Encounters between police and citizens Citizens often reluctant to help police because paper work going to court etc Police discretion officer acts upon own discretion could be by book or lenient 5 important factors The nature of the crime the less serious a crime is to the public the more freedom officers have to ignore it The relationship between alleged criminal and victim police are weary of making arrests on domestic issues The relationship between the police and the criminal or victim when suspect respects officer less likely to be arrested Race ethnicity age gender class some research shows officers more likely to enforce more strictly on young poor minority men Department policy policies of police chief and city officials promote more or less discretion Domestic violence historically treated as private family matter rather than crime Today enforced more strictly in half of the states its automatic arrest without a warrant if officer suspects the offender of committing the crime Police response Police are reactive rather than proactive they respond to peoples calls instead of initiating actions with no request from citizen How bureaucracy affects response Response process is affected by the separation of police into various functional groups patrol vice investigation etc the quasi military command system and techniques used to induce police to respond in certain ways Core of police department is communication center officers must constantly be in touch with HQ their discretion is often guided by HQ New 311 system in baltimore reduces amount of calls to 911 311 is for non emergency no need for immediate dispatch of officer Differential response system assigns priorities to calls for service assumes its not always necessary to rush a patrol car to scene Productivity Compstat approach 2 meetings a week where officers are briefed by executives and commanders they are held responsible for reducing crime department managers establish strategies and implement them Clearance rate of crimes known to the police that are believed to have been solved through an arrest measures police performance Sometimes productivity is measured through citations issues cars ticketed value of stolen goods recovered Difficult to gauge quality and quantity of police work because so many factors affect it Patrol functions Line functions components that directly involve field operations patrol vice etc they are most involved with people Staff functions support line functions Patrol is considered the backbone of police operations o Patrol officers account for 2 3 of all sworn officers officers with power to arrest 3 parts to the patrol function o answering calls for help o maintaining a police presence o probing suspicious circumstances investigation patrolling detectives higher pay more interesting work reactive they respond to crimes already discovered compared to FBI DEA who are proactive preventive patrol Kansas city studies show that it has no hot spots areas where crime is likely to occur resources apparent effect on crime focused here o directive patrol proactive patrolling that directs resources to high crime areas hot spots rapid response time often delayed by various factors aggressive patrol proactive strategy designed to maximize police activity often includes stings raids tracking of high risk parolees preparing for threats a common problem is intelligence is not shared fast enough o fusion centers developed to fuse tips and information so all agencies can see them emphasis on homeland security has lead to changes in training equipment and operations as well as restructuring new laws and controversies new anti terrorism laws are vague and have been used to prosecute crimes that aren t directly connected to terrorism patriot act response to 911 authorizes wire taps email interceptions sneak and peak searches without warrants etc it also defines domestic terrorism in ways that may include legitimate protest groups
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