intro to law, criminal justice, and society - module 7 - law, policing, and punishment in historical & international context

ways the US approach to policing differs from other advanced democracies

organization, funding, training, use of force, relations with minority communities, accountability

differences in police organization

US tends to be more decentralized (localized police force), while Europe has larger, centralized police forces

differences in funding

US spends close to 1% of its GDP on police and cities tend to fund their own police forces, some European countries spend more of their GDP on police

Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA)

established bt the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 which devoted a significant portion of its funds to police agencies which were used to purchase hardware and technology, help officers attend college, and advance training and research

differences in training

US recruits spend 21 weeks in training and spend most of their time on firearm skills, while most European recruits spend 3 years in training and are more knowledgable on de-escalation tactics

differences police brutality

the US tends to report large numbers of police force related deaths, meanwhile other advanced democracies tend to report very few

differences in use of force

US police can use deadly force if they reasonably believe that they/others are in danger and are sometimes armed with military grade equiptment, Eurpoeans only permit force when absolutley necessary and rarely arm the police with guns

differences in relations with minority communities

almost all advanced democracies have had tense relationships with minority communities, trust in policing varies by race

ways to improve police-minority relations

diversification, community policing to build bridges with the community and increase trust

effective police accountability must:

increase civilan control over the police, investigate cases of misconduct swiftly, reduce corruption

differences in relations with police accountability

US allows investigations to be conducted internally, resulting in low consequences for misconduct, Europe has investigations conducted by an independed oversight body

4 factors of US police lethality

US police focus on dangers that anyone the officer meets may be carrying a gun, limited time spent training officers on how to de-escalate conflicts, high amount of autonomy given to the local police, influence of systematic racism and damaged social safety nets

reasons for localism

Americans are wary of vesting too much power in the state and federal governments, vastness of the country challenges communication and transportation, local policing has fell on the local government (historically)

reasons for resistance to centralization

police resources were already heavily invested locally, state constitutions had formally recognized local authority, local policing allows the average Ameircan greater sway over policing in their area

costs of localism

increased risk of volatile police encounters, lack of training due to costs, extractive policing, resistance to oversight

extractive policing

police organizations seek supplementary revenues in the form of fines, fees, and assets siezed, typically on the low-income, non-residents, people of color, and individuals from disadvantaged communities

professionalization

police officials seek to address the problems of underfunding and excessive political interference by becoming public service professionals, creates industry service and expertise

unionization

officers began foming unions to win civil-service protections and collective-bargaining rights, becomes impediments to reform

Graham v. Connor (1989)

rules that in order for police force to be evaluated as "objectivley reasonable" requires that their actions be evakuated under the "totality of circumstances", excessive force claims must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer at the scene

how Europe has avoided hyperlocalism in police

elite influence making police less beholden to local interests and pressures, longer training periods that emphasize de-escalation and problem solving, less aggressive practices