Issues & Trends in Law Enforcement

1. Issues & Trends in Law Enforcement Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

2. Professionalism • Solutions to whatever ails law enforcement • The preoccupation with professionalism related to comparison of salaries, education, and status in relation to other professions. • Law enforcement perceive themselves at bottom of the professional pole. • Compared to judges, lawyers, and expert witnesses Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

3. Agency Accreditation • Attempt to develop and implement recognized accreditation standards • Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. • Formed in 1979 to develop standards and to administer voluntary accreditation • Formed through combined efforts of IACP, NOBLE, NSA, and PERF • Accreditation is a process of improvement and change. • Benefits are numerous Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

4. Higher Education • Formal education is key to self-improvement and increased status • Omnibus Crime Bill (1968) • Public funds to police to pursue college degree • Due to this federal assistance, today’s officers are much better educated than thirty years ago Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

5. Rationale for Education • Difficulty in assessing “better” officers • Education about social conflict or human behavior aids in conflict resolution and order maintenance. • College educated individuals are more able to cope with role conflict • Broader base of information for decision making Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

6. Police Misconduct • Actions by a public servant that are outside the standards of conduct • Breach of public trust. • There are many ways to breach trust • Misuse of funds • Unauthorized disclosure of information • Excessive use of force • Corruption Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

7. Solutions • Ethics course • Department administration • Chiefs and sheriffs providing leadership in requiring ethical and honest behavior • Recruiting, selection, training • Accountability for all police activity • Proactive internal affairs Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

8. Employment of Minorities • Increases effectiveness of the force • Assigning officers of the same ethic background provides understanding of unfamiliar cultures • Alternative is to train in cross-cultural communication • Recruitment of minorities • Innovations in recruitment • Ideological and procedural • Cadet programs • Community service officer (CSO) Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

9. Employment of Women • Carefully selected and trained females are as effective as carefully selected and trained males. • Block and Anderson (1973) study • “Report on the Status of Women in Policing” published by the Police Foundation • Affirmative action and evolving law has led to growth of females in policing. • Several potential policies for agencies to consider Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

10. Officer Health • Police work is highly stressful with consequences. • Stress may be measured by Sewell’s law enforcement critical life events scale • Female police officers have gender-specific stress in addition to regular job stress • Alcoholism • “character flaw” theory • Drug use by officers • Suicide • Coping with health problems Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

11. Contact with the Public • Attention has been paid to police-citizen interactions. • Media focus on negative contact. • The Bureau of Justice Statistics finds that “most people, of any race, who have a contact with police, most often through a traffic stop, evaluate the stop as having been appropriate.” • Less than one percent of police-citizen contacts involved police use of force. Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

12. Use of Deadly Force • Few argue right to use deadly force to protect lives or lives of innocent people • Historically, some states allow officers discretion that goes beyond self-defense or the defense of others in the use of deadly force. • Based in English common law where virtually all felonies were punishable by death Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

13. Managing Use of Deadly Force • Shooting control techniques • Policy-oriented • Equipment • Training • Tennessee v. Garner (1985) • Track officers who are “chronic offenders” • Use of pepper spray Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

14. Police – Prosecutor Cooperation • Emerging trend is teamwork through every step of the process • Pursuing common goal of protecting society from crime and violence • Police want to make arrests that lead to punishment. • Prosecutors want to build strong cases. • Teamwork improves quality of cases Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

15. Private Security • Interactive role with law enforcement • Increased reliance on private security due to police workload and tax limitations • Traditionally relied on police for prevention and control of crime. • More recently, private security plays a major protective role. • Employs more persons and expends more dollars than public law enforcement Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

16. Technological Trends • Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) • Radio dispatcher is aided by a high speed digital computer • Fingerprint automation • Automated latent system model • Use of laptop computers • Automated police reports • DNA profiling • To identify or eliminate potential suspects • Geographical Information Systems (GIS) • Combines map images with other spatially referenced information Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

17. Citizens Role in Crime Prevention • Peace-keeping system in the early days of law enforcement emphasized citizen role • With specialization, citizens delegated responsibility to paid officials • Effectiveness of crime prevention depends on willingness to report suspicious activity. Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

18. Neighborhood Watch Programs • Frequently implemented under community oriented policing • Developing and maintaining program is a difficult leadership challenge. • The most successful programs recruit new members a few times a year. • Success is related to departments commitment to establishing a strategic plan, train participants, and encourage communication. Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

19. Fear of Crime • Some fear crime more than they need to • Sings of crime are both social and physical • Social signs include prostitution, drug dealing, rowdy teenagers, panhandling, and mentally ill. • Physical signs include broken windows, garbage, broken bottles, and abandoned cars programs. • Programs share the goal of “breaking down the barriers” • Others address disorder and fear of crime Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

20. Crime Prevention Programs • Key findings of NIJ review of state and local prevention programs include: • Neighborhood watch programs are often ineffective. • Community meetings between the police and the public do not prevent crime • Police storefront operations have no impact on crime but did result in positive evaluations of police • The use of newsletters had no effect on victimization rates. Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

21. Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) • Made popular by Oscar Newman in “Defensible Spaces” • Proper design and effective use of the physical environment can produce behavioral effects that will reduce the incidence and fear of crime, thereby improving the quality of life. • Environmental design is rooted in the design of the person/environmental relationship. Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

22. Applications of CPTED • Convenience Business Security Act • Rooted in analysis of convenience store robberies in Gainesville, FL. • Adopted ordinances that required strong security steps. • Act embraces CPTED principles including unobstructed views, security cameras, and lighting. • The Safe Neighborhood Program • Florida legislation provided planning grants to communities willing to adopt the program. Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

23. CPTED and Community Policing • Combination of two strategies benefits crime prevention • Relies on police, residents, and local officials for success • Specific crime prevention activities • Security in parks • Building regulations • Civil remedies Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley

24. Citizen Involvement in Crime Prevention • The McGruff Campaign • “Take a Bite Out of Crime” • The CAT Program • “Combat Auto Theft” • The Watch Your Car Program • Campus crime prevention programs • Community Anti-Drug Efforts Crime and Justice in America, 6th edition. Territo, Halsted, and Bromley