Introduction to Criminal Justice

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Introduction to Criminal Justice

• Policing America
• Issues and Ethics
• Chapter Seven
• Bohm and Haley

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Questions

• What do people think of the police? Why?
• What affects public attitudes
• toward the police?
• How accurate do you think the
• publics perceptions of the police are?
• Explain.

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Public Attitudes Toward the Police
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Public Attitudes Toward the Police
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Public Attitudes Toward the Police
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Public Attitudes Toward the Police

• Nearly 59 percent of Americans rate the honesty
  and ethical standards of the police as high or
  very high.
• Overall, 80 percent of the public have a great
  deal or fair amount of confidence
• in the police making your community a safer
  place.
• However, minorities rate both their confidence in
  the police and the honesty and ethical standards
  of the police lower than
• the average of all respondents..

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Qualities of a Successful Police Officer

• The three Is of police selection intelligence,
  integrity, and interaction skills
• Common sense and compassion
• Physical strength and endurance

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Issues in PolicingTopics of Debate

• Discretion
• Stress
• Use of force
• Police corruption

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Police Officer Discretionand Selective
Enforcement

• Discretion
• The exercise of individual judgment, instead of
  formal rules, in making decisions.
• Selective Enforcement
• The practice of relying on the judgment of the
  police,
• the police leadership and the rank-and-file
  officer
• to decide which laws to enforce.
• In contrast to full enforcement.

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Factors Affecting Discretion

• The preference of the victim.
• The demeanor of the suspect.
• The legitimacy of the victim.
• Socioeconomic status of the complainant.

• The nature of the crime.
• Departmental policies.
• The relationship between the victim and the
  offender.
• The amount of evidence available.

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DiscretionMajor Issues

• Domestic Violence
• Racial Profiling
• What affect does discretion have
• on these two issues?

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Stress and the Police

• Job stress is defined as the harmful
• physical and emotional outcomes
• that occur when the requirements of a job
• do not match the capabilities,
• resources, or needs of the worker.

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Sources and Management of Stress

• Sources of Stress
• Design of tasks
• Management style
• Interpersonal relationships
• Work roles

• Management of Stress
• Mental health therapy
• Lifestyle including family and religious support.
• Organization change
• Community policing
• Job redesign
• Public safety equipment

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Use of Force

• Excessive Force
• A measure of coercion beyond that necessary
• to control participants
• in a conflict.

• Deadly Force
• Tennessee v. Garner (1985) fleeing felon rule
• A court decision that put an end to any local
  police policy that allowed officers to shoot
  unarmed or non-dangerous offenders if they
  resisted or attempted to flee.

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Police Brutality What is it?

• Abusive language
• Unnecessary use of force or coercion
• Threats
• Harassment
• Unnecessary stopping, questioning, and searching
  of citizens

Those most likely to have force used against them
are those who show disrespect for the police
once they have been arrested.
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Police Corruption

• Why is policing so susceptible to corruption?
• Police have authority to enforce laws.
• Police have the discretion to not enforce the
  law.
• Police receive relatively low pay, but have
  important responsibilities.
• Police become cynical about the courts soft
  treatment of criminals.
• Society in general is ambivalent about vice.

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Controlling Corruption

• High moral standards.
• Police policies and discipline.
• Proactive internal affairs investigations unit.
• Uniform enforcement of the law.
• Outside review and special prosecutors.
• Court review and oversight.