Chapter 4: The Police

When was the first contemporary police formed?

London 1829

Who was Robert Peel?

He formed the London metropolitan police force

What did Robert Peel want in a police force?

Limited authority, local control, fragmented organization. Prevent crime without excessive force, maintain public order without violence, presence of police

Colonial Era

Relied on a watch system where each man helped in fighting crime. In the south, slave patrols focused on finding and returning runaway slaves

Political Era?

1840-1920. Super corrupt, police served the interest of politicians, not the people, established due to the urgent need to maintain public order

Professional Era?

Focus on eliminating the political ties of the police, August Volmer and O.W Wilson wanted to make policing a profession

What were 6 aspects that Vollmer and Wilson wanted to implement?

1. stay out of politics, training and discipline with good organization

2. Training and discipline with good organization

3. Equal enforcement of the law

4. police should use technology (handheld radio, car)

5. Personnel procedures should be based on merit

6. Main task of police forces should be fighting crime

Kansas city patrol experiment?

Broke Kansas city up into different sections. One section had normal patrol, one section had no patrol and one section had a ton of patrol. There was no difference in crime between all of the sections.

Community Policing Era?

1970s - Present. Less focus on fighting crime and more on order and providing services. Use of research and seeing the community as a partner.

Broken Windows Policy

If there is a house with a broken window and police do not show up, the community sees it as the police do not care, and crime will increase. Therefore, police should focus on minor social issues that way criminals know that police are around and are watching. A downside of this is that it harms community-police relations and the police would patrol disenfranchised neighborhoods more, meaning that it criminalizes poverty

Watchman Style?

Political Era-ish. stresses order, uses discretion, ignores minor violations, arrests are only for serious crimes.

Legalistic Style?

Professional era-ish. Follows the letter of the law, very professional, deterioration of community-police relations, big focus on arrests,

Service Style

Focus is on service to the community, major issues take priority, deal with the underlying issues about crime.

How is law enforcement organized?

Decentralized. Federal law enforcement and state/local law enforcement

What are the 5 goals of law enforcement

1. Enforce the law

2. Apprehend criminals

3. Maintain order

4. Prevent crime

5. Provide Services

Federal Agencies?

FBI, DEA, AFT, Air Marshals, Secret Service. Their focus is on different specialties (i deal with one type of crime, you deal with another)

Is CIA and NSA law enforcement?

No, they deal with national security intelligence

How are state police organized?

Centralized vs Decentralized

Centralized state police?

Tasks are combined (highway patrol and General law enforcement tasks)

Decentralized state police?

Tasks are separated (Highway patrol cops vs investigative cops)

Sheriffs?

Job depends on state/geography. In the North East, they are associated with the courts. Everywhere else they do normal law enforcement jobs. Sheriffs are political appointments, and are chosen through voting

Municipal Police agencies?

City and town police officers. Glamor of the job is job security and working with people.

How do police recruit people?

Written test, oral interview/test, (two scores are added up) (veterans get additional points). Benefits of veterans preference is that they don’t need additional training due to them being in the military. Downsides of veterans preference is that college graduates are better skilled in communication and will use discretion more often.

Police Training?

Focus on physical fitness, discipline, handling situations and scenarios quickly. They learn: Criminal law, cultural diversity, reporting writing, PT, defensive tactics, vehicle operations, first aid, de-escalation, understanding mental health, firearms

Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972?

Reduced discrimination in hiring and increased diversity among police. Currently only 25% of all police officers are in a minority group.

Role of women in policing?

Women were originally only “Police Matrons” and handled women or kids in jail. They had no investigatory powers. Despite being seen as unqualified, women have better performance in use of force avoidance and are better communicators and are more helpful in investigatory settings (interviewing rape victim)

Subculture?

Set of ideas, beliefs, values, and attitudes shared by members of a subgroup within larger society

When does police subculture start?

It begins in the academy

What is a working personality?

Set of emotional or behavioral characteristics developed by members of an occupational group

What is the working personality of the police?

The threat of danger, maintaining your wits, considering your implicit bias, establishing authority

What makes policing a stressful job?

External, organizational, personal, operational

Police Morality?

Using morality to justify actions, dilemmas of the job and how to deal with it. You might agree with the protestors, but you still have to control the crowd.

3 parts of police morality?

1. contradiction between goal of preventing crime and officer’s inability to do so

2. using discretion to handle a situation → actions fall outside of policies and procedures but gets good results

3. that you might act against a citizen’s interest, sometimes with coercive threats to kill

What is the thin blue line?

Idea that law enforcement is the barrier between order and chaos. This is due to the working personality of the police and community suspicion of the police. Makes police suspicious.

President’s Task Force of 21st century policing?

Police culture should focus on guardianship, not warrior. Focus on positive image and working with the community. Training on de-escalation, racial profiling, and contemporary issues, civilian oversight and body cameras.

What is police’s most powerful tool?

Discretion, the ability to choose what to do. One way they maintain order. Big focus on conflict resolution

Enforcing the law?

Police should enforce the law when it is violated. Big focus on discretion (ticket, warning, arrest). First hand information is very important.

Police Service?

Most service calls are not crime related. When police come to a incident, they will think there is danger due to their implicit bias. Budget cuts can change what is seen as important.

Police Organization?

Quasi-Military structure. Increases efficiency and communications. Everyone knows who they report to. Allows for better mobilization, control, accountability.