CHAPTER SIX

1
CHAPTER SIX

• ISSUES IN POLICING

2
Introduction

• Political and social role of police in 1960s and
  1970s
• Public concerns
• 60 of public are confident of police
• 26 of African Americans have little confidence
  in police

3
Police Culture

• Characterized by
• Cynicism
• Clannishness
• Secrecy
• Insulation from others
• Blue Curtain

4
Core Beliefs

• Police only real crime fighters
• No one understands nature of work
• Loyalty to fellow officers
• Have to bend the rules
• Public is unsupportive and demanding
• Patrol work is the pits

5
Police Personality

• Typical personality
• Dogmatic
• Authoritarian
• Suspicious
• Racist
• hostile,
• Insecure
• Conservative
• Cynical
• How do they get that way?
• Police work attracts people with these traits
• Experience on police force develops traits

6
Behind the Shield

• Arthur Niederhoffer
• Cynicism increases with
• Length of service
• Promotion denial
• Military-like academies

7
Policing Styles

• Crime fighterpriority investigating serious
  crimes
• Social agentproblem solvers
• Law enforcerdetection and apprehension of all
  crimes
• Watchmanmaintain public order

8
Police discretion

• Have high level of discretion
• No one watching day to day
• Selective enforcement
• Only the most egregious conduct subject to
  scrutiny of administration or courts

9
Factors that Affect Discretion

• Legal factors
• Severity of offense
• Relationship of victim and offender
• Environmental factors
• Does the officer live there or commute?
• Community culture
• Departmental influences
• Policies
• Directives
• Number of supervisors

10
More Factors

• Peer pressure
• Social isolation
• Strong bond with other officers
• Looks to veteran officers
• Situational factors
• Suspect demeanor
• How did the officer come to be there?
• Use of weapon
• Personal attributes of officer
• Seriousness of injury
• Presence of alcohol/drugs

11
Extra-legal Factors

• Race
• Class
• Gender
• Age

12
Who are the Police?

• Traditionally
• White male
• High school education
• Often from police families
• Education
• lt 5 require 4 year degree
• Many state police agencies require 2 year degree
• Benefits
• Communicate better
• More professional
• Less disciplinary problems
• Greater self-confidence

13
Minorities in Policing

• 1st African American officer in Washington D.C.
  (1861)
• Tremendous discrimination
• Now represent 22 of sworn officers
• Black in BlueNicholas Alex
• Expected to give Blacks a break by those in Black
  community
• Still treated with racism by the department
• Why are African American officers tougher on
  other African Americans in the community?

14
Affirmative Action

• Can you have all Black or Hispanic beats?
• U.S. v. Paradise
• Resentment by white officers

15
Women in Policing

• Alice Stebbins Wells1st female officer
• Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Where are female officers today?
• 6 of all sworn officers
• Very small in higher ranks
• Experience higher levels of job-related stress

16
Women in Policing

• How are they on the job?
• Extremely satisfactory performance
• Support from the community
• Less likely to be charged with improper conduct
• Less likely to use firearm
• Gender conflicts
• Male officers unsupportive
• macho atmosphere of policing
• Can they handle the work?
• Defeminization
• Minority females 2 of police officers

17
Problems in Policing

• Stress
• Police violence
• Corruption

18
Stress

• Causes
• External stressors
• Organizational stressors
• Duty stressors
• Individual stressors
• Effects
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Divorce
• Suicide

19
Police Violence

• Police brutality
• Typesuse of abusive language, unnecessary use of
  force or coercion, threats, prodding with
  nightsticks, or harassment
• More likely to use force against those who show
  disrespect when arrested
• Curbing brutality
• Specialized training
• Community policing
• Rules when force can be used
• Threat of lawsuits

20
Police Violence

• Deadly force
• Fleeing felon rule
• 250-300 citizens killed each year
• Factors related to police shootings
• Exposure to violence
• Suicide by cop
• Police workload
• Firearms availability
• Administrative policies
• Race

21
Police Violence

• 65,000 officers attacked each year
• 1999142 officers killed in the line of duty
• African American officers at greater risk
• Supreme Court Cases
• Tennessee v. Garner
• Graham v. Connor
• Solutions

22
Corruption

• Meat eaters v. grass eaters
• Categories of corruption
• Internal corruption
• Selective enforcement or nonenforcement
• Active criminality
• Bribery and extortion

23
Corruption

• Corrupt departments
• Rotten apples
• Pervasive unorganized corruption
• Pervasive organized corruption
• Controlling corruption
• Internal review
• Outside review boards
• Training and education

24
Review

• How is the police culture characterized?
• What is the Blue Curtain
• What are the core beliefs of police?
• What are the personality characteristics of the
  typical police officer?
• What did Niederhoffer say about cynicism in
  Behind the Shield?
• What are the 4 policing styles?

25
Review

• What are the factors that affect discretion and
  examples of those factors?
• What are the extra-legal factors?
• Who traditionally was a police officer?
• What are the benefits of officers being better
  educated?
• In what city as the first African American
  officer hired?

26
Review

• What does US v. Paradise stand for?
• Why are African American officers tougher on
  African Americans in the community?
• Who was the first female police officer?
• What are the findings on how female officers do
  on the job?
• What is defeminization?
• What of officers are minority females?

27
Review

• What are the 3 major problems in policing?
• What are the 4 causes of stress?
• What are the effects of stress?
• What constitutes police brutality?
• What is suicide by cop?
• What does Tennessee v. Garner stand for?
• What are some solutions for police violence?

28
Review

• What are meat eaters and grass eaters?
• What is the difference between bribery and
  extortion?
• What are the 3 types of corrupt departments?
• How can corruption be controlled?

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ISSUES IN POLICING

• END CHAPTER SIX