Introduction to Administration of Justice

Chapter 4
Policing: Purpose and Organization
 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Explain the police mission in democratic societies.

2. Describe the major levels of policing in the United States today.

3. Describe private protective services in the United States and their possible future
roles.

4. Summarize the typical organizational structure of a police department.

5. Summarize the historical development of policing in America, along with the

characteristics of each stage.

6. Explain how community policing differs from traditional forms of

policing.

7. Discuss the impact of evidence-based policing in the area of police management.

8. Explain how police discretion affects contemporary law enforcement.

NUMBER OF POLICE PER 100,000 RESIDENTS
 THE POLICE MISSION
What are the main purposes of Police?
• Enforce Laws
• Investigate Crimes
• Arrest Offenders
• Prevent Crime
• Keep the Peace
• Serve the Community

Sir Robert Peel 1822 – “The basic mission of

which the police exist is to reduce crime and
disorder.”
 Dictionary Definition of Policing
• po·lice (p-ls) n. pl. police 1. The governmental department charged with
the regulation and control of the affairs of a community, now chiefly the
department established to maintain order, enforce the law, and prevent
and detect crime.
• 2. a. A body of persons making up such a department, trained in methods
of law enforcement and crime prevention and detection and authorized to
maintain the peace, safety, and order of the community.
• b. A body of persons having similar organization and function: campus
police. Also called police force.
• 3. (used with a pl. verb) Police officers considered as a group.
• 4. Regulation and control of the affairs of a community, especially with
respect to maintenance of order, law, health, morals, safety, and other
matters affecting the public welfare.
• 5. Informal A group that admonishes, cautions, or reminds: grammar
police; fashion police.
 The Police Mission
What is the Traditional role of law enforcement?
• Traditional role as Crime Fighters
– Responsible for enforcing federal, state, and local laws

What percentage of time does law enforcement spend enforcing the

law?
– Not the only job of the police
– Majority of time is spent answering nonemergency public
service calls
– Only about 10% to 20% of all calls involve situations that
actually require a law enforcement response
– Police cannot enforce all laws
– Police tend to tailor enforcement efforts to meet the concerns
of the populace they serve
 LAW ENFORCEMENT
What are the expectations of Society regarding police conduct?
• Role Models of Society
– Held to higher ethical standard
– On and off-duty behavior always being judged (next slide code of
honor CHP)

How are police departments organized?

• Para-Military Organization
– Academy Training
– Uniforms and Rank
– Chain-of-Command
 INVESTIGATION AND ARREST
Are most law enforcements REACTIVE or PROACTIVE?
• Most law enforcement response and activity is REACTIVE
– Something happens, someone calls, police respond to call
– Rare to intervene in crime actually in progress

What are the phases of a crime investigation?

– Crime occurs/someone calls police
– Patrol officer responds/investigates/writes report
– Report referred to Detective Bureau
– Follow-up investigation may result in arrest
 CRIME PREVENTION
PROACTIVE approach to criminal activity before it occurs.

• Anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and initiation of

some action to eliminate or reduce it
– Old concept, new implementation through dedicated resources

What are some techniques for being PROACTIVE?

– Access control, theft-deterrence, lighting, landscaping, CPTED

What are some PROACTIVE programs?

– Operation ID, Neighborhood Watch, Crime Stoppers, Civilian Patrols, etc.
 THE POLICE MISSION
• Preserving the peace
– Focus on quality-of-life offenses as crime-reduction
and peacekeeping strategy
• A minor violation of the law that demoralizes community
residents and businesspeople
• Involve acts that create physical disorder or that reflect social
decay
– Restore a sense of order, reduce the fear of crime, and
lessen the number of serious crimes that occur
– Broken windows model of policing
BROKEN WINDOW
 BROKEN WINDOWS MODEL OF POLICING
• The theory was introduced in a 1982
article by social scientists James Q.
Wilson and George L. Kelling. A model
of policing based on the notion that
physical decay, such as litter and
abandoned buildings, can breed
disorder in a community and can lead
to crime by signaling that laws are not
being enforced. The broken windows
thesis suggests that by encouraging
the repair of rundown buildings and
controlling disorderly behavior in
public spaces, police agencies can
create an environment in which
serious crime cannot easily flourish.
 KEEPING THE PEACE
What is a Cop’s official title in CA?
– Peace Officer (PC § 830.1) – “Any person who comes within the provisions of this
chapter and who otherwise meets all standards imposed by law on a peace officer
is a peace officer.”

Besides the statute definition of Peace Officer, why do you think cops are called Peace
Officer?
• They keep civil peace
• Their oath to keep peace
• High priority of maintaining Peace, Order and Safety
• Enforcement of Quality-of-Life Offenses
– Minor or petty offenses that tend to disrupt maintenance of peaceful existence
• Disturbing the Peace (415 PC)
• Loitering/Panhandling
• Vandalism/Graffiti
• Public Drinking/Intoxication/Drug Use

• Coactive
 SERVING THE COMMUNITY
When you need help or assistance who do you call?
• GHOST BUSTERS

• Direct public access to police services just a phone

call away (911)!

• 10%-20% of calls actual emergencies, majority are

“calls for service”
– Lost and Found
– Minor Accidents
– Barking Dogs, other disturbances
– Suspicious Persons/Circumstances
– Check the Welfare
MAJOR LEVELS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT
• What are the four major levels of public law
enforcement in the United States today.

• HINT:
 FEDERAL JURISDICTION
Federal Law Enforcement Agencies
• What are some of the Federal Law Enforcement Agencies?
– Agriculture, ATF, Border Patrol, Homeland Security, Justice
Dept., Postal Service, Secret Service, Treasury, US
Marshals…
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
• What is the mission of the FBI?
– Mission Statement
• Protect and defend US against terrorist threats
• Uphold and enforce criminal laws
• Provide leadership and criminal justice services
 FBI

• Background of the FBI

– History of the FBI spans more than 100 years
– Began in 1908 as the Bureau of Investigation
– 13,000 special agents assigned to 56 field offices and
400 satellite offices
– Also operates attaché offices in a number of major
cities around the world
– Operates the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)
• Forensic database of DNA profiles of offenders
 STATEWIDE JURISDICTION
State Level Agencies
• Most state police agencies formed as link
between federal and local jurisdictions

• What are some of the State level agencies?

– ABC, CHP, DOJ, Fish & Wildlife, State Parks, State
University Police
 STATE POLICE
What are some of the functions of State Police?

• Statewide authority to conduct law enforcement activities and

criminal investigations.
• Perform functions outside the jurisdiction of the county sheriff,
such as enforcing traffic laws on interstate, highway, and roadways.
• Overseeing the security of the state capitol complex, protecting the
governor.
• Provide training
• Providing technological and scientific support services.
• Helping to coordinate multi-jurisdictional task force activity in
serious or complicated cases.
• Full police powers statewide.
 LOCAL JURISDICTION
Local Agencies
• What are some of the local law enforcement agencies?
– City Police, Sheriff, D.A., Probation, etc.
– Police and Sheriff’s Departments responsible for local law
enforcement services
• What’s the difference?
• Primary Jurisdiction
– Police = within City limits
– Sheriff = within unincorporated areas of County
– CHP = traffic enforcement/investigations within
unincorporated areas of the County
• Some smaller cities contract with local Sheriff for police
services
• Sheriff legally responsible for jail operations, prisoner
transportation, and court security
 U.S. STATE AND LOCAL LAW
ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES
• State and local law
enforcement agencies
employed more than 1.1
million persons on a full-
time basis,
• About 900,000+ are
sworn personnel,
• Local police departments accounting for 60% of the total,
• Sheriffs' offices were next, accounting for 24%.
• About half (49%) of all agencies employed fewer than 10 full-time
officers,
• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of sworn personnel worked for agencies
that employed 100 or more officers.
• There is 18,498 law enforcement agencies in the United States
 ENGLAND POLICING HISTORY
•King William, following the Norman Conquest in 1066, instituted a form of
community policing called the frankpledge system.

•Every male over twelve years of age was required to form a group of ten families
called a tithing.

•In the larger areas of land, ten tithings were grouped together to form a group of
one hundred. This hundred was called a shire.

• Originally in England the reeve was a senior official with local responsibilities under
the Crown usually to carry out the orders of the Crown

•The top law enforcement official was known as the shire reeve.

•The shire reeve was the beginning of the American sheriff .

• Was often assisted by the constables who organized posses to chase and apprehend
criminals
 ENGLAND POLICING HISTORY
•1829 - Sir Robert Peel - Parliament passed bill -
creates London police
•1,000 officers called bobbies
•uniformed
•structured along military lines
• Sir Robert Peel Nine
•It institutionalized the “hue and cry.”
 HISTORY AMERICAN LAW
ENFORCEMENT

•Colonists brought systems from Europe when they

emigrated to colonies (constable-watch system).

•The sheriff (shire reeve) was responsible for law

enforcement in the counties.

•The constable was responsible for law enforcement in

towns.

•Before the Revolution, both were appointed by Crown.

 HISTORY AMERICAN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
•1636 - Boston
New York - known as Rattle Watch because of rattles they carried and
shook while they patrolled
•1658 - paid watchmen in New York
•1693 - first uniformed police officer
•1731 - first precinct station in New York
•1833 - Philadelphia is the first to initiate a police force.
•1844 - New York is the first to establish a unified day/night police force.
•1865 - Massachusetts creates the first state police force.
•1866 - Detroit creates first detective unit.
• 1900 – Cincinnati was first city to require qualifications of police officers
(high moral character and foot speed)
• 1900 – Saw the first woman hired, however, not given the same level of
power (Chicago Police Department) .
 AUGUST VOLLMER
1 OF 2
• Vollmer's reputation as the
"father of modern law
enforcement.“
• Leading figure in the
development of the field of
criminal justice in the United
States in the early 20th
century.
• First police chief of Berkeley,
California, 1907.
• Elected president of the
California Association of Police
Chiefs.
• Elected president of the
International Association of
Chiefs of Police
 August Vollmer
2 of 2
• He then set out on a program of modernization.
• Established a bicycle patrol
• Created the first centralized police records
• Designed to streamline and organize criminal investigations.
• Established a call box network.
• Trained his deputies in marksmanship.
• First chief to require that police officers attain college degrees
• Persuaded the University of California to teach criminal justice.
• In 1916, UC Berkeley established a criminal justice program, headed by
Vollmer
• First police chief to create a motorized force, placing officers on motorcycles
and in cars so that they could patrol a broader area with greater efficiency.
• Radios were included in patrol cars.
• He was also the first to use the lie detector.
• He also encouraged the training and employment of
female and African American police officers.
 HISTORICAL ERAS OF POLICING
• Political Era: 1840’s–1930’s?
– Police served interests of politicians in power
– Spoils Era or Corruption Era

• Reform Era: 1930’s–1970’s?

– “Professional” model of policing removed police from political
influence
– Vollmer’s Reforms

• Community-Policing Era: 1970’s–Present Day?

– Focus on needs of Community
– Cooperative effort, working with community

• Homeland-Security Era: 2001–Present Day?

– Focus on prevention of terrorism
– Increased cooperation between agencies/jurisdictions
 POLICING STYLES
• Watchman Style
– Concern for law-and-order maintenance
– Crime control more important than crime prevention

• Legalistic Style
– Strict enforcement of “Letter of the Law”
– May ignore other “social” problems

• Service Style
– Focus on “helping” rather than strict enforcement
– Flexible interpretation of “Spirit of the Law”
– Social-assistance, drug-treatment programs, etc.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN AMERICAN POLICING
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN AMERICAN POLICING
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN AMERICAN POLICING
 POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• What are some of the reasons for the development of police-
community relations?
– Evolved out of civil unrest of 1960’s is one reason

• Effort to re-unite Police and Community ?

– Police and Community must work together
– Police derive legitimacy from Community
– Focus on positive Police-Community relations
– Less emphasis on apprehending criminals
– More emphasis on the prevention through positive police/citizen
interaction

• PCR Programs?
– Crime Prevention/Property Identification
– Neighborhood Watch
– Drug Awareness Programs
– Victims’ Assistance
 TEAM POLICING

• Developed in 60’s and 70’s as extension of PCR model

• Maintained specific “team” of officers in same geographical
area (beat)
• What are the Benefits?
– Beat Integrity
– Familiarization with people/area
– Trust and Cooperation
– Officers allowed to handle full investigations
 POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Three generic kinds of “corporate strategies” guide American

policing
 POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• Strategic policing
– Something of a holdover from the reform era
– Emphasizes increased capacity to deal with crimes that
are not well controlled by other methods
– Makes use of innovative enforcement techniques
– License plate readers, traffic cameras, body-cams,
robots, etc.
 POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• Problem-solving policing
– Crimes are caused by existing social conditions
– Makes use of community resources
– Attempts to involve citizens in crime prevention through
education, negotiation, and conflict management
– Gives recognition to service style of policing
 POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• Community policing
– A philosophy that promotes
organizational strategies which support
the systematic use of partnerships and
problem-solving techniques
– Goes beyond strategic policing and
problem-solving policing
– Seeks to actively involve the community
in crime control
– Community policing is a two-way street
– recognizes that the police derive their
legitimacy from the community they
serve
 POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• Community policing involves at least one of four elements:
– Community-based crime prevention
– Reorientation of patrol activities to emphasize the
importance of nonemergency services
– Increased police accountability to the public
– Decentralization of command, including greater use of
civilians at all levels of police decision-making
 POLICE-COMMUNITY RELATIONS
• Critique of community policing
– Difficult to determine effectiveness and citizen
satisfaction with the program
– Not all police officers or managers are willing to accept
non-traditional images of police work
– Some public officials unwilling to accept community
policing
– Ambiguity surrounding the concept of community
– Efforts to promote community policing can demoralize
the department
 KANSAS CITY EXPERIMENT (1974)
What is the Kansas City Experiment?

• Year-long study of Preventive Patrol

– Southern part of city divided into 15 beats
• 5 = no change in patrol services
• 5 = patrol officers/services doubled
• 5 = no patrol service, response to calls only
– Citizens not notified of experiment/changes
What were the Results?
– No impact on preventable crimes
– Citizens unaware of change in patrol services
– No impact on fear of crime, per citizen survey
What were the Effects?
– Directed Patrol
– Call Prioritization
 COMMUNITY POLICING
What was the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (1994)?

– Provided Funding, Training, Technology

• Goals of Community Policing
– Cooperative partnership between Police and Community in order to…
• Reduce crime / fear of crime
• Improve quality-of-life for members of community
• Identify/address needs of Community
• Allow Community more say in prioritizing problems and how Police respond to them
– Proactive vs. Reactive approach to crime

What is Problem-Oriented Policing (POP)

– Focus enforcement efforts on one specific problem at a time until resolved
 EVIDENCE-BASED POLICING
• Directed patrol
– A police-management strategy designed to increase the
productivity of patrol officers through the scientific analysis
and evaluation of patrol techniques
– Put the most officers on the street where and when crime
is most prevalent

• Conventional wisdom is not always correct

EVIDENCE-BASED POLICING
EVIDENCE-BASED POLICING
DISCRETION AND THE INDIVIDUAL OFFICER
 PRIVATE SECURITY
• There are 2 million full-time security workers in the United States
and this number is expected to increase by 21% percent through
2020.
• An other level of enforcement activity in the U.S.
• Private security has grown phenomenally in recent years. Reasons
for the quick grown include
✓ An increase in crimes in the workplace
✓ An increase in fear (real or perceived) of crime and terrorism
✓ The fiscal crises of the states, which have limited public
protection
✓ An increased public and business awareness and use of more
cost-effective private security products and services
END