chapter 6 policing: issues and challenges

CRIMINAL JUSTICEA Brief Introduction, 6/Eby Frank Schmalleger

©2006 Pearson Education, Inc.Pearson Prentice HallUpper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Chapter 6Policing: Issues and

Challenges



Learning Objectives

• Describe the police working personality

• List and describe the different types of police corruption

• Explain the dangers of police work

• Describe terrorism’s impact on police agencies

• Describe civil liability issues associated with policing



Learning Objectives

• Describe efforts to enhance police professionalism

• Discuss ethnic and gender diversity in policing

• Describe the nature and extent of private protective services

• Explain the relationship between private security and public policing



Issues in Policing

• A number of issues hold special interest for today’s police administrators and officers.– On-the-job dangers– Officer stress– Use of deadly force

• Hear author discuss the chapter.



Police Personality and Culture

• Police working personality refers to:

• Characteristics of the police personality often extend to the personal lives of law enforcement personnel.

All aspects of the traditional values and patterns of behavior evidenced by police officers who have been effectively socialized into the police culture.



The Police Personality

• Authoritarian • Hostile • Efficient

• Suspicious • Loyal • Prejudiced

• Insecure • Secret • Dogmatic

• Honorable • Conservative

• Cynical • Individualistic

• Web Extra 6-1



Multiculturalism and Diversity

• Cultural awareness training helps to identify prejudices.

• Four stages:

– Clarifying the relationship between cultural awareness and police professionalism

– Recognizing personal prejudices

– Acquiring sensitivity to police–community relations

– Developing interpersonal relations skills



Corruption

• Police corruption refers to:

• Knapp Commission:– A committee that investigated police

corruption in New York City in the early 1970s.

• Web Extra 6-2

The abuse of police authority for personal or organizational gain.



Corruption

• Grass eaters:– The most common form of police corruption.– Illegitimate activity that occurs from time to time in the

normal course of police work.• Small bribes or receiving minor services

• Meat eaters:– A much more serious form of corruption involving the

active seeking of illicit money-making opportunities by officers.

• Solicit bribes through threats or intimidation



CorruptionViolent crimes



Money: The Root of Police Evil?

• The police personality provides fertile ground for the growth of corrupt practices.

• Police “cynicism” develops out of continued association with criminals and problem-laden people.

• Low pay may be a critical ingredient of the corruption mix.

• Working hand in hand with monetary pressures toward corruption are the moral dilemmas.



Building Police Integrity

• Ethics training is part of a “reframing” strategy that emphasizes integrity.– Ethics training– Research

• Internal affairs refers to:

• Library Extra 6-1

The branch of a police organization tasked with investigating charges of wrongdoing involving members of the department.



Drug Testing of Police Employees

• Potential for police corruption created by illicit drugs has become a focus.

– Testing all applicants and recruits for drug use

– Testing current employees

• With performance difficulties

• Who use excessive force or suffer injury

• Assigned to special “high risk” areas

• Web Extra 6-3

• Library Extras 6-2 and 6-3



The Dangers of Police Work

• Violence in the line of duty– Web Extra 6-4

• Risk of disease and infected evidence– Library Extra 6-4

• Stress and fatigue– Library Extra 6-5



U.S. Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty, 2003



Terrorism’s Impact on American Policing

• Strengthening liaisons with federal, state, and local agencies

• Refining training, emergency, and counterterrorism response plans

• Increasing patrols and shoring up barriers, landmarks, and so on

• Employing new technologies




Police Civil Liability

• Failure to protect property in police custody

• Negligence in the care of suspects in police custody

• Failure to render proper emergency medical assistance

• Failure to prevent a foreseeable crime

• Failure to aid private citizens

• Lack of due regard for the safety of others



Police Civil Liability

• False arrest

• False imprisonment

• Inappropriate use of deadly force

• Unnecessary assault or battery

• Malicious prosecution

• Violations of constitutional rights

• Patterns of unfair and inequitable treatment

• Racial profiling



Federal Lawsuits

• 1983 lawsuit refers to:

• Bivens action refers to:

A civil suit brought under Title 42, Section 1983, of the U.S. Code against anyone who denies others their constitutional right to life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

A civil suit, based on the case of Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Agents, brought against federal government officials for denying the constitutional rights of others.



Racial Profiling and Biased Policing

• Civil liability refers to:

• Racial profiling refers to:

• Library Extras 6-7 and 6-8

Potential responsibility for payment of damages or other court-ordered enforcement as a result of a ruling in a lawsuit.

“Any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, or national origin…”



Racial Biased Policing

• Most police officers share an intolerance for racially biased policing.

• In learning and practicing the job, officers quickly develop a sense for what is normal and expected, and for what is not.

• Yet, young, black males are more likely than whites to be stopped.

• Recommendation– Supervisors should monitor activity reports for

evidence of improper practices and patterns.




Police Use of Force

• Police use of force refers to:

• Excessive force refers to:

The use of physical restraint by a police officer when dealing with a member of the public.

The application of an amount or frequency of force greater than that required to compel compliance from a willing or unwilling subject.



Police Use of Force

• Problem police officer refers to:

• Library Extras 6-10a, 6-10b, and 6-11

A law enforcement officer who exhibits problem behavior, as indicated by high rates of citizen complaints and use-of-force incidents and by other evidence.



Citizens Reports of Type of Force Used by Police Officers During

Adult Custodial Arrests



Deadly Force

• Deadly force refers to:

• Elements of federal deadly force policy:

Force likely to cause death or great bodily harm.

– Defense of life – Warning shots

– Fleeing subject – Vehicles

– Verbal warnings



Less-Lethal Weapons

• Less-lethal weapons refers to:

A weapon that is designed to disable, capture, or immobilize – but not kill – a suspect.

– Stun guns – Beanbag projectiles

– Tasers – Pepper spray

– Rubber bullets – Snare nets



Professionalism and Ethics

• Police professionalism refers to:

• Police ethics refers to:

• Web Extra 6-5

The increasing formalization of police work and the accompanying rise in public acceptance of the police.

The special responsibility to adhere to moral duty and obligation that is inherent in police work.



Education and Training

• Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) program refers to:

• All states set such standards, although not all use the term POST.

• Web Extra 6-6


The official program of a state or legislative jurisdiction that sets standards for the training of law enforcement officers.



Education and Training

• Police Executive Research Forum stressed the need for educated police officers.

– Better written reports – Greater initiative

– Fewer citizen complaints – Wiser use of discretion

– Enhanced communication – Fewer disciplinary problems

– More effective job

– performance

– Heightened sensitivity to

– racial and ethnic issues



Multiculturalism and Diversity

• Investigating crime in a multicultural setting

– Be patient when speaking with someone with a language barrier.

– Be careful with your choice of words.

– Allow extra time for investigation.

– Be sure that any interpreter is fully qualified and experienced.

– Be candid about your ability to speak or understand a language.

– Never assume that someone is less intelligent because of a language barrier.

• Web Extra 6-7



Ethnic and Gender Diversity in Policing

• Women currently represent 13% of all sworn officers.

– 4.9% are women of color

– Between 1990−2000, women’s ranks increased from 9% to 13%

– Women hold 7.3% of sworn top command law enforcement positions

– Women will not achieve equal representation within 70 years

• Consent decrees mandating the hiring and promotion of women and minorities are the significant factor in women’s gains.



Full-Time Sworn Law Enforcement Officers by Gender, 1972−2000



Women as Effective Police Officers

• Research on female police officers– Extremely devoted to their work– See themselves as women first and then police

officers– Are more satisfied when working in nonuniformed

categories

• Two groups of female officers– Those who feel themselves to be well integrated and

confident.– Those who experience strain and on-the-job isolation.




Increasing the Number of Minorities and Women in Police Work

• Police Foundation recommendations

– Involve underrepresented groups in affirmative action and long-term planning programs

– Encourage the development of an open system of promotions for women and racial and ethnic minorities

– Use periodic audits to ensure that female officers are not being underutilized



Private Protective Services

• Private protective services refers to:

• In most countries, private police outnumber public police.– People spend more time in places where private

police govern.

• Reconstruction of policing is occurring worldwide.


Independent or proprietary commercial organizations that provide protective services to employers on a contractual basis.



Private Protective Services

• Major reasons for the quick growth of the American proprietary security sector are:

– An increase in crimes in the workplace.

– An increase in fear of crime and terrorism.

– The fiscal crises of the states, which have limited public protection.

– An increased public and business awareness and use of more cost-effective private security products and services.



Integrating Public and Private Security

• To maximize the crime-fighting potential:

– Resources should be brought to bear in cooperative, community-based crime prevention and awareness programs.

– Assessment should be made of:

• The basic police services the public is willing to support financially.

• The types of police services most acceptable to transfer to the private sector.

• Which services might be performed for a lower unit cost by the private sector.



Integrating Public and Private Security

• To maximize the crime-fighting potential:

– With special police powers, security personnel could resolve many or most criminal incidents prior to police involvement.

– Law enforcement agencies should be included in the crisis-management planning of private organizations.

– States should allow private security firms access to criminal history records.

– Research needs to be conducted.

– A federal tax credit for security expenditures can reduce police expenditures.

chapter 6 policing: issues and challenges

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