To have a better understanding on whether a police station is a public property we first have to understand what a police station is. Police station refers to a building or buildings that are used to accommodate police officers and it usually includes offices, temporary holding cells, in some cases canteen and parking lot. There may also be police staff accommodation within the police station. The police station is meant to serve the public.
The next question one may need to answer is what a public property is. A public property refers to any property that is meant for public use and is owned by the government not individuals or group of people. Examples include public streets, government owned libraries, municipal clinics, police stations and swimming pools. All these are public properties intended for public use. This is opposed to private property that is owned by individuals or private groups.
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Police Station Is Public Property
A police station is a public property from the definition given above. A police station is owned by state or the government and is meant to serve the public or every citizen making it a public property. There many issues that people have to understand about these public properties. Some public properties are highly restricted properties for various reasons while some have no restrictions. The police station is one example of a public property that does not have many restrictions. In some cases, the individuals or citizens may be required to pay subscription fee to access these public properties. Examples include access to public swimming pools, clinics, hospitals and other libraries. Public properties with restrictions may include military bases and nuclear plants. The restrictions are mainly due to safety and privacy reasons.
Why Are Police Stations Important
Police stations are important public properties in our societies as they are primary emergency response centers. They offer public services where individuals can at any given time report any challenges they face with other community members. Anyone is allowed to make in-person complaints at various police stations and thus creating a safe society. Police force housed at their stations are meant to maintain public order through enforcing the law and preventing crimes. They also perform rescue operations in cases of emergencies and thus maintain peace and order.
Additionally, police stations provide decentralized police services for each state but usually there will be a headquarters to supervise the operations of all other stations. Decentralized traffic services are also offered to the public by the police officers resident on a police station which is beneficial to the society for safe driving on the roads. Police stations provide a deployment point for officers that partner with local security personnel or neighborhoods to maintain safe neighborhoods.
How Many Police stations Are Needed?
There are quite a number of police stations or other public properties within a state. Some states or cities have more police stations and officers than others. The question that needs answers is what criteria is used to determine number of police stations within a city. There has been instances of reported cases taking long to be given attention and sometimes some cases were deemed small cases and never given attention. This was partly due to low police staff levels which has some proportionality to the number and size of the police stations.
It was determined that public properties including police stations and their respective staffing should take into account the population within a city. Expansion or population growth should also be factored in. Generally large cities have more police stations than small cities. Every police station has the required population number that it can efficiently serve.
Other Public Properties and Their Services
There are many other public properties just like a police station which are meant to serve the public. All these are government owned.
- Public library. Government owned public libraries are also public properties. They mainly serve as centers for information where various information sources are available for access to the public. They also help in offering companionship for adults. Regardless of them being a public property, there are rules which the public has to adhere to. Violation of these rules may result in either a warning or ticket or suspension.
- Public hospitals. These are public properties which offer health and medical services to the general public. There are also some private hospitals owned by individuals and their services are almost the same.
- Military bases. These are also public properties though there may be restrictions in access to these areas. They serve as deployment centers for all law enforcement operations requiring military action to create a peaceful society.
- Public schools. Government owned schools are also public properties and they are meant to provide education to the public. Most of these schools are very affordable and in some cases government assistance is availed for low income families to support their children.
Advantages Of Public Properties
There are benefits that societies derive from the police stations and all other public properties. The income generated from these public properties including police stations goes back to benefit the public. For instance revenue generated in police stations goes back to the government and can be channeled to other activities like road rehabilitation, building of more educational and recreational facilities which benefit the public. It was going to be a different case where the property was private owned and proceeds would be shared amongst shareholders.
The other advantages of public properties is better working conditions and job security in comparison to private owned properties. This is true even for unskilled workforce that private entities mainly seeks to replace. Most of the services offered by the government in these public properties are cheap or affordable. This is true for government owned railway transport, medical facilities and schools. Most of the services offered at a police station are either free or very affordable to the public.
Conclusion
A police station is government owned and is a public property. Anyone is free to visit the police station in need of assistance and most of these stations work 24 hours a day.