Police

Overview

History

Early “policing” informal, watch systems, volunteers, few paid personnel

Or, military Professionalized police forces with the

advent of the Industrial Revolution Urban migration, unrest Structure

History

Police officers tended to be poorly trained with little check on power

Often used to break up labor disputes

Corruption was visible and common Resented by the poor, particularly

immigrants

Wickersham commission

1931—lack of efficiency, honesty, discipline, lack of equipment

Recommended education and training, job security

IACP had been developed in 1892, became the leading voice for reform in the 20th century

IACP

Development of civil service, removal of political control, central organizational structure, development of record keeping systems, specialized units

Vollmer, O. W. Wilson—argued for a professionalized force, tough, trained, rule-oriented, paramilitary force

1960s and 1970s

Turmoil and crisis Civil rights movement, Supreme

Court decisions, riots and demonstrations

Growing crime rate Consequences: increased spending

on technology, federal funding LEAA, LEEP

Police role

Functions of police Crime fighter vs. order maintenance Styles of policing (crime fighter,

watchman, public servant, legalistic)

Considerable disagreement over these roles

Major issues

How many police are needed? When there are no police, there is

often chaos (the thin blue line) Although not always—the most

recent blackout Faster response times More detectives

Issues

Targeting career criminals Eliminating technicalities Increasing arrest rates Using problem solving techniques Using the results of deterrence

research to deter criminals

Adding police

KC patrol experiment Why wasn’t patrol effective? Patrol is spread thinly in the best

of circumstances Many would-be criminals do not

see it as a threat Nor do they always act rationally

Adding police

Majority of murders and assaults, about 50% of rapes occur between people who know each other, in the heat of passion and often indoors, where police presence will have no effect

Outdoor crimes theoretically could be impacted by more police

Adding police

About 100,000 officers were added as a result of the Violent Crime Control Act of 1994

Not much effect—why? Crime is concentrated in large

cities, which received only 23% of the funding

Many hired had desk jobs

Faster response time

Commonly believed that faster response times will catch more criminals

About 75% of crime-related calls involve crimes that occurred some time ago (“cold” crimes)

About 25% of crime-related calls involve a confrontation

Faster response time Even then, it frequently does not

make a difference People often delay before calling

the police. Victims compose themselves, call

a family member Witnesses often hesitate (cell

phone might make a difference)

Faster response time Response time might make a

difference in a small number, perhaps 3% (Police Executive Research Forum). Commercial robberies

Faster response time may improve public relations

Too much hurry could result in danger to others

More detectives Police clear about 21% of all index

crimes Belief that we could clear more with

more detectives Most crimes that are cleared are

easily solved, such as acquaintance crime

60-80% of arrests made by patrol rather than detectives

More detectives

Information about the suspect most important

A study in LA indicated that police cleared 86% of cases in which a suspect was immediately identified

Cleared 12% cases without an identification

More detectives

Skills or training help clear a case only where there is evidence

Of course, lack of training can hurt a case

Targeting career criminals

Following high rate offenders (Wolfgang’s research)

Repeat Offender Project High rate offenders placed under

surveillance Highly intensive

Targeting career criminals

58% of the target group were arrested within a year

Conviction rate 37% Questions about the cost-

effectiveness of the program

Eliminating technicalities

Rationale: police have been restricted in their efforts to catch criminals

Exclusionary rule Motion to suppress: <5% of cases Successful in .69% of the total More likely to make a difference in

cases involving drugs and weapons

Technicalities

Other types of cases often cleared through other means, primarily information about the suspect

One study found that 70% of cases where evidence was suppressed were convicted on other charges (small N)

Technicalities: Miranda

Rate of confessions has declined by 16% (Cassell)—however, was declining prior to Miranda

Estimated that confessions needed in 24% of cases

Some of those cases get convictions anyway

Technicalities: Miranda

Many suspects waive their rights—2/3 in one study, 80% in another

Police confronted them with evidence and/or appealed to their self-interest about 80% of the time

About 1/4 appealed to suspect’s conscience

Increasing arrests

Arrests should increase certainty of apprehension

Arrests take police off the streets, decreasing visibility

Effects of arrest and patrol presence have not been systematically compared

Increasing arrests

Avoidance of arrests, “peacekeeping”

Arrests as escalation of a dispute Whether arrests are effective may

be situational

Problem oriented policing

Risk analysis: determining where the problems and problem areas are and focusing resources on those areas

Minneapolis Hot Spots Patrol Experiment

Showed statistically significant effects

POP Frequent rotation of personnel in this

study was more effective Longer the police stayed, the longer

the hot spot was crime free, up to a point (about 10 minutes in this study)

Merely driving though had little effect What police do at a hot spot may be

important

POP

Look at problems in areas—hot spots

Repeat criminals Repeat victims Repeat calls for service

POP: examples

Crackdowns: most successful in the short run, only a few studies show displacement

Must be unpredictable to avoid displacement

Residual deterrence and the “phantom” effect

POP

Effect of field interrogations positive, if done correctly

A Kansas City study found that aggressive gun seizures reduced violent crime

Gun tips and buybacks did not Use of trespasser laws

Risk analysis and risk control

Analyzing the problem, and then constructing barriers in high risk situations

Analogy to driving—safety devices Ad hoc nature of these efforts

Risk analysis and control

Deterrence theory indicates that perceptions of certainty of apprehension most likely to have an effect

Analyze high risk areas Control high risk situations by

constructing barriers

Risk control Analogous to care safety devices Altering physical environment Natural surveillance, establishing

territoriality Studies indicate that these factors

affected by another variable, i.e., willingness of those surveying to intervene

Other efforts

Better lighting, barriers and cul-de-sacs

Results ambiguous, apparently community dependent

Broken windows Policing disorder and incivility