Police Midterm - Kohl Rutgers

Why is a job analysis conducted by law enforcement agencies?

to determine the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) needed for the job

The selection process is...

lengthy, competitive, and diffucult and usually includes a written exam, physical agility test, polygraph, oral board, background investigation, psychological evaluation, and a medical evaluation

The background investigation that candidates go through is...

extensive in an effort to screen out candidates with undetected criminal behavior, deception, or unfavorable traits or habits that might affect their ability to be good police officers

Recruit training consists of...

training in a police academy followed by field training

Probationary period length

12 to 18 months

adverse impact

-a form of de facto discrimination resulting from a testing element that discriminates against a particular group, essentially keeping members of that group out of the applicant pool

-a consequence of de facto discrimination resulting from practices or actions that discriminates against a particular group

-When a vast majority of females fail a test and a vast majority of males pass the same test it can be said that the test has an adverse impact on females.

Americans with Disabilities Act

-signed into law in 1990, the world's first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities

-the act prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in employment, public services, public accommodations, and telecommunications

background investigation

-the complete and thorough investigation of an applicant's past life, including education, employment, military, driving, and criminal history, as well as relationships and character

-includes verification of all statements made by the applicant on the background form and the evaluation of both detected and undetected behavior to determine whether the candidate is the type of person suited to a career in law enforcement

emotional intelligence

the ability to interpret, understand, and manage one's own and others' emotions, which encompasses the competencies valued in law enforcement such as self awareness, self control, conflict management, and leadership

field training

-an on the job training program that occurs after the police academy under the direction of an field training officer

-for newly graduated recruits, teaming them with experienced patrol officers who evaluate their performance and progress

field training officers (FTOs)

an experienced officer who mentors and trains a new police officer

Guardians Association of New York City Police Department v. Civil Service Commission of New York

a landmark appellate court decision on the issue of job analysis

Hogan's Alley

a shooting course in which stimulated good guys and bad guys pop up, requiring police officers to make split second decisions

in service training

training that occurs during a police officer's career, usually regularly and usually within the department; often required by department policy or state mandate

job analysis

identifies the important skills that must be performed by police officers, and then identifies the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to perform those tasks

job relatedness

concept that job requirements must be necessary for the performance of the job a person is applying for

knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs)

talents or attributes necessary to do a particular job

Law Enforcement Education Program (LEEP)

a federal scholarship and loan program operated by the DOJ between 1968 and 1976. LEEP put money into developing criminal justice programs in colleges and provided tuition and expenses for in-service police officers to go to college

physical agility testing

a test of physical fitness to determine if a candidate has the needed strength and endurance to perform the job of a police officer

police academy

-the initial formal training that a new police officer receives to learn police procedures, state laws, and objectives of law enforcement

-the academy gives police officers the KSAs to accomplish the police job

police cadet

-a nonsworn law enforcement position for young adults over 18

-generally, these positions are part-time, paid, education-oriented positions in police departments, and the targeted candidates are college students interested in moving into a law enforcement career

polygraph

-also called a lie detector

-a mechanical or electronic device designed to ascertain whether a person is telling the truth

probationary period

-the period in the early part of an officer's career in which the officer can be dismissed if not performing to the department's standards

-still an at will employee

-just cause

recruitment process

the effort to attract the best people to apply for the police position

selection process

the steps or tests an individual must progress through before being hired as a police officer

tuition reimbursement

money a police department will pay officers to reimburse them for tuition expenses while they are employed by the police department and are pursuing a college degree

What are the two major ways of looking at the police role?

-crime fighting role (law enforcement)

-order maintenance role (peacekeeping and providing social services)

What are the two primary goals of police departments?

-maintaining order

-protecting life and property

What are the secondary goals of police departments?

-preventing crime

-arresting and prosecuting offenders

-recovering stolen and missing property

-assisting sick and injured people

-enforcing noncriminal regulations

-delivering services not available elsewhere in the community

Factors that influence discretion in policing

-relationship between the alleged criminal and the victim

-characteristics of the crime

-relationship between police and the criminal or victim

-department policies

-subject's offense, attitude. race, socioeconomic status, gender

-the officer's race

-the police peer group pressure

Tennessee v. Gardner

-declared the fleeing felon rule unconstitutional and only allows the use of deadly force against those using it against them or another person

-defense of life standard

less than lethal weapons

-innovative alternatives to traditional firearms

-90% of all local departments had policies regarding non lethal use of force

-batons

-bodily force techniques

-chemical irritant sprays

-electronic devices such as stun guns or tasers

ambiguity in policing

the concept that the police role is very diverse and dynamic

crime fighting

a major view of the role of the police that emphasizes crime fighting or law enforcement

deadly force

force that can cause death or serious bodily harm

defense of life standard

doctrine allowing police officers to use deadly force against individuals using deadly force against an officer or others

discretion

-freedom to act or decide a matter on one's own and the availability of a choice of options or actions one can take in a situation --> more likely to be used in minor situations

-not by area, but by crime

fleeing felon doctrine

doctrine widely followed before the 1960s that allowed police officers to use deadly force to apprehend a fleeing felon

imminent danger standard

the standard that allows the use of deadly force if the officer feels in immediate danger or great bodily harm or death

noble cause corruption

stems from ends oriented policing and involved police officers bending the rules to achieve the right goal of putting a criminal in jail

refers to situations where officers bend the rules to attain the "right" result

aka dirty harry syndrome today

omnipresence

the impression of always being there

order maintenance

a major view of the role of the police that emphasizes keeping the peace and providing social services

police operational style

styles adopted by police officers as a way of thinking about the role of the police and law in society

police role

the concept of "what do the police do"

police culture/subculture

-combination of shared norms, values, goals, career patterns, lifestyles, and occupational structures that is somewhat different from the combination held by the rest of society

-characterized by clannishness, secrecy, and isolation from those not in the group

Blue wall of silence

-a protective barrier produced by officers protecting one another from outsiders and even refusing to aid police superiors or other law enforcement officials in investigating the wrongdoing of other officers

-a figurative protective barrier erected by the police in which officers protect one another from outsiders, often even refusing to aid police superiors or other law enforcement officials in investigating the wrongdoing of other officers

-police feel distrustful and suspicious of civilians

-the socialization process forces officers to feel separated from the rest of society

-protect each other because they believe no one else will

What does the blue wall of silence produce?

the blue curtain

What are the common police personality traits that form from police subculture?

-authoritarianism

-suspicion

-hostility

-insecurity

-conservatism

-cynicism

police cynicism

an attitude that there is no hope for the world and a view of humanity at its worst

The Dirty Harry problem

-refers to the moral dilemma that police officers are often confronted with situations in which they feel forced to take certain illegal actions to achieve a greater good

stress

the body's reaction to internal or external stimuli that upset the body's normal state

the body's reaction to highly stressful situations

fight or flight response

What are the four general categories of stress that police officers are confronted with?

-external stress

-organizational stress

-personal stress

-operational stress

What can lead to stress in police work?

-poor training

-substandard equipment

-poor pay

-lack of opportunity

-role conflict

-exposure to brutality

-fears about job competence and safety

-lack of job satisfaction

-the pressure of being on duty 24 hours a day

-fatigue

How do police officers learn to cope with stress?

becoming emotionally detached from their work and the people they are paid to serve

blue curtain

a concept developed by William Westley that claims police officers only trust other police officers and do not aid in the investigation of wrongdoing by other officers

National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (NLEOM)

a memorial in Washington, D.C., established to recognize the ultimate sacrifice of police officers killed in the line of duty

police suicide

the intentional taking of one's own life by a police officer

suicide by cop

the phenomenon in which a person wishing to die deliberately places an officer in a life-threatening situation, causing the officer to use deadly force against that person

What has there been a strong attraction to since the end of world war 2?

prior military people in hiring for police positions

In the basic duty of patrolling...

-there is no specific goal

-"search and destroy"

broken windows policing

fix the minor issues and the major issues will stop, but fixing the minor issues is not within the cops vision

Traditional law enforcement

-respond to emergencies

-enforcement driven

-para military "police business"

Community policing order maintenance

-community problem solving

-prevention of crimes

-solution driven

-broken windows policing

insanity

doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result

where to find information on jobs in policing

websites, student and professional organizations, radio, television, newspaper, human resource departments, recruitment offices, internships, friends, family, gym, educational contacts

What is important to remember to have when getting a job in policing?

-perseverance

-determination

-think it is a marathon

what are characteristics they look for during the selection process

maturity, ethical, cool headed, problem solver

is there a correlation between maturity and age

no

what is the single most important criterion in the selection process

maturity

maturity

-the extent to which a person expresses their own feelings and convictions, with consideration for the thoughts and feelings of others

-empathy

written exams

written examination is the hurdle that screens out the most applicants and has been the subject of most court litigation

unlawful discrimination

-unequal treatment of persons in personnel decisions on the basis of race, religion, national origin, gender, age or sexual orientation

-clear, indisputable, intentional

-only"protected classes" are protected

by applying the theory of de facto discrimination...

shorter people are no longer excluded from employment

de facto discrimination

the indirect result of policies or practices that are not intended to discriminate, but do, in fact, discriminate

the board interview

more structured and court defensible process than an unstructured one-on-one interview

performance predictors

-found that performance on written tests was the best predictor of work performance

-unsatisfactory performance was observed in officers with low educational levels, prior work problems and poor probationary records

-individuals recruit score was the most powerful predictor of later performance

smoking

-courts uphold departments rights to reject applicants that smoke

-interest in health and fitness

-cost them more money

the use of force continuum

-presence

-verbal commands

-low level compliance (physical restraint)

-intermediate level compliance (taser)

-impact weapon (baton)

-deadly force

what incident inspired the use of force continuum

rodney king

what is the concept behind scenario training

the body will not go where the mind has never been

Hoover

has impacts within tenure, woman and minorities

important ideas within discretion

-most violations are minor and do not require full enforcement

-complete enforcement would alienate the public

-if there is no discretion, then always in the lock up

crime fighting role

Police Problem

Reactive/Enforcement

Overemphasized

TV Image -Guns/jail

Dirty Harry:

"make my day"

Enforcer/executioner

order maintenance role

Community Problem

Problem Solvers

Proactive-Prevention

Reality Assist/Help

Respect for Process

part of CJ system

peacekeeping aka....

order maintenance

police functions

-prevent and control serious crime that threatens life and/or property

-assist individuals in danger of physical harm

-protect constitutional guarantees

-facilitate pedestrian and vehicle traffic

-assist those who cannot care for themselves

-resolve conflict

-prevent problem situations from escalating

-generate feelings of security among citizens

different operational styles under Broderick

-enforcers

-idealists

-realists

-optimists

enforcers

critical of police administrators, politicians, and court decisions that favor the rights of the individual over the rights of society

idealists

-tend to be cynical because they see a system of justice with significant problems

-like enforcers but have higher value for individual rights

realists

-see due process as an obstacle to criminal justice

-blame others and simply say, "the hell with it"

optimists

-place a high value on human rights and see their job as people oriented as opposed to crime oriented

-these officers tend to like their jobs

Wilson's operational styles

watchman, legalistic, service

watchman

-order maintenance

-discretion

-working class neighborhoods

legalistic

enforce the "letter of the law", single standard of conduct, occurs in reform administrations (follows scandals)

service

stresses "service needs", generally found in more affluent suburbs

questions along with discretion

-how is it exercised

-why is it exercised

-what factors influence it

-can it be controlled

what is the ultimate use of discretion in policing

the use of deadly force

the shooting of any unarmed, nonviolent fleeing felon is forbidden via the legal concept of...

presumption of innocence

graham v. conner

U.S. Supreme Court placed all excessive force claims under analysis of the Fourth Amendment "reasonableness" standard