Transcript Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction

AJ 50 – Introduction to
Administration of Justice
Chapter 6 Policing: Issues and
Challenges
Issues in Policing
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Certain issues hold special interest and
concerns for today’s police administrators
and officers
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Inherent Dangers
Stress
Use-of-Force/Lethal Force
Civil Liability
Multiculturalism
Police Subculture & Personality
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Subculture
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Informal values that characterize the police force
as a distinct community with common goals
Working Personality
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Traditional values and behaviors
Socialized into police culture
Often extends to officers’ personal lives
The Police Personality
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Optimistic/Helpful
Hopeful
Honorable/Loyal
Conservative
Efficient
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Frustrated
Authoritarian
Suspicious/Secretive
Cynical/Pessimistic
Prejudiced/Opinionated
Corruption
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Corruption
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The abuse of police authority for personal or
organizational gain
Historical existence of corruption?
Knapp Commission
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A committee that investigated police corruption in New
York City in the early 1970s
Established two types of corrupt officers
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Grass Eaters
Meat Eaters
Is money at the root of corruption?
Building Integrity
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Law Enforcement Oath of Honor (page 199)
How does LE create and maintain integrity
within its profession?
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Hiring standards
Academy & continuing training
Internal Affairs
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The branch of a police organization tasked with
investigating charges of wrongdoing involving
members of the department
Drug and Alcohol Use
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IACP Drug-Testing Recommendations
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All applicants/recruits
Employees showing performance difficulties
indicating possible drug/alcohol problems
Employees involved with excessive force
Employees involved with IOD
Routine testing of special assignments such as
Narcotics or Vice
Inherent Dangers of Police Work
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Violence
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156 officers killed in line of duty (2005)
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Risk of disease and infection
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Gunfire = 52
Automobile Accident = 33
Heart Attack = 17
Vehicular Assault = 15
Biological agents, blood-borne pathogens,
etc.
Stress and Fatigue
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Shift-work, diet, OT, etc.
Police Civil Liability
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Liability
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1983 Lawsuits
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Responsibility for damages caused by
officer/department
Based on § 1983, Title 42, US Code
Filed in Federal Court
Bivens Action
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Liability action against federal officials
Major Sources of Civil Liability
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Failure to protect
property in custody
Negligent care of incustody suspects
Failure to render proper
medical first-aid
Lack of due regard for
public safety
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False arrest or
imprisonment
Excessive force
Violation of
constitutional rights
Racial Profiling
Racial Profiling and Biased Policing
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Racial Profiling
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Racial Profiling vs. Criminal Profiling?
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Any police-initiated action that relies on the subject’s race,
ethnicity, or national origin
Same as racism?
Civil rights violation vs. good police work
POST training mandates
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~100,000 officers statewide
5 hours initial training
Main goal = individual-officer introspection
Cultural Awareness
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Training helps to identify individual prejudices
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Four stages:
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Clarifying the relationship between cultural awareness and
police professionalism
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Recognizing personal prejudices
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Acquiring sensitivity to police-community relations
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Developing interpersonal-relations skills
Use of Force
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Police Use-of-Force
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Use-of-Force Continuum
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The use of physical restraint by a police officer when
dealing with a member of the public
Department Policy, Training, etc.
Ladder, Steps, Elevator, Wheel…
Excessive Force
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The application of an amount or frequency of force greater
than that required to gain compliance from a willing or
unwilling subject
Lethal Force
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Level of force likely to cause death or great bodily
injury
Tennessee vs. Garner (1985)
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Lethal force upon fleeing felon only if serious threat of injury
or death to public or officer and deadly force necessary to
affect arrest
Graham vs. Connor (1989)
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Established “objective reasonableness” standard
Appropriateness of force should be judged from perspective
of reasonable officer in that situation
Lethal-Force Policy Elements
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Common elements of deadly-force policies…
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Defense of Life
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Fleeing Felony Suspect
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Should be given if not jeopardizing safety
Warning Shots
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If escape likely to result in imminent danger of death/GBI
Verbal Warnings
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Officer’s or another’s
Generally discouraged
Moving Vehicles
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Not to disable vehicle, at driver/occupants only if imminent
death/GBI and does not cause overriding danger
Less-Lethal Force
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Less-Lethal Weapons
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Weapons designed/intended to disable,
capture, or immobilize – but not kill – a suspect
Not Non-lethal!
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Could cause unintentional death or serious
injury
Examples
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Baton
Pepper Spray/Pepperball
Tasers/Stun Guns
Beanbag Projectiles
Rubber Bullets
Snare Nets
Education and Training
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P.O.S.T.
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Peace Officer Standards and Training
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www.post.ca.gov
Official state/legislative program that sets law
enforcement training standards
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832 PC
Basic Academies
Continuing Professional Training
Perishable-Skills Program
Recruitment and Selection
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Benefits of hiring educated officers
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Report writing skills
Communication skills
Effective job performance
Fewer citizen complaints
Increased initiative
Wise use of discretion
Fewer discipline issues
Heightened awareness of multiculturalism
Professionalism and Ethics
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Professionalism
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Ethics
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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 inherent in police work
Law Enforcement Code of Ethics (p. 226)
Ethnic and Gender Diversity
in Policing
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Women currently represent ~13% of all sworn officers
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4.8% are women of color
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Between 1990−2001, women’s ranks increased from 9% to
13%
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Women hold 7.3% of sworn top-command law enforcement
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Women will not achieve equal representation within 70 years
Consent Decrees mandating the hiring/promotion of women
and minorities are the significant factor in women’s gains
Women as Effective Police Officers
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Research on female police officers
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Extremely devoted to their work
See themselves as women first and then police officers
Are more satisfied when working in non-uniformed
categories
Two groups of female officers
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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
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Police Foundation recommendations
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Involve underrepresented groups in affirmative
action and long-term planning programs
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Encourage development of an open system of
promotions for women and racial/ethnic minorities
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Use periodic audits to ensure that female officers
are not being underutilized
Private Protective Services
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Private Protective Services
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Independent commercial organizations that provide
protective services to employers on a contractual basis
Major reasons for rapid growth of private policing
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Increase in workplace crimes
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Increase in fear-of-crime and terrorism
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Fiscal crises of the states
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Increased public and business awareness
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More cost-effective private-security services
Impact on traditional Law Enforcement?