CRJS 350: Exam #2

What types of powers do police officers have in our society?

To investigate crimes, to arrest, to use force, and of life or death

Give me the facts of the Atlanta Police Testifying Case of 2006

• Officers received word that there was drug activity in a home

• Filed an affidavit for a no-knock search warrant, falsely indicating they had sent an informant in to buy drugs

• Raid team bursts in, 92-yr-old resident starts shooting at officers but was killed by officers

• Officers found no drugs

• Officers planted drugs and forced an informant to lie about buying drugs from the woman

• 2 of 3 officers ultimately confessed and pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter

• The lead officer received a 6-year sentence

• Sergeant pleaded guilty to federal charges violating the dead woman’s rights

Give me the facts of the case of San Francisco Officers Allegedly Committed Perjury in Reporting Drug Busts in 2011

• Officers accused of committing perjury by falsely describing drug busts they conducted in written police reports

• Surveillance camera video recorded during separate drug raids show the officers failing to get consent from the apartment-dwellers before conducting warrantless searches for narcotics

• Officers also misrepresented their searches in later police reports

• Since reports were written under oath, this was tantamount to perjury, according to the Public Defender

Which viewpoint about police believes that criminals are the “enemy” and are fundamentally different from “good” people, crime fighter or public servant?

Crime fighter

Which viewpoint about police believes that police are the “army” that fights the enemy so they must be able to use any means necessary against criminals, crime fighter or public servant?

Crime fighter

Which viewpoint about police believes that since police are in a “war”, they must be allowed discretion in making decisions, crime fighter or public servant?

Crime fighter

Which viewpoint about police believes that criminals are like any other citizen, crime fighter or public servant?

Public servant

Which viewpoint about police believes that police have limited ability to affect crime rates one way or the other, crime fighter or public servant?

Public servant

According to the public servant viewpoint for police, police serve all people, including _______

Criminals

According to the public servant viewpoint for police, their ability to use force should be ________

Restricted

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that preventing criminal conduct is the most important function of law enforcement is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Crime control orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that failure of law enforcement means the breakdown of societal order is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Crime control orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that criminal process is the positive guarantor of social freedom is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Crime control orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that efficiency is a top priority is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Crime control orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the emphasis on speed and finality is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Crime control orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that there is a presumption of guilt is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Crime control orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that there is a possibility of error is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Due process orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that finality is not a priority is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Due process orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that there is insistence on prevention and elimination of mistakes is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Due process orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that efficiency is rejected if it involves shortcuts is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Due process orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that protection of process is as important as protection of innocents is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Due process orientation

According to Herbet Packer’s Model of Law Enforcement, the idea that the coercive power of the state is always subject to abuse is a part of which orientation? Crime control or due process?

Due process orientation

19th century police were involved in what types of activities?

Social Service

What was common in early police departments?

Corruption

When did the move towards police “professionalism” begin?

1920’s

During the 1920’s, what was the role of police looked at as?

Crime fighter emerged and public servant was minimized

Community Policing

In some ways, a return to original police involvement in service and engagement with community that focuses on proactive crime prevention rather than emergency response, encourages officers to see citizens as partners, and shifts decision-making and discretion downward to patrol officers who know the neighborhood best

What are some ethical problems in community policing?

Gratuities may be an issue for officers who are expected to create and maintain close ties to the community, officer’s discretion in enforcing the law may be compromised by personal relationships, and increased autonomy and decreased supervision may provide greater opportunity for misconduct

What are some examples of gratuities?

Free coffee, discounted products, food, etc.

Give me the facts about the St. Petersburg Officers Disciplined for Taking Gratuities

An officer was fired, and two others were discipline after an internal investigation revealed they routinely accepted items from a local convenience store without paying for them while knowing that accepting gratuities is a departmental policy violation and a violation of the officers’ code of ethics

What are the four parts of Klockars theory on police control?

Authority, power, persuasion, and force

Authority according to Klockar

Entitlement to unquestioned obedience that derives from fulfilling a specific role

Power according to Klockar

The threat behind the authority

Persuasion according to Klockar

The use of signs, symbols, words, and arguments to induce compliance like a uniform, a police car, a badge, etc.

Force according to Klockar

Physical coercion

The Social Contract

Each person gives up complete freedom in exchange for the guaranteed protection from others

What is the “exception” to the social contract?

Sovereign citizens

How is police power related to the social contract?

It is part of the quid pro quo, it exists to provide protection, it is limited to what is minimally necessary for protection since it can be abused

If the social contract is the basis of police power, it is also the basis of police _____

Ethics

What are the characteristics of the effective public servant?

Wisdom, good character, balanced perception, and integrity

Discretion

The power and authority to choose between two or more options

Duty

The responsibilities attached to a specific role

What are the two police roles according to their duty?

Crime fighting and public service

How far does police duty extend?

Enforcing written law, providing service, ensuring medical treatment is provided, and preventing crime altogether

In older studies of police, what did they find to be their informal ethics or their “subculture?”

Police typically form a homogenous social group, have a uniquely stressful work environment, and participate in a basically closed social system

What are some old police characteristics?

Cynical, isolated, alienated, defensive, distrustful, authoritarian, dogmatic, more conservation, value equality less, and value obedience over independence

What is a police officer’s most difficult ethical dilemma?

Facing the wrongdoing of a fellow officer

What is the blue curtain of silence also present in?

Other occupations and professions

What does evidence show is currently happening to the blue curtain of silence?

It is breaking down but still present

How much of police anonymously reported whistleblowers would receive informal sanctions?

2/3 

What percent of officers said they do not always report even the most serious violations/crimes of other officers?

61%

How is loyalty viewed to police?

A personal relationship, not a judgement, that is an absolutely essential element of a healthy department and a component of the esprit de corps of policing

How do officers show their loyalty?

Officers’ dependence on one another sometimes in life-or-death situations

What are some sanctions of police whistleblowers?

Often extreme, sometimes results in state and federal legislation to protect whistleblowers even though legislation is ineffective against informal ostracism and rejection

What can whistleblowing be viewed as to police?

A distressing aspect of loyalty

What are some of the changes in police subculture?

Increased diversity, civil litigation, and police unions

How did increase in diversity change the police subculture?

Work force no longer socially homogenous, officers vary substantially in their cultural views, and few factors are strong predictors of officers’ values

How did civil litigation change the police subculture?

Has increased the risk of covering for another officer

How did police unions change the police subculture?

Have become more formal with increased power

Give me the facts about the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Forensics Scandal

• A forensics expert for NC State Bureau of Investigation repeatedly lied on the stand while providing testimony crucial to the 2003 conviction of a novelist accused of murdering his wife

• Named Duane Deaver

• Judge Orlando Hudson described how he had misled the jury about his qualifications and the reliability of his scientific opinions in the Peterson case

• Agents in the crime lab also manipulated and withheld results of hundreds of tests to confirm the presence of blood

Noble-Cause Corruption

The utilitarian concept that the “end” of catching criminals justifies the “means” that might be illegal, unethical, and/or against the rules

What is an example of Noble-Cause Corruption?

Lying on witness stand or planting/manufacturing evidence

What does Noble-Cause Corruption involve?

Officers employing unethical means to catch criminals because its “the right thing to do”

How is Noble-Cause Corruption perceived by the officers?

Fulfillment of their profound moral commitment to make the world a safer place to live

Why is Noble-Cause Corruption utilitarian?

Because the “end justifies the means”

Who implemented the Zero-Tolerance policy?

William Bratton, NY police chief in the late 1990s

Zero-Tolerance Policy

Police took an aggressive stance against street people and minor criminals, especially those in the business area and subway system

What were the effects of the Zero-Tolerance policy?

NYC had a dramatic decline in crime; however, crime rates fell throughout the country during that time even in areas without zero-tolerance policies and citizen complaints against NYC police rose by 75%

What are the significant areas of liability for law enforcement?

Use of force, investigative practices, discrimination

How are moral dilemmas of law enforcement officers?

Frequent and unavoidable, usually resolved quickly, dealt with alone, and decisions will always be questioned and/or disapproved of by some groups

Lawful Force

Force that is reasonably necessary for lawful purpose in a given situation

Excessive Force

Exceeds that which is reasonably necessary and/or lawful in a particular situation

What is one of the most serious and divisive human rights issues in the U.S.?

Excessive force

What does the use of force depend on?

Discretion of the individual officer

What does continuum of force mean?

Escalation because of resistance

The true number of excessive force incidents is _____ to detect

Difficult

How many encounters end in the use of any force?

Few, even less in excessive force

What can have a significant impact on the likelihood of any force being used?

The suspect’s demeanor

______ of law enforcement officers account for ______ of all incidents of excessive force

10%; 38%

What are the factors in the use of excessive force?

Suspect being male, suspect demeanor, suspect agitation/emotionality, suspect intoxication, suspect’s use of force, suspect having a weapon, suspect gang involvement, officer being male, age of officer (younger), officer having prior injuries, encounter involving a car chase, knowledge that suspect committed prior (especially violent) crimes

What are the characteristics associated with officers who use excessive force?

Lack of empathy, antisocial and paranoid tendencies, proclivity toward abuse behavior, tendency to not take responsibility for own actions, cynicism, and strong identification with the police subculture

Where do we gather information on excessive force?

Officers’ own account, civil complaints, internal investigations, voluntary reporting

Proactive Investigations

Attempt to stop crimes as they’re happening

What do proactive investigations require?

A more active police role

What do proactive investigations often involve?

Deception by police

Who are the thinkers associated with the typology of lies?

Klockars, Barker, and Carter

What types of lies did Klockars believe in?

Placebos and blue lies

Placebos

Lying to a person about how a loved one was killed

Blue Lies

Used to control a person and make the police officer’s job easier

What types of lies did Barker and Carter believe in?

Accepted, tolerated, and deviant lies

Accepted Lies

Those used during undercover investigation or sting operations

Tolerant Lies

“Necessary evils” such as lying during interrogations

Deviant Lies

False testimony in court to make a case or covering up police wrongdoing

Give me the facts about the Broward County, Florida “Brady List”

• List of officers whose testimony is considered suspect by state prosecutors because their credibility has been questioned

• The list contains 137 officers who have been arrested or convicted of crimes, or they are under investigation for falsification, perjury, or theft

• The title “Brady” refers to Brady v. Maryland, a case that resulted in the requirement of prosecutors to disclose potentially exculpatory information to the defense

Entrapment

When police induce (pressure/convince) a person to commit an illegal act they probably would not have otherwise committed

Entrapment is more than ____, but less than ____

Simply giving someone an opportunity to break the law; forcing someone to break the law

What is an example of possible entrapment?

Robo deer hiding in the woods after hours/seasons for hunting deers

What are the criticisms of entrapment according to Stitt and James?

Allows police to tempt former offenders who might otherwise not have been tempted, allows police to choose their own targets, and degrades the criminal justice system through the use of deceit

Informants

Individuals who are not police officers but assist police by providing information about criminal activity

What are the characteristics of informants?

Motivated by monetary profit, revenge, dementia, kicks, a need for attention, repentance (guilt), and coercion, and able to operate under fewer restrictions than police