Week 6: Police Organization & Roles

• Chapter deals with three questions about police departments (which are related):

1. What are police supposed to do? (the “Police Mandate”)

2. What do they actually do? (the “Police Role” & Policing Styles)

3. How are police departments set up? (Organizational structure)

1. Police Mandate: What are police supposed to do & how can they do it?

• “Mandate” = Mission + Authority• Police Mission contains multiple goals:

– Law enforcement– Order Maintenance– Public Service– Problem solving– Protection

• Note:– Lack of agreement about goals– Goals may be broad & mutually conflicting

1. the “Police Mandate” (cont.)• Police also defined by what they are

authorized to do in fulfilling the mission• We authorize police to:

– Use coercive methods– Engage in search and seizure– Use force and weapons– Demand compliance from citizens– Use other extraordinary methods

• If Mission is inconsistent, then the police mandate becomes a “Mission Impossible”

2. Police Role: What Police Do• “The Functions and Activities by which

police seek to carry out their mission”a) Patrol Function

b) Investigation Function

c) Support Function

d) Special Services & other functions

• “Policing Styles” – refer to distinctive strategies by which police carry out their mission

2. Police Role • Note distinctive features of police work

that shape how police role is carried outa) Need for quick decisions

b) Misinformation & incomplete information

c) Discretion and independence

d) “Dirty work” & moral ambiguity

e) Conflict & opposition

f) Danger & aggression

g) Importance of authority & obedience

2. Police Role & “Styles”• Organizational Styles (J.Q. Wilson)

– Legalistic style – arrest-oriented

– Watchman style – problem-solving-oriented

– Service style – service-provision-oriented

• Individual Officer Styles– “Enforcers”: emphasize order

– “Idealists”: emphasize due process

– “Pragmatists”: emphasize a balance of the two

– “Realists”: emphasize neither

2. Police Role & “Styles”• What determines the style of policing?

– Individuals who fill the role• Selection• Training

– Organizational context• Structure• Culture

– Community context

– Political/Legal context

– Technology

– Broader cultural setting and ideology

2. Police Role (cont.)a) Patrol Function = most basic and universal

AKA: the “heart” of policing?• Almost all officers enter policing as patrol officers• Small depts: all officers are patrol• Large depts: largest number of officers = patrol

• Different kinds of patrol activities?–General patrol vs. Focused patrols:

• Focus on specific areas (hot spots) or specific activities (drug trade; sexual deviance; gangs; special problems)

–Methods of Patrol• Most common = In-vehicle• Alternative methods: foot; bike; boat; horse

–Reactive vs. Proactive patrols = important diff

2. Police Role -- Patrol (cont.)

• Proactive vs. Reactive Patrol?

• Reactive = responding to reports of crime– Most crimes identified through citizen calls

– Response time = critical factor?

• Proactive = efforts to prevent crime– Deterrent patrols = being visible

– Aggressive patrols = making arrests & stops

– Problem-solving patrols = identifying troubles

– Outreach patrols = connecting to community

2. Police Role -- Patrol (cont.)

• Experiments on Patrol Strategies– Kansas City Patrol study – deterrent patrol

• Illustrate the pros and cons of field experiments

– Other studies of aggressive and targeted patrol sometimes show more success

– Notable experimental patrol programs:• Data-driven/targeted patrols (COMSTAT)• Aggressive Order Maintenance patrol (NYC)

(“zero-tolerance” patrolling)• Programs in other cities?

2. Police Role -- Patrol (cont.)

• Evaluating Patrol Strategies– Valid, objective evaluations are difficult

– Research is limited to single, selected cases• Hard to generalize to other times & places

– Different studies show different results

– Avoid simple general conclusions about patrol methods • The results have been mixed and complex• Can we draw strong conclusions from New York?

• How about other cities?

2. Police Role - Investigationb) Investigative Function: collecting information

to solve cases– To identify suspected offenders for apprehension– To locate evidence and witnesses for prosecution

• General Investigation– By patrol officers (first-responders) – By detectives (follow-up investigatopms)

• Half of cases are dropped not investigated further• Most investigations last only a few days or hours• Most cases not solved by detective work or crime scene

analysis (robberies; burglaries; thefts; arsons)

– What about CSI? It combines & confuses 3 jobs

2. Police Role -- Investigation (cont.)• Focused or targeted investigations

– By detectives in special units or tasks– Limited to specific types of crimes or problems– Drugs; vice; financial crimes; fraud; cybercrimes

• Proactive investigations – to generate info– Undercover– Stings– Raise considerable legal questions of propriety

(e.g., entrapment)– Also raise practical questions of value (e.g.,

effectiveness; corruption; misconduct)

2. Police Role -- Investigation (cont.)

• Summary of research on investigations:– Most cases = unsolved

– Most investigations = very brief (a few hours)

– Intensive follow-up investigations = rare

– Initial investigations by patrol officers = critical in clearing case

– Delay in calling police = greatly reduces chances of solving case

– Technology is valuable in some cases but over-rated in most

3. Organizational structure of Policing

• The Traditional Policing Model:– Quasi-military framework

– Strong emphasis on law enforcement (over service and order maintenance)

– Primary emphasis on reactive, coercive actions

– Police officers defined as professional crime-fighters

– Strong reliance on technology

Used to define “real policing”

2. Police Role (cont.)• Criticisms of Traditional Model:

– Generates police agency as a “closed system” (leading to an us-versus-them orientation)

– Encourages a “warfare” mindset– Authoritarian structure produces cynicism, simplistic

thinking, and informal evasions & deviance– Warfare framework often generates discrimination

(profiling), coercion (brutality), & community conflict– Male-oriented and male-dominated – Ineffective in “protecting and serving” community

2. Police Role (cont.)• Making changes to the Traditional Model?

– Change police officers: selection; education

– Change policing styles: patrolling; uniforms; coworking

– Change management styles: TQM

– Change police-community relations: DARE

– Change police-management relations: civil service; unionization

– Change organizational structures: hierarchy, centralization, communication, divisions

2. Police Role (cont.)• Many tweaks & variations have been tried

– Very few have been permanent or large-scale

• Major alternative = “Community Oriented Policing (C.O.P.)”– Different model of social control & policing

– Implies a major shift in thinking about how policing should be organized and done• a different model of police operations• a different model of police organization• A redefinition of “good policing”

2. Police Role (cont.)• Widely introduced with federal legistation

in 1994– Set up the COPS office in U.S. Justice Dept.

• COP model has 3 components:1)Community Partnerships

• Connection; communication; collaboration

2)Problem-Solving• Proactive and preventive SARA strategy

3)Demilitarization• Decentralization; flattening; labor relations; evaluation

2. Police Role (cont.)• COP calls for radical overhaul in police

departments and police work• Implementing COP

– Initial promotion and acceptance of COP• Strong advocates and strong Cynics and Critics • Federal money prompted widespread adoption

– Widespread adoption of elements of COP– Full implementations of COP are very rare– Very little meaningful research on COP

• Future of COP? At odds with Homeland Security?

3. Organizational Structure:• Note: agency size is a major factor

• Quasi-Military framework as dominant feature– Hierarchical rank & command structure– Closed system– Impersonality & detachment from community– Formalization– Professionalization– Military culture: group cohesion & use of force

• Bureaucratic organization as a key variable– Division of labor, specialization, segmentation– Emphasis on standardization & accountability

3. Organizational Structure:• Use of Organizational Charts to describe

organizational structure– Shows how tasks are divided and valued– Shows how administration is organized

• but not how communication and authority are actually patterned – e.g., chain of command, span of control

• Also does not indicate anything about the organization culture and routine practices

• Note the distinction between:– Occupational structure and culture – Organizational structure and culture

4. Evaluating Police Performance• Competence in Police work

– Difficulty in defining “good police work”– Difficulty in objectively assessing good police work

• Reliance on easy to measure criteria• Reliance on “Law Enforcement” outcomes

• Misconduct in Police work:– “Abuse of authority” – “Corruption”– How to police the police?

• Anternal Affairs & administrative discipline• Police Review Boards• Criminal & Civil Liability?

Chief of Police

Deputy Chief

Patrol Division

InvestigativeDivision

SupportDivision

AdministrativeDivision

BusinessManager

AdministrativeChief of Staff

Shift 1

Shift 2

Shift 3

Traffic

C.O.P.

SpecialUnits

Detectives

MajorCrimes

SpecialOperations

Licenses& Permits

Communication

ComputerServices

Crime Lab &Records

Personnel

Training

EquipmentMaintenance

ProfessionalStandards

CommunityRelations

Accounting