Law Enforcement Midterm

Who was Sir Robert Peele and What were his principles of policing?

• Father of Modern Policing 

  • Prevent crime in proactive matters rather than military 

  • Police rely on public approval and respect for their actions and behavior to effectively carry out their duties

  • To earn public respect and approval, the police must also gain the public's willing cooperation in following the law

  • The more public cooperation police gain, the less they need to rely on force to achieve their goals.

  • To gain public trust by serving the law impartially, staying independent of policies or biases, treating everyone equally regardless of status, showing kindness and good humor, and being willing to sacrifice to protect and save lives.

  • Use physical force only when persuasion, advice, and warnings fail, and only use the minimum force needed to achieve policy goals.

  • he police are the public and that the public are the police

  • Police must strictly stick to their duties and avoid acting like judges by deciding guilt or punishing people.

  • Police efficiency is judged by the absence of crime and disorder, not by visible actions taken to address them

Describe the Political Era of Policing (1830 – 1930)?

• Police became involved in politics.

• Police spent time providing services and making money

• Officers received little training

What events helped usher in the Reform Era for policing?

• Prohibition 

• Great Depression

Describe the Reform Era for policing (1930-1980)?

• Centralize administration, improve personnel, and take away power from politicians

• Military customs and specialized units were adopted

How did the events of 9/11 change the face of law enforcement in America?

• Create the Homeland Security Department 

• Increased surveillance and information sharing

•  Militarization of the Police

What were the themes of President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing?

• Change policing culture.

• Embrace community policing.

• Ensure impartial policing.

• Build community capital.

• Pay attention to safety.

• Technology.

Describe typical aspects of a police organization

• Hierarchy 

• Divisions and Units

• Patrol Operations

• Training Standards 

What are the 3 core functions of policing?

• Maintenance  

• Crime control  

• Service 

What are consent decrees and how do they shape police practices?

• Consent decrees = issued to achieve balance in the workforce

  • require changes to policies

  • Builds trust

What are the benefits of having more racial/ethnic diversity in policing?

• shows that the department is an equal opportunity employer

• Shows people that being a cop is not just white males

• Allows for minority victims to come forward 

What are the benefits of having more women in policing?

• Allows for female victims to come forward 

• Reduces force 

• Role model for women

What are the steps in the hiring process for police officers (post application)?

• Written test 

• Physical fitness test

• Polygraph test 

• Oral interview 

• Background check

• Psychological evaluation

• Medical examination

• Academy training

What are the different types/phases of police training?

• Tactical 

• Scenario 

• Classroom 

• Virtual 

•  Entry level training

• In field training 

Describe typical police recruit (police academy basic) training?

• Physical Training 

• Weapons Training

• Legal Knowledge

• Scenario Practice

• Driving Skills

• Medical Training

What are some common problems/obstacles in implementing effective police training, specifically in-service training?

• Administrative training challenges

• Budget cuts

• Geographic availability

• Balance long-term training with making information accessible

What are James Q Wilson’s 3 styles of policing?

• Watchman Style = Path of least resistance encouraged

• Legalistic Style = Officers encouraged to handle situations as matters of law enforcement

• Service Style = Requires officers to intervene frequently but not formally

Describe the role of investigations and forensic evidence in policing

• Initial investigations may facilitate larger investigations

• Goal is to identify and arrest suspects

What was the Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment and what did it find?

• Divided 15 police beats in Kansas City into three groups (Reactive Beats, Control Beats, and Proactive Beats)

  • no significant impact on crime rates

  • Citizens did not notice changes in patrol level

  • that routine patrols in marked cars had little effect on preventing crime

What are common ways to measure police officer performance? What are the difficulties associated with hard and soft performance measurements?

• Community Comments/Complaints

• Administrative Evaluation 

• Arrest Rates

• Hard:

  • Limited Scope

  • Focuses more on Quantitative than Quality

  • Can manipulate numbers

• Soft:

  • Hard to Quantify

  • Subjective

  • Time Consuming

What are some strategies/techniques for police agencies to positively engage the media?

• accomplish organizational goals

• be released moments after an incident occurs

• inform the community

• Build Trust

What are some common criticisms of community oriented policing?

• Departments embrace rhetoric rather than practice

• Cost

• Corruption

What is Compstat and what are some of its advantages and criticisms?

• Compstat = analysis of results for improvement used by NYPD

• Advantages:

  • Improved Accountability

  • Data Driven Decision Making

  • Crime Reduction

• Disadvantages:

  • Pressure to Manipulate Data

  • Stress on Officers

  • Potential for Over Policing 

What are the 4 pillars of procedural justice?

• Respect 

• Trustworthiness 

• Voice

• Neutrality

What is problem oriented policing?

• Special community units distrusted by other officers

• officers felt they had little input and residents were disinterested

• Fear of retaliation by community 
  

What is broken windows theory and how does it apply to policing?

• Broken Windows Theory = neighborhood social disorder causes a decline of the overall condition of the neighborhood, which leads to criminal activity

  • Crime prevention 

  • Community engagement

  • Proactive policing 

What is intelligence-led policing?

• focuses on risk assessment and risk management

What is hot spot policing?

• Geographic areas with clusters of criminal offenses occurring within a specified interval of time

What is differential response policing?

• Involves classifying calls by their seriousness to determine the appropriate police response

What events led to the end of the Reform Era?

• Civil Rights Movement

• Community Policing Movement

• Rising Crime Rates

Describe the Community Policing Era (1980 to Present)?

establishing partnerships among police and other citizens in an attempt to improve quality of life through crime prevention