The POLICE

1
The POLICE

• Gatekeepers to the CJ system
• HIGH VISIBILITY
• HIGH DISCRETION
• Tension between wanting effective police and
  respecting individual freedom

2
Precursors to Modern Police

• England (prior to Norman Conquest)
• Pledge system
• Hundreds? constable
• Shires ? shire reeve
• Changes in the 13th Century
• Night Watchmen
• Justice of Peace

3
Early American Law Enforcement

• Followed the English Model
• County Sheriff most prominent
• Many duties
• Paid by a fee system
• In larger cities
• Night Watchmen
• Town Marshal

4
The Birth of Modern Policing

• England, 1829
• Sir Robert Peel?London Police force of 1,000
  officers
• Distinctive uniforms, military structure
• Led by a commissioner

5
Early American Police Departments

• Development of police agencies prompted by mob
  violence.
• Gentry feared restlessness of the underclass.
• Fear of urban street crime produced demands for
  greater police protection.
• First Police Department opened in Boston in 1838

6
Early American Police Departments

• Police were incompetent, disliked and corrupt.
• Primary functions were to
• serve as enforcement powers for reigning
  political powers
• protect private property
• control the rising number of foreign immigrants

7
20th Century American Policing
Major movements in policing

• Public concern about police corruption led to
  reform efforts
• August Vollmer
• Technological advancements
• telegraph boxes, motorcycles and police cars

8
Current Law EnforcementThe FEDS

• The FBI
• The Mann Act?investigators to enforce
• Eventually, organized as FBI under Hoover
• Responsible for investigating all violations of
  federal laws that are not covered by other
  agencies
• Bank Robberies
• Civil Rights Violations

9
Other Federal Law Enforcement

• The Drug Enforcement Administration
• Result of Harrison Act
• U.S. Marshals
• INS
• ATF
• Secret Service

10
Between Federal and Municipal

• County Law Enforcement
• Sheriffs Office
• Responsible for policing non-city areas
• State Police
• Every state but Hawaii
• Power/function depends upon strength of Sheriff

11
Metropolitan (city) police

• Large variation in size
• New York City 36,000 officers
• Average city 50 or fewer officers
• Police Departments are typically their own
  political entity
• BUT, chief is appointed by mayor

12
Functions of the Police

• PATROL
• Since beginning, police have patrolled a beat
• Purpose is to DETER crime
• KC Preventative Patrol
• Directed Patrols or Saturation Patrols
• Investigation
• Proactive vs. Reactive
• Effectiveness?

13
Functions of the Police

• Patrol
• Investigation
• Administration/Paper work
• Social Work activities

14
Investigation

• Another example of the wedding cake?
• Most Critical information at crime scene
• Bulk of time is spent on reports

Clearance Rate
15
The Other police functions

• Traffic Control
• Social Work Activities
• Order maintenance, problem solving
• James Q Wilson Handling the Situation
• THE IRONY is that within police departments, the
  social work function is often considered
  bullshit work

16
The Role of PoliceWhat Should Police be Doing?

• Traditional Legalistic Model
• Patrol and respond to calls
• Viewed as real police work
• The latest reform community oriented policing

17
The Theory of Community Oriented Policing

• Wilson and Kelling
• The Broken Windows Thesis
• Implication of broken windows for policing?
• The goal of policing should be to help maintain
  communities and solve community problems
• Take care of little stuff (order maintenance)
• Improve community communication/input

18
Implementing COP ProgramsThe Practice of COP

• Team Policing
• Foot Patrols
• Community Sub-stations
• COP Officers Assigned to Neighborhoods
• Order Maintenance Programs

19
Problem Oriented Policing

• Herman Goldstein coined this term.
• Similar to C.O.P.?Police should solve problems
  in a particular neighborhood.
• Example NYC Domestic Violence Program
• Crime Specific Crackdowns
• Targeting Crime Hot spots

20
Effectiveness of C.O.P. or Problem Orientated
Policing

• Effectiveness Sketchy at Best
• Some C.O.P. programs have improved community
  relations and reduced fear of crime.
• Some Problem Oriented Policing programs have
  suppressed/reduced crime in certain locations.
• Order Maintenance crackdowns have strained
  community-police relations in some areas.

21
Police and the Rule of Law

• Procedural Laws in Policing
• Miranda rights
• Search and Seizure
• Police Use of Force

22
Search and Seizure

• In order to search people, cars, or homes, police
  generally need a warrant
• Exceptions
• Incident to Arrest
• Stop and Frisk
• Automobile Search
• Consent Search
• Plain View

23
Police Use of Force

• Coercive Force is a Part of Policing
• How much force is necessary in a situation?
• Most use of force is non-lethal
• The use of Deadly Force
• Tennessee v. Garner (1985) Fleeing Felon

24
The Police personality?

• The Stereotype cynnical, racist, conservative,
  hostile
• Empirical Evidence not Clear
• Explaining the police personality
• Individual traits (selection effect)
• Police Subculture

25
Police Discretion

• What factors influence decision to arrest?
• Community Level Factors
• Departmental Factors
• Situational Factors
• Legal Factors
• Extra-Legal Factors (Race, Class, Demeanor)
• Van Mannen The Asshole