Issues Trends in Law Enforcement 2004

Issues & Trends in Law Enforcement © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Professionalism n n n Solutions to whatever ails law enforcement The preoccupation with professionalism related to comparison of salaries, education, and status in relation to other professions. Law enforcement perceive themselves at bottom of the professional pole. ¨ Compared © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 to judges, lawyers, and expert witnesses Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Agency Accreditation n n Attempt to develop and implement recognized accreditation standards Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. Formed in 1979 to develop standards and to administer voluntary accreditation ¨ Formed through combined efforts of IACP, NOBLE, NSA, and PERF ¨ n n Accreditation is a process of improvement and change. Benefits are numerous © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Higher Education Formal education is key to selfimprovement and increased status n Omnibus Crime Bill (1968) n ¨ Public funds to police to pursue college degree n Due to this federal assistance, today’s officers are much better educated than thirty years ago © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Rationale for Education n n Difficulty in assessing “better” officers Education about social conflict or human behavior aids in conflict resolution and order maintenance. College educated individuals are more able to cope with role conflict Broader base of information for decision making © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Police Misconduct n n n Actions by a public servant that are outside the standards of conduct Breach of public trust. There are many ways to breach trust ¨ Misuse of funds ¨ Unauthorized disclosure of information ¨ Excessive use of force ¨ Corruption © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Solutions Ethics course n Department administration n ¨ Chiefs and sheriffs providing leadership in requiring ethical and honest behavior ¨ Recruiting, selection, training Accountability for all police activity n Proactive internal affairs n © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Employment of Minorities n n Increases effectiveness of the force Assigning officers of the same ethic background provides understanding of unfamiliar cultures ¨ Alternative n n is to train in cross-cultural communication Recruitment of minorities Innovations in recruitment ¨ Ideological and procedural ¨ Cadet programs ¨ Community service officer (CSO) © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Employment of Women n Carefully selected and trained females are as effective as carefully selected and trained males. Block and Anderson (1973) study “Report on the Status of Women in Policing” published by the Police Foundation ¨ Affirmative action and evolving law has led to growth of females in policing. n Several potential policies for agencies to consider © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Officer Health n n Police work is highly stressful with consequences. Stress may be measured by Sewell’s law enforcement critical life events scale Female police officers have gender-specific stress in addition to regular job stress Alcoholism ¨ n n n “character flaw” theory Drug use by officers Suicide Coping with health problems © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Contact with the Public n n Attention has been paid to police-citizen interactions. Media focus on negative contact. The Bureau of Justice Statistics finds that “most people, of any race, who have a contact with police, most often through a traffic stop, evaluate the stop as having been appropriate. ” Less than one percent of police-citizen contacts involved police use of force. © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Use of Deadly Force Few argue right to use deadly force to protect lives or lives of innocent people n Historically, some states allow officers discretion that goes beyond self-defense or the defense of others in the use of deadly force. n ¨ Based in English common law where virtually all felonies were punishable by death © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Managing Use of Deadly Force n Shooting control techniques ¨ Policy-oriented ¨ Equipment ¨ Training ¨ Tennessee v. Garner (1985) Track officers who are “chronic offenders” n Use of pepper spray n © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Police – Prosecutor Cooperation n n Emerging trend is teamwork through every step of the process Pursuing common goal of protecting society from crime and violence Police want to make arrests that lead to punishment. Prosecutors want to build strong cases. Teamwork improves quality of cases © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Private Security n n n Interactive role with law enforcement Increased reliance on private security due to police workload and tax limitations Traditionally relied on police for prevention and control of crime. More recently, private security plays a major protective role. Employs more persons and expends more dollars than public law enforcement © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Technological Trends n Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) ¨ n Fingerprint automation ¨ n Automated police reports DNA profiling ¨ n Automated latent system model Use of laptop computers ¨ n Radio dispatcher is aided by a high speed digital computer To identify or eliminate potential suspects Geographical Information Systems (GIS) ¨ Combines map images with other spatially referenced information © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Citizens Role in Crime Prevention Peace-keeping system in the early days of law enforcement emphasized citizen role n With specialization, citizens delegated responsibility to paid officials n Effectiveness of crime prevention depends on willingness to report suspicious activity. n © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Neighborhood Watch Programs n n Frequently implemented under community oriented policing Developing and maintaining program is a difficult leadership challenge. The most successful programs recruit new members a few times a year. Success is related to departments commitment to establishing a strategic plan, train participants, and encourage communication. © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Fear of Crime n n Some fear crime more than they need to Sings of crime are both social and physical ¨ Social signs include prostitution, drug dealing, rowdy teenagers, panhandling, and mentally ill. ¨ Physical signs include broken windows, garbage, broken bottles, and abandoned cars programs. n n Programs share the goal of “breaking down the barriers” Others address disorder and fear of crime © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Crime Prevention Programs n Key findings of NIJ review of state and local prevention programs include: ¨ Neighborhood watch programs are often ineffective. ¨ Community meetings between the police and the public do not prevent crime ¨ Police storefront operations have no impact on crime but did result in positive evaluations of police ¨ The use of newsletters had no effect on victimization rates. © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) n n n Made popular by Oscar Newman in “Defensible Spaces” Proper design and effective use of the physical environment can produce behavioral effects that will reduce the incidence and fear of crime, thereby improving the quality of life. Environmental design is rooted in the design of the person/environmental relationship. © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Applications of CPTED n Convenience Business Security Act ¨ Rooted in analysis of convenience store robberies in Gainesville, FL. ¨ Adopted ordinances that required strong security steps. ¨ Act embraces CPTED principles including unobstructed views, security cameras, and lighting. n The Safe Neighborhood Program ¨ Florida legislation provided planning grants to communities willing to adopt the program. © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

CPTED and Community Policing Combination of two strategies benefits crime prevention n Relies on police, residents, and local officials for success n Specific crime prevention activities n ¨ Security in parks ¨ Building regulations ¨ Civil remedies © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

Citizen Involvement in Crime Prevention n The Mc. Gruff Campaign ¨ “Take n a Bite Out of Crime” The CAT Program ¨ “Combat Auto Theft” The Watch Your Car Program n Campus crime prevention programs n Community Anti-Drug Efforts n © 2004 Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 Crime and Justice in America, 6 th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley