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Chapter 7
Issues in Policing
The Police Culture: Core Beliefs

Police are the only real crime fighters

Only the police understand police
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Loyalty to one another is paramount
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The “War on Crime” can only be won by bending a few rules
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The public doesn’t support the police
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Patrol work is the pits, detective work is glamorous
The Police Subculture: Characteristics
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Clannishness
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Secrecy
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Insulation from others in society
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The "blue curtain"
The Police Personality
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Dogmatic
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Authoritarian
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Suspicious
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Racist
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Cynical
What Accounts for the Police Personality?

The nature of police work attracts candidates who are by nature
cynical, authoritarian and secretive
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The process of being socialized into the job of police officer causes
the traits to develop
Cynicism in Policing
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Increases with years of service
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If college graduates are denied promotions, it increases
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Military-type training academies cause self-cynicism
Exhibit 7.1 The Four Basic Styles of Policing
Police Discretion
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Discretion is the freedom to act or judge on one's own; latitude of
choice and action
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Police discretion is sometimes referred to as low-visibility decision
making

Different factors affect decisions that police make
Concept Summary 7.1 Police Discretion
Some of the Benefits of Higher Education in Policing
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Better behavioral and performance characteristics
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Fewer on-the-job injuries and assaults
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Fewer disciplinary actions from accidents and force allegations
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Less sick time use
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Promotes higher aspirations
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Greater acceptance of minorities
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Decreases dogmatism, authoritarianism, rigidity and conservatism
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Lessens citizen complaints
Figure 7.1 Local Police Officers in Departments With a
College Education Requirement for New Recruits, 1990 - 2000
Figure 7.2 Female and Minority Local
Police Officers, 1990-2000
Women in Police Work
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16% of all sworn police officers in cities with populations greater than
250,000; 11% of all departments combined
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Role of women in policing is restricted by:
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Social barriers including:
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Gender conflict
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Jealousy
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Stereotyping
Women in Police Work (cont.)
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Administrative barriers including:
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Under-representation at senior administrative levels
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Selective utilization of their skills and training
Lack of peer acceptance in a male dominated occupation
Research Results About Women in Policing
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Are less likely to use a firearm in a violent confrontation than male
officers
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Are more emotionally stable than male officers
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Are less likely to seriously injure a citizen than male officers
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Are no more likely to suffer injuries than their male partners
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Are more likely to receive more support from the community
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Are less likely to engage in improper conduct
Categories of Police Stressors
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External stressors
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Organizational stressors
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Duty stressors
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Individual stressors
Table 7.1 Circumstances of Accidental
Deaths, 1996-2000
Police and Stress
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Policing is not the only criminal justice job that produces stress
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Because of the public nature of policing, citizens sometimes suffer
from the effects of police stress
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There are many sources of negative stressors in policing that may
produce a synergism
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Not all officers respond similarly to stressors
The Effects of Stress
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Poor work performance
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Depression/suicide
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Alcoholism
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Divorce
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Violence
How Common is the Use of Force Today?
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In 1999, about 422,000 incidents involved the use or threatened use
of force
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20% of the total was the threat of use of force only
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20% of those reporting use of force against themselves reported
no injury
Police Brutality: What is it?
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Abusive language
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Unnecessary use of force or coercion
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Threats
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Harassment
Race and Force
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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
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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
Factors Related to Police Shootings
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Violence levels
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Exposure to violence
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Workload of officers
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Availability of firearms (gun density)
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Social conflict
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Administrative policies
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Race
Who Are The Problem Cops?
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Research by Lersch and Mieczkowski found that 7% of police
accounted for 33% of all citizen complaints
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Officers receiving most of police complaints tend to be:
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Younger
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Less experienced
Controlling Use of Deadly Force
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Tennessee v. Garner
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Put an end to any local police policy that allowed officers to shoot
unarmed or nondangerous offenders if they resisted or attempted
to flee
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Graham v. Conner
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Force is excessive when, considering all the circumstances
known to the officer at the time he or she acted, the force used
was unreasonable
Curbing the Use of Force
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Different approaches have been used to curb the use of force in
departments. Some of these approaches include:
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Detailed “rules of engagement” procedures
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Force-Related Integrity Testing
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Civil judgments against police officers, their superiors and the
departments
Figure 7.3 The Federal Law Enforcement
Training Center’s Use-of-Force Model
Are There Alternatives to Lethal Weapons?
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Pepper Spray
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Bean Bag Guns
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Tasers
Corrupt Cops and the Knapp Commission
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Meat Eaters:
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Those who aggressively misuse police power for personal gain by
demanding bribes, threatening legal action or cooperating with
criminals
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Grass Eaters:
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Those who accept payoffs when their everyday duties place them
in a position to be solicited by the public
Kinds of Police Corruption
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Internal corruption
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Selective enforcement or nonenforcement
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Active criminality
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Bribery and extortion
CNN Video – Officers Indicted
Corrupt Police Departments
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Rotten apples and rotten pockets:
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Departments with a few corrupt officers who use their position for
personal gain
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Pervasive unorganized corruption:
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Majority of personnel are corrupt but have little relationship to one
another
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Pervasive organized corruption:
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Almost all members are involved in systematic and organized
corruption
Causes of Police Corruption
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Police personality
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Institution and practices
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Moral ambivalence
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Environmental conditions
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Corrupt departments
Social Ambivalence Towards Police
Corruption
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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
Changing Police Corruption
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Change in department tolerances
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More willingness to take cases to the courts
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More active scrutiny within government
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Greater access to police practices for the public
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Changing what the public will accept from the police
Changing Police Corruption (cont.)
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Policies requiring Internal Affairs investigate all citizen complaints
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Development of good computer files containing all types of
complaints against all officers
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Policies giving corrupt or excessive force complaints “high priority”
status
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Mandatory reporting and recording of all incidents in which an officer
used more than incidental force
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Training officers to treat citizens without racial bias; requiring top
echelon officers to monitor all charges of racial bias
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Review all policies and practices to eliminate any racial bias