Criminal Justice Exam 2 Study Guide 1 What is police corruption Police corruption has proven to be among the most resilient enduring problems facing police agencies as well as society as a whole it can encompass an extremely broad range of behaviors Whether or not they are committed on or off duty regardless of their relation to official police duties all of these behaviors clearly violate criminal law Police corruption can be defined by saying that police officers are corrupt when exercising or failing to exercise their authority they act with the primary intention of furthering private or departmental divisional advantage 2 What are some of the behaviors associate with police corruption Corruption can include traditional crimes such as robbery burglary fraud sexual assault which can be committed while on or off duty Some crimes can are typically committed while the officer is off duty insurance fraud and the possession or use of narcotics 3 What are the competing views of corruption The Rotten Apple point of view asserts that the officers own greed rather than the entire departments is responsible for the corruption It posits that b c of their inherent character traits background experiences or some other motivating factor within the person some officers will pursue and exploit the corrupt opportunities available to them The culture point of view claims that the corruption is the result of the individual s response to the social political organizational legal environment that shape the police culture and the police organization 4 What is Compstat The compstat management system ensures the cases are monitored and evaluated It has been distilled into four principle of crime control timely and accurate information effective strategies and tactics rapid deployment of personnel and resources relentless follow up 5 Describe excessive force and the use of force Excessive force is defined that which exceeds the minimum amount needed to achieve an objective Research has found that the use of excessive force is less common form of police misconduct such as verbal abuse or use of illegal methods of gathering evidence The use of force must be lawful reasonable and justified The use of force to detain a citizen is governed by the 4th amendment in this the seizure must be reasonable and during the use of deadly force the interests of the government are predicated on the potential of serious harm to the officers and others 6 Describe lawsuits relating to excessive force The prosecutor must maintain a close working relationship with the police department without their cooperation they cannot perform their jobs Another problem is that prosecutors must confront the fact that obtaining a conviction against an officer is very difficult The persons who are targets of police violence are not sympathetic figures to many jurors Most of these victims are poor or minorities and in many cases involved in criminal activity To the average citizen who sits on a jury the police officer is a person who is risking their lives in the defense of life and property There is usually a lack of evidence and there are no impartial witnesses Citizens who have been the victims of police misconduct may either file a tort action in state court A tort is defined as a civil wrong in which the action of one person causes injury to the person or property of another in violation of a legal duty imposed by law Officers who employ excessive force may be liable under these statues for assault and battery The majority of cases against public officials are filed in federal court The US Supreme Court ruled that local municipalities are not protected by sovereignty immunity and may be held liable for the actions of their employees 7 What is the role of police administrators What is required by police administrators is a firm commitment at the highest level of the organization that misconduct will not be tolerated To achieve this goal the chief must be determined to curb brutality Police administrators can do much of a positive nature to achieve conformity with desired standards of conduct Departmental standards regarding selection training supervision and policy are all relevant to this goal Pg 156 in CI 8 What are early warning systems Early warning systems are a new management strategy for identifying problem officers It is a proactive approach to identifying police officers who have potential problems and it is a tool for curbing police use of excessive force and achieving accountability These systems are expensive and high maintenance operations that use a significant amount of administrative resources Supervisors must routinely take the time and effort to evaluate each officer under the command as well as to follow up on problematic officers 9 What is the policy importance of system accountability The most important and overriding issue in the criminal justice response to domestic violence is that of systems of accountability This is the missing link in aspiring institutional changes in the response to women battering These programs are seriously understaffed undertrained and underpaid though immensely dedicated 10 What is the difference between a delinquency offense and a status offense A delinquency offense is more serious it is an act that would be criminal if the individual was an adult and they would be accountable for A status offense is an act that is only illegal for juveniles Juveniles that commit status offenses or non violent property crimes are more prevalent than those who commit violent crimes 11 What are the more frequent delinquency acts and least frequent Delinquency acts are which are criminal acts like auto theft breaking and entering for which they would be held accountable if they adults and status offenses are truancy incorrigibility and running away from home which are only for juveniles The most common are burglary and larceny while the least common are brutal crimes like homicide and forcible rape 12 When does a juvenile officially become a delinquent According to the legal statues any person usually under 18 years of age who commits an illegal act is considered through the juvenile or family court A juvenile does not become a delinquent until he or she is officially labeled as such by the specialized judicial agency 13 What is the minimum age of juvenile court jurisdiction The highest age in which an offender is still treated as a juvenile ranges from 15 to 18 In an overwhelming majority of states and