Lecture Notes 09 30 2012 CHAPTER 4 Police history and function English legal tradition First Police Force London 1829 Prior systems like frankpledge groups 10 families o 1 Limited authority o 2 Local control o 3 Fragmented organization o People in group must report others if they see them committing a crime o Shires shire reeve sheriffs o Effective at first then people stopped caring English history Metropolitan Police Act o Prevent crime without using repressive force o Maintain public order by nonviolent means o Reduce conflict between police public o Show efficacy through the absence of crime disorder o 1829 in London Robert Peele o Created first police force American history Political era 1840 1920 o Close ties between police local political party leaders Professional Model era 1920 1970 o Progressive move for more efficient gov more gov services to assist the less fortunate o More focus on evidence Community Policing era 1970 present o Move away from crime fighting focus toward greater emphasis on keeping order providing services in community Increasing number of patrol in neighborhood had little effect on crime rate Rapid response to calls did not greatly increase arrest rate Improving clearance rate is difficult Broken windows Wilson Kelling Work on little problems o Maintaining order providing services to those in need adopting strategies to reduce the fear of crime Assumptions o Neighborhood disorder creates fear o Areas with street people gangs prostitution drunks are high crime o Untended disorderly behavior signal that nobody cares o If police deal with disorder thus reduce fear crime must rely on citizens for assistance In a lot of policing strategies Very important If there is no reliance people may not report crime police have less power legitimacy Homeland security Change to policing expanding priorities 287 g of 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act IIRIRA o National initiative priority o Before 9 11 was not in action until 9 11 o Local levels of police bought into this priority o Seen as undermining the original principles of law o Could lead to racial profiling could hurt society less trust enforcement security More national legislation more communication with federal organizations Police functions priority been violated Order maintenance prevent behavior that disturbs or threatens to disturb public peace public order crimes often seen as main Law enforcement controlling crime by intervening where law has o Old laws about domestic violence meant that if the family did not want someone to arrest someone who hurt someone else they would not o Now the police are obligated to make an arrest Service providing assistance to public usually in matters unrelated to crime Organization Division of labor o Headquarters o Management support services division o Investigations division detectives o Field operations foot patrols Chain unity of command diagram see page 122 Bureaucracy and the criminal justice system Police are gateway through which information individuals enter the system Outcome of case is largely in the hands of others Officers expected to observe rules follow orders while making independent discretionary judgments Police discretion Discretion to make choices in ambiguous situations as to how when to apply the law 5 factors o 1 The nature of the crime o 2 The relationship between the alleged criminal victim personal family fights Mandating that police must get involved in family fights could lead to domestic violence or it could have already happened people may not report it o 3 The relationship between the police the criminal or o 4 Race ethnicity age gender class more harsh for young victim honesty minority poor men o Departmental policy policies of chief city officials Race Lopez Light 2009 population 13 Vazsonyi Chen 2010 o Latinos account for 40 of all sentenced federal offenders o This is more than triple their share of the total US adult o Hispanic youth are 73 more likely than other races to end into the juvenile justice system Snyder Sickmund 2006 o Custody rate per 100 000 of Latino youth in juvenile justice facilities exceeded that of all other races in DC Maryland Maine Vermont Montana o All other races African Americans whites American Indians Asians o It has exceeded that of whites American Indians Asians not African Americans in 38 other states Recent study by Yale in Connecticut o 60 of ticketed drivers were Latino o Less than 5 were correctly identified as Latinos o Most were recorded as white Police response Reactive incident driven Proactive trying to prevent crime addressing it before reaction Differential response o Sent officer to scene right away o Give call lower rank officer is delayed o Send someone other than officer o Refer caller to another agency Abuse of power National Institute of Justice o Police use force infrequently o Police use of force typically occurs in the lower end of the force spectrum o Use of force typically occurs when police are trying to make an arrest and suspect is resisting REVIEW OF VIDEOS Legitimacy the quality of being viewed as being entitled to be obeyed Result decreases crime Obey the law Comply an officer s request Assist the police by providing information Proactively participate in community crime prevention Grant police broad discretion to implement possibly unpopular Both Community Oriented Policing COMSTAT seek to increase programs legitimacy Community oriented policing Community based crime prevention Working with community members to solve minor crimes Broken Windows non emergency services Making police accountable to public Build community police partnerships decentralizing decision making to include residents Public perceptions shaped by feelings of procedural justice Participation involved in the process Neutrality objectivity Dignity respect Motives COMPSTAT New York 1994 Crime Control Meetings Accountability hold police officers accountable for their actions Transparency make sure police do what they are supposed to Community participation as a means to an end to decrease crime Address crime Hot Spots Policing Individual macro level geography Routine Activities Theory Micro level geography 5 of small places were responsible for 50 of crime o Heavy concentrations that are stable over time o Not displaced diffusion of benefits o Preventative Directed Patrol THEN NOW What were 3 technological advances that led to community policing o Radio connected to station o
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