Law EnforcementChapter 1: Early Efforts at PolicingMaintaining a Social Order- Consensus viewpoint: social order emerges from a commonly held set of values and beliefso What’s right and wrongo Guided by community standards- Conflict perspective: small minority of powerful persons manipulate the legal system in order to preserve their advantage (coercion)- Standards of behavior:o Norms: standards for how people should behave – make social interaction routine Folkways: behavioral expectations that deal with minor norms (mild sanction) ex. Etiquette Mores: evoke strong reactions if violated – essential to society’s welfare ex. Cannibalism o Deviant behavior: any action that exceeds social tolerance levels- Controlling social behavioro Informal social control: actions taken by people to sanction behavioro Formal social control: law and the criminal justice systemTypes of Society- Gemeinschaft: small network of persons who interact with each other in primary relationships (close, face-to-face)- Gesellschaft: secondary relationships – strangers who don’t share a close bondSocietal Development- Durkheim explains societal development in terms of population size and density- Anomie: state of normalness (people don’t feel accountable to others)Early English Law Enforcement- Mutual pledge system: if one member committed a crime, the entire village was held accountable - Night watch system: voluntary surveillance- Assize of arms: all adult males shared responsibility for maintaining law and order - A step toward police protection o Entrepreneurial avocational policing: private citizens perform law enforcement tasks o a part-time basis and get paid for their productivity o Highwayman Act: anyone who captured a criminal was entitled to a reward (thief takers)- Sir Robert Peel and the Bobbies o London Metropolitan Police Act authorized the establishment of a government subsidized police force Not armed, authority instead of force Uniforms Patrolling for a deterrence effectLaw EnforcementLaw Enforcement in Developing America - Metropolitan Police Forces: by 1870 all major cities had a full-time police force o Armedo Patronage system for hiring (corruption)Law and Order on the Frontier - Three layers of people:o Upper level: local eliteo Backbone of community: workers, teachers, etco Poor people with little stake in the community- Vigilante Policingo People take the law into their own hands in order to regain control and secure the values they think are appropriate Socially constructive model: establish an orderly existence by gaining control from outlaws (ex: south Carolina regulator - trials for accused) Socially destructive model: lynch mobs (ex. KKK)Law EnforcementChapter 2: Critical Issues in 20 th Century Law Enforcement The Wickersham Commission (1931)- A federal fact-finding body appointed to survey existing practices in law enforcement- Widespread reliance on coercive tactics to extract confessions (third degree)- Political manipulation of rank and file employees (patronage)o No entrance exams- No background investigations or fingerprint checks- No job training (not even for guns)- Lack of adequate communication system (long response times)The 1967 President’s Commission- Hostile commission between officers and civilians o Suggested having regularly schedule meetings open to the public in which citizens could air complaintso Hire more minority members- Need better educated officers who were more representative of the community they served- Three tiered systemo Police agent: two years of college studyo Police officer: routine patrol and emergency response o Community service officer: between 17 and 21 to assist with social services to create a better community image for the department The Kerner Report- Investigate urban riots to determine what happened, why it happened, and what should be done to prevent similar outbreaks in the future- Participants were reacting to social injustices that included discrimination, impoverished living conditions, and blocked aspirations- Police vs. minority members- Recommendations:o More sensitivity to the frustrations and problems of ghetto lifeo Equal protection for both black and white citizens (police presence in poorer areas)o Review board independent from the police agencyo Recruit and hire more minoritiesStandards and Goals (The National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals) 1971- Crime reduction and prevention at the state and local levels- Reduce high-fear stranger-to-stranger crime (homicide, sexual battery, aggravated assault, robbery, and burglary)- 4 major priorities: prevention of juvenile delinquency, improved delivery of social services, streamlining the criminal justice process, and increasing citizen participation in crime control strategies- Recommendations:o College education entrance requiremento Increased citizen participation o Improve training- Civilianization: hiring citizens to replace officers in clerical and other support positionsLaw EnforcementThe Knapp Commission- Serpico story- Found widespread corruption- Meat eater: officer who actively looks for opportunities to extort money from participants of illegal enterprises - Grass eater: doesn’t actively search for a payoff but wouldn’t pass up the chance if an opportunity came along- Rotten apple theory: once a few bad apples are removed, the organization can reassure the people that remaining officers continue to do good worko It’s important to note though that sometimes the problem is organizational because abuse requires sustained supportContemporary Critical Incidents (not isolated incidents, problems continue to exist)- The Mollen Reporto Instructed to explore the nature and extent of corruption within the NYPD, to assess whether organizational efforts to combat corruption were suitable, and to make recommendations to strengthen anti-corruption measures.o “shake down” street dealers, not listing items taken during an impoundo Code of silence associate with rank-and-fileo Brass wished to avoid embarrassment so they were reluctant to uncover corruption - The Christopher Report (Rodney King)o Special investigators combed through citizen complaints concerning excessive forceo 10% of members held 1/3 of the complaints filedo Car-to-car messages with racial undertoneso Recommended pre-service and continued in-service training- The Sequel to the Christopher Reporto Follow up investigation
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