Chapter 5 Flashcards
The Police
The police represent the “thin blue line” between disorder and order
They are the personification of the power of the state
No other criminal justice professional wields as much unfettered power and authority over the citizenry
Police rights
Police have the choice to arrest or not to arrest
* To mediate or to charge
* To use deadly force
* They have the power over life and death
police power
If such power is used fairly, they are our protectors
If such power is used abusively, they are our
oppressors
Two different missions of law enforcement in a
democracy:
Crime fighting
Public Service
Crime Fighters
Police perception that they are crime fighters:
Leads to police using more force, deception, and coercion. That drug addicts are unworthy of protection
That individuals who are beaten by police must have deserved it
That all defendants must be guilty
Crime Fighters 2
illegal police actions are rationalized by or excused by the belief that people “get what they deserve
Packer’s crime control model
The crime control model is related to a “war on crime” mentality
With police officers seen as the warriors on the front line fighting the enemy (the American people)
Crime Control Model
- Repression of criminal conduct is most important function.
- Failure of law enforcement means breakdown of order.
- Criminal process is positive guarantor of social freedom.
- Efficiency is a top priority.
- Emphasis is on speed and finality.
- A conveyor belt is model for system.??
- There is a presumption of guilt.
Police that view themselves as public servants include the ideas that:
- Criminals are not so different from us
- And may be our sons or daughters
- That police serve all people
- And owe everyone the duty of civility and legality
- Rather than simply catching criminals, officers are crime preventers, peace keepers, and service providers
Public Service
Rather than simply catching criminals, officers are crime preventers, peace keepers, and service providers
Law enforcement, above all, protects the rights of every citizen
Packer’s due process model:
- There is a possibility of error.
- Finality is not a priority.
- There is insistence on prevention and elimination of mistakes.
- Efficiency is rejected if it involves shortcuts.
- Protection of process is as important as protection of innocents.
- The coercive power of the state is always subject to abuse.
Balko (2013) Militarization
Over the last decades police departments have
become increasingly militarized
With units using war-grade weaponry against
Americans
Using military tactics, including:
Flash-bang grenades
Battery rams
Camouflage with masked faces
Militarization, Cont.
Studies show that a number of veterans who return have varying symptoms of PTSD, which may include flashbacks, blackouts, and waking nightmares
The Dialectic of the Bargain
important****
Early police departments were marred by graft and other forms of corruption
This was tolerated by the power holders
The Dialectic of the Bargain cont.
Their graft was widely tolerated because of their
meager salaries.
Donner (1992) called this the “dialectic of the bargain”
That in return for the police doing their bidding by harassing dissenting groups, the power holders tolerated police corruption
The “Ferguson Effect”
Intense public scrutiny and hostility have made police officers so demoralized that they have reduced their self-initiated activities and no longer engage in proactive activities such as engaging suspicious individuals on the street.
Banks (2014) Impediments to a Free Society
The convergence of police and the military is seen when regime protection eclipses public safety
Trusting the Police
People that trust the police will be more likely to call the police when victimized or know of a crime
Communities can increase perception of procedural justice by:
training police to interact with citizens in a less
authoritarian manner
Provide de-escalation
Formal Ethics for Police Officers
A code of ethics helps engender self-respect in
individual officers
Police Subculture themes
Loyalty toward peers is paramount
Them-us feelings toward the public
The crime of POPO: pissing off a police officer
Anything justifies catching a bad guy
Use of force (even in response to disrespect)
The idea that everyone is weak or corrupt
The priority of adventure/machismo/excitement
The idea that police are the good guys overcoming evil
Police Values
And more conservative in their views than the public
The Cop Code Includes the principles of:
- Watch out for partners
- Never “give up” another cop
- Be aggressive
- Don’t implicate another cop
Police Culture and “Noble Cause”
IMPORTANT**
The “end” of crime fighting justifies any means that might otherwise be:
Illegal
Unethical
And/or against the rules
E.g. “testilying” (lying on an affidavit or the witness stand)
Or planting evidence
police perceive what?
Police perceive that prosecutors “wink at” deception or encourage it to get a win
The Blue Curtain of Secrecy
Another element of the police code is absolute loyalty to other police officers
Even if it means not coming forward to expose a wrongdoer
The Blue Curtain of Secrecy cont.
AKA the “code of silence”
Another element of the police code is absolute loyalty to other police
Even if it means not coming forward to expose a
wrongdoer
It refers to the code of “don’t ever give up another cop”
Stronger punishments and whistle blower protections
blue curtain of secrecy, women and minorities
Research indicates the “blue curtain of secrecy” is breaking down because of the addition of minorities and woman
