Admin Of Justice Ch. 6

Front 1

Police Personality and Culture

Back 1

Police subculture—the set of informal values that characterize the police force as a distinct community with a common identity.
Police officers learn what is considered appropriate police behavior through formal and informal socialization—through the academy and from conversations with seasoned veterans.

Front 2

Police Working Personality

Back 2

Over time, officers come to develop the police working personality.
The traditional values and patterns of
behavior evidenced by police
officers who have been effectively
socialized into the police subculture.
Often extends to the officer’s personal
lives.

Front 3

The Police Personality

Back 3

Authoritarian
Dogmatic
Individualistic
Efficient
Prejudiced
Cynical
Suspicious
Insecure
Honorable
Conservative
Hostile
Loyal
Secret

Front 4

Corruption and Integrity

Back 4

Most officers perform their duties responsibly, but occasionally some deviate from this norm.

Power, authority, and discretion produce great potential for abuse.

Corruption is the abuse of police authority for personal or organizational gain.

Exactly what constitutes corruption is not always clear.

Front 5

Slippery Slope of Corruption

Back 5

Acceptance of small gratuities can lead to more readily acceptance of larger bribes.

Front 6

The Knapp Commission distinguished between two types of corrupt officers: grass eaters and meat eaters.

Back 6

Grass Eating
Illegitimate activity, which occurs from time to time in the normal course of police work. Most common form of corruption. Includes gratuities, minor bribes, playing favorites, intentional speeding, etc.

Meat Eating
Active seeking of illicit money-making opportunities by officers. More serious form of corruption. Includes major bribes, role malfeasance, committing crimes, protecting corrupt officers, denying civil rights, committing physical abuse.

Front 7

The Rampart Scandal

Back 7

Widespread corruption by many
members of the LAPD’s anti-
gang unit, CRASH.
By 2005, 100 falsely obtained
convictions were thrown out, and
20 LAPD officers left after duty,
and $70.2 million was paid in
settlements.

Front 8

Building Police Integrity

Back 8

Police integrity can be promoted by:

Integrating police ethics training into
programs
Conducting research in the area of ethics
Studying departments that are models in
the area of police ethics
Building trusting relationships with the
public
Creating agency-wide cultures of
integrity
Raising awareness of internal affairs

Front 9

Internal Affairs

Back 9

… the branch of a police organization tasked with investigating charges of wrongdoing involving members of the department.

Front 10

The Dangers of Police Work

Back 10

Police work is dangerous.
The rate of violent death among
police officers in the line of duty
is small.
On-the-job deaths occur from stress,
training accidents, auto crashes, and
violence.

Front 11

Risk of Disease and Infected Evidence

Back 11

Officers must take caution due to the
number of serious diseases that can be
transmitted by blood or other bodily
fluids and possible release of biological
weapons.

Responding to calls, using breath
alcohol instruments on infected
persons, and handling evidence must be
done carefully.

Front 12

Biological Incident Law Enforcement Concerns

Back 12

Concerns exist over contact with:
Suspicious material
Human bites
Spit
Urine/feces
Blood and body fluids

Officers should take universal precautions and use caution in all situations.

Front 13

Stress and Fatigue

Back 13

Stress and fatigue are a normal component of police work.

Over long periods, stress and fatigue can be destructive and life-threatening.

Front 14

Sources of Stress

Back 14

Stressors in police work include:
Exposure to violence and suffering
Negative public opinion
Shift work and overtime
Dealing with death
Living in constant danger
Feeling like efforts do not always “make a  difference”
Arrests not leading to convictions
Evidence not being allowed in court

Front 15

Stress Reduction

Back 15

Ways to reduce stress include:
Humor
Emotional distance
Exercise
Meditation

Front 16

Terrorism’s Impact on Policing

Back 16

American police agencies are in a new era of international terrorism that began with the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The core mission of policing has not changed, but agencies at all levels devote more time and resources to preparing for possible terrorist attacks.

Front 17

Police Responses to Terrorism

Back 17

Many police agencies have responded by:
Strengthening liaisons with other agencies
Refining training and emergency response
plans
Increasing patrols and securing barriers
around key points
More heavily guarding public events
Creating counterterrorism divisions
Employing new technologies to help detect
chemical, biological, and radiological attacks

Front 18

FBI-Sponsored Information Sharing

Back 18

Information sharing is critically important in antiterrorism programs. Sharing information among law enforcement agencies at different levels is accomplished by:
Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs)
Field Intelligence Groups (FIGs)
Regional Terrorism Task Forces
(RTTFs)

Front 19

Civil Liability

Back 19

Civil liability refers to the potential
responsibility for payment of damages or
other court-ordered enforcement as a
result of a ruling in a lawsuit. It is not the
same as criminal liability.
Civil liability suits against law
enforcement personnel may be state or
federal.
Supervisors may be held responsible for
the actions of their officers.

Front 20

Bivens Actions

Back 20

…a civil suit, based on the case of
Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal
Agents (1971), brought against
federal government officials for
denying the constitutional rights of
others.

Front 21

Qualified Immunity

Back 21

Qualified immunity shields “reasonable”
law enforcement officers from civil
liability if they believe their actions to be
lawful.

The doctrine of qualified immunity rests
largely on the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court
decision of Saucier v. Katz.

Front 22

Criminal Liability

Back 22

Criminal charges can be brought against officers who appear to overstep boundaries or who act in violation of set standards.

Front 23

Racial Profiling

Back 23

… any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, or national origin rather than [1] the behavior of an individual, or [2] on information that leads the police to a particular individual who has been identified as being, or having been, engaged in criminal activity.

Front 24

Police Use of Force

Back 24

Police use of force—the use of physical restraint by a police officer when dealing with a member of the public.

Front 25

Police Use of Force

Back 25

Law enforcement are authorized to use the amount of force that is reasonable and necessary given the circumstances.

Force may involve: hitting, restraining, choking, restraining with a police dog, handcuffing, threatening with a baton, flashlight, or gun.

Front 26

Excessive Force

Back 26

Police use force in fewer than 20% of
adult custodial arrests. Most tactics
are weaponless.

There’s a difference between use of
excessive force and excessive use of
force. Both of those can also be
distinguished from illegal use of force.

Front 27

Deadly Force

Back 27

The FBI defines deadly force as “the
intentional use of a firearm or other
instrument resulting in a high
probability of death.”

According to a 2001 Bureau of Justice
Statistics report, the number of
justifiable homicides by police averages
“nearly 400 felons each year.”

Front 28

Tennessee v. Garner (1985)

Back 28

Prior to Tennessee v. Garner (1985), the
fleeing felon rule guided deadly force
decision making in most U.S. jurisdictions.

The Court invalidated the fleeing felon rule
and held that deadly force could be justified
only where the suspect could reasonably be
thought to represent a significant threat of
serious injury or death to the public or the
officer and where deadly force is necessary
to affect the arrest.

Front 29

Officer Implications of Deadly Force

Back 29

Social, legal, and personal complications
Officers often suffer depression and despair
Issues multiply in “suicide by cop” cases

Front 30

Less-Lethal Force

Back 30

Less-lethal weapons are designed to
disable, capture, or immobilize—but not
kill—a suspect, like:
Stun guns
Tasers
Rubber bullets
Snare nets
Pepper spray


Occasional deaths do result from their use.

Front 31

Police Professionalism

Back 31

In response to issues of corruption, danger, and liability, police administrators are calling for increased police professionalism.

Evidence of increased professionalism include:
Specialized knowledge
Code of ethics
Professional organizations
Accreditation
Education and training

Front 32

Education and Training

Back 32

Basic law enforcement training began in the 1950s. Modern programs involve training in:

Human relations
Firearms
Communications
Legal issues
Patrol
Investigations
Report writing

A post-academy field training program (PTO) is a recent development in police training.

Front 33

Formal Education

Back 33

Formal education is not required by all police departments, though for decades it has been recommended by several commissions and groups.

Departments vary with regard to hiring requirements. Some require no college; others require a four-year degree. Most federal agencies require college degrees.

Front 34

Recruitment and Selection

Back 34

Law enforcement agencies use a variety of applicant screening methods, including:
Personal interviews
Basic skills tests
Physical agility measures
Medical exams
Drug tests
Background investigations
Psychological testing

Front 35

Ethnic and Gender Diversity in Policing

Back 35

Opportunities for women and minorities
in policing are expanding.

Although ethnic minorities are now
employed in policing in significant
numbers, women are still significantly
underrepresented.

Front 36

Women as Effective Police Officers

Back 36

Some women have integrated well into the role of police officer. Others feel strain and isolation.
Strain caused by family roles
and parenting, underutilization,
uncooperative attitudes of male
officers.

Front 37

Increasing the Number of Minorities and Women in Police Work

Back 37

The Police Foundation recommends:
Involving underrepresented groups in departmental affirmative action and long-term planning programs.
Encouraging the development of an open promotion system.
Periodic audits to make sure that female officers are not being underutilized by ineffective tracking into clerical and support positions.

Front 38

Private Protective Services

Back 38

A number of private protective services, known as private security, also are involved in enforcement activities.

These organizations:
Are privately funded, for-profit agencies.
Provide a variety of security-related services to
their clientele (which include governments).
Have rapidly grown in recent years.
Employ more people than public police.

Front 39

Growth of Private Protective Services

Back 39

Major reasons for the quick growth of private protective services are:
An increase in workplace crimes
An increase in fear of crime and terrorism
Fiscal crises of states
Greater public and business awareness of the
use and cost-effectiveness of private security

Front 40

Integrating Public and Private Security

Back 40

As the private security field grows, the relationship between public and private security is becoming more integrated with more of a cooperative crime-fighting potential.