Chapter 6Challenges to Effective Policing

Learning Objective 1Explain why police are allowed

discretionary power

POLICE DISCRETIONPolice Officer on Patrol

Lowest paid - Least amount of authority – Least discretion

P.O. – great degree of freedom to take action he/she feels the situation requires

Courts have upheld PO’s right to decide:

What laws to enforce

How much to enforce it

Against whom and on what occasions

POLICE DISCRETIONJustification for Police Discretion

PO’s considered trustworthy and are therefore assumed to make honest decisions

Experience and training gives PO’s the ability to recognize threats to society and know what action to take to investigate or prevent them

PO’s by nature of the job are extremely knowledgeable in human, and by extension criminal behavior ( 6th sense )

Officers may find themselves in harm’s way and must be allowed to take action to protect themselves

POLICE DISCRETIONFACTORS of POLICE DISCRETION:

PO’s beliefs, values, personality and background

Held to a set of rules ( US Constitution)

MAKING the DECISION:

Nature of the Crime

Attitude of the wrongdoer

Relationship between the victim and offender

Departmental Policy

DISCRETION and DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Officer tends to avoid making an arrest in a family dispute ( to use discretion )

Sees it as a social services responsibility

Victims often refuse to press charges

23 states have mandatory arrest policies

Learning Objective 2List the three primary purposes

of police patrol

POLICE ORGANIZATION and FIELD OPERATIONS

BUREAUCRACY:

Formal rules govern each member

Each member reports to someone

Ultimate goal is maximum efficiency

STRUCTURE:

Militaristic

Rank/ Chain of Command/ Accountability

Delegation of Authority

Members supervised and disciplined

PATROLThe Purpose of Patrol

1. The deterrence of crime by maintaining a visible police presence

2. The maintenance of public order and a sense of security in the community

3. The twenty-four hour provision of services that are not crime related

PATROLCommunity Concerns:

Community sees patrol as a provider of services

Only 1 /5 calls are crime related

Debate if services should dominate a PO’s work

Patrol Activities

Preventive patrol ( 40% )

Calls for service ( 25% )

Administrative work ( 20% )

Officer initiated contact ( 15% )

Discussion Questions What is the purpose of

patrol?

What are its goals?

Learning Objective 3Indicate some investigative

strategies that are considered aggressive

POLICE INVESTIGATIONS

Second main function of policing ( reactive )

Detective – commonly promoted from patrol

Investigate crime/ Stolen Property/ Cases for court

97% of cases solved are routine

Three categories of cases

Unsolvable

Solvable

Already solved

INVESTIGATIONSInvestigations:

Reactive, rather than proactive

The responsibility of detectives

Success is measured with clearance rates, or the number of cases resulting in arrest and prosecution

Aggressive strategies include going undercover and working with confidential informants

INVESTIGATIVE STRATEGIES

AGGRESSIVE INVESTIGATIVE STRATEGIES:

Detectives can adopt aggressive strategies

Undercover work

Confidential Informants

Clearance rates and cold cases:

Crime is cleared with arrest and prosecution

Clearance rate depends on crime

Cold cases are cases not solved

80% of large PD’s have cold case squads

Discussion Questions What are the characteristics

of an investigation?

What are some of the responsibilities of detectives?

Learning Objective 4Describe how forensic experts

use DNA fingerprinting to solve crimes

DNAThe DNA Revolution:

DNA provides the genetic blueprint for every living organism.

When DNA is recovered at a crime scene and matched to a suspect, the odds that match is conclusive are 30 million to 1.

The Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) is a database that stores DNA samples taken from crime scenes.

As of 2007, CODIS has produces almost 59,000 cold hits nationwide.

Learning Objective 5Explain why differential

response strategies enable police departments to respond more efficiently to 911 calls

POLICE STRATEGIESPolice Strategies – What Works?

Response time to 911 calls

Incident-driven policing

Calls for service is the primary instigator for action

Response time as a benchmark of efficiency

Differential response

“Cold” calls versus “hot” calls

Prioritize calls

Location intelligence

PATROL STRATEGIESGeneral patrol:

Relies on officers to monitor a certain area detecting crimes in progress or preventing crimes due to their presence

Also called preventive patrol, or random patrol

Random

Directed patrol: Is designed to

respond to a specific criminal activity at a specific time

Targeted areas are labeled hot spots

Gives police the opportunity for preparation

GENERAL PATROL TEST KANSAS CITY

Test of patrol theories in Kansas City and tested three strategies;

Control beats - normal preventive measures

Proactive beats – preventive measures increased

Reactive beats – preventive patrol was eliminated

One year study showed that preventive patrol showed that increasing or decreasing preventive patrol had little or no impact (Inconclusive)

HOT SPOTS and CRIME MAPPIMG

Evidence for directed patrol effectiveness is strong

“ Hot Spots “ – high level of criminal activity

Crime Mapping – identifies “ hot spots “ - effective

CompStat – computerized crime mapping (NYPD)

ARREST STRATEGIESTypes of Arrests

Reactive arrests – made by general patrol when they observe a crime or respond to a call for service

Proactive Arrests – made when the officer takes the initiative to target a particular type of criminal behavior

ARREST STRATEGIES BROKEN WINDOW EFFECT

Wilson and Kelling

Crime is related to the quality of life in neighborhoods

Dilapidated neighborhoods send out signals that crime is tolerated

Disorder – fear among residents

Broken Window arrest strategy – based on “order maintenance

Crack down on “quality of life crimes”

“Zero Tolerance” discriminates/result in mistrust of Police

Learning Objective 6Explain community policing and

its contribution to the concept of problem-oriented policing

COMMUNITY POLICINGCommunity policing is a strategy that

emphasizes community support for and cooperation with police in preventing crime

Problem-Oriented Policing:

A key component of community policing

Moves beyond simply responding to incidents and attempts instead to control or even solve the root causes of criminal behavior

Two important aspects of problem-solving policing are “hot spots” and crime mapping

LOCAL POLICE and ANTI - TERRORISM

Over the past decade – local police had to confront the challenge of terrorism

Local police are well suited to anti- terrorism based on the large number of local Po’s nationally and their knowledge of local communities

Department of Homeland Security provides billions in anti- terrorist funding each year

Learning Objective 7Determine when officers are

justified in using deadly force

POLICE SUBCULTUREUs vs. Them

Police Subculture – values and perceptions shared by members of the department, shaped by unique existence of the police officer

Core values of Police Subculture: - learned through the socialization of a rookie police officer

POLICE SUBCULTUREBegins on first day “on the job” , through

learning the values and rules of police work.

Attending Police Academy

Working with a senior officer

Making an initial felony arrest

Using force to make an arrest for the first time

Using or witnessing deadly force for the first time

Witnessing major traumatic events for the first time

POLICE SUBCULTURE“Blue Curtain” or “ Blue Wall of Silence”

Police cynicism:

Characterized by rejection of the ideals of truth and justice

Suspicion police officers hold for citizens (weak, corrupt and dangerous)

Created through a feeling of helplessness

Can lead to increases of police misconduct, corruption and brutality

DANGERS OF POLICE WORK

Physical and Mental:

Threat of physical harm daily

Considerable mental pressure and stress

Alcoholism prevelant

AUTHORITY and the USE OF FORCE

SYMBOLS OF AUTHORITY

Uniform

Badge

Nightstick

Firearm

AUTHORITY and the USE OF FORCE

“Misuse of Force”

In general the use of force by a police officer is very rare

Police officers are often justified to use force to protect themselves or other citizens

Nearly every department has a “ use of force matrix “

TYPES of FORCEAuthority and the Use of Force

Reasonable Force:

The degree of force that is appropriate to protect the officer and other citizens.

Non – Deadly

A reasonable person would think force was necessary

Deadly Force:

Force likely or intended to cause death

SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

Tennessee v Garner (1985) - mandated states change fleeing felon rules

Graham v. Connor ( 1989 ) – increased argument for reasonable amounts of force needed

LESS LETHAL WEAPONSDesigned to subdue, but not seriously

harm suspects

Include OC pepper spray, tear gas, water cannons, rubber bullets and Tasers

RACIAL and ETHNIC BIASES in POLICING

Justice system vs “ Just Us” System

Minorities targeted more frequently for stop and frisk

DWB or “ driving while black

No evidence to suggest that officers are overly racist, however “selective law enforcement “ does exist

Cultural differences may result in “ contempt of cop”

Learning Objective 8Identify the three traditional

forms of police corruption

POLICE CORRUPTIONMisuse of authority by a Police Officer

Types of Corruption:

1. Bribery – accepting money or other payments in exchange for favors

2. Shakedowns – coerce money or goods from a citizen or criminal

3. Mooching – accepts “gifts” such as cigarettes, liquor or services in return for favorable treatment

CORRUPTION IN POLICE SUBCULTURE

No single reason to explain why corruption occurs in policing

Several stages lead to the moral decline of a police officer

Minor gratuities

From bribes to payoffs

POLICE ACCOUNTABILITYCorruption/ Misconduct are inevitable – Who polices the police ?

Internal Investigations:

Internal Affairs within PD

IA – often resented by PO’s but are preferred to outside monitors

Citizen Oversight:

A number of cases don’t result in civil damage or disciplinary action by the department

Causes frustration and calls for civilian oversight committees ( adopted by 100 + PD’s)

Learning Objective 9Explain what an ethical

dilemma is and name four categories of ethical dilemmas typically facing a police officer

POLICE ETHICSEthical dilemmas are defined as a

situation in which law enforcement officers:Do not know the right course of actionHave difficulty doing what they consider to

be right; and/orFind the wrong choice very tempting

Four categories of Ethical Dilemmas:1.Discretion2.Duty3.Honesty4.Loyalty

GUIDANCE to ETHICSIncorporate into Departments Mission

Statement

Conduct internal training

Accept “ honest mistakes “ and help officers learn from them

Zero tolerance policy towards unethical decision when mistakes are not so honest