Expert answer:Law help needed with CRJ201 Introduction to Crimin
Answer & Explanation:Law Enforcement: Federal, State, and
Local Policing
Law enforcement agencies exist on federal, state, and local levels. What is
jurisdiction? Describe the difference between federal and local police
jurisdiction.
Describe
the history of federal policing in the United States. Provide examples of
federal policing agencies. How are federal policing agencies used to enforce
the law?
Your post should be at least 300 words in length. Support your claims with
examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and
properly cite any references.
undefined
crj201_chapter05.pdf
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Law Enforcement 0perations
and Legal Limitations
Chapter 5
5
Learning Objectives
After reading this
chapter, you should
be able to:
• Discuss the role of the
police in a free society
• Discuss the data
on police-citizen
encounters
• Be familiar with police
officer selections and
hiring requirements
• Discuss the role of law
in police behavior
• Discuss contemporary
problems associated
with policing
© Corbis
Chapter Outline
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Police in the United States
Public Support for the Police
Data on Contacts Between the Police and
the Public
Police Officers and Police Department
Requirements
Police Culture
5.3 Constitutional Policing
Arrest and Constitutional Policing
Search, Seizure, and Constitutional Policing
Police Interrogations
5.4 Contemporary Issues in Policing
Corruption
Discretion
Use of Force
Are the Police Racist?
5.5 Chapter Summary
Critical Thinking Questions
Key Terms
Web Links
Police in the United States
Chapter 5
5.1 Introduction
In a free society the police represent the most coercive aspect of government. Despite efforts
to make policing friendlier and more accepted by the public, policing at its core is about the
exercise of state power. Commit a crime and a police officer has the right to track you down,
enter your home, collect evidence of your guilt, place you under arrest, and deny you your
liberty. Resist arrest and the officer has the legal authority to use force against you. The point
is simple: Policing is about the use of power, the threat of state coercion, and, in some cases,
the application of violence. This is why policing in a free society requires a complex blend of
laws and practices that give police their authority but
still offer citizens due process protections. Although
police must enforce the law, they are also subject to
the law. Constitutional and legal constraints serve
to protect both police and citizens. While they are
sometimes in conflict, these constraints have been
shown to increase public safety and protect innocent
people from police abuses.
On occasion the actions of police will be scrutinized, debated, and sometimes subjected to heated
criticism. Indeed, as the Rodney King incident in
Los Angeles highlighted, the actions of police officers
can sometimes spark a riot. At other times, however,
▲ Police have the legal authority to use force on
the actions of police will be cheered as gallant and
anyone who resists arrest. However, the extent to
brave. Whether criticized or supported, the police
which they exercise that right has led to scrutiny.
© Associated Press
rely on the public for help in fighting crime and for
their legitimacy. Thus the police must simultaneously
enforce the law within a community and depend on the citizens they police within the community. How police are perceived within a community, how police interact with individuals
and suspects within a community, and how police respond to community concerns affect their
ability to police efficiently. Without community support, police effectiveness suffers.
The following sections examine basic information about the police. We will look at data on
levels of public support, what it takes to become a police officer, and the police subculture.
Recognizing that police are bound by law, we will examine the legal constraints police must
work within. These constraints attempt to protect individuals from oppressive police practices
while also allowing the police enough discretion to protect the public. Finally, we will examine
core issues related to policing in modern America. Corruption, discretion, the use of force, and
racially biased policing remain potential problems for police departments.
5.2 Police in the United States
The police rely on their social legitimacy to help enforce the law. When a police officer commands you to pull over your car or orders you to stop, you will most likely comply. You do this
because you likely fear the consequences of not doing so, but you also do it because you implicitly agree that the police have the authority to make such demands. Even so, police in a free
society cannot just make any demands of you. They cannot arbitrarily enter your home, cannot
search your business without a warrant, and they cannot assault you without reason.
Police in the United States
Chapter 5
Police have broad investigatory and arrest powers,
which they use daily. They use these powers when
they stop a driver for a traffic infraction, they respond
to a domestic disturbance call, and they deal with a
crime. How police use these powers matters. If they
are belligerent, abusive, or unnecessarily disrespectful, they may create hostility in the communities they
police. Yet if the police are not aggressive enough,
they run the risk of compromising their safety and
the safety of citizens.
Public support for the police is crucial if the police
▲ A routine traffic stop is a demonstration of the
are to do their jobs effectively and safely. If the public investigatory and arrest powers of the police.
does not support them and believe that the police will © Roger Allyn Lee/SuperStock
help solve crime-related problems in a professional
manner, the social legitimacy of the police suffers. If citizens do not trust the police, they are
less likely to call them for help with crime-related problems, to file charges against offenders,
and to confide in the police or provide the police with information about offenders. Since citizens are the primary source of information on criminal events, the police’s ability to control
crime will suffer if they lack legitimacy with the public.
Public Support for the Police
Policing remains a profession that generates a substantial amount of respect and trust in
American society. Public trust in police is generally strong, although important exceptions
exist. For example, a 2011 Gallup News poll of adults found that most Americans have confidence in the police. Only three institutions scored above 50 percent in public confidence: the
military at 78 percent, small business at 64 percent, and the police at 54 percent. However,
closer inspection reveals that 86 percent of respondents had some trust in the police while only
13 percent reported no confidence.
In a large-scale study of public perceptions of the police, Gallagher and colleagues (2001)
found that:
• Some 80 to 90 percent of individuals were satisfied with their local police.
• While Whites were more satisfied with the police than were Hispanics and African
Americans, all groups report relatively high levels of satisfaction.
• Confidence in the police to solve crime remains high, although African Americans
report the lowest level of confidence.
• Higher socioeconomic status (SES), having positive perceptions about one’s neighborhood, and residing in a suburb predict support for police.
• Relatively few people have no confidence in the police.
• Those who report no or very little confidence in the police generally but not always hold
an antisocial worldview and feel alienated.
Surveys of the public converge to support the findings of Gallagher and associates (2001). Of
particular importance is the fact that the police enjoy wide-ranging respect in American society, especially within the criminal justice system. That said, one glaring problem remains:
Police in the United States
Chapter 5
African Americans are significantly more likely to
voice concerns about the police, to view them with
more suspicion, and to report less satisfaction with
police efforts. There are at least two possible reasons for this: First, some scholars argue that African
Americans have more negative or combative interactions with police. Police, they argue, are more likely
to pull over African American drivers, to act with
suspicion towards African Americans, and to escalate situations where African Americans are suspects
(Harris, 1999; Verniero & Zoubek, 1999).
A 2011 investigation of the New Orleans Police
Department by the U.S. Department of Justice
Picture Library/SuperStock
found widespread abuse of citizens, mostly African
Americans but also other minorities including homosexuals and women. The report documented pervasive problems—which had existed for years—
and the ways in which these problems had adversely afffected police-community relationships.
For example, investigators found that citizens in the most dangerous neighborhoods routinely
did not call the police for assistance and were likely to withhold information that could help
police make arrests of known offenders. “NOPD’s failure to ensure that its officers routinely
respect the Constitution and the rule of law,” the authors of the report stated, “undermines trust
within the very communities whose cooperation the department most needs to enforce the law
and prevent crime. As systematic violations of civil rights erode public confidence, policing
becomes more difficult, less safe, and less effective, and crime increases.”
▲ Most Americans respect the police. © Robert Harding
One of the key strategies of the current chief of police, Ronal Serpas, is to reengage the community. Officers, for example, now go door-to-door to introduce themselves, and they hold regular
community-based meetings.
Another argument, however, maintains that the behavior of some African Americans generates conflict with police. African Americans, it is argued, are more likely to display a hostile
demeanor during a traffic stop. A hostile demeanor increases the chances of arrest by an officer
and is used by officers as an indicator of potential threat (Lundman, 1996; Worden & Shepard,
1996). A hostile demeanor may include making aggressive movements with the hands, reaching under a seat or towards a glove compartment box, or verbally confronting the officer. It is
important to note that a hostile demeanor towards the police can result in arrest for any individual and that a study by Engel, Sobol, and Worden (2000) found that race was not correlated
with police perceptions of hostile demeanor.
In some African American communities the police are viewed with disdain, and strong prohibitions against “snitching” are informally enforced, sometimes through the use of violence.
On March 3, 2010, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at 3 a.m., 27-year-old Valentino Verner was shot in the
head in front of over 100 witnesses in front of the Chicken Hut restaurant. Not a single person
called the police. Instead, patrons stepped over Verner’s body as he lay dying to receive their
food orders. When emergency personnel arrived on scene, patrons refused to cooperate with
medics and the police. One emergency responder stated, “Nobody wants to talk to us. Nobody
wants to give us any information” (Oklahoma’s Own, 2010). To date, nobody has come forward
with information that would lead to the arrest of the murderer.
Police in the United States
Chapter 5
Regardless of whether or not racism plays a role,
African Americans are much more suspicious of
police efforts, motives, and behaviors than are whites
and Hispanics. Even so, the majority of African
Americans, between 50 and 70 percent, report being
supportive of the police. Thus it appears to be the case
that the lack of public support for the police is worse
in crime-ridden areas than in other places and that
many of these areas are populated by African Americans.
Stop and Think 5.1
Suppose you were a police chief. What
steps, if any, would you take to improve
police-community relations?
Data on Contacts Between the Police and the Public
Police interactions with citizens are multifaceted. Sometimes the police have to interact with
the public in a forceful and demanding fashion. At other times they interact with the public
in ways that are generally popular, as when they provide directions to tourists or lend assistance to stranded motorists. However, police-citizen encounters can be highly charged, often
making the news and sometimes resulting in protests or even riots. When officers from the
Los Angeles Police Department were seen on video beating Rodney King, riots erupted, setting Los Angeles in flames. How the police interact
in police-citizen encounters is as important, if not
more so, as how citizens interact with police during
those encounters.
Data on police-citizen encounters are revealing.
According to Eith and Durose (2011):
• In 2008 almost 17 percent of U.S. residents by
age 16 had a face-to-face interaction with the
police.
• The number of civilian encounters with the
police has declined since 2002. when roughly
21 percent of citizens had encounters with the
police. The percentage differences, however,
mask the absolute differences: From 2002
to 2008 there were 5.3 million fewer policecitizen encounters. The numbers declined from
45.3 million encounters to 40 million. These
numbers coincide, too, with the overall drop in
crime in America.
▲ On April 30, 1992, a Trak Auto store in Los
Angeles was looted and burned. Los Angeles had
undergone several days of rioting owing to the
acquittal of the LAPD officers who beat Rodney
King. Hundreds of businesses were burned to the
ground and some 55 people were killed.
© Ted Soqui/Corbis/APImages
• Eith and Durose (2011) also found that the most common reason for a police-citizen
encounter was for a traffic violation.
• About 60 percent of police-citizen contacts occurred because of a traffic stop.
• Another 21 percent were due to the citizen reporting a crime to the police, down from
26 percent in 2002, while another 6 percent resulted from the police providing assistance
or a service.
• Approximately 8 percent of all police-citizen contacts occurred because of a police
investigation.
Police in the United States
Chapter 5
Demographically, individuals 18 to 24 years of age were more likely than any other group to
report an encounter with police (21 percent).
• Almost 75 percent of all police encounters were with White residents, slightly over 10
percent were with Hispanics, and 9.5 percent were with African Americans.
• Males were involved in about 53 percent of all police-citizen encounters. These numbers
have been relatively stable since 2002.
• About 75 percent of citizens encountered the police only once in 2008. Another 25 percent had two or more encounters. Of this group, 27 percent were male, 23 percent were
female; 25 percent were White, 28 percent were Black, and 26 percent were Hispanic.
Individuals 18 to 24 years of age were also more likely than any other age group to have
more than one contact with the police.
How citizens view these contacts is important. In 2008, some 92 percent of all those questioned
reported that the police acted respectfully. This includes 93 percent of Whites, 89 percent of
Hispanics, and 87 percent of Blacks. There were no statistical differences between racial groups
who were involved in traffic accidents, who reported a crime to the police, or when police provided assistance or a service. Blacks were slightly less likely than any other group to report that,
when they were the drivers involved in a traffic stop, the police had acted respectfully (87 percent). When citizens were asked about their perceptions of the legitimacy of their traffic stop, 85
percent reported that they thought their stop was legitimate. This includes 86 percent of Whites,
83 percent of Hispanics, and 74 percent of Blacks.
Public views of these encounters seem dependent on whether the police were investigating the
individual for a crime. Only 20 to 36 percent of individuals who were physically searched or had
their vehicle searched thought the search was legitimate. Slightly over 78 percent of residents
investigated for a crime believed that the police acted properly (82 percent of Whites, 62 percent
of Hispanics, and 70 percent of Blacks).
Of the 40 million face-to-face encounters, only 1.9 percent, or 776,000 individuals, involved the
threat of or actual use of physical force. Males and Blacks were more likely to be involved in
incidents where police threatened or used violence during the encounter; however, the overall
percentages are relatively low for both groups (1.8 percent of males compared with 1.0 percent
of females and 3.4 percent of Blacks compared with 1.2 percent of Whites).
A large majority of those who experienced police use of force (74 percent) thought that it was
unnecessary or excessive. When police used force, over half the time it involved the police
pushing or grabbing the individual. About 75 percent of the time it involved police yelling or
shouting at the individual, and 26 percent of the time it resulted in the officer pointing a gun at
the individual. However, of those who experience the use of force, 22 percent report insulting
or verbally threatening the police, almost 12 percent report disobeying or interfering with a
police officer, 5 percent reported resisting arrest, and another 3 percent reported trying to flee
from the police.
In total, the evidence indicates that fewer people today have face-to-face contacts with police
than in years past. The reduction in police-citizen contacts coincides with the overall drop in
crime in America. The vast majority of police-citizen contacts emerge from traffic stops. Of
those citizens stopped, over 90 percent reported that the police had acted appropriately and
respectfully during their contact. Moreover, police use of force and the threatened use of force
Police in the United States
Chapter 5
IN DEPTH:
Data-Driven Policing
C
ommunities face a diverse array of problems. Some communities are inundated with
violent street gangs. Others are havens for drug addicts and sellers. Still others have to
manage high rates of disorder, such as public intoxication, while yet other communities
face few or no problems. The police have become acutely aware that crime and disorder are
concentrated in some communities and not others and that the problems experienced across
communities vary.
Modern policing has relied more heavily on three factors to tailor police responses and to more
efficiently allocate limited police resources: First, police departments now rely heavily on technology, including crime mapping, to detect trends in crime and isolate crime hot spots. Second,
police departments have become more willing to experiment with new approaches and to
have these approaches evaluated empirically by scholars of policing. Social science now plays
a much larger role in helping police work efficiently and effectively. Third, and relatedly, many
police departments now use the services of crime analysts. These analysts compile crime data,
examine patterns and trends, and compute reliable statistics to better help police decision makers address the unique problems of communities.
Reflecting these “data driven” approaches, the Office of Justice Programs has evaluated police
intervention strategies and ranked them as “effective,” “promising,” or “not effective.” Each
approach was scientifically evaluated. What are some of the most effective police programs?
• Hot Spots Policing in Lowell, Massachusetts: A program designed to police disorder in
high-crime areas.
• Minneapolis Preventative Patrol: A program that increased the number and visibility of
police in high-crime areas.
• Operation Ceasefire in Boston: A highly publicized intervention designed to reduce gun
violence and gang activity.
• Operation Cul-de-Sac in Los Angeles: A problem-oriented approach that addressed gang
shootings by putting up street barriers between side streets and major traffic arteries.
• Cincinnati Violence Reduction Project: A problem-oriented program based on Operation
Ceasefire. It targets high-rate violent offenders for arrest and at the same time offers
social services to those willing to quit engaging in crime.
remains rare. When force is used, a majority of all citizens reported that it involved officers
yelling at them or grabbing t …
Purchase answer to see full
attachment
How it works
- Paste your instructions in the instructions box. You can also attach an instructions file
- Select the writer category, deadline, education level and review the instructions
- Make a payment for the order to be assignment to a writer
- Download the paper after the writer uploads it
Will the writer plagiarize my essay?
You will get a plagiarism-free paper and you can get an originality report upon request.
Is this service safe?
All the personal information is confidential and we have 100% safe payment methods. We also guarantee good grades