Chapter 3 – Policing Role, Styles, Functions and Legal Constraints

Role defined: the rights and responsibilities associated with a particular position in society “Public Servant”

Based on expected behaviors from the people being served for that role “To Serve and Protect”

Conflict arises when trying to perform incompatible responsibilities

Quick decision making – try to mitigate this with training

Total independence – lack of supervision and sometimes even guidelines

“Dirty Work” Perceived Danger This leads to different styles of policing

Legalistic Emphasizes total enforcement of the laws and the

use of threats or actual arrests to gain compliance They are enforcers and/or professionals

Watchman Emphasizes informal means of dispute resolution

Keep the peace at all costs Tend to be idealists, concentrating on social order

and due process Service

Emphasizes helping the community as opposed to law enforcement They are optimists, concentrating on due process

Realists Are not concerned with social order or due

process Usually very cynical Also known as reciprocators because they lack

the passion to do the job Avoiders

Don’t want to get involved with the community at all

Do as little as possible to keep the job No passion for the job and little interest in

helping people

Preventive Patrol Trolling Patrolling the streets with little direction in

between calls for service Will more police officers present reduce crime?

Directed Patrol Systematic use of police resources to target

the highest crime areas Heavy use of Crime Mapping

Aggressive Patrol Based on the directive to make several traffic

stops and field interrogations Conduct several arrests for both minor and

major offenses Field interrogation

Temporary detention used when officers find people in suspicious circumstances Look for things that are out of place Racial profiling

Foot Patrol One of the newest “movements” in

Community Policing No appreciable affect on crime rates Great deal of influence on Fear of Crime Helps with SARA

Scanning – id problems Analysis – understand underlying conditions Response – develop and implement solutions Assessment – determine solutions’ effect

Reasonable suspicion to stop Probable cause to search

A search is an exploration of people, property or places for the purpose of discovering and identifying evidence, contraband, etc.

Leads to seizure Can be based on a warrant Can also be based on an arrest

Must have probable cause Must be specific The Exclusionary Rule

Three purposes To protect individual rights from police

misconduct To prevent police misconduct To maintain judicial integrity

Mapp vs. Ohio brought this to the states

Search incident to arrest Plain view doctrine Protective sweeps Exigent circumstances – safety of the

public