Essay on "American Policing Issues"

Essay 4 pages (1853 words) Sources: 1+ Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

American Policing Issues

Why is it more difficult to police a democratic society than a dictatorship/autocratic form of government?

It is much more difficult to police a democratic society than a dictatorship or autocratic society simply because in a democratic society, the concern for civil rights is no less important than the concern for the effectiveness of law enforcement efforts and of criminal justice prosecution efforts. Dictatorships and autocracies can eliminate 100% of crime by imposing penalties of unlimited harshness for deterrence (including torture, maiming, and execution) and they can adjudicate cases without any respect for principles of fairness or any concept of civil rights. Most importantly, dictatorships and autocracies need not justify their actions, procedures, or standards to comply with objective values or with the expressed will of the people. Conversely, authorities within a democratic society must conform their policies and procedures to the dictates of established legal principles and the collective will of policy changes enacted by the democratic process (Caruso & Nirode, 2001)

2. What were the main issues confronting police administrators during the time when formal departments were being organized? How were these issues dealt with?

Are any of these issues relevant in contemporary policing?

When the first generations of police administrators started organizing police departments in the mid to late 19th century, there was little coordination or consistency between and among the many local and state criminal statutes. There was no centralized authority capable of establishing any uniformity in the formation, design, or implementation of policing functions and agencies. Moreover, the first policing organizations had no source of public funding; consequently, they relied largely on volunteer members that mainly patrolled within their own neighborhoods at night until the New York City Police Department (NYPD) introduced the first professional compensation scheme for police officers in the middle of the 19th century. Additionally, the formation of the first police departments also coincided with some of the periods of the most serious corruption in public administration in general (Caruso & Nirode, 2001).

In contemporary policing, overlapping jurisdictions of local, state, and federal law enforcement authority and related statutory differences sometimes present obstacles. Likewise, it is still the case that rivalries and inefficiencies in information sharing among the many different law enforcement agencies often undermines effective enforcement. Public corruption is no longer the significant factor in contemporary policing, primarily because of the officer selection process and the fact that modern political systems have evolved to the extent that the type of corruption that interferes with basic policing functions is a comparatively rare problem (Caruso & Nirode, 2001).

3. What criteria do police departments use to determine whether an applicant should be hired? Which ones do you think are the most important?

There is no uniform standard for police officer candidate selection but generally, most American police agencies conduct extensive background investigations that include reviewing criminal records, civil litigation records, driving records, credit history, and previous employment history. Some departments even go so far as to visit the homes of prospective applicants and interview their neighbors although that is not the norm. Additionally, they conduct physical fitness assessments, written aptitude tests, interactive video scenario simulation tests, psychological screening, and extensive medical testing. While all are important, clearly, those related directly to personal integrity, honesty, and the ability to make mature, reasoned judgments would be most essential, given the duties and responsibilities of police officers in American society (Caruso & Nirode, 2001).

4. Why is it important for police administrators to know organizational theory?

Police administrators must understand organizational theory because contemporary police administration encompasses many of the same organizational challenges as other professional organizations. Furthermore, modern police managers must be accomplished in a full range of management skills in such areas as personnel management, supervisory relationships and hierarchies, as well as long and short-term strategic and tactical planning, supervision, and implementation (Caruso & Nirode, 2001)

5. How many patrol techniques can you list? What are their benefits? What are the problems associated with them?

1. Routine Patrol -- Benefits include maximum autonomy of patrol officers and response flexibility; problems may include difficulty of supervision and lack of economy of police resources in relation to the need to fulfill other specific responsibilities.

2. Directed Patrol -- Benefits include increased supervisory involvement and ability to address more specific needs than routine patrol; problems may include lack of autonomy where the autonomy of patrol officers would be beneficial.

3. Directed Deterrent Patrol -- Benefits include increased ability to respond to specific enforcement needs and serious criminal patterns; problems may include further decrease in patrol officer autonomy and the relative neglect of other policing functions in relation to non-criminal matters.

4. Suspect-Oriented Patrol -- Benefits include increased apprehension of known criminals and prevention of crime; problems may include even greater diminution of the ability to fulfill other non-criminal policing functions and responsibilities (Caruso & Nirode, 2001).

6. What is discretion? Is it good or bad? What makes it good or bad? Can it be both?

Without some form of discretion, police officers would be completely unable to perform their essential duties effectively, mainly because the obligation to take enforcement action for every observable infraction of law would preclude prioritizing their time. Patrol officers, for one example, would be obligated to initiate traffic stops for every single observed violation of the vehicular code, including improper lane changes, failure to signal, double parking, failure to yield, and for every single instance where a motorist exceeds the posted speed limit by a single mile per hour (Caruso & Nirode, 2001)..

Discretion also allows police officers to use more tools on their belts instead of only the proverbial hammer; it allows them to resolve problems such as domestic nonviolent disputes or issues between neighbors without necessarily resorting to enforcement when informal mediation is sufficient to solve the problem at minimal cost to the parties involved, to the criminal justice system, and to society. Discretion can be bad only to the extent it is abused in ways it was not intended such as to give unjustified preferential treatment to certain subjects (Caruso & Nirode, 2001).

7. The chapter describes a deadly force situation in Cincinnati, Ohio. Based on the information given, what do you believe the officer should have done in that situation? Was the shooting justified?

Officer Roach erred in violating his department's formal policy requiring officers to employ the "indexing" technique that prevents accidental unintended discharging of duty weapons while chasing suspects on foot. Likewise, the available evidence suggested that officer Roach also violated department policy in failing to allow the victim sufficient time to respond to his verbal commands before resorting to deadly force. Finally, officer Roach violated department policy and law in mischaracterizing his actions during the subsequent investigation by changing his account and his sworn testimony on the matter of whether or not he fired his service weapon deliberately or accidentally (Caruso & Nirode, 2001).

Officer Roach should have followed departmental procedure with respect to the position of his shooting hand index finger while chasing the suspect; he should have allowed appropriate time for the suspect to comply with his commands before discharging his weapon if he did so deliberately; and he should not have changed his story or tried to lie to improve his situation after the fact.

8. Are police officers different from the general population? How? Why?

Police officers are the proverbial "sheepdogs" who guard the "sheep" in society against the "wolves." Generally, they are individuals who possess the ability to maintain their composure and make fast decisions under stressful and dangerous circumstances. However, modern police training is so advanced and comprehensive that the most significant differences between civilians and those who become police officers (other than a sense of integrity, respect for the rule of law, and a desire to help society) are more a function of their training and learned skills than any innate individual characteristics (Caruso & Nirode, 2001).

9. What does "corruption" mean? Are all illegal activities corrupt activities? Are all corrupt activities illegal?

Corruption, in principle, is the unauthorized exercise of any governmental authority for personal gain or for the benefit of other individuals. Many illegal activities (such as gambling or patronizing prostitutes off duty) are examples of criminal conduct that are completely unrelated to policing duties or authorities and therefore, not considered acts of corruption. Any directly corrupt activities (such soliciting or accepting bribes or misusing police authority to coerce favorable treatment from civilians) are illegal. Technically, accepting a free meal on duty or a cup of coffee could be a legal violation depending on the jurisdiction, but as a practical matter, there is no point to prosecuting police officers for accepting those types of nominal gratuities without any quid pro quo (Caruso & Nirode, 2001).

10. Why has the number of lawsuits filed against the police increased over the past 25 years?

The numbers of lawsuits filed against police in the past 25 years are probably attributable to: (1) More comprehensive civil… READ MORE

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