Criminal Justice Policing

hierarchy of police (highest to lowest)

police chief, assistant chiefs, lieutenants, sergeants, investigators and patrol officers

time-in-rank system

police usually move up in ranking based on how long they’ve served per rank

What responsibility is the backbone of the police interacting with the public?

patrol

order maintenance/peacekeeping

police role of maintaining public order in patrol area

proactive policing/problem-oriented policing

aggressive policing that tries to stop crimes before they occur

broken-windows model

controversial model of policing that believes focusing on petty crimes will deter more serious crimes

procedural justice

policing model of arriving at decisions fairly and treating all citizens with dignity and respect

investigative function of police

detectives process crime scene, collect evidence, and interrogate suspects

specific focus investigation

gathering information from scene of the crime

general coverage investigation

conducting interviews with family, friends, witnesses, etc to gather information

informative data gathering investigation

gathering information from bank statements, social media, emails, etc

vice squad

investigative units specialized in morality-based crime, such as prostitution

sting operations

deceiving criminals into openly committing illegal acts with plain clothes officers

community-oriented policing

policing model designed to bring police and the community together to create a more cooperative environment that encourages information sharing

displacement

criminals move from one hot spot currently being targeted by police to a less surveilled area

examples of hot spots

motels, bars, malls

Displacement can’t be solved by _______ model of policing.

broken-windows

intelligence-led policing

model of policing that emphasizes information sharing, collaboration, and strategic solutions to solve crime

2 types of intelligence

tactical and strategic

tactical intelligence

gaining information to stop a crime from occurring and apprehending offenders

strategic intelligence

provides information to decision makers about certain problems or threats to develop strategies, though does not usually have enough information to make an arrest

Tactical intelligence is for ____ term use while strategic intelligence is for _____ term use.

short; long

fusion centers

centralized databases that store information for law enforcement nationwide

functions of fusion centers

provide support for law enforcement activities, help for major incident operations, tiplines, inform law enforcement decisions

National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan (NCISP)

formal initiative that shows departments and and why information should be shared with each other

evidence-based policing

uses scientific method to evaluate effectiveness of police programs but often time-consuming

support functions of policing

payroll, communication, budgeting, internal affairs, dispatching, etc

internal affairs

investigates police misconduct within their department

field training

allows newly sworn-in officers to respond to valid 911 calls and get hands-on experience

methods to increase police efficiency

consolidation, informal arrangements, sharing sources across districts/departments, using civilian employees, multiple tasking

consolidation

combining small departments to expand resources over previously fragmented jurisdictions

informal arrangements

unwritten cooperatives between localities to perform collective tasks that mutually benefit each other

multiple tasking

training cops in multiple skills so that they are able to provide several services

police brutality

actions such as using abusive language, making threats, using force unnecessarily, harassment, etc

corruption

exercising legitimate discretion for improper reasons or using illegal means to achieve approved goals

2 types of corrupt officers

meat eaters and grass eaters

meat eaters

aggressively misuse power for personal gain by demanding bribes, threatening legal action, or cooperating with criminals

grass eaters

accepting payoffs, though not necessarily doing it for personal gain

internal corruption

corruption that takes place among officers/within a department

selective enforcement/non-enforcement

abusing discretion by picking and choosing when to enforce law

active criminality

corruption through involvement in serious criminal activity

bribery/extortion

exploits others to receive money

possible causes of corruption

police personality, moral ambivalence, institutional practices, corrupt departments

How has the demographic makeup of enforcement changed over the years?

used to be predominately white, high-school educated males and now increasingly minority, female, college-educated

double marginality

Black officers have to deal with expectations from Black community of going softer on them because they’re Black while handling racist stereotyping from white officers

“blue curtain”

subculture among cops of being insular, cynical, and believing that they are always in danger

4 types of police personalities

crime fighter, social agent, law enforcer, watchman

crime fighter

see themselves as the “thin blue line” between polite society and criminals

social agent

values community problem-solving instead of catching criminals

law enforcer

follows law strictly by the book

watchman

emphasizes maintaining public order and only takes action if public order is disturbed

The power of _____ is the most dangerous responsibility for cops.

discretion

low-visibility making

decisions made by cops on a daily basis are not reviewed immediately by a department administrator or legal review

factors that influence discretion

crime levels, victim factors, environment, overload hypothesis, peer effects, officer personality, race

overload hypothesis

if there’s a high amount of serious offenses occurring, police won’t pay as much attention to petty crimes

racial-profiling

race influencing police discretion

deadly force

force that is likely to cause death or bodily harm

7 patterns related to police shootings

local and national violence levels, exposure to violence, workload, social conflict, administrative policies, race of victim

non-deadly/less lethal force

force that is not likely but can unintentionally cause death

examples of less lethal force

handcuffs, pepper spray, taser, beanbag bullets

CopLink

law enforcement search engine that helps with comparing information on crime level across jurisdiction

CompStat

police management system created by the NYPD that reviews trends in crime data

search

when a government actor infringes on person’s reasonable expectation of privacy

search warrant

legal document that puts reason for search on record for evidence

Search warrants must be issued upon ________ ______.

probable cause

arrest warrant

used to seize/arrest someone as issued by a judge

conditions that need to be met for an arrest to take place

suspect has committed a crime, sufficient legal evidence or probable cause, cop takes person into custody, suspect believes they cannot voluntarily leave

conditions for a warrant to be released

probable cause, signed off by neutral and detached magistrate, particularity

rules for serving search warrant

knock and announce requirement, keep property damage to a minimum, use of appropriate force, follow time restraints, limit scope and manner of search, cannot invite media to search

knock and announce requirement

officers must announce presence before entering property

no-knock warrant

controversial rule that allows officers to not announce presence if they believe doing so will harm them

“shocks the conscience”

rule that property damage cannot be excessive and shock the conscience of the property owner

circumstances that don’t require a warrant for search

exigent circumstances, stop and frisk, searching after arrest, automobile searches, consent searches, plain view doctrine

stop-and-frisk

two separate acts that stop someone and then pat down to ensure suspect isn’t a threat to the officer

pretext stop

officers don’t have enough evidence for a warrant but have probable cause to pull someone over through legitimate means

plain view doctrine

officer can seize and search someone if they see illegal contraband out in the open

hot pursuit

urgent and direct pursuit of criminal suspect by police that doesn’t require a search warrant

requirements for hot pursuit

probable cause, reason to believe immediate apprehension is necessary, conducted from lawful vantage point, crime must be a felony

electronic surveillance

use of electrical or digital devices that allow monitoring of suspect

Title III

regulates warrants for wiretapping

Crime Control and Safe Streets Act

requires court approval of real-time eavesdropping on electronic devices, including the Internet

Patriot Act’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)

authorizes wiretapping of any alien the government believes is part of a foreign terrorist group or power without a warrant

In order to get approval for Title III, police must meet the ______ ___ ________ using traditional methods of information gathering.

level of exhaustion

GPS devices don’t require _________ but do require probable cause for a ___________.

Title III; search warrant

When do police have to read Miranda Rights?

before interrogation

pretrial identification

when accused is arrested, they go through booking process that gathers their physical health information, name, date of birth, etc

lineup

places suspect in a group for the purpose of being viewed and identified by a witness

photo lineup

suspects’ photos are compared in a group for identification

show-up

witness views suspects one at a time, usually at the scene of the crime

Neil v Biggers

created criteria for police to consider validity of witness identifying suspect, such as attention, accuracy, and level of certainty

exclusionary rule

excludes evidence illegally obtained by police to present at trial

3 major exceptions to exclusionary rule

independent source, good faith, inevitable discovery

independent source exception

evidence discovered wholly independent of any constitutional violation

good faith exception

allows seizure even if warrant has errors because it was signed by a neutral magistrate and enforced by police with good intentions

inevitable discovery

evidence obtained without warrant can be used if there’s a high possibility that investigation would have lead to the evidence anyway

Do flyovers require warrants?

no

beats

designated police patrol areas

Uniformed patrol officers account for about ____ or more of a department’s personnel.

2/3

Kansas City study

influenced the way police experts viewed the effectiveness of patrol by arguing that patrol techniques had little effect on crime patterns and citizen’s attitudes toward police

three main points of broken-windows theory

neighborhood disorder creates fear, neighborhoods give out crime-promoting signals, and police need to aggressively target low-level crimes