CJC 101 - Chapter 4

Function of the Police

Solve any problem that may (or may not) require use of force

Four Responsibilities

Enforcing Laws, Providing Services, Preventing Crime, and Preserving the Peace

Enforcing Laws

Seek out & apprehend law violators

~50% of officer’s day - mostly on disorder crime

Providing Services

“To serve & protect”

Order maintenance & serve provision

Traffic, emergency medical, & dispute management

Frontline of mental illness & substance abuse

Serve comes first

Preventing Crime

Assessing police performance

Moderate effect of deterrence & policing

Preserving the Peace

Discretion

Use powers for arrest/force in situations where a crime might occur in the future

Discretion

Enhanced peacekeeping role

Freedom to make decisions themselves

Founding Era

London Metropolitan PD (1829): 1st organized, modernized force

Boston PD (1838): 1st organized U.S. PD

Political Era

Patronage or spoils system of political influence

When a person of influence puts their friends in power

Reform Era

Increased brutality

Increased corrupting influence of politics on PD

How to Reform PD

Centralized PD

Increased standards

Increased technology use

Wickersham Commission Reports

Started the police professionalization movement

Vollmer

Father of modern law enforcement

Police Professionalization Movement

Restructured PD organization

Increased technology use

Increased measures of PD performance

Major Problems of PPM

Focusing on to protect, neglecting to serve

Public views PD as “occupying outside force”

Became face of systematic injustice

Omnibus Crime Control & Safe Street Act

Increased federal funding for police-community programs & policies

Shift away from “crime solving”

Violent Crime Control & Law Enforcement Act

Largest crime bill in U.S. history

Community Era Impact

COPS policy & funding, weak effect on crime

Problem-Oriented Policing (POP)

ID problem(s)

Craft PD response(s)

Implement

Evaluate

Intelligence-Led Policing

Data Driven PD practices

Geography of crime (hotspots)

Weisburd’s “criminology of place”

Counterterrorism Policing

Awareness now part of daily PD operations

Four Levels of Law Enforcement Agencies

Local

County

State

Federal

Local or Municipal

2/3rds of sworn officers in small & medium sized PDs

County Law Enforcement Agencies

49 states have a Sheriff (except Alaska)

elected in 47 states

State Law Enforcement Agencies

Assist local PD

Multi-jurisdictional crime

Police rural/tribal areas

Federal Law Enforcement Agencies

Enforce & investigate specific laws

Police specific situations

~15% of all PD officers

U.S. Department of Homeland Security

Founded post 9/11

22 federal agencies

47% of federal officers

U.S. Secret Service

Combat currency counterfeiting

Protect domestic persons of interest

U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Police movement of people/goods across border

Immigration & Customs Enforcement

Investigate & enforce immigration & customs law

Work with local/state PD to deport individuals

Attorney General Merrick Garland

Chief law enforcement officer

Chief prosecutor

U.S. Department of Justice

Responsible for law & administration of justice in US

Oversees

Maintains federal prison system

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Covers ~200 federal crimes + terrorism & drug trafficking

Provides information & support

Drug Enforcement Administration

Enforce domestic drug laws & regulations

Assist with international drug laws

Combat illicit drug manufacture & trade

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives

Regulate taxation & transportation of alcohol & tobacco

Police illegal sale, possession, & use of firearms & explosives

U.S. Marshals Service

Oldest federal law enforcement agency

Courtroom security

Manage federally seized property

Federal witness protection

Federal prisoner transportation

Internal Revenue Service

Police violations of tax law & regulation

IRS: Criminal Investigation Division: investigates cases of tax evasion & fraud

Private Security

Function is to deter crime, not stop it