crim 100 - chapter 6

contact between police and the public stats

• about 61.5 million residents had at least one contact with police

• persons aged 18-24 were most likely to have any contact with police (30%) and to experience police-initiated contact (19%)

purpose/goals of police patrols

• deter crime with a visible presence

• maintain public order

• fast response times

• identify and apprehend law violators

• aid individuals

• create a sense of scrutiny in the community

methods of policing

proactive policing, broken window policing, rapid response, procedural justice, technology

proactive policing

trying to stop something before it even happens

(ex: in the neighborhoods, driving around so you can see something)

broken window policing

• visible signs of crime and anti-social behavior create an envrionment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes

• policing targets minor crimes: vandalism, loitering, public drinking, and jaywalking to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness

• the theory was introduced in a 1982 article by social scientists james q. wilson and george l. kelling

rapid response

it is widely assumed that criminals can be caught if the police can simply get to the scene of a crime quickly

procedural justice

A concern with making decisions that are arrived at through procedures viewed as fair (if people view procedures as unfair, they will be less likely to support police in their crime-fighting efforts)

vice squads

Police units assigned to enforce morality-based laws, such as those addressing prostitution, gambling, and pornography

The Kansas City Preventative Patrol Experiment (1972-1973)

three controlled levels of routine preventative patrol were used in experimental areas:

• reactive - officers entered the area only in response to calls for assistance

• proactive - police visibility was increased 2 to 3 times its usual level

• control - the normal level of patrol was maintained

findings: the three areas experienced no significant differences

facial recognition

• a commonplace tool for law enforcement officers (federal and municipal levels)

• out of approximately 42 federal agencies that use law enforcement officers, half use facial recognition

• in 2016, georgetown law researchers estimated that one out of four state and local law enforcement agencies had access to the technology

types of investigations of crimes

• undercover

• sting operations - Organized groups of detectives who deceive criminals into openly committing illegal acts or conspiring to engage in criminal activity

• sneak and peek

how do detectives detect

• specific focus - detectives interview witnesses, gather evidence, record events, and collect facts that are available at the immediate crime scene

• general coverage - canvassing neighborhoods, conducting interviews, contact coworkers or employers, and conduct victim suspect timelines

• information data gathering - detectives use modern technology to collect records of cell phones and pagers, computer hard drives, etc to gain intel on people of interest

community-oriented policing (COP)

• community policing is a proactive response to neighborhood crime by addressing problems at their source

• they engaged with residents face-to-face, leading to trust. once trust is established, citizens feel comfortable working with the police to keep their community safe

problem-oriented policing (POP)

• policing strategy that involves the identification and analysis of specific crime and disorder problems, in order to develop effective response strategies

• most crime is centered in small areas (hotspots)

intelligence-oriented policing (ILP)

• collection and analysis of information to produce an intelligence end product to inform police decision-making at both tactical and strategic levels

• tools: CI, offender interviews, analysis of crime reports/calls for service, suspect surveillance, community sources of information

computer statistics policing (COMPSTAT)

• a performance management system is used to reduce crime and achieve other police department goals

• compstat emphasizes information sharing, responsibility, and accountability, and improving effectiveness

• 4 principles:

  • accurate and timely intelligence

  • effective tactics

  • rapid deployment

  • relentless follow-up and assessment

evidence-based policing

The use of well-established social scientific methods to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of police programs and initiatives

misconceptions about police

researchers found that “viewers of crime dramas are more likely to believe the police are successful at lowering crime, use force only when necessary, and that misconduct does not typically lead to false confessions”

• 2015 study in criminal justice and behavior titled “the role of entertainment media in perceptions of police use of force”

organizations of police departments

• police departments are organized in a hierarchical structure, usually with the chief of police as its executive leader

• depending on the size of the department, the number of divisions and units will vary

• most departments have at least 2 sections: a patrol side and an investigations side

• there are more than 18,000 local police departments in the US