most police work involves peacekeeping as opposed to crime fighting
(law enforcing)
crime prevention and protection of the public; the importance
of patrol
additional tasks usually conducted out of public view
about 20 percent of arrests each year are for Index crimes
peacekeeping activities as precriminal activity
The right to use force
peacekeeping role, the legitimate right to use force in situations
whose urgency requires it
the right to use force in modern democratic society has been
taken away from the citizen and given to the police.
The Police Bureaucracy
Police organized around the military model
Division of labor, assignment of similar types of work to particular
units (training, patrol, juvenile division, investigations, etc.), allows
persons to do the same type of work on a regular basis
Chain and units of command
information flow up and down the organization
each person knows to whom he/she is accountable
use of military-style rank structure (captains, lieutenants,
sergeants, etc.)
Rules, regulation, and discipline
handbooks, manuals, and other written rules covering conduct,
administrative procedures, arrest, etc.
conflict between proper conduct and making a lawful arrest
rules can cover all possible situations
Problems of enforcement
Strategic leniency
supervisors ignore many minor violations
quasi-military punitive approach to rule enforcement
military model may be inappropriate for policing
The Organization of Policing
Administrative components
line services, patrol, investigation, traffic
administrative services, training, planning, legal matters, etc.,
to support the line services
auxiliary services, communications, record keeping, laboratory,
etc., to assist the line services in performing the basic police functions
Patrol, the backbone of policing
variety of tasks
functions of police patrol
protect public safety
enforce the law
control traffic
conduct criminal investigations
quasi-judicial functions
motorized versus foot patrols
Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment
Detective work
duties and responsibilities
identification, location, and apprehension of offenders
collection and preservation of evidence
location and interviewing of witnesses
recovery and return of stolen property
duties and organization vary by size of department-specialized
investigative units
effectiveness
evaluation of detectives, clearance rates
Specialized police units
juvenile division or youth bureau
decoys and blending
web patrols
SWAT
sting operations
Community Policing
community responsiveness
assignment of officers to a specific neighborhood
importance of communication with residents of the community
broken windows
obstacles to community policing
changeover to counterterrorism
Women in Policing
The emergence of women police
early history
Alice Stubbins Wells and the L.A.P.D.
The equal opportunity movement for women in policing
Civil Rights Act of 1964
EEOA of 1972
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
Griggs v. Duke Power Co.
Blake v. Los Angeles
Current status of women in policing
research supports women's ability to do police work well
continuing problems of harassment and bias
Police Discretion and Selective Law Enforcement
Police officers as law interpreters
Importance of police discretion, department and individual officer
Selective enforcement of the law
Situations requiring discretion
questionable legislative intent
limited police resources
situational determinants
Full enforcement of the law, impossible and undesirable
Factors in the decision to arrest
seriousness of the offense
weapons involvement
desires of complainant/witness
attitude and character of offender
Command discretion
departmental objectives
enforcement policies
deployment of resources
The Police Subculture
Subculture as a smaller group within a larger group with different
beliefs, values, and attitudes; the police subculture
The police personality
danger and authority; working personality
police cynicism
Sources of stress
Summary
To learn more about the book this website supports, please visit its Information Center.