Exam II Flashcards
Eras of Policing:
Vigilantism
Slave Patrols
English Model
Political Era
Professional Era
Community Policing Era
Vigilantism (Mid 1700’s-1900):
- Policing by self-appointed committees
- Resident organized too punish people deemed outlaws
Slave Patrols (1740-1840):
- Residents organized to enforce laws meant to control slaves
- First publicly funded police departments
English Model (1700-1800):
- Local patrol force had limited authority and quasi-military organizational structure. Police departments in U.S. cities developed similarly
- Initially, Watch system and Frankpledge system
Political Era (1840-1920):
- Police received jobs because of political affiliation and enforced the priorities of the political party in power (party loyalty)
- Role was to control undesirable immigrants, maintain order, and provide a variety of social servies
- Officers received little if any training
Professional Era (1920-1970):
- Focus was on enforcing the law (police as law enforcers), hiring qualified officers, using technology, and improving police training
- Direct attempts to end corruption
- Formal hierarchical gov’t agencies created
- Positive outcomes: pay increase, systematic training, merit-based hiring, political control over hiring/firing PO’s was eliminated
- Negative outcomes: Officers more distant from communities, changes in technology separated police from people, decrease in hiring of minority officers
Community Policing Era (1970-Current):
- Focus is on crime prevention w the assistance of improved relations w community members
- Officers expected to cultivate positive relationships w community
- Shift from Reactive–>Proactive police work
Preventive Patrol
- Officers must randomly patrol a neighborhood
- Assumption is that visible presence of officers serves as deterrent to street-level crimes
- Focused on reducing street crimes
Local Law Enforcement Agencies:
-Sheriff Offices
State Law Enforcement Agencies:
Federal Agencies/officers
Local:
-Sheriff’s Offices: Tend to serve larger areas and fewer people, typically police counties in which no city provides law enforcement services
-Police Departments: Serve smaller, urban areas and more people, outnumber sheriffs by 1:4, Respond to violations of state penal code and local ordinances and generally provide only temporary housing of arrested persons
State:
-Roles and missions of state law enforcement agencies are defined by state law
Federal Agencies/officers:
-Deal w violations of federal statues
- The Department of Justice (DOJ): The chief federal law enforcement department, provides federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime, Mission to enforce the nation’s law and regulations governing controlled substances
- FBI: mission to protect and defend the US against terrorism and foreign intelligence threats and to uphold and enforce the nation’s criminal laws
- Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
- US Marshal’s service
- Department of Homeland Security
- Federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA)
Occupational subculture
- A set of norms and beliefs held by most officers in a given country
- Particular to an individual department
- At the core is the belief that officers must support one another (“Blue code of silence”, places loyalty to fellow officers above all other values)
- The need to maintain authority is major component of police occupational subculture
- Can create beneficial high levels of group solidarity
Discretion
-Officers have a high level of discretion that allows them to act in the manner they judge most appropriate in a given situation
Who determines the training requirements for local LEAS?
Each state has its own special training academies and requirements
Private security
- Consists of any individuals, organization, or service-other than public law enforcement and regulatory agencies engaged engaged primarily in the prevention and investigation of crime, loss, or harm to specific individuals, organizations, or facilities
- Growth: Twice as many private security officers in the US as public law enforcement officers
- Quality concerns: Industry is slowly professionalizing, in part due to liability concerns
- Private Security/Law enforcement cooperation: Liaisons w private security a useful way to increase the effectiveness of investigating and preventing crime
Corruption
- Generally defined as misconduct motivated by personal gain
- Organizational explanations for police corruption: Corruption attributed to the police occupational subculture, especially the “code of silence”
-Individual explanation for police corruption:
There are many individual factors that might contribute to an officer engaging in corrupt activities
Influences on arrest decision
- The greatest influence on the decision to arrest is the victim’s or complainant’s preference for arrest
- The degree of relationship between the victim and perpetrator influences arrest decisions
Abuse of authority
-Very harmful to law enforcement agencies
- Occurs when police disregard policies, rules. laws in the performance of their duties
- Generally those who commit misuse believe in a noble cause, or that “the end justifies the means”
- The use of violence against perpetrators often stems from police officer’s concern for the victims
Consequences:
- Officers who misuse their authority may face criminal prosecution
- Police departments and cities can also be civilly liable for failures to act
Attaining Integrity:
- Moral principles and professional standards that help officers resist the temptation to abuse their rights and privileges
- Can be attributed to individuals and organzations
- Management is responsible for reducing vulnerability in the police force and setting a tone by condemning abuse
- Early warning systems are data-driven identify police officers whose behavior is beginning to suggest problems
- Targeted integrity testing: Investigators create controlled opportunities to test for unlawful/unethical behavior
- All large law enforcement agencies have units to handle real and reported misconduct
Principal roles of policing
3 Major roles
1) Maintaining order:
-Keeping the peace
-Goal is to reinforce informal control mechanisms already operating in community
-(May involve enforcement of local laws, or activities to maintain civility of life in the community)
Ex: Manage a crowd
2) Enforcing the law:
-When arrest is needed
-Primary function of law enforcement is application of criminal code to specific, developing situations
-Based on police departments priorities
-Based on the seriousness of crime and department resources
-Apprehending suspects lies at heart of law enforcement function
Ex: Make an arrest
3) Providing service:
-Nonemergency police work
-Service activities are non-law enforcement duties performed by police officers on an as-needed basis
-Meaning of service in US has changed from early politically-based form to new community service orientation
Ex: give someone directions
Kansas City preventative patrol project
-Kansas City study showed that level of patrol had no effect on the measured crime level
Fourth Amendment
-Protects residents from “unreasonable searches and seizures”
Search and Seizures
- Limitations apply only to actions taken by a gov’t agent
- Target of the act must have a reasonable expectation of privacy
- Technological advances, such as computerized databases, make it difficult to determine the scope of the 4th amendment
Reasonableness
- Ordinarily the gov’t must obtain a warrant before its agents can conduct a search or seizure
- Agent must collect enough evidence to lead a reasonable person to believe there is a good likelihood-probable cause-a crime was committed
- If judge determines probable cause is met, a warrant is issued
Exceptions to search warrant requirement
- The good faith exception applies when police officers act in good faith on a warrant or law that is later declared invalid
- Inevitable discovery: Going to find it no matter what
- If consent is given
- Stop and frisk
- Automobile Exceptions
- Emergencies/hot pursuits
Broken Windows Theory
- Argument that there is a relationship between the deterioration of a neighborhood and higher crime rates
- Idea that disorder leads to more serious crimes has had a big effect on police departments and public
- Theory is politically popular, but relationship between crime and disorder is more complicated