Police Structure Flashcards
What is the history of policing?
Canadian police can be traced back to early english society. Prior to 11th century, there were no police.
What was the frankpledge (peace pledge)?
Ten families who formed a tithing, which was then grouped to form 100. Then coalesced into shires (counties), the top law enforcement officer became known as the shire-reeve (sheriff).
What was the constable watch system?
13th century, formalized by the statute of Westminster. Consisted of a parish and an unpaid watchman, lasted until the 18th century.
How did modern policing come about?
Did not come about until the mid 1700s. 1748-Henry Fielding created a pro law enforcement organization. Then, Sir Robert Peel passed the London Metropolitan Police Act in 1829, which establised a 3200 person pro police force.
Who were the Bobbies, and what were their expectations?
Police force by Robert Peel. Expected to; Reduce tension and conflict, use non-violent means (violence as a last resort), relieve military from controlling crime, judged on basis of absence of crime.
What was the pre-modern era of policing?
First Nations people used shaming, ostracism, physical punishment, execution, and compensation for criminals.
1700s-1800s: English established constables and justices to maintain the peace. Some private policing also existed.
What was the political era of policing?
Local politicians established police forces and frequently interfered in policing. Peel model implemented, NWMP was implemented-became RCMP in 1920. Followed a paramilitary structure.
What was the professional era of policing?
AKA traditional model. Focuses on objectivity, science, and freedom from political influence. Uniforms and vehicles eventually provided for officers. Professional associations implemented, 2015 RCMP SCC decision.
What was the community era of policing?
Focuses on getting the public to help with regulation. Citizen involvement, problem solving, decentralization.
What was early municipal policing interested in?
Maintaining public order, preventing and controlling crime, providing community services. Initially, used police runners to communicate.
What were police runners later replaced with (and the years)?
1870s-Call boxes 1870s/80s-Call boxes with Bell system 1880s-Telephones 1920-Patrol vehicles 1911-Fingerprinting Post 1920s-Criminal record system and toxicology analyses.
Why was the separation of police from the community significant?
Crime fighting was emphasized, police became more specialized, spent less time on foot, crime rates, service calls, and response times determined police operations, officers recruited on basis of psychological factors and civil service testing.
How many police were working in Canada in 2015?
68 777
How were the police distributed in Canada in 2015?
42 668 (68%) worked for municipal forces, 9692 worked for provincial forces, ad 4249 were in the RCMP.
How many RCMP workers are there?
26 000 employees, 18 000 officers, and over 75 000 volunteers.
What are the 2 ways to detemine how to distribute a police force?
1) Population-officer ratio
2) Compare # of criminal code incidents with the number of police in any given force
How are police forces organized?
They are bureaucracies. Professional model (emerged 30s, remained till 70s) included: Hierarchical differentiation, functional differentiation, routinization, centralization of command.
What is the issue with Tasers?
Argument is that they have saved 4000 lives and have not killed anyone (Taser International, Kershaw). But, they have rarely been tested by impartial parties.
What is the social contract perspective?
Emphasizes the important of neutrality in policing society. Keys are to protect society and enforce the law
What is the radical perspective?
Perceives police as acting as part of the ruling class. Considered a repressive instrument in society.
When does racial profiling take place?
When police move from their standard practice of “case probability” to “class probability.” Supporters of this favour the crime control model.
What is discretion?
Involves police using their independent judgement when dealing with crime. Necessary, because it is impossible for them to create rules and policies for every scenario they may face.
What did the SCC rule about discretion in 1988?
That it was a necessary part of an officers job and cannot be applied arbitrarily.
What are the 3 influential factors for when an officer decides to intervene in an event?
The seriousness/type of crime involved, the attitude of the citizen, departmental policies that specify how discretion is to be applied.
