Criminology 101 Webinar Questions & Answers
Responses by Dr. Scott Decker and Dr. James R. “Chip” Coldren, Jr.
Question #1: Have policing agencies nationwide reduced their use of Community
Oriented Policing post-9/11 due to concerns about domestic terrorism? Is there a
belief that a change in policing philosophy is necessary to deal with the risk of
terrorism?
There is no direct evidence about a shift in emphasis in law enforcement. However, there is
considerable speculation that in many large departments this is the case. The recent book
by Forst, Greene, and Lynch examines this topic:
Brian Forst, Jack R. Greene, and James Lynch, eds. Criminologists on
Terrorism and Homeland Security. Cambridge:Cambridge University Press,
2011.
Probably the most direct assessment of this issue is Jack Greene’s excellent chapter in this
book:
Greene, Jack R. “Community policing and terrorism: Problems and prospects
for local community security.” In Brian Forst, Jack R. Greene, and James
Lynch, eds. Criminologists on Terrorism and Homeland Security.
Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2011. 208–243.
Greene argues that rather than having a direct diversion of attention and interest in
community policing, the police have become “distracted” and are supplanting COP/POP
principles with terror intelligence and response strategies. Clearly the acquisition of
military equipment by local law enforcement is an example of the tilt toward re-militarizing
the police. What Greene and others argue is that the most effective tool against terrorism is
trust by the community and that trust is built through the principles of community policing.
I suggest reading Greene’s chapter, it is quite good.
Question #2: What are your thoughts about the changing attitude towards law
enforcement, both politically and from our communities? Do you think that the
new climate of blaming law enforcement for fiscal instability in state and local
government is related to rising levels of civil unrest in the country? Do you see
this trend continuing?
Most studies show that support for local law enforcement has waned in the course of the
last decade. This is certainly the case in national polling data such as Gallup’s:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/19783/confidence-local-police-drops-10year-low.aspx
The trend data show that post-9/11 confidence in police, especially local police, was at
record highs. Despite the decline, support for law enforcement is higher than for most other
groups of public officials. I suggest you also look at the report completed for IACP that
examined the image of the police by the public:
http://www.theiacp.org/The-Public-Image-of-the-Police
This report is very well done, although it is now over 10 years old. The most recent polling
data in this area were compiled in a CBS/New York Times Poll. The data showed strong
positive opinions regarding the police among most groups in the United States:
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This project was supported by Grant No. 2013-DP-BX-K006 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of
Justice Assistance is a component of the Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of
Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily
represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.
http://www.pollingreport.com/crime.htm
Typically, when a general question is asked (for example, “How favorable are you toward
the police?”), a positive response is received. More specific questions (typically about bias or
use of force) produce more negative answers.
There is concern about police pensions and the cost of law enforcement. These concerns
were heightened during the recession when many cities cut back on law enforcement
expenditures. But public safety continues to be the largest line item in most city budgets.
While there have been scattered incidents and public disturbances, there is hardly
widespread civil unrest around the country.
It is perilous to try to predict the future. That said, one suspects that law enforcement will
continue to enjoy widespread public support; but that support is not evenly distributed
across population groups and will be disrupted by incidents that may occur.
Question #3: Where can we find reliable and current data about migration trends?
The single best independent source of data about trends in immigration is the Pew Center:
http://www.pewresearch.org/topics/immigration/
They provide an excellent source of data and references to other studies.
Question #4: Do you have any strategies for police who work in communities that
have a more transient population (i.e., people who frequently move in and out of
the community for work or school)?
Communities that have transient populations can look to the Problem Oriented Policing
(POP) Guides produced by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services in
conjunction with the POP Center:
http://www.popcenter.org/problems/homeless_encampments/
In fact, I think that the POP Guides are perhaps the single best source of “best and
promising practices” in policing.
You can also find a Smart Policing Initiative report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s
Office Smart Policing Initiative that describes their work with a vulnerable Guatemalan
immigrant community at:
http://www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/tta/spotlight/palm-beach-county-fl-programprofile
Question #5: What is the peak of the age crime curve for teens?
The peak age of the crime curve for teens is 12 or 13 years old and again at 17 or 18. The
FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports provide that data at:
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2012/crime-in-the-u.s.2012/tables/38tabledatadecoverviewpdf
Question #6: What new competencies should we be looking to develop in our
police force as a result of the 10 key findings presented in this webinar?
This is an excellent question. Advanced problem solving and scanning skills are two areas
where police can always use more training. Policing is far more complex today than it was
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even a decade ago due to technology, immigration, and the state of the economy. Police are
being asked to do more, at an advanced level and with fewer resources. Utilizing the skills
of civilian groups with advanced expertise in some areas is a good idea, particularly in
technology.
There
is
a
group
called
the
Society
of
Police
Futurists
(http://www.policefuturists.org/) that is working to advance policing and deal with the
challenges in the future. Their website offers some interesting suggestions about how to
proceed.
With the emergence of evidence-based policing, Smart Policing, and “Smart on Crime” (see
http://www.justice.gov/ag/smart-on-crime.pdf), police agencies will likely need to better
support and develop analytical capacities of different kinds. A collection of recent CNA
reports on how to assess police agency analytic capacity addresses this issue:
http://www.cna.org/research/tags/leoprd
Question #7: What are some best practices for disseminating the kind of evidencebased information presented in this webinar? People in Crime Analysis and
Planning and even Executives read this material, but it is hard to get information
out to those in the force. What are some creative ways to do that?
Simply putting things on a website or in a newsletter, or announcing them at a briefing, are
not effective ways to communicate. This is true whether one is talking about line level
police officers, college students, or employees. Adult learning principles teach us that
engaged learners have the best chance of retaining and using information. Engaged
learning involves learning a principle and then applying it to a real life situation. Examples
can be found at:
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/principles/learning.html and
http://www.qotfc.edu.au/resource/?page=65375
Working in teams to solve problems and craft solutions is a good way to reinforce learning.
Such an approach should start early, in the Academy. For example, the Durham (NC) police
department requires all recruits to develop a SARA approach to a problem, write up a
report, and present it with at least two sources of data to their class and command staff.
Such approaches reinforce early in the police career that such activities are integral to the
craft of policing.
Several Smart Policing sites have addressed this issue by integrating evidence-based
policing throughout their entire departments (most notably the city of Lowell, MA). Note
that their projects are still underway. Information about their initiatives can be found at:
http://www.smartpolicinginitiative.com/SPIsites/lowell-massachusetts-phase-iii
Question #8: Do you have any examples of community-oriented policing (COP)
and relationship building that have failed and shouldn't be replicated?
This is an excellent question. Most experiments result in failure, whether they take place in
the lab or in an agency such as law enforcement. But we rarely hear about them. An
example of a COP intervention that enjoyed initial success, then failure, and then
rebounded to end with some successes can be found in the Firearm Suppression Program of
the St. Louis Police department:
https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/191332.pdf
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The Justice Department has a program to review “failures,” or what it calls “sentinel
events”:
https://ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/247141.pdf
The Center for Court Innovation has reviewed a large number of failures (including some in
policing) and argues that there is more to learn from failure than success. We often aren’t
as good at reporting our failures as our successes.
http://www.courtinnovation.org/research/trial-and-error-criminal-justice-reformlearning-failure
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