Chapter 15

Police and Law Enforcement

History of Police

 English origins

• The London Police

 Sir Robert Peel (Act for Improving the Police)
 London police were structured along military lines
History of Police

• Policing in the American Colonies

 Colonial policing paralleled the British model
 County sheriffs collected taxes and supervised elections
 Nightwatchmen became known as “leatherheads”
 Watchmen were not widely respected
History of Police

• Early American Police Agencies

 Boston created first formal police agency in 1838, followed by
New York in 1844 and Philadelphia in 1854
 Early police maintained public health and swept streets
 Politics dominated most departments
 Nineteenth century police were largely incompetent
History of Police

• Reform Movements
 Uniforms introduced in 1853 in New York
 Use of telegraph and call boxes
 Creation of police administration boards to reduce corruption
 Boston police Strike of 1914 heightened police reform
History of Police

• The Advent of Professionalism

 Influence of August Vollmer and Orlando W. Wilson
 Technological advances (bicycles, motorcycles, and cars)
 Efforts in the 1960s included highly trained and rule oriented
police
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• Federal Law Enforcement

 Federal Bureau of Investigation originated in 1908 through the
Department of Justice
 FBI was reorganized in 1930 under the direction of J. Edgar
Hoover
 The FBI is an investigative agency which offers assistance to
local law enforcement
Table 15.1 Full-Time Sworn in Law Enforcement Officers in the
United States
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• Other Federal Agencies

 Drug Enforcement Administration: Illegal drugs and importation of
narcotics
 U.S. Marshals: court officers
 Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Bureau: jurisdiction over sales
and distribution
 The Internal Revenue Service: Enforces violations of tax laws
 Department of Homeland Security: Terrorism
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• Weblink
http://www.atf.gov/index.htm#
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• Directorates of Homeland Security

 Border and Transportation Directorate
• U.S. Customs
• Immigration and Naturalization
• Federal Protective Services
• Transportation Security Administration
• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
• Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
• Office for Domestic Preparedness
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• The Emergency Preparedness and Response Directorate

 Federal Emergency Management Agency
 Strategic National Stockpile and National Disaster Medical
System
 Nuclear Incident Response Team
 Domestic Emergency Support Teams
 National Domestic Preparedness Office
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• The Science and Technology Directorate

 CBRN Countermeasures Programs
 Environmental Measurements Laboratory
 National BW Defense Analysis Center
 Plum Island Animal Disease Center
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• The Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection Directorate

 Federal Computer Incident Response Center
 National Communications System
 National Infrastructure Protection Center
 Energy Security and Assurance Program
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• County Law Enforcement

 Sheriff evolved from the early English shire reeve
 Nearly 293, 823 full-time employees
 Executors of jails, and criminal and civil processes
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• State Police
 Texas Rangers organized in 1835
 Created due to low regard for local police and mobility of violators
 Nearly 56,000 full-time officers in 49 departments (Hawaii has no
agency)
Law Enforcement Agencies Today

• Metropolitan Police
 Vast majority of police with nearly 13,000 departments and nearly
565,000 full-time employees
 Forty-six departments employ 1,000 or more officers
 Nearly 800 departments employ 1 officer
Figure 15.1 Organization of a Typical Metropolitan
Police Department
CNN Clip - Patrolling The Border
Police Functions

• Patrol Function
 Most visible presence (foot, cars, motorcycles, helicopters, and
other mechanized methods)
 Patrol is demanding and often unrewarding
 Police have initiated methods to improve patrol
• Proactive Policing
• Full Enforcement/Zero Tolerance
• Targeting Crimes
• Making Arrests
• Adding Patrol Officers
Police Functions

• Investigative Function
 First established in London in 1841
 Detectives use various techniques to identify offenders
 Specialization of sting and undercover operations
• Are Investigations Effective?
 Rand Corporation study suggested most of investigation time is
spent in unproductive work
 Patrol officers solve most of the cases
Police Functions

• Changing the Police Role

 James Q. Wilson suggests the major role of police is “handling
the situation”
• Community-Oriented Policing
 Wilson and Kelling contend policing should be proactive
• Implementing COP
 Began with foot patrols
 Neighborhood Watch
• Community Policing in Action
 Federal government has encouraged community policing
Figure 15.2 Police Encounters With Citizens
Police Functions

• Problem-Oriented Policing
 Herman Goldstein suggested police are too concerned with
internal efficiency
 Problems should be narrowly defined
• Criminal Acts/Criminal Places
 High-visibility patrols
• Combating Auto Theft (GPS and other technology)
• Reducing Violence (Gang Tactical Detail)
Police Functions

• Does Community Policing Work?

 Many police experts embrace community policing
 Samuel Walker suggests many police consider community
policing a waste of time
 Many police still focus on the core concepts of fight crime and
service work
Police and the Rule of Law

• Custodial Interrogation
 Miranda decision and the Fifth Amendment
 Exceptions to the Miranda rule include:
• Impeaching testimony due to perjury
• Testimony resulting from defendant’s testimony
• Only applies to legal representation, not priests or other public
officials
• Inevitable discovery
• Public safety doctrine
• Intentional misleading statements by police
• Admonishment does not apply to all interrogations
• Admissions of mentally impaired defendants
• Attorney requests to see the defendant
• People who are mentally ill
• Interrogation after invoking Miranda rights
• Harmless errors
Police and the Rule of Law

• Search and Seizure

 Search warrants are required under common circumstances
 Warrants are not required when:
• A threshold of inquiry occurs (stop/frisk)
• Incidental to an arrest
• Automobile searches with probable cause
• Motorist search
• Consent given
• Plain view
• Nonphysical evidence (overheard conversations)
• Hot pursuit/Exigency
Issues In Policing

• Police Personality and Subculture

 Personality includes: authoritarianism, suspicion, racism, hostility,
insecurity, conservatism, and cynicism
 Blue curtain subculture: Isolation and conflict may contribute to
stress (Westly)
 Police may learn to mistrust citizens
 Hidden dangers and impact of moral solidarity (Crank)
 Joining the subculture brings support from fellow officers (tough
exterior and mistrusting motives)
 Resistance to change
Issues In Policing

• Police Style
 Some officers are service oriented whereas others take a more
active role in law enforcement
• Discretion
 Selective enforcement affected by
• Environmental and community factors
• Departmental factors
• Situational Influences
• Legal factors
• Race, Class, and Gender
• Limiting Discretion
 Written rules
 Civilian review boards
Issues In Policing

• Women and Minority Police Officers

 Compliance of federal guidelines have impacted the hiring of
women and minority officers (near 20 percent of police)
 Racial quotas (U.S. v. Paradise)
• Minority Officers
 African Americans have less confidence in police than Whites
 Black officers suffer “double marginality”
• Female Police Officers
 Title VII led to the hiring of more female officers
 Evaluations suggest women are equally or more effective than
men in police work
 Black women account for about 2 percent of police
Issues In Policing

• The Police and Violence

 Verbal abuse by police was common but physical abuse by police
is rare (Reiss study)
 Use of weapons by police is rare
 Blacks and Hispanics are more likely to experience threat of force
more than Whites
• Deadly Force
 Approximately 6600 civilians killed by police since 1976
• Exposure to threat and stress
• Police workload
• Firearm availability
• Population type and density
• Race and class discrimination
• Lack of training and preparation
Issues In Policing

• Controlling Force
 Tennessee v. Garner (1985) prohibited shooting of unarmed
felons
 Development of administrative policies controlling deadly fire
 Elaborate shooting review procedures
 Federal Crime Control Act of 1994
• Killing Police
 51 officers killed in 2000
 Nearly half while making arrests
• Nonlethal Weapons
 Nearly 1000 local police forces have started using some nonlethal
weapons (wood, rubber, or polyurethane bullets)
 Research suggests nonlethal weapons may reduce use of force
by police