Chapter 6 Challenges to Effective Policing

Learning Objective 1 Explain why police are allowed discretionary power

POLICE DISCRETION Police 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 DISCRETION Justification 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 DISCRETION FACTORS 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 2 List 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

PATROL The Purpose of Patrol The deterrence of crime by maintaining a visible police presence The maintenance of public order and a sense of security in the community The twenty-four hour provision of services that are not crime related

PATROL Community Concerns: Patrol Activities 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 3 Indicate 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

INVESTIGATIONS Investigations: 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 4 Describe how forensic experts use DNA fingerprinting to solve crimes

DNA The 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 5 Explain why differential response strategies enable police departments to respond more efficiently to 911 calls

POLICE STRATEGIES Police 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 STRATEGIES General patrol: Directed 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 STRATEGIES Types 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 6 Explain community policing and its contribution to the concept of problem-oriented policing

COMMUNITY POLICING Community 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 7 Determine when officers are justified in using deadly force

POLICE SUBCULTURE Us 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 SUBCULTURE Begins 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 FORCE Authority 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 WEAPONS Designed 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 8 Identify the three traditional forms of police corruption

POLICE CORRUPTION Misuse of authority by a Police Officer Types of Corruption: Bribery – accepting money or other payments in exchange for favors Shakedowns – coerce money or goods from a citizen or criminal 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 ACCOUNTABILITY Corruption/ 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 9 Explain what an ethical dilemma is and name four categories of ethical dilemmas typically facing a police officer

POLICE ETHICS Ethical dilemmas are defined as a situation in which law enforcement officers: Do not know the right course of action Have difficulty doing what they consider to be right; and/or Find the wrong choice very tempting Four categories of Ethical Dilemmas: Discretion Duty Honesty Loyalty

GUIDANCE to ETHICS Incorporate 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