Kaarten: Chapter 4 Governance of Security in Metropolis | Quizlet

What is the central topic of Chapter IV?

The governance of security in a metropolis, specifically focusing on how Community Oriented Policing (COP) takes shape in multicultural neighborhoods.

What was the duration and scope of the research project led by Easton and Ponsaers?

It was a three-year qualitative empirical study (2006-2009) conducted in six Belgian multicultural neighborhoods.

Which six neighborhoods/cities were studied?

Brussels (two neighborhoods), Charleroi, Seraing, Antwerp, and Genk.

What is the "touchstone" for every democracy according to the sources?

The role of the police as a guardian of human rights.

Which international documents serve as primary references for police as guardians of human rights?

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and the European Convention on Human Rights (1950).

How does the Belgian Law on the Police Function (1992) link human rights and policing?

Article 1 states the police must protect individual rights and freedoms, and Article 123 demands respect for human rights.

What major structural change occurred in Belgian policing in 1998?

The integration of three police forces (municipal, gendarmerie, and judicial) into one integrated service.

What was the "cultural component" of the 1998 Belgian police reform?

The official adoption of Community Oriented Policing (COP) as the guiding philosophy.

Name the five pillars of the Belgian COP model.

1. Service orientation

2. Partnership

3. Empowerment

4. Problem-solving

5. Accountability

How does the "Service Orientation" pillar translate to the field?

The police must provide services to all citizens on an equal basis, regardless of status, race, or gender.

What theoretical lens did the researchers use for this study?

Social Constructionism.

Define Social Constructionism in the context of policing.

It examines who defines a social problem and how they define it, assuming these constructions affect actual social interaction.

How did social constructionism change the research question for the study?

It shifted the focus to how and why police officers build their view of the world and label people based on those constructions.

What is "Police Sociology" as defined in the source?

The study of how policing takes shape in the social process between police and citizens, and between officers themselves.

What is the "Traditional Paradigm" of policing often called?

The "Law and Order" approach.

In the "Law and Order" approach, which value is placed higher?

"Order" is invariably placed above "Law".

What is the "Instrumental Vision" of policing?

The view that police are a "mere sword" or tool of the government, simply enforcing laws without independent judgment.

Contrast the British "Bobbies" model with the colonial model.

The British model is based on policing by consent (unarmed), while the colonial model is paramilitary and uses coercion.

How does COP flip the Traditional Paradigm?

It stresses "Law" before "Order", meaning protecting the rights of minorities without neglecting the majority's public order.

What does the quote "The police are the community and the community is the police" signify?

That police are a part of society, reflecting its values, rather than being "parachuted" in to fight evil.

Why did the researchers choose qualitative methods?

To gain insight into the de facto manifestation of interactions and how meanings are attached to social phenomena.

How many police officers and ethnic minority representatives were interviewed?

24 police officers and 37 members of the immigrant community.

How many days of "on-the-spot" observations were conducted?

182 days (or hours, depending on source excerpt) of fieldwork.

What was the "unit of analysis" for the observations?

The interactions between the police and ethnic minorities.

Why did researchers build contacts with the immigrant community before the police?

To avoid being perceived as "the enemy" by the community.

What were the three main criteria for selecting the neighborhoods?

1. Degree of urbanization, 2. Diversity of ethnic residential history, and 3. Cooperation of the Police Chief.

What types of migrants are included in the "Third Wave" of Belgian migration?

Refugees, asylum seekers, highly skilled people, and those without papers.

Name three specific ethnic groups covered in the study.

North Africans, Turks, Roma, Pakistanis, or Eastern Europeans.

What social problems characterize the neighborhoods in the study?

Poor housing, unemployment, nuisance, and social disorder.

What is a "Police Café" or "Round Table talk" in this methodology?

Conclusive talks where research results were put before experts to refine policy recommendations.

What is the "Over-policing" vs. "Under-policing" paradox?

Police come into contact with only parts of the community; some are over-scrutinized while others are neglected.

Is the over/under-policing division strictly geographical?

No, it is a group characteristic within the same neighborhood.

What term did Reiner (1994) use to describe over-policed groups?

"Police Property".

Who are the "Regular Customers"?

A small minority of groups/individuals who repeatedly call on police or trigger police interventions.

What are the typical social characteristics of "Regular Customers"?

Marginalized living conditions, weak social networks, low schooling, and limited verbal skills.

Why do "Regular Customers" rely so heavily on the police?

They lack independent coping mechanisms and the police are the only authority available 24/7.

Do "Regular Customers" usually experience "mental proximity" with police?

No; they experience physical proximity but the relationship is often problematic.

How do police use "nicknames" for these groups?

As a functional shorthand to predict behavior and communicate internally.

Provide three examples of nicknames found in the Belgian study.

"Drunks" (schelen), "Petty crooks" (groseilles), or "Amoebas" (eencelligen).

What is the internal function of these nicknames within police subculture?

They allow for quick identification of groups and help manage complex social realities.

Does "Over-policing" result in an "accurate" picture of the group?

It is selective; while it rests on daily experience, it is often a distorted or cynical image.

What is "Police Cynicism"?

A growing feeling among officers of powerlessness and "fighting a losing battle" due to repeated confrontations with the same problems.

How does the judicial system contribute to police cynicism?

Officers often perceive the system as "too lax" with corrective actions.

What is "Pseudo-tolerance"?

A policy that develops when police feel left alone by other social care professions and stop taking active measures.

How do police categorize Moroccan youths specifically?

They are often given explicit mental crime and troublemaking profiles.

Define "Under-policing."

When groups have little to no contact with the police, leading to vague perceptions and neglect.

What are the two types of "Under-policed" groups?

1. Unproblematic groups (who cope independently) and 2. Problematic groups (who avoid the police).

Why is under-policing unproblematic groups a risk?

Police don't see the positive forces in a neighborhood, which could serve as an antidote to their cynicism.

Who are the "Travellers" in the context of under-policing?

Mobile groups like asylum seekers, newcomers, and students who stay in a neighborhood briefly.

Why do "Travellers" rarely have clear relationships with the police?

High turnover means police don't have time to build relationships beyond administrative procedures.

How does "Social Distance" impact the policing of unknown groups?

It stimulates the use of clichéd perceptions and cliches (e.g., Eastern Europeans as "violent").

Why do Belgian Turks and Pakistanis often fall into the "Under-policed" category?

They often have a cultural preference for "managing their own affairs" within their own ethnic networks.

Do these "closed communities" actually want less policing?

No; they often demand tougher and firmer policing of troublemakers who they ascribe to other groups.

What is "Blind Spot Policing"?

Policting that occurs without awareness of the perceptual gaps generated by working only with certain groups.

What is the main human rights implication of "Blind Spot Policing"?

It threatens the right to security of the neglected groups.

Why are "regular contact" and "neutral context" important for under-policed groups?

They build trust and allow the police to be familiar with group-specific problems before a crisis occurs.

How does the "Police Vehicle" act as a barrier?

Residents perceive them as "shields" that block interactions and make the police seem distant/passive.

What is "Selective Perception"?

When police only focus on the negative encounters, allowing the exception to become the rule in their minds.

How does "Under-policing" lead to a pessimistic discourse?

Lack of knowledge causes police to fall back on one-dimensional criminality profiles.

Are over-policing and under-policing separate issues?

No; they are "two sides of the same coin" because extra attention to one group leads to indifference to others.

What is the first factor influencing the link between images and behavior?

Priorities set by beat cops independent of official policy.

How do beat cops build their "crime profiles"?

Based on anecdotal hands-on experience rather than systematic analysis.

What is the second factor influencing police behavior?

Situational aspects (the concrete context of the interaction).

When are police preconceptions most likely to be confirmed?

When the citizen's behavior overlaps with the attributes police have assigned to that group.

What is the third factor influencing police behavior?

The amount of contextual knowledge the officer has about the group.

What is the fourth factor influencing police behavior?

The "Cultural and Social Capital" of the individual officer.

What does "Social Capital" of an officer include?

Underlying attitudes, political preferences, social skills, and the environments they frequent in private life.

How do "Right-wing" political preferences affect policing in the study?

Officers on the right were quicker to criticize multicultural society and less ready to take a mediating line.

Do negative images always lead to discriminatory behavior?

No; images do not automatically translate into action.

What is "Circumspection"?

A cautious, varied approach observed during interactions with Moroccan youths, despite negative mental images.

How do some officers "correct" their colleagues?

By contextualizing negative statements or correcting actions, but never in the citizen's presence.

What is the "Consensus Approach"?

A fallback repressive strategy used when officers lack specific hands-on knowledge of a group.

Why is "Respect" a point of contention in interactions?

Officers often care more about the respect they expect from citizens than the respect they are required to show.

How do beat cops resist policy changes?

By dismissing or ridiculing the COP philosophy as "soft" or "foreign" to "real policing".

What is "COP-real practice"?

When officers actually use COP elements (mediation, consultation) to keep reality controllable, even if they claim to hate the COP theory.

What is the first major conclusion from the resident interviews?

They desire to be treated equally regardless of ethnic origin.

What are the three requirements residents have regarding police attitude?

Respectful, professional, and objective.

How do residents want to be recognized in the neighborhood context?

As "victims" of the context, rather than just perpetrators or trouble.

What "kind" of police do residents paradoxically prefer?

"Hard" police who are efficient and vigorous but also listen and know the community.

Do resident expectations differ between over-policed and under-policed groups?

No; there were no significant differences in what they wanted from the police.

How does a resident's "home country" experience affect their view of Belgian police?

Those from war-torn or repressive regimes are often afraid of any police contact.

What is the "Janus-faced" story of police practices?

Some problems are over-emphasized (over-policing) while others are under-estimated (under-policing).

Why does "Blind Spot Policing" generate a democratic risk?

It prevents full service delivery to all residents who theoretically share the same rights.

Does the study support the argument that over-policing is only about ethnic profiling?

No; it correlates with marginality and age as much as ethnicity, except for the Roma.

Which group was identified as the "exception to the rule" regarding ethnic stereotyping?

The Roma/Gypsies.

What is the first cluster of recommendations?

Validating the hands-on knowledge and approaches of officers in the field.

Why is the current "performance measurement system" a problem?

It disproportionately validates writing reports over the complex mediation work done in neighborhoods.

What are "Inter-vision moments"?

Horizontal exchanges where officers discuss dilemmas, tactics, and techniques among themselves.

What is the goal of "Smart Policing" in this context?

Using recorded hands-on knowledge and creativity to handle complex neighborhood problems.

How should "remuneration" (pay) change for COP?

It should reward creativity and complex problem-solving in neighborhoods.

What is the second cluster of recommendations?

Facilitating and stimulating knowledge on the lesser-known communities.

What "methodologies from other sectors" should the police investigate?

Outreach street work.

What is "Function-oriented recruitment"?

Selecting recruits based on their suitability for COP requirements rather than a uniform, amorphous profile.

What is the third cluster of recommendations?

Developing two-way communication between communities and the police.

Why should communities not be seen as just "suppliers" of information?

Because they are requesting parties who want to know what the police are doing and why.

How can "Informed people" help the police?

They are more understanding of trouble generated by necessary police actions.

What is "Internal Empowerment" for the police?

Treating officers as "practical professionals" and taking their hands-on knowledge seriously.

What is "External Empowerment" for residents?

Creating leverage for competent resident involvement in their own security.

What is the ultimate goal of these recommendations?

The further democratization of the Belgian police system.

Summarize the challenge for the future of Metropolis.

Guardians of human rights must balance over- and under-policing to serve multiple communities equally.