Midterm CJ 110

Pathway for a Felony

Crime, Arrest, Booking, Initial Appearance, Preliminary Hearing/Grand Jury, Arraignment, Trial, Sentencing, Appeal

Must go through prelim. hearing or grand jury proceeding because it is constitutionally required to establish official probable cause before the case is allowed to move forward to a felony court arraignment and trial.

Pathway for a Misdemeanor

Crime, Arrest/Citation, Booking/Release, Initial Appearance (Arraignment), Trial, Sentencing.

At initial appearance, the defendant is immediately arraigned, enters their plea, and if they plead guilty, they are often sentenced right then and there by a lower-court judge, completely avoiding a trial.

Hierarchy of Suspicion

Hunch (mere suspicion; lowest), Reasonable Suspicion, Probable cause (threshold where it ends in an arrest; highest).

Police and investigation

Hierarchy of Standards of Proof

Probable cause (lowest), preponderance of the evidence, clear and convincing evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt (ends in conviction; highest).

Courts and evidence

Methodological Hierarchy for Crime Index (Systemic to Person)

NIBRS, UCR, NCVS, Self-Report Surveys

Hierarchy of Comprehensiveness (Dark Figure of Crime)

Self-Report Surveys (highest), NCVS, NIBRS, UCR Summary (lowest)

Eight Part I Index Crimes (UCR)

Violent Crime

1. Murder/Non-negligent Manslaughter

2. R*pe

3. Robbery

4. Aggravated Assault

Property Crime

5. Burglary (Breaking and Entering)

6. Larceny-Theft

7. Motor Vehicle Theft

8. Arson (1979)

The Nine Peelian Principles

1. Prevent Crime: Basic mission of police is to prevent crime and disorder rather than waiting to respond with military force after it happens

2. Public Approval: Ability of police to perform duties depends solely on public’s approval of their existence, actions, and behaviours.

3. Voluntary Cooperation: Police must secure willing cooperation of public to voluntarily observe the law in order to maintain community respect

4. Proportional Force: The more the public cooperates, the less physical force the police use to achieve goals.

5. Impartial Service: Police must seek and preserve public favour not by catering to public opinion, but constantly demonstrating absolutely impartial service to the law.

6. Force as a Last Resort: Police should use physical force only when advice, warnings, and persuasion have completely failed to secure compliance.

7. Community Identity: Police are simply members of public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties that are incumbent on every citizen.

8. Strictly Executive: Police must never usurp the powers of the judiciary by avenging individuals, judging guilt, or authoritatively punishing the guilty

9. The True Measure: The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence police action in dealing with it.

Hierarchy of Use of Force

1. Officer Presence (uniform, professional stance)

2. Verbal Commands (clear, direct orders)

3. Soft Controls/Chemical (pepper spray, handcuffs, joint locks)

4. Less-Lethal/Hard Controls (Tasers, Batons, Kicks)

5. Deadly Force (firearms)

Citizen v. Officer Use of Force Hierarchy

No resistance/compliant, verbal resistance, passive resistance, active resistance/aggressive, deadly resistance

Types of Corruption

• Gratuities (Mooching): Accepting fee or deeply discounted items simply because of their uniform; leads to a slippery slope

• Corruption of Authority: Receiving unearned material gains or special perks solely because of their status as police officers, even if no explicit law is broken

• Bribery: Accepting money or valuables in exchange for failing to enforce the law

• Extortion: Demanding money, property, or favours from a citizen of business owner under the explicit threat of arresting them or shutting them down.

• Theft and Burglary: Stealing cash, drugs, or property directly from crime scenes, suspects, or evidence lockers for personal profit.

• Perjury: Lying under oath or falsifying police reports to protect themselves, protect officers, or ensure a suspect gets convicted (often called “noble cause”)

• Internal Payoffs: Corrupt behaviour hidden entirely within the department

Profiles of Corrupt Officers

Grass-Eaters (Passive): Officers who don’t actively seek out bribes or illegal payoffs, but will accept them if they are offered. They take the free coffee, accept the “tip” from a tow-truck driver, or look the other way when handed a $50 bill during a traffic stop (the most common)

Meat-Eaters (Aggressive): Officers who actively, aggressively use their power to solicit bribes, shake down businesses, or commit crimes for personally enrichment. They seek out opportunities to be corrupt and exploit their positions to the absolute max

Good Faith Exception (Exclusionary Rule)

If the officers acts in “good faith” (meaning they genuinely believe they are following the law and have a valid warrant) the evidence they find can still be used in court, even if it turns out the warrant was later found to be defective or technically invalid

Inevitable Discovery Exception (Exclusionary Rule)

If the prosecution can prove that the police would have eventually and inevitably found the evidence anyway through normal, legal police procedures, the evidence is allowed in court (even if the initial way they found it violated the defendant’s constitutional rights).

James Q. Wilson’s Departmental Styles

Watchman (order maintenance), Legalistic (by the book), Service (helper)

Watchman Style

Keeping the peace and maintaining public order. Uses massive amount of informal discretion.

Legalistic Style

Strict, hands-on law enforcement. Very little discretion.

Service Style

Meeting community needs and resolving citizen problems. Community requests treated seriously. Rely on warnings and diverting individuals to social services.Indi

Individual Officer Typologies (John Broderick)

Enforcers, Idealists, Optimists, Realists

Officer Type: Enforcers

High focus on social order; low focus on due process. Sole goal is arresting criminals and keeping the beat safe, sometimes cutting constitutional corners.

Officer Type: Idealists

High focus on social order AND high focus on due process. They want to protect society from crime but are deeply committed to protecting citizens’ constitutional rights along the way. They often experience high frustration when the system doesn’t work perfectly.

Officer Type: Optimists

Low focus on social order; high focus on due process/helping people. They view themselves more as social workers and counsellors. They love helping citizens solve everyday problems and enjoy the human side of the job.

Officer Type: Realists

Low focus on social order; low focus on due process. They have become cynical or burnt out. They see crime as inevitable and view the job simply as an eight hour shift to get through, pulling back and focusing heavily on internal police loyalty.

Types of Patrol

• Preventive (Random) Patrol: unplanned driving; drive around randomly to look visible

• Directed Patrol: guided by data; sent to a hot spot based on a map

• Aggressive Patrol: hard enforcement; flooding a street with field stops

• Foot Patrol: walking the beat; doesn’t stop crime, but citizens love it

Role of Detectives

Operates in the aftermath of a crime, focusing on solving offenses through systematic investigation. Includes preliminary investigation, follow-up investigation, case screening, and clearance rate.

Preliminary Investigation (Detective)

Initial response and evidence gathering; lock down the scene, bag the evidence

Follow-Up Investigation (Detective)

Analytical, long-term puzzle solving; check the cameras, talk to informants, run backgrounds

Case Screening (Detective)

Deciding which crimes are worth investigating; filter cases based on solvability

Clearance Rate (Detective)

The measure of a detective’s efficiency’ the percentage of cases solved by arrest

Chain of Command (Police)

Chief, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, Officer

Line Functions (Police)

Field operations; patrol and detectives (the street work)

Staff Functions (Police)

Support operations; dispatch, HR, training (the desk work)