Police Issues and Practices Discussion

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Policing in Early America

Early American settlers and colonists used social control to police themselves. With the population of several thousand, such methods as physical punishment, humiliation, and shunning made more sense that a paid police force (Bucqueroux, 2007).

Southern “slave patrols” were aimed at slavery institution enforcement. Unlike the northern civil law enforcement system that took its root from that of the English, southern slave codes were used for protection of the white population from supposedly dangerous slaves (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

Albeit notorious for their focus on the interests of the wealthy, private agencies were efficient in crime prevention. Competing with each other, agencies like Pinkerton, Rocky Mountain, and Wells Fargo fought railroad and bank robberies.

The adoption of technology by the police both improved the ways in which the officers fought crime and created a gap between them and the community. The mentality of the 1930s and 1960s can still be visible today.

Policing Post 9/11

Members of the counterterrorism bureau started by the New York City Police Department were trained in disaster control. The Department of Homeland Security was created with a mission of terrorism and disaster prevention, border protection, and public security. The NYPD’s Operation Atlas was a program focused on street and landmark patrolling as a precautionary measure (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

The PATRIOT Act gives the police the right to search, arrest, confine, and eavesdrop for the sake of terrorism prevention (Uniting and Strengthening America, 2013). Such actions can create a threat to citizens’ freedom and privacy. However, in the wake of 9/11, these breaches can be justified.

The international criticism has caught the police in the epicenter of a conflict: they have to perform antiterrorism-related duties and cope with the social disapproval of their practices. This disagreement resulted in social unrest, which complexified the police’s task.

Different Agencies

As metropolitan agencies are bigger, they operate on a larger territory and are governed by municipalities. Other than that, local and metropolitan agencies perform similar functions associated with law enforcement: patrolling, crime prevention, investigation, and order maintenance (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

Rural areas are sometimes forced to depend on city-based agencies, which presents a serious threat to the public safety in such locations. Urban areas do not experience the problem of access. However, they sometimes rely on the county-provided police forces based in neighboring cities.

Originally, State agencies were formed to enforce law in nonurban areas. They are needed to control crime on highways and assist local agencies in investigations and training. They use a centralized (combining the investigations and patrolling) and decentralized (separating these two functions) models of enforcement.

Local agencies are available in my area. They are easy to access and employ more than 500 sworn members.

The “Feds”

National Institute of Justice – research on criminal activity and citizen victimization;

The FBI – enforcement of federal laws, crime reports, and investigations.
Drug Enforcement Administration – drug prohibition, drug circle intendance, violators arrests, and confinement.
U.S. Marshals Service – transfer of federal convicts and protection of federal courts’ premises.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives – arms-, liquor-, and tobacco-related law enforcement.
Internal Revenue Service – tax- and income-related law enforcement, tax collection.
Executive Office for Asset Forfeiture – criminal business activities investigation and prevention.
U.S. Secret Service – safeguarding the President and their family (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

The CIA – collection, and analysis of national security-related data on a global scale, specifically by means of utilizing human intelligence (HUMINT) as a data source.

Federal Bureau of Prisons – administering the federal prison system, correctional jurisdiction nationwide (Criminal Justice Online Resources, 2016).

Use of Force

The figures indicate the prevalence of the 18-34 age group as victims of deadly force use, which did not quite match my expectations (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

One of the articles relates an officer repeatedly shooting an unarmed teenager (who made a threatening motion towards the officers) after he was mortally wounded (Levon, 2016). The use of excessive force is evident. I would rather try to stop the offender without using weapons.

Another article features an offender trying to hit the officers with his car in order to escape. The officers did three shots, one of which killed the offender (Cardona & Farmer, 2016). In this case, the use of deadly force is justified as the offender was convicted and had an invalid license; the officers had to cater for their own safety and that of the neighborhood.

The articles were equally easy to find.

Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

The case features an officer shooting a fleeing 15-year-old trying to escape. Before the 1985 ruling, the officers were in the right to use deadly force on the offenders attempting to flee. The court’s ruling on the shooting of Garner denounced the doctrine as unreasonable (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

The case affects the policies of pursuit in that the police have to consider the nature of the crime. Deadly force can only be used if the offense is violent. In other instances, the felon is better off escaped than dead.

The laws of several states (e.g., California and Indiana) are more restrictive in that they prescribe the use of deadly force only in case of serious felony (California) or only as a self-defense action (Indiana). Other states have a verbatim Code that disambiguates the notions of “serious felony” and “danger.”

The Police Culture

The police culture is a set of norms, values, and aims that police officers share. The culture results from the difference between the citizens’ daily living and work patterns and those of the police. The police culture is characterized by isolation, secrecy, and protecting each other from outsiders – the so-called “blue wall of silence” (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

Humor and cynicism are evidenced to constitute the police personality and are displayed in how the officers deal with the stress and hardships of work.

The media and society’s biases towards the police can play a role in the emergence of police culture. The result is the “us vs. them” attitudes displayed by the officers, paired with the togetherness and loyalty to the colleagues. The officers’ separation from the rest of the society leads to the formation of stronger bonds, beyond the normal professional culture.

What is Worse: The Stress or the Danger?

Stress is the body’s natural response to danger; the work of a police officer is highly dangerous, and stress is, therefore, natural to them. Stress can also result from peer and the superiors’ pressure. Exposure to chronic stress factors among officers results in behavioral and psychological problems and exacerbated health and well-being. Officers can cope with their stress by means of socialization (which is good) or turn to alcohol and other substances and have extramarital affairs (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

The number one killers of police officers are white male offenders. The officers deal with potentially dangerous people and get into situations that can threaten their lives and health – the aspects that make their work specifically dangerous. In 2012, 48 officers were murdered on duty, and although the society values their lives specifically, the awareness of constant danger is another stress factor.

Patrol: The Backbone of the Department

Patrol officers are responsible for driving or walking around the designated area, responding to calls, handling or reassigning cases, and maintaining public security. The efficiency of patrol work is difficult to estimate other than by systematic academic research. The Kansas City Study revealed that the number of officers on patrol does not influence crime rates.

How soon the victim/witness calls the police, how fast the call is processed, and how long it takes to reach the crime scene are the factors affecting the response time.

In the 1960s, foot patrol was generally regarded as inefficient in terms of territorial coverage. By the 1970s, many cities adopted car patrol, which facilitated a wider scope of enforcement. Two-officer patrol, at that, is considered safer and more efficient. Still, foot patrol provides a better sense of security, which explains the massive return to it.

Specific Patrol Tactics

Aggressive patrols (making car and pedestrian stops) and saturation patrols (concentrating on an area of concern) are used to combat crime and ensure security more proactively. Decoy vehicles are used to increase police visibility, which can basically be defined as crackdown – creating a sense of omnipresence and security. Bike patrol bridges the gap between beat coverage and discretion, when required (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

SWAT and K9 teams are used when a tactical approach is needed and are usually engaged in serious crime prevention. K-9 (canine) units are specifically useful in the war on drugs.

The riot control teams are involved in direct contact with the crowd, with all the dangers of the stampede and violent behaviors. They are required to act promptly and foresee the violence outbreaks whenever possible. Such conduct is specifically challenging when the officers are on foot.

Community Policing in Action

Community policing is the procedure of assigning officers to specific areas. In the process of it, they familiarize themselves with the inhabitants and are able to provide personalized service. The officers cannot be everywhere at once, which is why they use a variety of programs, the media, and community education to assist in crime prevention and control. Trojanowicz and Goldstein maintained that community policing could pare away individual, civil, and police violence (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

The SARA model is sufficient in identifying and responding to problems in a timely manner, which is the cornerstone of problem-oriented policing. One of the successful examples of such policing is the 2007 noise reduction operation by the San Marcos Police Department, which involved analysis to determine the concentration of complaints and their causes; the problem was later tackled collectively by the community members.

Broken Windows

The “broken windows” theory implies that in an area that has been left neglected (e.g., with decaying buildings and deteriorating facilities) crime rates will rise. Such areas attract criminals and leave law-abiding citizens in fear, which necessitates community policing (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

Although the theoretical assumptions of the theory can be relevant, it did not apply to Washington. The crime rates and violence did not decrease mainly due to the officers’ preoccupation with manual arrest procedures and their extreme isolation from the community, despite their best efforts.

In my view, the “broken windows” theory is applicable to any city because societal neglect and legal issues are connected, as one can reason intuitively. However, as evidenced by the Washington case, the policing response to any of the issues that follow should be individualized and tailored to every individual city.

Measuring Crime

The National Crime Victimization Survey is in public access at the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data and provides detailed statistics on identity theft. The FBI site seeks to perform informatory function while at the same time creating a sense of security. Although the FBI site’s purpose is in line with the order maintenance mission of policing, the NACJD data appears to be more accurate (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2016; National Crime Victimization Survey, 2012). At that, it would be wrong to favor any of the sites over the other because their purposes are inherently different.

The criticality of reporting a crime is hard to overestimate. If the crime is not reported, it escapes the police’s attention, the offender remains unpunished, and the victim unattended. From the statistical viewpoint, the crimes should be reported because it is otherwise impossible to accurately estimate the crime rates, which clutters the policing efficiency assessments.

Warrants and Arrests

A suspect can be arrested if 1) the officers witness the crime being committed; 2) the probable cause is present; 3) the warrant authorizes the arrest. In the case of Atwater, a misdemeanor was committed before the officers’ eyes, which justified the arrest.

An unwarranted arrest can be made in case of a public offense, a probable cause present, and a charge having been made against the offender.

The probable cause is the evidence pointing at a person believed to commit a crime.

The search warrants can be issued after the officers file an affidavit to the judge stating why they believe the informant(s) gave credible information concerning an illegal action. The exceptions allowing officers to search without a warrant include the possibility of the evidence destruction, the offender’s escape, or the officer’s health and life being in danger.

Cops and Computers

Computers enable agencies (large or small) to tailor-fit law-enforcement technologies to their requirements. CAD (computer-aided dispatch) is a system allowing instant exchange between the department and the officers engaged in fieldwork – another technology to optimize the workflow. IP and R911 are telephone technology improving the speed and coverage in emergency cases (Dempsey & Forst, 2016).

NCIC is an automated database of criminal records ready for immediate retrieval and usage – one of the ways computer technology helps investigation, mapping, and prison management.

Mobile technology and LPR optimize patrol work in that the officers can retrieve data as if they were at the office and recognize stolen vehicles instantly.

There are custom applications for iOS and Android that can be helpful in field interviewing (by creating profiles and feeding them into databases), crime mapping, flyer distribution, etc. (Smartphones for Law Enforcement, 2016).

Less Lethal Weapons

The less-than-lethal weapons (e.g., irritant sprays and Tasers) are used to disable the offenders before they inflict harm to the officers and civilians around them. The textbook is positive on the weapons’ effectiveness (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). However, a news article featuring the death of Dalian Atkinson (struck three times with a Taser) raises serious concerns about the safety of the weapon (Weaver, 2016).

The controversy is understandable as the website assures the safety of the products and provides research evidence in their favor. Taser X26P is said to be both safer and more effective than X26E, the previous model (Smart Weapons, n.d.).

The perception of 100% efficiency is warranted on healthy individuals; however, as the police often deal with mentally disturbed and have to apply high voltage repeatedly, the non-lethality of such weapons is questionable.