Issues in Policing

Chapter 7

Police are the only real crime fighters

Only the police understand police

Loyalty to one another is paramount

The “War on Crime” can only be won by bending a few rules

The public doesn’t support the police

Patrol work is the pits, detective work is glamorous

The Police Culture: Core Beliefs

Clannishness

Secrecy

Insulation from others in society

The "blue curtain"

The Police Subculture: Characteristics

Dogmatic

Authoritarian

Suspicious

Racist

Cynical

The Police Personality

The nature of police work attracts candidates who are by nature

cynical, authoritarian and secretive

The process of being socialized into the job of police officer causes

the traits to develop

What Accounts for the Police Personality?

Increases with years of service

If college graduates are denied promotions, it increases

Military-type training academies cause self-cynicism

Cynicism in Policing

Discretion is the freedom to act or judge on one's own; latitude of

choice and action

Police discretion is sometimes referred to as low-visibility decision

making

Different factors affect decisions that police make

Police Discretion

Better behavioral and performance characteristics

Fewer on-the-job injuries and assaults

Fewer disciplinary actions from accidents and force allegations

Less sick time use

Promotes higher aspirations

Greater acceptance of minorities

Decreases dogmatism, authoritarianism, rigidity and conservatism

Lessens citizen complaints

Some of the Benefits of Higher Education in Policing

16% of all sworn police officers in cities with populations greater than

250,000; 11% of all departments combined

Role of women in policing is restricted by:

Social barriers including:

Gender conflict

Jealousy

Stereotyping

Women in Police Work

Administrative barriers including:

Under-representation at senior administrative levels

Selective utilization of their skills and training

Lack of peer acceptance in a male dominated occupation

Women in Police Work (cont.)

Are less likely to use a firearm in a violent confrontation than male

officers

Are more emotionally stable than male officers

Are less likely to seriously injure a citizen than male officers

Are no more likely to suffer injuries than their male partners

Are more likely to receive more support from the community

Are less likely to engage in improper conduct

Research Results About Women in Policing

External stressors

Organizational stressors

Duty stressors

Individual stressors

Categories of Police Stressors

Policing is not the only criminal justice job that produces stress

Because of the public nature of policing, citizens sometimes suffer

from the effects of police stress

There are many sources of negative stressors in policing that may

produce a synergism

Not all officers respond similarly to stressors

Police and Stress

Poor work performance

Depression/suicide

Alcoholism

Divorce

Violence

The Effects of Stress

In 1999, about 422,000 incidents involved the use or threatened use

of force

20% of the total was the threat of use of force only

20% of those reporting use of force against themselves reported

no injury

How Common is the Use of Force Today?

Abusive language

Unnecessary use of force or coercion

Threats

Harassment

Police Brutality: What is it?

About 2% of African-Americans and Hispanics experience police use

of force or threatened use of force while only 1% of whites

experience the same

Some authorities argue that race is a main factor in the decision to

use force; others contend that individual behavior is the primary

determinant regarding the use of force

Race and Force

Violence levels

Exposure to violence

Workload of officers

Availability of firearms (gun density)

Social conflict

Administrative policies

Race

Factors Related to Police Shootings

Research by Lersch and Mieczkowski found that 7% of police

accounted for 33% of all citizen complaints

Officers receiving most of police complaints tend to be:

Younger

Less experienced

Who Are The Problem Cops?

Tennessee v. Garner

Put an end to any local police policy that allowed officers to shoot

unarmed or nondangerous offenders if they resisted or attempted

to flee

Graham v. Conner

Force is excessive when, considering all the circumstances

known to the officer at the time he or she acted, the force used

was unreasonable

Controlling Use of Deadly Force

Different approaches have been used to curb the use of force in

departments. Some of these approaches include:

Detailed “rules of engagement” procedures

Force-Related Integrity Testing

Civil judgments against police officers, their superiors and the

departments

Curbing the Use of Force

Pepper Spray

Bean Bag Guns

Tasers

Are There Alternatives to Lethal Weapons?

Meat Eaters:

Those who aggressively misuse police power for personal gain

by demanding bribes, threatening legal action or cooperating with

criminals

Grass Eaters:

Those who accept payoffs when their everyday duties place them

in a position to be solicited by the public

Corrupt Cops and the Knapp Commission

Internal corruption

Selective enforcement or nonenforcement

Active criminality

Bribery and extortion

Kinds of Police Corruption

Rotten apples and rotten pockets:

Departments with a few corrupt officers who use their position for

personal gain

Pervasive unorganized corruption:

Majority of personnel are corrupt but have little relationship to one

another

Pervasive organized corruption:

Almost all members are involved in systematic and organized

corruption

Corrupt Police Departments

Police personality

Institution and practices

Moral ambivalence

Environmental conditions

Corrupt departments

Causes of Police Corruption

Unenforceable laws governing moral standards promote corruption

because they create large groups with an interest in subverting law

enforcement. Interest groups include both consumers and suppliers;

their existence creates a climate that tolerates active corruption by

others

Social Ambivalence Towards Police Corruption

Change in department tolerances

More willingness to take cases to the courts

More active scrutiny within government

Greater access to police practices for the public

Changing what the public will accept from the police

Changing Police Corruption

Policies requiring Internal Affairs investigate all citizen complaints

Development of good computer files containing all types of

complaints against all officers

Policies giving corrupt or excessive force complaints “high priority”

status

Mandatory reporting and recording of all incidents in which an officer

used more than incidental force

Training officers to treat citizens without racial bias; requiring top

echelon officers to monitor all charges of racial bias

Review all policies and practices to eliminate any racial bias

Changing Police Corruption (cont.)