Michael Auzenne
Instructor
GCM, CJC
CHALLENGES TO EFFECTIVE POLICING
I.
THE ROLE OF DISCRETION IN POLICING
A.
Justification for Police Discretion
B.
Factors of Police Discretion
1.
Making the Decision
i.
2.
C.
II.
Policy: A set of guiding principles designed to influence the
behavior and decision making of police officers.
Discretion and High-Speed Pursuits
Discretion and Domestic Violence
i.
Domestic Violence: The act of willful neglect or physical violence
that occurs within a familial or other intimate relationship.
ii.
Mandatory Arrest Laws: Requires a police officer to detain a
person for committing a certain type of crime as long as there is
probable cause that he or she committed the crime.
POLICE ORGANIZATION AND FIELD OPERATIONS
i.
A.
Bureaucracy: A hierarchically structured
organization that carries out specific functions.
administrative
The Structure of the Police Department
1.
Chain of Command
i.
2.
Delegation of Authority: The principles of command on which
most police departments are based, in which personnel take
orders from and are responsible to those in positions of power
directly above them.
Law Enforcement in the Field
B.
Police on Patrol: The Backbone of the Department
i.
1.
2.
3.
4.
C.
The Purpose of Patrol
Community Concerns
Patrol Activities
“Noise, Booze, and Violence”
Police Investigations
i.
1.
2.
D.
Sworn Officers: A law enforcement agent who has been
authorized to make arrests and use force, including deadly force,
against civilians.
Detective: The primary police investigator of crimes.
Detectives in Action
The Detection Function
Aggressive Investigation Strategies
1.
2.
Undercover Operations
Confidential Informants
i.
E.
Confidential Informant: A human source for police who provides
information concerning illegal activity in which he or she is
involved.
Clearance Rates and Cold Cases
i.
1.
2.
Clearance Rate: A comparison of the number of crimes cleared
by arrest and prosecution with the number of crimes reported
during any given time period.
Declining Clearance Rates
Unsolved Cases
i.
F.
Cold Case: A criminal investigation that has not been solved after
a certain amount of time.
Forensic Investigations and DNA
i.
1.
Forensics: The application of science to established facts and
evidence during the investigation of crimes.
Crime Scene Forensics
i.
ii.
a.
b.
2.
The Human Fingerprint
Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
The DNA Revolution
i.
3.
DNA Fingerprinting: The identification of a person based on a
sample of her or his DNA, the genetic material found in the cells
of all living things.
DNA in Action
a.
Databases and Cold Hits
i.
b.
c.
III.
Trace Evidence: Evidence such as fingerprints, blood, or hair
found in small amounts at a crime scene.
Ballistics: The study of firearms, including the firing of the
weapon and the flight of the bullet.
Cold Hit: The establishment of a connection between a suspect
and a crime, often through the use of DNA evidence, in the
absence of an ongoing criminal investigation.
New Developments
An Imperfect Science
POLICE STRATEGIES: WHAT WORKS
A.
Response Time to 911 Calls
i.
1.
Response Time and Efficiency
i.
2.
Response Time: The rapidity in which calls for service are
answered.
Improving Response Time Efficiency
i.
B.
Incident-Driven Policing: A reactive approach to policing that
emphasizes a speedy response to calls for service.
Patrol Strategies
Differential Response: A strategy for answering calls for service
in which response time is adapted to the seriousness of the call.
i.
ii.
1.
2.
C.
General Patrol: A patrol strategy that relies on police officers
monitoring a certain area with the goal of detecting crimes in
progress or preventing crime due to their presence.
Directed Patrol: A patrol strategy that is designed to focus on a
specific type of criminal activity at a specific time.
Testing General Patrol Theories in Kansas City
Interpreting the Kansas City Experiment
Predictive Policing and Crime Mapping
1.
Finding “Hot Spots”
i.
2.
D.
Hot Spots: Concentrated areas of high criminal activity that draw
a directed police response.
ii.
Crime Mapping: Technology that allows crime analysts to
identify trends and patterns of criminal behavior within a given
area.
The Rise of Compstat
Arrest Strategies
i.
1.
Reactive Arrests: Arrests that come about as part of the ordinary
routine of police patrol and response to calls for service.
ii.
Proactive Arrests: Arrests that occur because of concerted
efforts by law enforcement agencies to respond to a particular
type of criminal or criminal behavior.
The Broken Windows Effect
i.
2.
E.
Broken Windows Theory: The theory that a neighborhood in
disrepair signals that criminal activity is tolerated in the area.
Supporters and Critics
Community Policing and Problem Solving
i.
1.
2.
Community Policing: A policing philosophy that emphasizes
community support for and cooperation with the police in
preventing crime.
Return to the Community
Problem-Oriented Policing
i.
F.
IV.
Problem-Oriented Policing: A policing philosophy that requires
police to identify potential criminal activity and develop
strategies to prevent or respond to that activity.
Local Police and Anti-Terrorism
“US VERSUS THEM”: ISSUES IN MODERN POLICING
A.
Police Subculture
i.
1.
Police Subculture: The values and perceptions that are shared by
members of a police department and, to a certain extent, by all
law enforcement agents.
The Core Values of Police Subcultures
i.
ii.
2.
Police Cynicism
i.
B.
Police Cynicism: The suspicion that citizens are weak, corrupt,
and dangerous.
The Physical Dangers of Police Work
1.
Officers Killed and Assaulted
i.
2.
C.
Socialization: The process through which a police officer is taught
the values and expected behavior of the police subculture.
Blue Curtain: A metaphorical term used to refer to the value
placed on secrecy and the general mistrust of the outside world
shared by many police officers.
Body Armor: Protective covering that is worn under a police
officer’s clothing and designed to minimize injury from being hit
by a fired bullet.
Automobile Crashes
Stress and the Mental Dangers of Police Work
1.
Police Stressors
i.
2.
Stressors: The aspects of police work and life that lead to the
feelings of stress.
The Consequences of Police Stress
i.
D.
Authority and the Use of Force
1.
2.
The “Misuse” of Force
Types of Force
i.
ii.
3.
4.
Reasonable Force: The degree of force that is appropriate to
protect the police officer or other citizens and is not excessive.
Deadly Force: Force applied by a police officer that is likely or
intended to cause death.
The United States Supreme Court and Use of Force
Less Lethal Weapons
i.
V.
Burnout: A mental state that occurs when a person suffers from
exhaustion and has difficulty functioning normally as a result of
overwork and stress.
Conducted Energy Devices: A less lethal weapon designed to
disrupt a target’s central nervous system by means of a charge of
electrical energy.
POLICE MISCONDUCT AND ETHICS
i.
A.
Racial and Ethnic Biases in Policing
1.
2.
B.
Perceived Bias
Police Attitudes and Discretion
Police Corruption
i.
1.
2.
C.
Professionalism: Adherence to a set of values that show a police
officer to be of the highest moral character.
Police Corruption: The abuse of authority by a law enforcement
officer for personal gain.
Types of Corruption
Corruption in Police Subculture
Police Accountability
1.
Internal Investigations
i.
2.
Citizen Oversight
i.
D.
Internal Affairs Unit: A division within a police department that
receives and investigates complaints of wrongdoing by police
officers.
Citizen Oversight: The process by which citizens review
complaints brought against individual police officers or police
departments.
Ethics in Law Enforcement
i.
1.
Ethical Dilemmas
i.
2.
Ethics: The rules or standards of behavior governing a profession;
aimed at ensuring the fairness and rightness of actions.
Noble Cause Corruption: Knowing misconduct by a police officer
with the goal of attaining what the officer believes is a “just”
result.
Elements of Ethics
i.
Duty: The moral sense of a police officer that he or she should
behave in a certain manner.