1. Chapter 4: Police

2. Learning Objectives
Understand how policing evolved in the United States
Recognize the main types of law enforcement agencies
Identify why people become police officers and how they learn from their job
Understand the elements of the police officer’s “working personality”
Comprehend the functions and organization of the police
Analyze influences on police policy and styles of policing

3. Shootout in Ogden Utah
While serving a drug warrant 6 police officers were shot, one fatally by a Matthew Stewart – 6 marijuana plants were later seized. Stewart himself was shot twice but survived. In 2011, 68 police officers were killed in the line of duty.
How can such deaths be avoided in the future?

4. Sir Robert Peel’s Police – London, 1828
Four basic mandates
Prevent crime without repressive force and avoid having to call on the military to control riots and other disturbances
Maintain public order by nonviolent means, using force only as a last resort to obtain compliance
Reduce conflict between the police and the public
Show efficiency through the absence of crime and disorder rather than through visible police actions

5. Early american law enforcement
Adopted many English titles and offices
Sheriff – old ‘shire reeves,’ a county based system
Constable
Night Watchman
Also developed some new Law Enforcement
Like the slave patrols in the South
Boston’s ‘watch system’ of the 1640s

6. American Policing had Three distinct Periods
The Political Era ( )
The Professional Model Era ( )
The Community Policing Era ( present)

7. The Political Era
By 1850 most major American cities had created a full-time police force
New York City first in 1845
Often the police seemed to be controlled by the dominant political party or city officials
Corruption was frequent
Rank in the police force was often sold or given as political patronage
Police performed many other jobs
Ran soup kitchens
Regulated public health
Even had temporary sleeping quarters for homeless

8. The Professional Model Era
Resulted in large part due to the Progressive movement in American society
The Progressive Model has six elements:
Police should stay out of politics
Police should be well trained, well disciplined, and tightly organized
Laws should be equally enforced
Police should use new technology
Personnel procedures should be based on merit
The main task of police should be fighting crime

9. Community Policing Era
Emerged around 1970
Moved police from strictly crime-fighting focus toward greater emphasis on keeping order and providing services
Based on the growing belief that arrest of criminals as a major deterrence to overall crime is basically ineffective
Response time did NOT reduce the crime rate
Simply hiring more police officers did NOT reduce crime
Solving more crimes required a new approach

10. Community Policing Theory
“Broken Windows: The Police and Neighborhood Safety”
An influential 1982 article by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling that argued police should work on the “little problems” to create order
Neighborhood disorder creates fear.
Untended disorderly behavior signals that the community does not care
In order to deal with disorder and reduce crime and fear the police must rely on citizens for assistance

11. Problem Oriented Policing
An extension of the Community Policing Model
Focus on the fear or crime in the community
Retaking public spaces and working inside the community to solve crime

12. 9/11 and the Next Era of Policing
The terrorist attacks of September 11, have shown that cities and towns are no longer immune to foreign or domestic attack
Building upon community policing, the efforts of Homeland Security provide training, resources, and support to assist local police in managing terrorist threats in their jurisdictions
The recent economic crisis however has dramatically effected the resources available to the police, often leading to a sharp reduction in available officers

13. Law Enforcement Agencies
The United States has a federal system of government with separate national and state structures
Each structure has authority over certain functions
Police agencies at national, state, county, and municipal levels carry out four functions:
Maintain order
Enforce laws
Prevent crime
Provide services to the community

14. Federal Law Enforcement Agencies
Part of the executive branch of national government
Each agency is given authority to investigate specific sets of crimes as defined by Congress
Examples of jurisdictions include drug trafficking, organized crime, insider stock trading, and terrorism
Federal agencies employ around 104,000 full-time officers

15. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Investigative agency under the U.S. Department of Justice created in 1908
Investigates all federal crimes not placed under jurisdiction of other federal agencies
Over 12,000 agents work out of 56 field offices
Traditionally seen as America’s elite law enforcement agency

16. Priorities of the FBI Protect the United States from terrorist attack
Protect the United States from foreign intelligence operations and espionage
Protect the United States from cyber- based attacks and high-technology crimes
Combat public corruption at all levels
Protect civil rights

17. Priorities of the fbi
Combat national and transnational criminal organizations and enterprises
Combat major white-collar crime
Combat significant violent crime
Support federal, state, county, municipal, and international partners
Upgrade technology to successfully perform the FBI’s mission

18. Other Federal Agencies with Law Enforcement Jurisdictions
US Marshals Service (DOJ)
Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
National Parks Service
Border and Customs Enforcement
Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS)
Bureau of Indian Affairs

19. State Agencies
States have different models for their state wide police forces
Some give them very limited power, often focusing on just specific crimes, like Highway Patrol Departments
Other states give broad power and create statewide police forces

20. Native American Tribal Police
Native American tribes have significant sovereign powers
Tribes have powers to enforce tribal criminal laws on their lands
171 tribal enforcement agencies employ over 2300 officers
Additional 320 officers of the Bureau of Indian Affairs also enforce laws on tribal lands

21. Crime on Indian Reservations
Police face higher crime rates on most reservations, often 2 ½ the national average. Recently a ‘surge’ patterned after the surge in Iraq has placed more resources into the hands of Tribal Police. This included giving the tribes more authority to deal with crime internally. Some reservations saw a 68% drop in violent crime.
Do you think such an approach is appropriate?

22. County Agencies
The most recognizable law enforcement position at the county level is the sheriff
Nearly all of the 3,100 counties in the U.S. have a sheriff
Duties of the sheriff vary between states
In 33 states the sheriff is a constitutional position and is elected
Many sheriff’s agencies have patrol and investigative powers, especially in unincorporated areas
In larger states and urban counties the patrol and investigative powers are assumed by county police agencies rather than the sheriff
Nationwide sheriff departments employ over 182,000 sworn deputy sheriffs

23. Municipal Agencies
Range in size from 36,000 sworn officers in New York City to 561 small towns with only one sworn officer.
The five largest U.S. municipalities employ 16% of all sworn law enforcement officers.
Three-quarters of municipal police agencies employ fewer than 25 sworn officers.
Over 461,000 sworn officers nationwide.
Often in large metropolitan areas with numerous suburbs, formal agreements are developed to merge police powers into a single agency rather than several overlapping agencies.

24. Duties of the Police Officer
Conduct preventive patrol
Provide initial response
Investigate complaints
Enforce law and local ordinances
Prepare reports
Participate in prosecutions
Provide public service activities

25. Recruitment
Applicant requirements and initial training varies widely between states and jurisdictions.
Must be a US citizen
Minimum age normally 21
Though the salary range is wide, the average starting salary for a sworn officer in the U.S. in 2010 was $39,263.
Only 1% of agencies require a four-year degree and 8% require a two-year degree.

26. FIGURE 4.1

27. Minority Representation
Since the 1970s federal legislation, court rulings, and cultural changes doubled the number of minority and female officers
Currently 22% of all sworn officers nationwide belong to a minority group with the number increasing to 40% in cities with over 500,000 in population
Women make up about 12% of all sworn officers in the U.S., increasing to 18% in cities with one million or more in population
These percentages decrease when factoring in supervisory or management positions

28. Training
Many small departments only hire candidates who have already completed basic training and have a law enforcement certificate
Larger departments have academies
Later new officers undergo ‘socialization’ by training with senior officers in the field

29. Police Subculture Subculture
The symbols, beliefs, values, and attitudes shared by members of a subgroup of the larger society
Police have developed their own subculture based upon four key issues:
“Working personality”
Role of police morality
Isolation of the police
Stress involved in police work

30. “Working Personality”
A set of emotional and behavioral characteristics developed by members of an occupational group in response to the work situation and environmental influences
Two elements of police work define the working personality of the police:
The threat of danger
The need to establish and maintain one’s authority

31. Morality and Isolation
A strong code of morality helps police deal with the difficulties of arrests and use of force
The nature of being ‘on the job’ separates the police from the public
Sometimes leading to public suspicion of officers

32. Stress: 4 Types found in Police Work
External stress
Produced by real threats such as dangers of personal injury or death
Organizational stress
Produced by the nature of work in a paramilitary structure
Personal stress
Produced by biases in the work environment, isolation, or differing values
Operational stress
Produced by the total effect of negative pressures within the job

33. Police Functions Maintaining Order in Society Enforcing the Law
Helping the Public
Often these three functions conflict and the police must use independent judgment to resolve the conflict

34. Police Functions Order Maintenance Law Enforcement
The police function of preventing behaviour that disturbs or threatens to disturb the public peace or that involves face-to-face conflict among two or more people
The police exercise discretion in deciding whether a law has been broken
Law Enforcement
The police function of controlling crime by intervening in situations in which the law has clearly been violated and the police need to identify and apprehend the guilty person

35. Police Functions Service
Police perform a broad range of services, especially for lower-income citizens, that are not related to crime:
Providing first aid, rescuing animals, helping the disoriented, and so on—has become a major police function
Crime prevention has also become a major component of police services to the community
Through education and community organizing, the police can help the public take steps to prevent crime

36. Organization of the Police
The police must create a structure within which to operate
Departments are typically divided up by the type of policing they do:
Vice, homicide, robbery, etc.
A command structure is placed over each division to control the organization
Typically a ‘top down’ structure, often on military lines

37. Police Policy
Limited resources mean the police prioritize their actions
Can adopt different styles of policing
Watchman style
Legalistic style
Service style

38. Cuts in Police Staffing Impact Police Culture
During the recent economic downturn many police officers lost their jobs. In January of 2012, Miami-Dade laid off more than 100 officers.
How do you think the threat of layoffs will affect police attitudes?
Do you think a lack of job security will change how police do their job?