AJ 50 – Introduction to Administration of Justice

Chapter 6 -Policing: Issues and Challenges

Issues in Policing

Certain issues hold special interest and concerns for today’s police administrators and officers

– Inherent Dangers– Stress– Use-of-Force/Lethal Force– Civil Liability– Multiculturalism

Police Subculture & Personality

Subculture– Informal values that characterize the police force

as a distinct community with common goals

Working Personality– Traditional values and behaviors – Socialized into police culture– Often extends to officers’ personal lives

The Police Personality

Optimistic/Helpful Hopeful Honorable/Loyal Conservative Efficient

Frustrated Authoritarian Suspicious/Secretive Cynical/Pessimistic Prejudiced/Opinionated

Corruption

Corruption– The abuse of police authority for personal or

organizational gain– Historical existence of corruption?

Knapp Commission– A committee that investigated police corruption in New

York City in the early 1970s– Established two types of corrupt officers

Grass Eaters Meat Eaters

Is money at the root of corruption?

Building Integrity

Law Enforcement Oath of Honor (page 199) How does LE create and maintain integrity

within its profession?– Hiring standards– Academy & continuing training

Internal Affairs– The branch of a police organization tasked with

investigating charges of wrongdoing involving members of the department

Drug and Alcohol Use

IACP Drug-Testing Recommendations– All applicants/recruits– Employees showing performance difficulties

indicating possible drug/alcohol problems– Employees involved with excessive force– Employees involved with IOD– Routine testing of special assignments such as

Narcotics or Vice

Inherent Dangers of Police Work

Violence – 156 officers killed in line of duty (2005)

Gunfire = 52 Automobile Accident = 33 Heart Attack = 17 Vehicular Assault = 15

Risk of disease and infection– Biological agents, blood-borne pathogens,

etc. Stress and Fatigue

– Shift-work, diet, OT, etc.

Police Civil Liability

Liability – Responsibility for damages caused by

officer/department

1983 Lawsuits– Based on § 1983, Title 42, US Code– Filed in Federal Court

Bivens Action– Liability action against federal officials

Major Sources of Civil Liability

Failure to protect property in custody

Negligent care of in-custody suspects

Failure to render proper medical first-aid

Lack of due regard for public safety

False arrest or imprisonment

Excessive force Violation of

constitutional rights Racial Profiling

Racial Profiling and Biased Policing

Racial Profiling– Any police-initiated action that relies on the subject’s race,

ethnicity, or national origin– Same as racism?

Racial Profiling vs. Criminal Profiling?– Civil rights violation vs. good police work

POST training mandates– ~100,000 officers statewide– 5 hours initial training– Main goal = individual-officer introspection

Cultural Awareness

Training helps to identify individual prejudices

Four stages:

– Clarifying the relationship between cultural awareness and police professionalism

– Recognizing personal prejudices

– Acquiring sensitivity to police-community relations

– Developing interpersonal-relations skills

Use of Force

Police Use-of-Force– The use of physical restraint by a police officer when

dealing with a member of the public

Use-of-Force Continuum– Department Policy, Training, etc.– Ladder, Steps, Elevator, Wheel…

Excessive Force– The application of an amount or frequency of force greater

than that required to gain compliance from a willing or unwilling subject

Lethal Force

Level of force likely to cause death or great bodily injury

Tennessee vs. Garner (1985)– Lethal force upon fleeing felon only if serious threat of injury

or death to public or officer and deadly force necessary to affect arrest

Graham vs. Connor (1989)– Established “objective reasonableness” standard– Appropriateness of force should be judged from perspective

of reasonable officer in that situation

Lethal-Force Policy Elements

Common elements of deadly-force policies…– Defense of Life

Officer’s or another’s– Fleeing Felony Suspect

If escape likely to result in imminent danger of death/GBI– Verbal Warnings

Should be given if not jeopardizing safety– Warning Shots

Generally discouraged– Moving Vehicles

Not to disable vehicle, at driver/occupants only if imminent death/GBI and does not cause overriding danger

Less-Lethal Force

Less-Lethal Weapons– Weapons designed/intended to disable,

capture, or immobilize – but not kill – a suspect– Not Non-lethal!

Could cause unintentional death or serious injury Examples

– Baton – Pepper Spray/Pepperball – Tasers/Stun Guns – Beanbag Projectiles – Rubber Bullets – Snare Nets

Education and Training

P.O.S.T.– Peace Officer Standards and Training

www.post.ca.gov

– Official state/legislative program that sets law enforcement training standards

832 PC Basic Academies Continuing Professional Training Perishable-Skills Program

Recruitment and Selection

Benefits of hiring educated officers– Report writing skills– Communication skills– Effective job performance– Fewer citizen complaints– Increased initiative– Wise use of discretion– Fewer discipline issues– Heightened awareness of multiculturalism

Professionalism and Ethics

Professionalism– The increasing formalization of police work and

the accompanying rise in public acceptance of the police

Ethics– The special responsibility to adhere to moral

duty and obligation inherent in police work

Law Enforcement Code of Ethics (p. 226)

Ethnic and Gender Diversity in Policing

Women currently represent ~13% of all sworn officers

– 4.8% are women of color

– Between 1990−2001, women’s ranks increased from 9% to 13%

– Women hold 7.3% of sworn top-command law enforcement positions

– Women will not achieve equal representation within 70 years

Consent Decrees mandating the hiring/promotion of women and minorities are the significant factor in women’s gains

Women as Effective Police Officers

Research on female police officers– Extremely devoted to their work– See themselves as women first and then police officers– Are more satisfied when working in non-uniformed

categories

Two groups of female officers– Those who feel themselves to be well integrated and

confident– Those who experience strain and on-the-job isolation

Increasing the Number of Minorities and Women in Police Work

Police Foundation recommendations

– Involve underrepresented groups in affirmative action and long-term planning programs

– Encourage development of an open system of promotions for women and racial/ethnic minorities

– Use periodic audits to ensure that female officers are not being underutilized

Private Protective Services

Private Protective Services– Independent commercial organizations that provide

protective services to employers on a contractual basis Major reasons for rapid growth of private policing

– Increase in workplace crimes

– Increase in fear-of-crime and terrorism

– Fiscal crises of the states

– Increased public and business awareness More cost-effective private-security services

Impact on traditional Law Enforcement?