Quiz #1 Flashcards
Police Officer
- non-military
- employed by Government
- Legal status of Peace officer
Peace Officer
- Status granted to individual
- Certain powers not available to ordinary citizens
- Provide certain legal protection
- Can be police, probation, parole or corrections
“Crime fighter” myth
- Enforce law
- Investigate crimes
- Arrest criminals
Perpetuating the “crime fighter” image? eg. Batman
- Entertainment media
- News media
- Police themselves
- CSI effect
- Unreasonable jurors
Some consequences of “Crime Fighter” image?
- Distorted picture of what police actually do
- Roles and responsibilities are complex
- Vague and conflicting tasks
Factors that shape the police role?
Anomaly of policing (Goldstein)
- Police are expected to protect society
- Apply coercive force when necessary
- Protect individuals’ freedoms
- Tension between FREEDOM and CONSTRAINT
According to Westly police do…
…society’s “dirty work”
The authority to use force…
- Helped shape the police role
- Differentiates police from other professions
Egon Bittner argues that…
…coercive force is the defining feature of police
The capacity to use force is limited by:
- Law
- Used only while on duty
- Can’t be used maliciously
(FINAL) Social control?
The capacity of a society to regulate itself according to desired principles and values
Police are also known as?
“Gate Keepers” to the criminal justice and social welfare systems
Street corner psychiatrists
Police have this job to do as well, dealing with mentally ill, while also being a police officer
What is PSS (a study)?
- PSS (Police Service Study)
- Only 19% of calls received involve crime, only 2% are violent
Police Roles and Responsibilities
- Identify criminal offenders and activity, apprehend and deal with court proceedings
- Reduce crime through preventative patrol
- Aid individuals who are in danger
- Protect constitutional rights
- Facilitate movement of people and vehicles
- Assist those who can’t care for themselves
- Resolve conflict
- Identify problems that are serious law or government problems
- Create and maintain security in community
- Promote and preserve civil order
- Provide other services when there’s an emergency
*** (final) Problem Oriented Policing (POP)
- Involves planning and research, proactive approach
- Different strategies for different problems
- **Herman Goldstein argued for identification of recurring problems
- 1st experiments in POP occurred in Newport News, focused on burglaries in low-income housing units
- Today, many police agencies practice some form of POP
***(final) Community Policing
- Most contemporary approach to policing
- Encourages working together closely with residents to solve problems using a crime-prevention strategy
***(final) Zero-tolerance Policing
- Began in NYC in 1990s.
- Focuses on minor quality-of-life issues, such as urinating in public.
- Tough enforcement on minor crimes reduces serious crimes.
Implications of change
- Mission
- Patrol Operations
- Calls for Service
- Discretion
- Police community relations
- Corruption
- Accountability
- Personnel (How professional they are)
- Organization
The study of police history can:
- Dramatize the fact of change
- Put current problems into perspective
- Helps us understand what reforms have worked
- Alerts us to the unintended consequences
The English Heritage
- *Sir Robert Peel** - He created London Metro Police with a MISSION and ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
- Constable, Sheriff and Justice of the Peace
- The WATCH system - started with night watch against fires, crime and disorder, then towns grew larger so had day watch.
Thanks to Sir Robert Peel, the police system came to the US…
- Limited police authority for individual respect and liberty
- Local control of law enforcement, wasn’t federal control
The English Heritage
- Common Law
- Individual Rights
- Court System
- Various forms of punishment
FINAL 3 Enduring traditions to American Policing
- Limited Police Authority
- Local Control
- Decentralized and Fragmented police system
FINAL 1st Modern America Policing
- New York first police department with a day and night shift
- Did not wear uniforms, just hat and badge
- Did not carry firearms
3 Eras of American Policing
Political, Professional, and Era of Conflicting Pressures
- Also the Reform Era
- Presently “2nd Generation Reforms” due to “I.T. Era”
Law Enforcement in Colonial America
- Came about because of what people were doing, thus officers then had titles*
- Sheriff, Watch, Constable and Slave Patrol
- *Had a lot of corruption and political influence in law enforcement.
Sheriff
- Appointed by Governor
- Chief of local govt official
- law enforcement, collect taxes, conduct elections, maintain roads.
Constable
- Some responsibility enforcing law and maintain order
- Elected then appointed