Law Enforcement

Police “reality shock” when entering profession

First had knowledge on how CJS works; First few months of career

Effects and reason for civil service in police field

Limits power of chief on personnel decisions

Task force

Officers chosen based on talents; multiple jurisdictions or within a department

Police attitudes 

Product of selected contact with the public

Code of Silence

Officers refuse to testify against other officers accused of misconduct

Egon Bitner Police Powers

power to arrest and power to take lives

Police unions

Impact on chief; reduce his power

Glass ceiling 

Obstacle to career advancement 

Minn. Domestice Violence Experiment

Results: arrest produce lower rates of repeated violence than separation; faulty experiment

Education Effect

Higher education, fewer complaints

Cohort Effect

Officers hired in different decades have different attitudes

Office Politics/Cliques

Horizontal cliques protect officers from oversight 

Social Work, community, crime prophylactic model officers

Latent coercive powers of police and help steer potential law breakers

Social Work, community, crime prophylactic model officers

Police intervention can defuse violent situations and can prevent them from escalating into criminal violence

“Station Queens” 

Stays at the station

Active Cop

Initiate field contacts, assert control, make more arrests

COMPSTAT

holds commanders accountable

Vice

Victimless crimes

Symbols of Police

badge, gun, uniform

Police Personality

police define world as good vs bad people

Mentally Ill

hospitalization, arrest, or informal disposition

Call Girls; Skeezers

Upper end of prostitution; Crack-whores

Stereotyping

Citizens reaction to badge, gun, and uniform; treat police as a category instead of individuals

Performance Evaluation Problems

Definition unclear; halo effect, critical tendencies

Professional Department

those that follow the book

Cost of Prostitution

7-9 billion dollars

Seniority

Longer on the job the better job you have 

Order Maintenance

Police intervention and incidents that do not include actual crime (traffic enforcement is most common)