The Police: Role and Function

Police OrganizationMost municipal police departments are independent

agencies within the executive branch of government.Most departments follow para-military model

adhering to semi-rigid chain of command.But, substantial discretion rests at the lowest rank level

Personnel decisions often based on time-in-rank considerations.

The Multiple Goals of Police WorkBasic goals: social control: how?

control crimemaintain orderprovide servicesgather information (intelligence,

investigation)special tasks (crowd control, SWAT)be a symbol of justice

The Multiple Goals of Police Work (cont.)Issues:

What if goals conflict? (e.g., crime control and justice –”due process”); what goal receives priority?

How to divide and organize all this work within one agency: look at organization charts

How to control power and discretion (e.g., use of force, corruption, discrimination)

The Formal Roles of PoliceFormal roles: sworn officers and civilians

Street work: patrol officersInvestigations: detectivesUndercover: vice, corruptionTraffic controlSpecial: K9, SWAT, community relations, juvies,

internal investigationsTraining: academy, FTOs, in-service, special skills

workshops Support: planning, budgets, records, equipment –

often civilians

The Organization of Police Departments

Doing Policing: the dirty, impossible jobDoing policing:

“Dirty” job? call the cops Discretion, power, external, and internal judgments

The nature of street, patrol work: Deal with the dismal side of life – makes one

cynical, disillusioned, few decent folkNeed to use forceVisibility – everyone can see you, and tape youPotential for dangerUneven work rhythms – boredom and adrenalineAuthoritarian work environment –

And competing goals – order, services, law enforcement, intelligence

And higher ups will always “betray” you

Doing Policing: the dirty, impossible job (cont.)

Discretion - unavoidable normative, legal and policy judgments – situational decision-making

Someone will always complain – the nature of law, criminal justice and policies

Plus, now COP work: be nice, other skills, performance evaluations unclear

The Patrol FunctionAccount for 2/3 of most departments’

personnelDeter crime through visible presenceMaintain public orderRespond to law violations or emergenciesIdentify and apprehend criminalsAid citizens in distressFacilitate movement of people and trafficCreate a sense of safety and security

What Do Patrol Officers Do When They WorkWorkload studies: how do patrol officers

spend their time?How is this measured?

Participant observation: ride around with copsAnalysis of 911 calls for policing: why do people

call the policeCrime, order maintenance, services,

paperwork, time offWhat percentage of time is spend doing each role

Are the police proactive or reactive in their work?

What Do Patrol Officers Do When They WorkFindings of workload studiesCrime fighting efforts are only a small part

of the police officer’s overall activities.On average a police officer makes less than 2

arrests per month and less than 1 felony arrest every 4 months.

Majority of time spent handling minor disturbances, service calls, and administrative duties

Impacts of Patrol WorkDeterrent effect of patrol: Patrol methods seem to have little impact

on public’s attitude toward police.

Patrol WorkPatrol Activities

Majority of efforts devoted to order maintenance or peacekeepingRequires officers to use discretion and resolve

situations without making an arrestUse of selective enforcement

Patrol Work (cont.)Proactive patrol

Department emphasizes stopping crimes before they occur rather than traditional reactive approach.

Aggressive enforcement is used to create belief that criminals stand a significant risk of being caught.

Special programs may target specific crimes.Zero tolerance policiesNew York experience

Patrol Work (cont.)Adding patrol officers

Research indicates adding police officers may in fact reduce crime and improve overall effectiveness of the justice system.

Agencies with more officers per capita than the norm experience lower levels of violent crimes.

A costly policy (costs about 80,000/year to hire and keep one officer)

Patrol Work (cont.)Compstat program

Computer program provides real-time crime data and improves analysis capabilities for local commanders.

Commanders are required by HQ justify police deployments and strategies based on crime trends.

Both a use of data and a management tool

The Investigation FunctionDetective investigate the causes of

crime and attempt to identify the individuals or groups responsible for committing particular offenses.

Undercover/sting operationsPolice deceive criminals into openly committing

illegal acts. Common in investigation of prostitution,

gambling, and narcoticsCritics argue constitutes entrapment or may be

encouraging commission of additional offenses

The Investigation Function (cont.)Evaluating investigations

Most arrests are made by patrol officers.One study indicates half of all detectives could

be replaced without negatively influencing crime clearance rates.

Police have only a 5 percent chance to solve a crime if more than 15 minutes elapse from the time of occurrence to reporting.

Detectives generally lack sufficient resources to carry out lengthy probes of any but the most serious crimes.

Most crimes are solved by leads from the public

The Investigation Function (cont.)Improving investigations

Use of patrol officers for preliminary investigations to free up time for detectives

Increased use of specializationGreater reliance on technologyBetter relations with community members,

who provide most of the leads that help solve a crime

Community Oriented PolicingCOP: Core elements

Partnership and co-productionProblem solving and crime preventionDecentralization of control and authorityFlexibility: no one style fits all

From incident driven policing to analysis of underlying problems; E.g. hot spots, repeat responses

Requires new skills and attitudes for police

Community PolicingPolice-community relations programs were

developed to improve relations with the community and develop cooperation with citizens with the goals ofExplaining police activitiesTeaching self-protection methodsImproving general attitudes toward policing

Original programs developed at station-house and departmental levels.

Community Policing (cont.)Broken windows model

Primary function of police should be community preservation, public safety, and order maintenance.

Neighborhood disorder creates fear.Neighborhoods give out crime-promoting

signals.To be effective police need citizen

cooperation.If small crimes/offenses are not taken care

of, the community will deteriorate

Community Policing (cont.)Implementing community policing

New Jersey and Michigan foot patrol experiments

Creation of the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)

Neighborhood-oriented policing

Community Policing (cont.)Problem-oriented policing

Form of proactive policingIdentifies long-term community problems and

develop strategies to eliminate themRelies on assistance of local residents to

identify and resolve problemsSpecialized units may concentrate on “hot

spots” where significant portion of calls originate

Doing Problem SolvingProblem solving in practice: the SARA

modelScanningAnalysis ResponseAssessment

Community Policing (cont.)Challenges of community policing

Must define communityDefine rolesChange command structureRe-orient police valuesRevise trainingReorient recruitmentSustain community participationIt has to work – it is still policing

The Changing Concepts of Policing (cont.)Support functions

Personnel servicesInternal affairs BudgetingData managementDispatchForensic laboratoriesPlanning and researchEquipment: police buy a lot of cars -

supply and maintenance

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