Chapter 4 cj book

Line of Duty Violence, Fatalities, and Statistical Trends

• Specific Ambush Incidents and Fatalities ($2016$):

  • Dallas, Texas Attack: On July $7$, $2016$ ($07/07/2016$), Micah Xavier Johnson ambushed and fired upon police officers during a peaceful protest against police shootings in downtown Dallas. The attack resulted in the death of $5$ officers and injured $7$ others. After negotiations for his surrender failed, a bomb squad robot was deployed and killed Johnson.

  • Boston, Louisiana Attack: Days after the Dallas ambush, Gavin Long posted ominous messages on social media stating, "you gotta fight back," prior to launching an attack in Boston, Louisiana, which left $3$ officers dead and $3$ officers wounded.

  • Des Moines, Iowa Attack: In November $2016$, a lone killer gunned down $2$ officers while they were patrolling in their vehicles.

  • San Antonio, Texas Attack: An officer sitting in his cruiser while writing a traffic ticket was ambushed and killed by a lone gunman.

• Fatality Statistics and Historical Trends:

  • Historical Peak: Police fatalities reached an all-time peak in $1974$ and generally trended downward in subsequent decades.

  • $2016$ Uptick: Line-of-duty officer fatalities rose to $135$ in $2016$, marking a $10\%$ increase from $2015$.

  • Firearm Deaths: Gun-related officer fatalities experienced a $56\%$ increase in $2016$.

  • Ambush Attacks: Nearly $1$ in $3$ ($33.3\%$) fatally shot officers in $2016$ were targeted in ambush-style attacks.

  • Firearm vs. Traffic Fatalities: Historically, traffic-related incidents caused more line-of-duty officer deaths than firearms. In $2016$, shooting deaths eclipsed traffic-related fatalities.

  • Relative Occupational Safety: On-the-job fatalities in policing remain lower than in high-risk private industries such as the construction and transportation sectors.

• Gatekeeper Role in the Criminal Justice System:

  • Law enforcement officers function as primary gatekeepers of the criminal justice process.

  • Officers initiate contact with alleged law violators and possess discretionary authority to either make a formal arrest, resolve the situation informally (e.g., issuing warnings or warrants), or refrain from taking legal action.

Historical Origins of Law Enforcement: The English Model

• Pre-Norman Era ($1066\text{ BCE}$ / Early English Society):

  • Prior to the Norman Conquest of $1066\text{ BCE}$, no formal or regular police force existed in England.

  • Socio-legal protection relied on the Pledge System, which mandated that every village inhabitant assist neighbors and protect the community from thieves and marauders.

  • Tithings: Collectives of $10$ families entrusted with self-policing minor local infractions.

  • Hue and Cry: A mandatory public alarm raised by citizens upon witnessing or experiencing a crime, requiring community assistance in pursuing offenders.

  • Hundred: An administrative unit comprising $10$ tithings ($100$ families total), supervised by an appointed official.

  • Constable: An official appointed by a local nobleman to oversee the affairs of a hundred. Considered the first true police officer, tasked with managing serious legal breaches.

  • Shire Reeve: An official appointed by the Crown or a local landowner to supervise a shire (equivalent to a modern county) and maintain order. The Shire Reeve is the direct historic predecessor to the modern sheriff.

• The Watch System ($13\text{th}$ Century):

  • Created to safeguard property in expanding English cities and towns.

  • Watchmen: Night patrollers responsible for protecting communities against robberies, fires, and public disturbances.

  • Watchmen reported to the area constable, who operated as the primary metropolitan law enforcement agent.

  • In large urban areas like London, night watchmen were organized within church parish boundaries and lived in the parishes they guarded.

• Justice of the Peace ($1326$):

  • Created by royal decree in $1326$ to assist the Shire Reeve in maintaining county control.

  • Over time, Justices of the Peace absorbed judicial responsibilities alongside their original peacekeeping duties.

  • The local constable became the operational assistant to the Justice of the Peace, tasked with supervising night watchmen, investigating offenses, serving summonses, executing arrest warrants, and securing prisoners.

  • Established an interconnected framework between law enforcement and the judiciary that persisted for over $670\,\text{years}$.

Private Police, Thief Takers, and Early Reforms

• $18\text{th}$ Century Private Police (Thief Takers):

  • Rising crime rates in the $18\text{th}$ century led to the emergence of private, fee-for-service police called Thief Takers.

  • Thief takers operated with systemic corruption, profiting through theft, receiving stolen property, intimidation, perjury, blackmail, extortion rackets, taking hush money, and swearing false oaths.

  • Exploitation of Debtors: Petty debtors were targeted by thief takers who simultaneously operated ale houses and taverns. Incarcerated debtors were charged extortionate rates for basic lodging, food, and necessities.

  • Court Bailiffs as Thief Takers: Detested as legal profiteers, court bailiffs apprehended debtors and confined them in private lockups, extracting exorbitant fees.

  • Violence: Thief takers routinely carried weapons and maimed or killed targets during operations.

  • Jack Wild ($1725$): A notorious thief taker who accumulated $2$ skull fractures (requiring silver plates over his bald head) and $17$ distinct wounds from swords, daggers, and gunshots prior to his execution/death.

• The Bow Street Runners ($1748$):

  • Appointed city magistrate in $1748$, Henry Fielding (author of Tom Jones), alongside Saunders Welch and his brother John Fielding, initiated systematic police reform.

  • Fielding formed a professionally trained, paid force operating from Bow Street in London, deploying agents across the city and suburbs.

  • Bow Street Runners: Established formal administrative structures, systematic record-keeping, centralized investigation procedures, and strict operational guidelines for agents.

Creation of Modern Public Police

• Metropolitan Police Act ($1829$):

  • Guided through British Parliament by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel.

  • Established the London Metropolitan Police Force, the first organized, professional public police agency in London.

  • Composed of over $1,000$ officers structured along military lines.

  • Officers were nicknamed "Bobbies" after Sir Robert Peel, wore standardized uniforms, and were commanded by $2$ magistrates (later titled commissioners) under the direct authority of the Home Secretary and Parliament.

• Early Operational Problems of the Bobbies:

  • Faced persistent corruption, cowardice, and widespread public drunkenness.

  • Bribes from owners of brothels and houses of ill repute compromised operations.

  • Police administrators dismissed approximately $\frac{1}{3}$ ($33.3\%$) of the force each year during its initial operational phase due to misconduct.

Law Enforcement in Colonial America and Early US Agencies

• Colonial Infrastructure:

  • Mirrored the British model; the County Sheriff served as the central law enforcement official.

  • Sheriffs collected taxes, supervised elections, handled legal matters, and reacted to citizen complaints rather than proactively patrolling.

  • Fee System: Sheriffs received fixed monetary payments for each arrest made, but tax collection proved far more lucrative, causing crime control duties to be marginalized.

  • Town Marshals: Managed city law enforcement alongside constables, night watchmen, police justices, and city council members.

  • Slave Patrols: Formed in rural Southern areas to capture escaped slaves, administering immediate summary physical punishment and violence upon apprehension.

  • Vigilantism: In Western territories, rewards incentivized private criminal apprehension. Posses and Vigilance Committees (e.g., the San Francisco Vigilante Committee in the mid-$19\text{th}$ century) enforced order and attempted to eradicate livestock theft through forced intimidation.

• Establishment of First Formal US Police Departments:

  • Boston: Created the first formal US police department in $1838$

  • New York: Established its police department in $1844$

  • Philadelphia: Formed its police department in $1854$

• Core Characteristics of $19\text{th}$ Century US Police Agencies:

  • Early urban police replaced night watch systems and subordinated constables/sheriffs to serving court orders and managing jails.

  • Three Defining Characteristics: Early agencies were systematically corrupt, brutal, and inefficient.

  • Political Control: Ward politicians controlled hiring and promotions without regard to qualifications. Job security depended on local political machines remaining in power.

  • Non-Police Duties: Inherited civil maintenance tasks (e.g., Boston police managed public health until $1853$; New York police managed street sweeping until $1881$).

  • Officer Living Arrangements: Initially required to live in patrolled wards; by the late $19\text{th}$ century, officers commuted from safer neighborhoods, alienating themselves from patrolled communities.

  • Compensation Comparison ($1880$): Police work was highly sought after due to high pay relative to standard blue-collar work. By $1880$, average factory workers earned $\$450\,\text{USD}$ annually, whereas a Metropolitan Police officer earned $\$900\,\text{USD}$ annually.

  • Primitive Operations: Absence of centralized record-keeping. Unarmed/unsupported foot patrols faced hostility from local gangs ("Tuffs") and responded with unchecked violence.

• Technological Innovations ($1850$–$1920$):

  • Uniform Adoption: Introduced in New York in $1853$

  • Telegraph Links: Precincts connected to central headquarters via telegraph starting in the $1850\text{s}$

  • Telegraph Police Call Boxes: Installed in $1867$; turning a key in a call box automatically transmitted officer location and identification to headquarters.

  • Bicycle Patrols: Detroit Police Department outfitted officers with bicycles in $1897$

  • Motorcycles: Introduced in Eastern police departments by $1913$

  • Police Automobiles: First police car deployed in Akron, Ohio in $1910$

  • Police Patrol Wagons: Adopted in Cincinnati, Ohio in $1912$

Professionalism Reform and Historical Eras ($1900\text{s}$–$1990\text{s}$)

• Early Modern Reforms ($1900$–$1950\text{s}$):

  • Administrative Boards: Civic leaders created police administrative review boards to minimize local political influence; many failed due to members' lack of police operational knowledge.

  • State Legislative Takeovers: Rural state legislators seized administrative control of municipal departments (e.g., New York City temporarily lost authority over its police force in $1857$, only regaining control in the early $20\text{th}$ century).

  • Boston Police Strike (September $9$, $1919$): Stagnant wages prompted the Boston Social Club (police union) to affiliate with the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and strike. Widespread rioting and looting led Governor Calvin Coolidge to mobilize the state militia. All striking officers were fired and replaced with new recruits, crippling police unionism for decades and empowering autocratic administrators.

  • International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) ($1893$): Promoted civil service protection, standardization, and the complete elimination of political influence.

  • August Vollmer: Police Chief of Berkeley, California. Instituted higher education requirements for officers and helped establish the School of Criminology at the University of California, Berkeley.

  • O. W. Wilson: Student of Vollmer who advanced professional officer training and pioneered modern administrative management techniques.

  • Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD): Emphasized an incorruptible, highly trained, rule-oriented, and militaristic operational model.

• ** Policing in the $1960\text{s}$ (Two Key Words: Turmoil and Crisis)**:

  • Judicial Oversight: Supreme Court decisions placed constitutional limits on police interrogations, searches, and wiretapping, leading to officer complaints of being "handcuffed by the courts."

  • Civil Rights & Unrest: Urban riots broke out between $1964$ and $1968$ in New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles, frequently ignited by police interactions. Anti-Vietnam War student demonstrations further overburdened ill-equipped police departments, leading to violent confrontations.

  • Rising Crime Rates: Sharp increases in violent crime, property crime, and drug addiction across social classes highlighted police operational limitations.

• ** Policing in the $1970\text{s}$ (Two Key Words: Structural Change)**:

  • LEAA Funding: The Law Enforcement Assistance Administration (LEAA) distributed federal funds to police agencies, financing innovative research, modern hardware, and advanced professional training.

  • Higher Education (LEEP): The Law Enforcement Education Program funded college degrees for thousands of active officers and catalyzed criminal justice academic programs nationwide.

  • Technology & Diversification: Mainframe computers revolutionized record-keeping, crime investigation, and communication. Affirmative action programs broadened minority and female recruitment.

• ** Policing in the $1980\text{s}$ (Two Key Words: Community Policing)**:

  • Shift in Philosophy: Emergence of the community policing concept, recognizing that officers must address broader social issues rather than function solely as crime fighters.

  • Resurgence of Police Unions: Unions negotiated higher wages/benefits and curtailed the autocratic authority of police chiefs, requiring policy consultation prior to implementation.

  • Budgetary Cuts: The Reagan administration eliminated the LEAA and cut state/local funding, limiting program innovation while urban unrest persisted.

• ** Policing in the $1990\text{s}$ (Two Key Words: Optimistic Reform)**:

  • Rodney King Incident (March $3$, $1991$): Officers pursued Rodney King and passenger Brian Allen in Los Angeles. Upon stopping the vehicle, officers inflicted $56$ baton strikes and $6$ kicks on King within $2\,\text{minutes}$, causing $11$ skull fractures, brain damage, and kidney damage. An observer videotaped the incident.

  • Aftermath: An all-white suburban jury acquitted the officers, sparking $6\,\text{days}$ of violent rioting across Los Angeles.

  • Era of Professional Reform: Prompted shifts away from strict enforcement metrics toward officer courtesy, foot patrols, civil deportment, civilian review boards, higher intellectual standards, advanced forensic/technological knowledge, and operational diversity.

The President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing

• Executive Action and Final Report:

  • Established on December $18$, $2014$ by President Barack Obama via executive order.

  • Composed of police officials, academics, and community leaders who published a final report in $2015$ detailing recommendations across $6$ core pillars.

• The Six Pillars of the Task Force Report:

  • Pillar $1$: Building Trust and Legitimacy: Law enforcement must transition from a "warrior" mindset to a "guardian" mindset. Agencies must adopt procedural justice as the guiding principle for internal management and external community interactions, emphasizing operational transparency.

  • Pillar $2$: Policy and Oversight: Comprehensive policies on use of force must be enacted, incorporating mandatory de-escalation training, explicit protocols for mass demonstrations, restrictions on heavy equipment (rifles, armored personnel carriers), consent search rules, demographic data collection on all stops, and independent external investigations/prosecutions for officer-involved shootings and in-custody deaths.

  • Pillar $3$: Technology and Social Media: Implementation of modern technology (such as body-worn cameras) balanced against community expectations of privacy, accountability, and dialogue.

  • Pillar $4$: Community Policing and Crime Reduction: Direct community inclusion in policy deliberations and collaborative crime-reduction strategies.

  • Pillar $5$: Training and Education: Modernizing academy instruction to address community engagement, stress management, and tactical safety.

  • Pillar $6$: Officer Safety and Wellness: Comprehensive administrative support focusing on officer physical safety and mental health.

• Academic Critique (Julian Cook):

  • Law Professor Julian Cook argued task force recommendations are insufficient without mandatory legislative and judicial mandates.

  • Cook noted that Supreme Court decisions over recent decades systematically eroded individual constitutional safeguards, incentivizing aggressive police tactics that task force recommendations alone cannot rectify.

Federal, State, County, and Municipal Law Enforcement Agencies

• System Personnel Overview:

  • Local, County, and State: Approximately $477,000$ sworn officers employed across more than $12,000$ local, county, and state agencies.

  • Federal: The federal government employs approximately $120,000$ full-time sworn law enforcement personnel.

• US Department of Justice (DOJ) Agencies:

  • Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Investigates all matters where the US is an interested party, bounded by federal statutory authority. Employs $\\approx 35,000$ personnel ($\\approx 14,000$ special agents, $\\approx 21,000$ support staff). Counterterrorism is its primary operational priority post-$09/11$. Manages national crime statistics, runs a comprehensive crime laboratory, and provides local officer training.

  • Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): Enforces federal narcotics regulations, conducts undercover operations, and collaborates with foreign governments to destroy opium and cannabis crops at their origin in Latin America, Asia, Europe, and Africa.

  • Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF): Regulates untaxed alcohol and tobacco; enforces the Gun Control Act of $1968$ and the Organized Crime Control Act of $1970$ regarding illegal firearms and explosives.

  • US Marshals Service: America's oldest federal law enforcement agency ($1789$). Employs $\\approx 3,700$ deputy marshals and criminal investigators. Responsibilities include judicial security, fugitive apprehension, witness protection, asset forfeiture management, and transporting/housing $\\approx 55,000$ federal detainees daily.

• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Agencies:

  • Created via congressional legislation on November $19$, $2002$ following the $09/11$ attacks.

  • Customs and Border Protection (CBP): Combines the former US Customs Service, Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), Border Patrol, and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Employs $\\approx 60,000$ total staff, including $\\approx 22,000$ uniformed Border Patrol agents.

  • US Secret Service: Established in $1865$ to investigate currency counterfeiting. Protects the President, Vice President, President-elect, Vice President-elect, former presidents, immediate families, and visiting heads of state. Statutory expansion in $1984$ authorized investigations into financial institution fraud, computer/telecom fraud, and identity theft.

• State Law Enforcement Agencies:

  • Historical Timeline: Texas Rangers ($1835$; military border patrol outfit), Massachusetts State Constables ($1865$), Arizona Rangers ($1901$), Connecticut ($1903$), and Pennsylvania ($1905$; first modern state police department).

  • Current Personnel: Employ $\\approx 88,000$ total staff ($\\approx 58,000$ sworn officers, $\\approx 30,000$ civilians).

  • Jurisdiction: $23$ state police agencies maintain general law enforcement authority statewide. Other state agencies are statutorily restricted strictly to highway patrol and traffic safety.

• County Law Enforcement Agencies (Sheriff):

  • Employs $\\approx 350,000$ full-time staff, including $\\approx 189,000$ sworn officers.

  • Primary Tasks: Serves civil processes/summonses, maintains court security, operates county correctional facilities, and conducts routine patrols in unincorporated areas. In smaller counties, sheriffs may also serve as coroners, tax collectors, highway overseers, and emergency medical responders.

• Metropolitan and Municipal Police Agencies:

  • Comprises $\\approx 12,000$ local departments nationwide with $\\approx 600,000$ full-time personnel ($\\approx 477,000$ sworn officers).

  • Size Distribution: Ranges from New York City (NYPD) with $\\approx 40,000$ sworn officers and $10,000$ civilian employees to single-officer agencies. Overwhelming majority of departments employ fewer than $50$ officers and serve populations under $25,000$.

  • Nearly $\frac{3}{4}$ ($75\%$) of local departments serve populations under $10,000$ people. Roughly $650$ departments consist of a single sworn officer.

  • Three Core Functions of Municipal Police:

    • Law Enforcement: Investigating crimes, identifying/apprehending suspects, testifying in court, and deterring crime through visible patrol.

    • Order Maintenance: Resolving domestic/public conflicts, maintaining public order, keeping pedestrian/vehicular traffic moving, and managing civil disputes.

    • Service: Administering emergency first aid, conducting public education, managing departmental administration, and training new recruits.

Private Security, Hard/Soft Technology, and Predictive Analytics

• Private Security Industry:

  • Multibillion-dollar industry comprising over $10,000$ firms and $2,000,000$ employees; outnumbers public governmental police officers by a ratio of 3:1$.\n * **G4S Security Solutions**: A global private security contractor serving Fortune 500 companies, NASA, the US Army, nuclear power reactors, public transportation networks, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline system via its Custom Protection Officer division.\n\n* **Law Enforcement Technology Categories**:\n * **Hard Technology**: Physical equipment, hardware, and protective materials.\n * *Crime Prevention*: CCTV, street lighting, citizen protective devices, mace, tasers, metal detectors, ignition locks.\n * *Police Operations*: Body-worn cameras, bulletproof vests, helmets, patrol cars, squad-car computers, hands-free patrol controls, mobile data centers, patrol car video systems, less-than-lethal weapons.\n * **Soft Technology**: Software, algorithms, and information processing systems.\n * *Examples*: Threat assessment instruments, risk assessment algorithms, sex offender registries, facial recognition software, crime mapping, CJS/private sector information sharing networks, AMBER alerts, gunshot location devices.\n\n* **Biometrics Integration**:\n * Automated recognition of individuals based on physiological or behavioral characteristics (fingerprints, retina scans, facial features, voice, handwriting).\n * **Four-Step Biometric Process**:\n 1. *Raw Data Capture*: Image/sample recorded via video camera or fingerprint scanner.\n 2. *Feature Extraction*: Distinctive traits extracted from raw data to generate a biometric template.\n 3. *Mathematical Conversion*: Biometric template converted into a mathematical code stored in a central database.\n 4. *Live Verification*: User presents a live biometric sample that is matched against the database mathematical representation to grant access.\n\n* **Predictive Policing and Analytics**:\n * Utilizes historical data and computer algorithms to predict where and when future crimes will occur.\n * **RAND Corporation Four Predictive Methods**:\n 1. Methods for predicting crime locations and times of high risk.\n 2. Methods for predicting offenders at high risk for future offending.\n 3. Methods for predicting perpetrator identities by matching offender profiles to past crime patterns.\n 4. Methods for predicting potential victims based on location and risk parameters.\n * **Los Angeles Predictive Algorithm Study (Journal of the American Statistical Association)**:\n * Compared the predictive performance of a computer algorithm against professional human crime analysts attempting to predict the exact location of a crime over a 12\,\text{hour} period.\n * **Algorithm Success Rate**: Correctly predicted crime locations 4.7\% of the time.\n * **Human Analyst Success Rate**: Correctly predicted crime locations 2.1\% of the time.\n * **Baseline Error Rate**: The algorithm failed to predict crime locations 95.3\%$of the time ($100\% - 4.7\%$$), highlighting the fundamental difficulty of mathematically predicting human criminal behavior.