crime control - policing

Packer’s Models of Crime Control Process

  • Crime Control Model:

    • Main concern is the efficient capture and processing of individuals suspected of crimes.

    • Operates on the assumption that suspects are typically guilty.

  • Due Process Model:

    • Emphasizes the importance of procedural justice and the rule of law.

    • Acknowledges the likelihood of errors in judgment and bias in decision-making.

    • Aims to protect individuals from the arbitrary power of the government, focusing on individual rights and fairness in criminal procedures.

Models of Crime Control Process

  • Two models reflect the tensions of crime control in a democratic society:

    • Dilemma of democratic society:

      • Right balance between crime control and due process.

      • Right balance between public safety and individual freedoms.

    • Limits of the criminal sanction:

      • The amount of crime control that is tolerable means that it can do little to prevent crime.

      • Best kept secret of policing: Crime is largely a product of conditions outside the control of the police.

        • Key points:

          • Police and criminologists know it.

          • The public (generally) doesn’t know it.

Defining Organized Crime

  • Organized Crime Group or Criminal Enterprise:

    • Race/Ethnicity: Includes groups such as:

      • Cosa Nostra

      • La Cosa Nostra

      • Russian Mafia

      • Irish Mob

      • Triads and Tongs

      • Yakuza

      • Korean Kangpae

      • Serbian Mafia

      • Chechen Mafia

      • Armenian Mafia

      • Mexican Mafia

      • British Firms

      • Israeli Mafia

      • Jewish Mafia

      • Polish Mob

      • Jamaican Crime Syndicate

      • Nigerian Crime Syndicate

      • Afghan Cartel

      • Somali Pirates

      • Indian Mafia

    • National Crime Syndicate: Refers to all US organized crime groups.

Characteristics of Organized Crime

  • Organized Crime Group or Criminal Enterprise:

    • Group of people.

    • Identified hierarchy or “some manner of formalized structure.”

    • Engages in a pattern of significant criminal activity.

    • Primary objective: Make money through criminal activity:

      • Federal Crimes:

        • Bribery

        • Sports bribery

        • Counterfeiting

        • Embezzlement of union funds

        • Mail fraud

        • Wire fraud

        • Bank fraud

        • Securities fraud

        • Money laundering

        • Obstruction of justice (witness tampering)

        • Murder for hire

        • Drug trafficking

        • Prostitution

        • Sexual exploitation of children

        • Alien smuggling

        • Trafficking of counterfeit goods

        • Theft from interstate shipment

        • Interstate transportation of stolen property

        • Dealing in obscene matter

        • Unlawful debt (usury)

        • Loan sharking

      • State Crimes:

        • Murder

        • Kidnapping

        • Gambling

        • Arson

        • Robbery

        • Bribery

        • Extortion

        • Drug sales

    • Earliest form of organized crime: Piracy, with actual pirates known for stealing products.

Alien Conspiracy Model

  • Also known as “Mafia Mystique.”

  • Myth of Organized Crime (OC) asserts:

    1. Italian Dominance:

    • Hierarchically controlled by 24 Italian families.

    • Organized crime was unknown before the Italian Mafia.

    1. Always Highly Organized:

    2. Corruption of Americans by Immigrant OC groups:

    • Myth that organized crime produces “desire for vice” if immigrants had not come here.

    • Suggests that organized crime would be lower than we historically assume.

Reasons Why Organized Crime Will Always Flourish

  1. Caters to public desires:

    • Drugs, gambling, prostitution.

  2. Big money:

    • Estimated at $100 billion in the US; $1 trillion globally.

  3. Active/passive cooperation of public officials:

    • Engages in contracts and bid-rigging; law enforcement issues.

  4. Active/passive cooperation of legitimate businesses:

    • Involvement in contracts and bid-rigging.

  5. Less vertical organization than thought:

    • More fluid and decentralized structure than previously assumed.

Key Findings About the Police

  • Time spent fighting crime:

    • Less than 20% of police activity is spent on “crime control” issues.

  • Legal technicalities:

    • Legal provisions like the "exclusionary rule" and Miranda warnings do not significantly impede police operations.

    • Items found during an unlawful search cannot be used in court.

  • Simply adding more police officers:

    • Evidence shows mixed results; the manner in which police are deployed matters more than the number of officers.

    • Reasons why increasing police numbers may not have significant impact:

      • Actual police presence is generally low.

      • Ineffective against violent crime, which often takes place indoors and between non-strangers.

      • Many offenders are not rationally calculating their chances of getting caught.

  • Community Policing/Directed Patrol vs. Crackdowns:

    • Community Policing/Directed Patrol considered more effective methods of policing.

    • Crackdowns result in short-term effects and high costs due to surging police resources to combat crime.

  • Zero Tolerance Policing:

    • Evidence on effectiveness is mixed, likely resulting in no effect or a small effect, and may actually increase crime levels.

  • Issues of civil liberty, racial discrimination, and community relations:

    • Legally relevant variables include:

      • Strength of evidence,

      • Victim's wishes, etc.

    • Extra-legal variables include:

      • Race,

      • Ethnicity,

      • Gender, etc.

Excessive Use of Force (EUOF)

  • Few question the necessity for police to use force at times:

    • Reasons may include suspects resisting arrest, using violence, or attempting to flee.

  • Key questions related to the use of force:

    1. Under what circumstances should it be used?

    2. How much force should be used?

  • Definition of Use of Force (UOF)/Excessive Use of Force (EUOF):

    • “Police brutality” defined as:

      • The use of more physical force than is necessary to accomplish a legitimate police purpose.

    • No universally accepted definition exists for this term.

  • Studies indicate:

    • 98.7% of police contact respondents reported no excessive use of force in an unspecified 2018 study.

    • From 61.5 million “contacts between police & public,” only a small percentage (estimated 2%) led to the use of force.

  • Considerations around UOF/EUOF:

    • Factors that make UOF more likely include:

      • Class,

      • Gender of the suspect,

      • Nature of the police's working environment, which can heighten the perceived danger of their job.

Additional Insights on Police Use of Force

  • Contributing Factors to Police Use of Force:

    • Experience of officers: More years on the job may correlate with higher incidences of police violence.

    • Initial use of force differences depend on demographics:

      • Males may disproportionately experience UOF.

      • Urban high-crime areas report higher incidences of deadly use of force.

  • Challenges in studying police UOF:

    • Research indicates mixed feelings regarding the parameters of causality.

    • Need for better data and studies to assess the validity of claims around UOF/EUOF/DUOF (Deadly Use of Force).

Understanding Policing Risks

  • Policing is inherently dangerous, and officers will always perceive their role as such.

  • Attempts by police to start and remain in control of situations can lead to problematic dynamics.

  • Probable cause:

    • Facts and evidence that lead a reasonable person to believe a crime will be committed, as established in Terry v. Ohio.

  • Importance of reasonable articulable suspicion during police stops; unnecessary stops can lead to complications.