Walker, Chapter 9
- 1. Police in America Chapter Nine The Police and Crime
- 2. The Police and Crime Crime Control Strategies Proactive versus Reactive Proactive: Anticrime strategies initiated by the police themselves, not citizens requesting service Reactive: Anticrime strategies used by police when responding to a civilian’s request for service General versus Specific Directed at the community at large vs. directed at particular crimes, places, offenders, or victims Particular crimes Specific places Specific offenders Specific victims
- 3. Crime Control Assumptions Citizens are co-producers of police services Police and other social institutions are interdependent Communities, families, schools, labor markets, workplaces, other criminal justice programs Measuring effectiveness requires meaningful definitions and reliable data
- 4. Preventing Crime Routine patrol is primary crime prevention activity Specialized crime prevention units Meet with citizens to discuss crime prevention options Work alongside neighborhood groups Educating youth about crime, drugs, and gangs
- 5. Apprehending Criminals Second major crime-fighting responsibility of police officers Citizen Reporting of Crime Citizens act as “gatekeepers” of the criminal justice system Patrol officers rarely discover crimes in progress Some victims do not report crimes because they do not think the crime is important
- 6. Reporting and Unfounding Crimes “ Unfounding” a Crime: Failure of a police officer to complete an official crime report when a citizen reports a crime. Reasons for Unfounding a Crime Citizens do not understand the criminal law Insufficient evidence Abuse of officer’s discretion
- 7. Criminal Investigation Myths About Detective Work Work is exciting and dangerous Detectives are heroic, courageous and skillful These myths create unreasonable public expectations about the ability of police to control crime The Organization of Detective Work Located in separate unit of department Considered a high-status assignment to be a detective Offers great opportunity to control one’s work and exercise initiative
- 8. The Investigation Process The Preliminary Investigation 1. Identify and arrest suspects 2. Provide aid to victims 3. Secure crime scene and prevent loss of evidence 4. Collect relevant physical evidence 5. Prepare preliminary report Arrest Discretion Based on the following factors: 1. Strength of evidence 2. Seriousness of crime 3. Victim request of arrest 4. Victim and suspect are strangers 5. Suspect is hostile Follow-Up Investigations Interview witnesses Canvass crime scene Discuss the case with patrol officers Interview suspects Check records and NCIC files Reality of Detective Work Not glamorous or exciting Superficial, routine, non-productive Case Screening Based on seriousness of crime and existence of evidence “ Case solvability factors” Caseload varies: nominal, workable, and actual
- 9. Measuring the Effectiveness of Criminal Investigations The Clearance Rate Traditional measure of success in a criminal investigation Only 21% of all reported Index crimes are cleared Nationally Unreliable since it is based on only reported crimes and data can be manipulated Defining an Arrest Legally arrested: deprived of rights by legal authority Behaviorally arrested: asked by police officer to stop, told they are under arrest, or physically restrained by officer Subjectively arrested: when an individual believes he/she is not free to go Officially arrested: when officer makes an official report of arrest
- 10. Success and Failure in Solving Crimes Three main case solvability factors : 1. Case Structural Factors Related to the crime committed 2. Organizational Factors Lack of resources does not keep clearance rates low 3. Environmental Factors Characteristics of the community the police work in Officers have no control over these factors
- 11. Success and Failure in Solving Crimes Continued Officer Productivity Some officers make more arrests than others Quality of arrests differs as well: many arrests do not lead to a conviction The Problem of Case Attrition Only ½ of felony arrests result in conviction Detectives and officers typically express little interest in why this happens and how to fix it
- 12. The Use of Eyewitness Identification, Criminalistics, and DNA in Investigations Eyewitness Identification Typically unreliable due to problems with human perception and memory Criminalistics Technical specialists in crime lab analyze evidence, etc. DNA All DNA samples forwarded to the FBI and put into the National DNA Indexing System Stores forensic data and convicted offender index data
- 13. Improving Criminal Investigations Changes in community policing Structural changes Headquarters changed to beats and precincts Assigning investigators to particular areas Procedural changes Greater intergovernmental communication Assistance from other criminal justice orgs. Functional changes Role and responsibility changes for investigators
- 14. Special Investigative Techniques Undercover Police Work Deliberate deception that may promote a habit of lying Befriending criminals May erode the standards of policing Less supervision Informants Used especially in victimless crimes Criminals who possess special knowledge Potential problems because police must give something in return for access to that information
- 15. Policing Drugs Drug Enforcement Strategies Supply reduction strategy Buy and bust “ Trading up” Long-term undercover work Drug crackdown: intensive enforcement effort Demand reduction strategy Drug education programs Minorities and the War on Drugs African Americans arrested more frequently than whites, although usage is about the same Demand Reduction: The D.A.R.E Program Operating in 70 percent of all public school systems
- 16. Policing Gangs and Gang-Related Crime Gang Suppression The police gang unit: specialized unit Has at least one sworn officer whose job it is to engage in gang control effort Gang Prevention: G.R.E.A.T. Program Gang Resistance Education and Training Operates in all 50 states Study showed that it was not very effective at preventing students from joining gangs
- 17. Policing Career Criminals Career Criminals: People believed to be committing a high rate of offenses Repeat Offender Programs Targeting suspected high-rate offenders for surveillance and arrest Targeting those with outstanding warrants Case-enhancement programs to provide information about offendor histories
- 18. Policing Guns and Gun Crimes Victims are most likely to be Black, American Indian and Hispanic Men are twice as likely to be victims compared to women Gun Suppression Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN) Kansas City Gun Experiment Targeted a high-crime precinct with problem-oriented policing and directed patrol As a result, gun crimes fell 49%
- 19. Policing Hate Crime Hate Crime – bias motivated crimes The Scope and Nature of Hate Crime 50.8% racial bias 18.4% religious bias 16.6% sexual orientation bias 13.2% ethnic/national origin bias Five main characteristics of Hate Crimes Higher level of assaults against persons than crimes generally More violent Attacks preceded by series of confrontations that escalate in severity More likely to be committed be group perpetrators Likely to be committed by someone the victim knows Police Response to Hate Crime Creation of specialized bias crime units
- 20. Policing Terrorism The Scope and Nature of Terrorism Terrorism: “The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof in furtherance of political or social objectives.” Domestic Terrorism Planned and carried out by Americans on American soil Foreign Terrorism Terrorist activities coordinated and perpetrated by foreign persons or countries against the U.S.
- 21. Responding to Terrorism In the wake of September 11 Department of Homeland Security created Increasing number of U.S. Coast Guard and Customs Service personnel FBI Office of Intelligence FBI Counterterrorism Watch Local police first to respond in a terrorist event But issues between federal law enforcement agencies and local police arise due to refusal to share critical information