, the Death Penalty Information Center issued a report titled as a crisis of confidence Americans doubts about the death penalty in which it was statistically stated that 60 percent of the American population was of the view that the death penalty does not actuality prove to be a restraint in regards to restricting murders. Continuing with this line of argument, we can clearly come to the conclusion that if more than half of the people in the US do not believe the value of the death penalty then surely it should not be applied upon minors. It is believed that the death penalty is an excessively cruel form of punishment in the sense that individuals under the age of 18 are primarily undergoing moral and ethical development. Such individuals can essentially be reformed in such a way so that they can function normally within society. Life imprisonment is one such way to make sure that every individual be given a chance to change.

The reasons behind a murder are extremely complex and one cannot really pinpoint the main causative factors. Hence, the decision to decide whether one person should live or die cannot be taken lightly. A governments decision to execute someone especially a minor is inherently flawed in the sense that it is a violation of human rights especially if the possibility exists that the person might be innocent. The basic argument that I want to make within this report is that minors still have a long way to go and life imprisonment or something short of that is more likely to work for them rather than for somebody aged 40 years old.

Studies by the death penalty information center have shown that most Americans believe that the death penalty does not restrict murders. Therefore, governments need to develop a system which essentially reforms convicts in such a way so that an example for society is set. Consequently, it is apparently a blatant violation of human rights to execute minors because if a 14 year old child commits murder then it would be considered excessively cruel to execute him or her based on the fact that there is a certain possibility of that child being innocent as well as the fact he or she, if subjected to the system of reform might eventually change. The juvenile criminal system of the US was established upon the primary aim that it would attempt to reform minors who had strayed from the path of normal societal behavior. Hence, the application of laws upon them that also apply to adult offenders seems overly excessive not to mention unfair.

In essence, the abolition of the death penalty in the case of juveniles is another step towards a progressive judicial system which promulgates justice in such a way so that each and every element of society is catered for in an appropriate manner. Executing juveniles is an extremely barbaric custom and it violates ethical, religious and moral laws that are common throughout the globe.

Police Technology

The police are mandated to maintain order, control crime, and provide a diverse assortment of service, from controlling the flow of traffic to responding to 911 emergency calls. Unfortunately, due to the growing complicatedness of crimes and criminal strategies in recent years, quick intelligence and law enforcement badge are no longer enough for the police officers to apprehend lawbreakers. For that reason, police departments all over the world are now promoting the use of latest scientific advances, gadgets and computers in solving crimes. At present, the ensuing developments in police technology in the United States have help extend the growth, efficiency, and scope of the countrys police authority. Nonetheless, as crimes and criminals are expected to adjust to these technological developments in the near future, police departments are continually making sure to improve their present crime fighting technologies.
Current and Future Police Technologies
   
The introduction of crime laboratories, finger printing, extensive use of automobile, and two-way radio more than four decades ago have significantly amplified every police departments competence to solve crimes and increased the productivity in taking action to incidents. To even more enhance the performance of duties and responsibilities, as well as to improve efficiency, police departments have especially depended on most modern, available technologies today. The available technologies include in-car video camera system that helps police departments in surveillance activities, traffic investigations, crime scene investigations, domestic violence investigations, etc. forensic science through the utilization of pathological examinations voice identification technologies to identify criminals ballistic techniques to identify the weapons used in the crime and soft body armor or bullet proof vest to protect police officers from injury in dangerous situations. (Bellis, 2009).
   
Many technologies are likewise currently being developed and tested by few departments for improvement and for future widespread use of other police departments. Unfortunately, however, many technology developers are hesitant to disclose enough information concerning these future police devices. All the same, these innovations are intended to make the present technologies better organized, faster, and eventually more prevailing in implementing corrective actions against lawbreakers. As of the moment, some of the significant, available technologies being improved and slowly utilized by certain police departments include

I. Crime-Solving Robots
The crime-solving robot, known as Arturito, was first utilized by Chilean police to scan a farmhouse to search for the body of a man who had been missing for more than one year. Within two hours and under 12 feet of concrete, the robot was able to establish the dead bodys position ( Busted 10 Awesome Technology-Assisted Police Cases ). Today, Arturito is used in searching other buried evidences, and in sniffing out land mines.  

II. Satellite Image Software
Through the use of satellite image software, police departments are able to locate particular illegal activities in specific ground locations. Swiss police, for instance, used satellite imaging to the address of suspected marijuana farmers accordingly, the satellite image revealed a sketchy patch of green area characterizing the illegal farm. The police was able to apprehended 1.2 tons of marijuana plants as well as arrested 16 individuals ( Busted 10 Awesome Technology-Assisted Police Cases ).  

III. Geographic Profiling
Computer geographic profiling has gained some attention among police technologies in recent years. In 2005, such technology assisted Orange County police in locating the exact address of a person suspected of burglarizing more than 200 houses ( Busted 10 Awesome Technology-Assisted Police Cases ). Accordingly, police officers discovered a suspicious individual at the profiled area, and kept him under close watch until he carried out enough reprehensible things to justify his arrest.

IV. Laser Scanners
Geo-system laser scanners are admirable police technology nowadays seeing that they can accurately and quickly measure up and photograph a crime scene. In 2004, California Highway Patrol employed the technology to reject the claim of a driver that his brakes weakened before his car collided with another vehicle, which killed the latters driver ( Busted 10 Awesome Technology-Assisted Police Cases ). Likewise, the device assisted the police in building a case against Roberto Vellanoweth, a well-known State Republican, who was eventually found guilty of killing four person in a Driving Under the Influence of alcohol incident ( Busted 10 Awesome Technology-Assisted Police Cases ).

V. Laser-Guided GPS Tracking System
Instead of pursuing criminals for hours on high-speed car chase, every police officer in the United States in the future is expected to just engage the suspect in a car chase for a few blocks due to the GPS tracking system (Koprowski). The technology allows officers to tag the criminals car by launching a laser-guided transmitter that is capable to stick on the fleeing vehicle. Accordingly, the pursuing officer can eventually track the criminal by means of real-time information over a portable network.

VI. Other Tactical Technologies
A number of police departments are now using wireless video-surveillance network in tracking down suspects. The Los Angeles Police Department, for instance, is working with Motorola Corporation in deploying surveillance network within the areas public-housing projects (Koprowski). As a result, the department is able to identify suspects even before its officers reach the crime scene.
   
Likewise, other departments are continually studying the use of innovative technologies, such as the utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for future in-flight police unit. On the other hand, some small town police departments in the United States are looking to even more exploit wireless Internet connection to share detailed information concerning criminals. In Santa Monica, police officers are trained in geographic information system and use a tablet personal computer to track illegal activities across its jurisdiction (Koprowski). In New Jersey, the police department is slowly implanting into the parking tags of local residents a reactive Radio-Frequency Identification chip in order for the parking officials to identify, through their computers, the visitors and residents, as well as speed up the identification of forged parking permits.
   
Throughout the past years, the United States government, as a whole, has invested enormous amount of money on the procurement, development, and research of new equipment for the police forces. Unfortunately, all the astonishing things brought by science and technology to human civilization have not deterred other people to engage in criminal activities. What is more distressing is the fact that criminals have even held to the opportunity that these technologies have generated by preying upon society and victimize its inhabitants. For that reason, police departments everywhere have continually deployed and developed new technologies to apprehend these new generation of equally cutting-edge criminals.

Soft Body Armor

In the past five years the Steelhead Police Department has seen crime dynamics change considerably.  Violent crimes have had an increase in frequency.  Gun crimes have become more prevalent with crimes where shootings have been reported have worryingly gone up too.  Increasingly officers responding to distress calls have come under fire from criminals.

This station has been very fortunate not to lose any officer in the line of duty in the same time period but we have had three of our own go to the emergency room as a result of gun shoots.  These figures call for us to think of how best to try and give officers the best cover possible.  Soft body armor is a tool that should not be seen as an impediment to our productivity but as a life saving tool.

Discussion
Soft body armor has increasingly become an integral tool in the fight against crime.  Progressively more officers have had to wear soft body armor when responding to incidents where gun shots have been reported.  One fact about soft body armor is that it can not be worn all the time.  From the interaction with officers on the beat, I will look to allay some of the fears and issues raised by them in the next few paragraphs.

It is true that soft body armor is not made to be to be worn at all the time.  By the nature of the function it is supposed to perform, it is cumbersome and bulky in nature.  Outer vest body armor are the ones that are worn on the outside on top of police uniform.  There is another body armor that is worn under the clothes like a normal vest would be worn.  This concealed vest will be very useful and will come in handy when working undercover or having to do infiltration work.  With improvement in design techniques and armor material, it is now possible to have concealed vest body armor that is made to suit individual body frames.
For the case of female officers, the body armor will be designed to take into account the body structure.  The body armor will be gender friendly in all aspects.  It will be designed to maximize on safety while not compromising on comfort.  Especially concealed vest will be lined with absorbent material to take care of sweaty situations. The particular company that will be supplying our vests has undertaken to ensure that the supplied item will be colored in a color of ones choice for concealed vests.  For outer vests, all will be color coded to our beat uniform.  They will also be emblazoned with the initials of our force at the back for easy identification when responding to volatile situations.    

As earlier stated, to address the concern raised by our officers, the vests will be made to fit  designed with each individual officers anatomical uniqueness in mind.  In line with this, all officers will be taken through a training exercise of how to properly care for this equipment.  Every officer will be expected to be responsible for their own vest.  It is noted that some of you had raised the issue of having to share vests (Quigley, 2009).
For the procurement of the body armor, two members of the police union have been incorporated in the tender scrutiny and approval of the committee.  In fact, the police union has a majority vote in the committee since there are two union members and I.  So far the committee has had several meetings and has been able to agree on some of the necessary fundamentals. 

We have agreed on the scope and have identified a vendor who is agreeable to all parties.  The particular vendor has agreed to make vests that are specifically suited to each officer on our department.  We will be having follow-up meetings where we will be discussing on the design requirements and ballistic panel material.  It is the committees desire to have concealed vests that can offer protection against small arms fire. 
The outer vest will desirably be made to offer protection against higher caliber guns, up to armor piercing bullets.  Before taking delivery of the vests, the committee will attend testing session where they will see them in action.  They will also be able to personally test them before recommending whether to take ownership of the vests.

It will be the responsibility of each officer to take good care of vests issued under him.  The department will be responsible for replacement of defective vests and damaged ones.  The procurement committee will be responsible for the purchase of equipment that meets the standards and addresses the need to offer police officers greater protection when under gun fire.

It has for a long time being the policy of this police department to offer guidance on work policy and leave the implementation and adherence to the discretion of individual officers.   The same will be kept with some adjustment.  On delivery of the vests and issuance, it will be mandatory to wear outer vests when responding to distress calls where gun shots have been reported. 

Also detectives working undercover and on high risk assignments will be expected to make assessments on a case by case basis and ensure they exercise duty of care in ensuring their own safety.  It will be expected that each officer exercise care of duty to their partners and to themselves.  This code of conduct is as a result of consultation between the chief and representatives of the police unions.

With the implementation of this policy, the chief will expect officers to respond to distress calls much more confident that they have been accorded greater protection.  All officers will benefit from additional training and certification in body armor management and usage.

With the implementation of this policy, the chief is seeking to actualize his life long philosophical belief of zero officers killed or injured in the line of duty (Zakhary, 2007).  It is his intention to provide officers under his watch with the best possible equipment and opportunities to succeed in their work.
By accepting this policy, every officer accepts to abide by the obligation expected of them to use soft body armor at all time when the need arises.  The officer further accepts to taking quality care of the equipment issued to them and be responsible for their safe keeping.  The officer further accepts to attend training at some point in the future on the proper use and care of the equipment.

It is the belief that through the wide consultation that have taken place, soft body armor will be embraced by all. Any issues or complaints concerning the soft body armor will be addressed by the procurement committee who will remain the resource persons at the initial stages of this policy implementation.

Child Endangerment

To understand the policy of the Department of Job and Family services, it is important to first understand the social learning theory itself. Albert Bandura was one of the first and most influential theorists that developed the theory. According to him, learning goes beyond traditional theories. Direct reinforcement is an important variable in determining the structure of learning, but at the same time it does not holistically explain all forms of learning. Based on that premise, he added another element to traditional models, claiming that people learn based on observation. This was later developed into a separate learning method observational learning.
Albert Bandura claimed that when children watch adults behave in a certain manner, they imitate similar behavior in similar situations (Bandura, 1979). Thus, a violent adult can instill in his children the influence of violence to deal with situations. However, an important aspect of his study was that related to mental state of the observers. Environmental reinforcement influence learning and behavior to a certain extent. What really matters is intrinsic reinforcement which involved the form of internal rewards. These internal rewards are sense of accomplishments, success and pride, unrelated to monetary or extrinsic rewards.  Finally, he also noted that a change in behavior does not require learning as a prerequisite (Bandura, 1979). According to him, people can observe situations and learn, but not exhibit similar behavior.

Department of Job and Family Services Policy
The policy enacted by the said department has its pros and cons. The basic concept behind the policy is separation of the child from a home where he or she is prone to domestic violence, or an unhealthy growing environment. The child is removed from the custody of his or her parents or guardian and is handed over to the state or foster parents. Legally, the solution seems clear and implementable and does hold its merits. However, at the same time, an ethical dilemma exists that hamper some of the intended efforts of the policy.

Benefits
Child protection policies such as the one developed by the Department of Job and Family services provide children an opportunity of escape from dangerous lives. Often, during the course of growing up, children are exposed to violence, drugs and other ills detrimental to their development. If parents are the cause, then separation is the best answer.

Children in many homes are battered by their parents who have anger issues. Based on the social learning theory, these children are more prone to commit violence when they grow up. At the same time, those children who see their mothers beaten up by their husbands are 6 times more likely to commit suicide. To keep children safe from such atmosphere is a good idea.

Often, parents are abusive, unconcerned and inattentive to the needs of their children that they willfully produced. Their indulgence in drugs and alcohol, result in them leading substandard lives where they cannot properly provide for their dependent children, neither can they satisfy them emotionally. In the end, the child faces an atmosphere where they are emotionally taxed, financially drained and constantly under pressure to break free from their social environment. The result leads to children underperforming in schools, being more prone to substance abuse and in extreme cases suicide (Appelbaum, 1999). Every child has the right to a stable childhood. Based on that premise, legally, separation of the child from such families is in the best interest of the child at stake. Instead of risking the children having a similar life like their parents, social welfare organizations and legal laws protect the children in the hope that they can lead successful lives, regardless of their experiences.

Finally, foster families or state care ensures that a child grows up with a stable atmosphere. Often this means financial freedom, better education and more emotional attention. Using the learning theory, theorists claim that by interacting in families that are well groomed, children end up the same through observation and learning. Thus, in the future, the children can be expected to take a responsible role in society.

Ethical-Moral issues
The biggest issue arises in the reporting of child abuse cases. Often, most people tend to forget the issue exists either due to fear or intrusive involvement into another persons affair.  Others fear that their interference might make the abuser more violent, and in the end, the child faces the circumstance without them. Sometimes the reports are just false.

In such circumstances, it is becoming highly difficult to monitor and gain substantive proof on child abuse by social workers. The bureaucratic nature of the issue and the documentation involved offers hinders the process entirely. At the same time, it makes the abuser more aware of the circumstance and results in a difficult situation for the child. If the report was falsely reported, it can often leave families with emotional voids (Appelbaum, 1999). An element of suspicion and lack of trust occurs in a perfectly healthy family. Due to which abuse might occur in the future.

In the policy mentioned by the Job and Family Services department, no provision of second chances is given. It is a fact that humans often transgress and need guidance (Appelbaum, 1999). In the case of actual mental patients who need medical attention, this issue becomes ever more pertinent. A person suffering from a mental illness should be treated and rehabilitated to function in society. Under immense pressure already, taking away their children does not fix their problem (Jackson et al., 1991). They need clinical attention and support from the State. Treating them as a person with bad character only helps in discouraging them further from improvement (Garcia et al.1991). Similarly, drug addicts or alcohol abusers need counseling and guidance. Addressing the problem at the root cause can only fix the problem in the long term. Separation of the children from their parents might seem appropriate initially, but in the long term it damages not only the children who need their parents but also the parents who made a mistake once and are made to suffer their entire lives.

Such policies take away the rights of parents. As parents, they need education and awareness on how to raise their young (Jackson et al., 1991). To some, punishment is a way of teaching children. Their ideas of punishment might vary and be illegal, but their intentions might be clear. In such circumstance, the issue is really about who will draw the line between what acceptable punishment is. Legally, grounding children holds no consequence even though you are depriving the child of their constitutional right of freedom. However, forcing a child to eat vegetables for one meal as punishment might constitute as a state offence.  In such circumstances, parents need education and not punishment from the state. The policy seems unfair because it has not accounted for differential cases in child abuse. Its concrete, rigid and inflexible nature might punish parents unfairly. The ethical dilemma can be stretched further into abortion laws. Some states allow abortion where as all states punish child abuse. The dilemma exists in the fact that the two laws are contradictory. The later instructs parents to take care of their children whereas the former allows them to willfully kill them through an abortionist.

Finally, though everyone is thinking of helping the children, authorities often end up thinking too much for the children then for the children. Separation from the environment they grew up in, their home, neighborhood, friends, relatives and schools results in a loss of belonging to them, for no fault of their own (Booth, 2000). Because of this, they end up emotional deprived, depressed, and helpless in the situation that unfolds. If not addresses immediately, these children end up feeling guilty and lose their sense of recognition in society. The stigma attached to not being in proper family is another fear that resides in them throughout this process. They might be teased at school or look down upon as inferior by others. In the end, these children have a high tendency to grow up with emotional detachments and strains from their childhood that might hinder them in achieving their true potential, even though the goal of the policy is to prevent the very same thing. 

Effect on society
The policy effectively destroys the family structure. Based on research, approximately half of all children with foster families return to their birth parents. The family unit becomes complex and eventually fades away with time for the child. 18 of all foster children leave the system with no sense of belonging to a family (Szilagyi, 2007). When a child is placed into a foster home, he or she will always remember that this is not their own home. Second, the fact that the possibility of them returning to their birth parents exists, they find difficulty in accepting the new situations. Finally, because their birth parents are separated from them, the lack of contact leads to a decreased association with them too (Garcia et al.1991). In the end, the children are left stranded in between with no sense of distinction between a foster home and a family.

Children placed in a foster home can often feel under confident and a burden. They often feel that reporting the crime led to their circumstance and they themselves created a burden on another family. Because of this, they lack the motivation and confidence to take bold decisions (Garcia et al.1991). In eventuality, they end up facing a similar threat that they did with their birth parents, the only difference being the physical nature. These children can often grow up to be shy, timid and under-confident adults.

Often, children face a similar circumstance in a foster home that they did with their birth parents. In such circumstances, the reporting of abuse becomes exceedingly low as children fear that this time they might be held the culprit, while other children end up accepting themselves as the problem. In such circumstances, not only does the policy fail blindly but creates anger amongst the children involved against society.
The policy in light of the social learning theory
Albert Bandura claimed that observation can lead to learning but that does not necessarily mean the exhibition of the same behavior. Various factors must be present to ensure that the behavior takes place. The following factors must be present (Bandura, 1979)
Attentiveness on the part of the learner
Retention
Reproduction
Motivation

Without the presence of these 4 critical factors, learned behavior will not take place. Thus, to simply base that children who witness abuse will be more prone to carry out abuse themselves is unfair.
The policy has unilaterally claimed, with reference to the social learning theory, that children who witness abusive behavior are more prone to abusive behavior. However, various other theories such as psychoanalytic, environmental, cognitive development and labeling offer deep insights as well (Newberger, 1983). Each theory has its own pros and cons but none of them can be applied exclusively to a situation. Social factors, confusion of parenting roles, and social inequality play their roles in the development of children (Newberger, 1983). In some circumstances, these factors might affect their growth and future orientation more so than factors mentioned in the social learning theory.

Drug addiction is the unusual condition resulting from frequent drug use which involves the continuation of severe drug taking, drug obsession and susceptibility to relapse and decreased response to natural stimuli. Drug addiction can be classified as preoccupation, intoxication or withdrawal. Preoccupation involves continuous obtaining and passions of the abused substances. Intoxication leads to excessive use than usual in order to experience the effects of intoxication. Drug addiction is caused by different factors ranging from life failures and disappointments, peer group influence to inability to face the pains in life. Drug abuse can start from unfulfilled desires, a dysfunctional family, environments full of physical or emotional abuse or lack of hope. Most people turn to drugs as a way of escaping the reality. Drug addiction can be a complex illness marked by intense and uncontrollable drug longing and obsessive drug seeking and use that continues even when devastating effects are visible. Substance addiction begins with the voluntary decision to take drugs but with time the ability to choose otherwise becomes impossible and the use of drugs becomes compulsive. The problem is a result of continuous drug exposure to the functioning of the brain. Addiction is basically a brain disorder that affects the brain system by changing the normal working mechanism. Drug abuse and addiction have various dimensions and disrupt all aspects of a persons life and this makes treatment to be very complicated at times.  The use of opiates like cocaine, marijuana, heroine and methadone leads to physical, mental and psychological impairments. Cocaine can cause heart problems, strokes and memory lapses. Abuse of opiates leads to despair, agitation, bewilderment and even thoughts of death (Coombs, p 3)

Treatment and counseling
A drug treatment system mainly involves four parts which are referral, induction, intervention and transition. Treatment referral programs and sources include the criminal justice system and therapeutic communities. Induction into the treatment programs requires the assessment of the addict problems and needs and the development of a treatment plan for eventual intervention. The treatment program must encompass all components that address all aspects of the problem.  Pharmacology is essential in removing the withdrawal effects, behavioral therapy to sort out the psychological issues and supportive services to address other physical needs. The treatment must help the person to let go off the drugs, attain a drug free life and achieve worthy functioning in the society. The intervention phase must include the detoxification, dedication and rehabilitation. Medication and behavioral rehabilitation are essential elements of an effective therapeutic process which may include detoxification, treatment and reversion prevention. Reducing withdrawal symptoms helps to start the treatment while prevention of relapse deals with the effects. Medications are only important in suppressing the withdrawal symptoms but medically assisted treatment cannot work on its own. Patients who fail to go through further treatment after medication are just likely to continue with drug use at the same pattern. Medications have been developed for different types of drugs and substances. Detoxification is important in removing harmful chemicals and byproducts from the body since the drugs contain toxins and additives (Coombs, p 455).
   
Behavioral treatment is the most important as it helps the patients to participate in the treatment process, change their attitudes and behaviors about substance abuse and ensure healthy living. Addiction treatment programs can be quite different but are generally characterized by the setting, the structured stages, services and personnel and the underling philosophy. We have outpatient behavioral treatment which involves several programs that allow patients to visit treatment centers at regular intervals. These mainly occur in community settings and are shy for specific time frames. The programs may involve individual or group counseling and apply different approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy, multidimensional family therapy, motivational interviewing or motivational incentives. Cognitive behavioral therapy is designed to assist victims to appreciate, avoid and withstand the situations leading to drug abuse. Motivational family therapy targets families settings to address the various influences on drug abuse patterns and improve the general family setting. Motivational targets individual that are willing to change their habits and start treatment. Motivational incentives or contingency management applies positive corroboration to encourage avoidance of drugs among individuals (Coombs, p 460).
   
Residential programs are suitable for individuals with serious drug addiction problems. Residential settings provide a highly organized surrounding with complex structures and social dimensions. The most common are therapeutic communities (TCs) where patients remain at specific residences for a specific time frame during the course of the treatment. The communities in the residences which comprise the staff and others under recovery are a major tool in influencing the patients feelings, views and behaviors on drug addiction. Whatever the cause of the addiction, the counseling program should lead to a cure and give the individual the opportunity to reintegrate into the society (Coombs, p 465). The therapy generally begins with an examination of the patient by an impartial medical expert. The councelor(s) listens to the responses from the patient on a variety of questions. The drug addiction counseling program should take into consideration the past medical history, criminal history, employment data and previous behavioral treatments given to the patient. The medical history will explain the conditions that may have contributed to the addiction. People can easily get used to painkillers, sedatives or other over the counter drugs. Some people also develop a dependency on prescription drugs as sources of emotional relief rather than interacting with other people. Patient records are also likely to show multiple drug prescriptions by different medical consultants. Addiction to prescription drugs can be achieved through gradual weaning programs off the drugs and simultaneously addressing the emotional problems. Criminal background confirmation will indicate any drug related convictions such as street dealing, prostitution or theft assistance habits. Criminal substance abuse is commonly related to commercial sex, gambling and money launderings. The drug culture is associated with criminal activities in order to support and sustain the addiction (Christianet, Para 3).
  
Counseling helps to address the psychological addiction to substances after the detoxification as a solution to the physical addiction. The counseling program must help to unearth the painful truths, remove negative perceptions and restore the victims mental capacity. The counseling program should try to establish any pent up anger and emotions, vengeance or selfhatred as causes of substance abuse. In most cases patients are paired with counselors depending on their background and environment (Miller, p 16). The three most common forms of drug addiction counseling are individual counseling, group counseling and family counseling. Individual counseling provides the opportunity for the patient and the counselor to look at the core causes of addiction and develop solutions. This should be done at specified time intervals for example weekly so as to determine the progress of the program. Through cognitive behavioral therapy counselors try to establish trust and build up a connection with the patients to facilitate dialogue. After the rapport is established the therapists try to keep patients in conversation over issues of interest either in groups or individual sessions. Discussion over painful facts helps the patients deal with some of the causes to the substance dependency. The dialogue helps to confront issues that may be difficult to talk about under ordinary circumstances. Group counseling gives the addicts the opportunity to interact with peers and share experiences as well as provide support to one another (Christianet, Para 5).
   
Family counseling helps to rebuild confidence and restore the cohesion between family members that existed prior to the occurrence of the problem. This can b initiated during or after the rehabilitation process and should provide an opportunity for the members to air their views freely. Family counseling should be used by the counselor to advise the family members on how to accommodate the addict and help them adapt to a normal lifestyle.

Stalking

Excessive flattering stage
This is the first stage of encounter between the woman and the man. The man shows interest in the woman and offers a drink as in the case of Bryan and Katherine. The woman, even though not comfortable with the offer, consents just to be courteous. The man translates this as a good gesture and makes several other offers including persistent phone calls. Even though the woman is not interested in these offers, the man translates the womans niceness for receptivity.

The annoying stage
This is the stage that follows the excessive flattering stage. The man makes several proposals and even though the woman objects, he does not want to take no for an answer. For instance, the man may ask the woman several times to go out with him. As much as he receives the same negative feedbacks, he hopes that the woman will someday give in. this persistence on his part may be an act of manliness while on the womans part, it is nuisance.

The control stage 
The woman may opt to take action during the annoying stage. This action may be either to give in to the demands of the stalker or ignore him. The former option may leads to control stage where the man make demands that the woman is uncomfortable with but nevertheless consents. For instance, he may be so possessive to the extent that he feels jealous whenever the woman is hanging out with other friends. Because his strategy all along ha been to persist in his demands, he will continue doing so to the extent that the freedom of the woman will be in jeopardy.

The isolation stage 
The woman is thus left with two choices, either she quits the relationship and live her normal life or make sacrifices for the sake of their relationship. If she chooses the latter, then she enters into the isolation stage where she is distanced from her friends. This stage however never lasts since there is likely to be pressure from those close to the woman who realizes that she is not happy. As such, this stage invariably results in the final stage.

The break-up stage
This is the stage in which the woman cannot take it any more and decides to quit being good and stay firm in her convictions. She informs the man that she is quitting the relationship because the man is making too many demands that she is not comfortable with. It is during this stage that the woman proposes break up. This may either success or the cycle may repeat beginning from the second stage.

Legal definition of stalking
Stalking is defined as a course of conduct which results in credible threat or serious bodily harm. As such, it may be seen as any direct or indirect act that is likely to result in harm to another person.

b. Types of Stalking
There are two major types of stalking. These are stalking by someone known to the victim and stalking by a stranger. Stalking by someone known to the offender is the most common form of stalking since there is a high likelihood of a stalker being a rejected suitor. Stalking by a stranger is on the other hand reported to be rare (de Becker, 1997).

c. Causes of stalking
One of the main causes of stalking is the pursuit of romance. One may feel strongly attracted to another person to the extent that simply cannot accept no for an answer. As such, they seem to persist in their quest hoping that the woman or man will consent someday.
A broken relationship may also result in stalking as the other partner may not come to terms with the reality of rejection. As such, he or she main stalk without being aware of it hoping that his or her gone partner will ultimately relent.

Strategies That De Becker Provides For Dealing with Stalkers
According to Becker, the simplest strategy of dealing with stalkers is to say no. Even though he acknowledges that it is not as simple as it may sound, given the deep cultural roots of the nomaybe hybrid, Becker holds that cases of stalking will reduce considerably if the culture supported and allowed women to explicitly reject and say no (de Becker, 1997 ). Becker appear to argue that if victims could stand firm and say no, then the offender may as well desist from the behavior.

Becker also says that women should not offer any explanation as to why they have rejected an offer to go out with the particular individual. As such, it is inappropriate for a woman to base her rejection on conditions. This only provides the man a reason to challenge the rejection. Conditional rejections are not rejections but discussions according to Becker.

Another strategy that Becker provides for dealing with stalkers who make persistent phone calls and send constant messages is to ignore such moves. Becker holds that communicating with someone who had been earlier rejected contradicts the initial position. This is because the man can choose the kind of communication which communicates the feeling of the woman which is of course those that serve his interest (de Backer, 1997). The messages that are normally left are meant to stir response and any response is conceived of as progress.

Becker also advice that there is need for a female friend to record outgoing messages since the man may call just to hear the voice of his object. He warns that a man voice is likely to lead to more stalking since the curiosity of the pursuer may result in more investigation.

4. Handling of Stalking cases involving Johnny Carson and Jim Hicklin
The stalking case involving Johnny Carson and Jim Hicklin were both not handled correctly. Both the stalkers would have been ignored since ignoring them would not have resulted in any injury. In the case of Johnny Carson, the stalker got what he wanted and it may not be known how many instances he has employed a similar strategy to get what he wants. In the case of Hicklin, it would have been wise to ignore the stalker since engaging him was likely to lead to more direct harm as was witnessed. As such, there is no justification for the way the two cases were handled.

Intelligence Led Policing by Jerry Ratcliffe

In the book Intelligence Led Policing (Ratcliffe 2008), author Jerry Ratcliffe offers a summary of the newest technique in policing which is termed Intelligence Based Policing by Ratcliffe. This book argues that the best stance for law enforcement to take in regards to crime is a proactive stance rather than a reactive stance. This means focusing more upon using intelligence gathering and intervention techniques to prevent crime rather than on punishing criminals for crimes that have already been committed. Ratcliffe claims that this has been a common policing practice in the United Kingdom for several years already, which is one of the primary reasons that they have not been as vulnerable to the attacks of 911. It is also argued that the United States might not have been as enthusiastic about the move to Intelligence Based Policing had 911 not occurred.
   
Intelligence Led Policing seems to be an international phenomenon. (Ratcliffe 2008) With the rise of terrorism in the Middle East, and the fall of many Communist governments and dictatorships many countries have determined that this type of policing is better suited to an international climate where it is often critical to know about potential crimes before they have been committed in order to intervene and prevent potentially devastating results. Ratcliffe points out that countries as far afield as Australia have begun using these policing techniques in order to create a safer environment for their citizens as well as an increased level of national security.
   
Intelligence led policing seems to be a relatively new phenomenon in the Criminal Justice Field. The concept that one should prevent crime rather than intervening after it occurs has only become popular within the last 30 years or so. Ratcliffe compares  Intelligence Led Policing to journalism in some respects by  stating that in order to successfully use this Law Enforcement technique an officer of the law must know the Who, What, When, Why, Where, and How of the potential crime before they seek to intervene. It is argued that the primary goal of using this information is to prevent crime. Punishment of the offender is considered to be a secondary responsibility of Law Enforcement officials, and officers are encouraged to base decisions about crime and potential crimes on physical evidence rather than on subjective opinions.
   
Ratcliffe presents powerful crime statistics suggesting that punishing criminals alone is not successful. According to the data presented in the text, only 751000 crimes are ever solved, and this data does not even look at whether or not the alleged perpetrators of these crimes are ever punished for their crimes. Ratcliffe also argues that rather than targeting the 6 of the overall population that comprise the criminal element, one should instead focus on resolving the problems that cause them to become criminals such as domestic violence, child abuse, poverty, lack of education, job training and employment, and psychological problems that result in poor impulse control or difficulty discerning the different between right and wrong. (Ratcliffe 2008)
   
There seems to be a strict line between how traditional policing is defined, and how Intelligence Led Policing is defined. Traditional policing is defined as investigating, detecting, and punishing crimes that have already occurred. In comparison, Intelligence Led Policing is about crime prevention, meaning to stop criminal behavior before it occurs through education and intervention in the types of situations that give rise to criminal behavior. (Ratcliffe 2008)
   
Ratcliffe also points out that Intelligence Led Policing is useful only insofar as the intelligence that is gathered and the techniques they use to prevent crimes from occurring are effective. If the intelligence is not reaching the appropriate Law Enforcement personnel than those responsible for enforcing the law cannot prevent crime. If education and other crime prevention methods are ineffective, crime will not decrease.
  
It is also pointed out that one of the main difficulties in using Intelligence Led Policing successfully lies in the political maneuvering that (Ratcliffe 2008)
   
Overall this book was very useful in outlining and summarizing the overall usefulness of Intelligence Led Policing in comparison to Traditional Policing methods. The subject matter was clear, easy to understand and a gave many functional guidelines for the implementation of these techniques in a Law Enforcement Setting. Ratcliffe gave a more detailed overview of Intelligence Led Policing techniques than would be found in a more general Criminology Text. He also offered the reader real life scenarios of how Law Enforcement Agencies worldwide are implementing these techniques, not only, at the national and international levels such as the FBI and Interpol, but at the state and local levels as well.
   
Ratcliffe promotes Intelligence Led Policing as a positive method of controlling crime levels while still maintaining strong ties with the community and with other Law Enforcement Agencies. While there are some negative aspects to these methods, most specifically, their weakness when not used in conjunction with more traditional method of policing. The usefulness of this text in outlining some of the new methodology being used in the prevention, detection and punishment of criminal acts cannot be denied. Ratcliffes text is a suitable resource whether you are a member of Law Enforcement with several years of experience, or a young officer just starting out ones career in Policing.  It can be concluded, that Ratcliffes guide offers suitable guidelines in how to transform ones department from a traditional Law Enforcement Agency, to an agency better suited to policing in the Modern Era