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5
History and Structure
of American Law
L
I Enforcement
D
D
E
L
L
,
The Structure of American Law Enforcement
Local Policing and Its Duties
County Law Enforcement
State Law Enforcement
Federal Law Enforcement
The Department of Homeland Security
Department Components
Homeland Security and the FBI
The War on Terrorism: An Evaluation
Chapter Outline
The Limited Authority of American Law Enforcement
English Roots
The Tithing System
The Constable-Watch System
The Bow Street Runners
The London Metropolitan Police
The Development of American Law Enforcement
Early American Law Enforcement
Law Enforcement in the Cities
Law Enforcement in the States and on the Frontier
Professionalism and Reform
Conflicting Roles
Community Policing
CompStat
History of Four Federal Law Enforcement Agencies
U.S. Marshals Service
The Secret Service
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
T
I American Private Security
F Private Security Officers
F Reasons for Growth
Issues Involving Private Security
A
N
Learning Objectives
Y
After completing this chapter, you should be able to:
1
5
6
8
T
S
1. Briefly describe the jurisdictional limitations of
American law enforcement.
2. Trace the English origins of American law
enforcement.
3. Discuss the early development of American law
enforcement.
4. Describe the major developments that have occurred
in American policing.
5. Describe the structure of American law enforcement.
6. Explain the relationship between the Federal Bureau
of Investigation and the Department of Homeland
Security.
7. Discuss the development and growth of private security in the United States.
136
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Chapter 5 History and Structure of American Law Enforcement
CRIME STORY
O
n January 20, 2011, the Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI) made
the largest single-day Mob bust in
U.S. history. The operation targeted
New York’s five Mafia families—the
Gambinos, Genoveses, Bonnanos,
Lucheses, and Colombos; the
DeCavalcante family in Newark, New
Jersey, and the New England mafia
family in Providence, Rhode Island.
More than 800 local, state, and federal
law enforcement officers took part in
the early morning sweeps that netted
119 of the 127 mobsters charged with
crimes. One suspect was arrested in
Italy with the aid of the Italian National
Police. Some of the “big fish” snared
were Colombo family street boss
Andrew Russo, 76, Colombo family acting underboss Benjamin Castellazzo, 73,
Colombo family consigliere Richard
Fusco, 74, Gambino consigliere Joseph
Corozzo, 69, Gambino ruling panel member Bartolomeo Vernace, 61, and New
England boss Luigi “Baby Shacks”
Manocchio, 83 (pictured). Other mobsters
arrested also had colorful nicknames
such as “Tony Bagels,” “Junior Lollipops,”
“Johnny Pizza,” and “Vinny Carwash.”
The roster of suspects was disclosed
when 16 indictments encompassing hundreds of charges were unsealed. The
crimes for which the mobsters were
Director Robert S. Mueller III added
arrested included murder, drug traffick-
that it is a myth that organized
ing, gambling, extortion, loan-sharking,
crime “is a thing of the past. . . .
and prostitution. Some of the crimes had
Unfortunately, there are still people
been committed 30 years ago, including a
who extort, intimidate, and victimize
double murder instigated by a barroom
innocent Americans.” FBI Assistant
fight over a spilled drink. Attorney
Director Janice Fedarcyk commented
General Eric Holder, in Brooklyn to
L
announce the arrests, described some of
I
the crimes as “classic mob hits” to get
rid of perceivedD
rivals and others as
“truly senseless
Dmurders.” To make the
cases, the FBI used classic investigative
E
techniques, such as telephone wiretaps
L
and wired key informants.
L Holder stated, “As
Attorney General
we’ve seen for ,decades, Mafia operations
that the arrests “made a serious dent”
can negatively impact our economy—
involved in cybercrime and health
not only through a wide array of fraud
fraud, for example. Experts claim that
schemes but also through the illegal
arresting La Cosa Nostra suspects will
T
I “taxes” at our ports, in
imposition of mob
our construction
Findustries, and on our
small businesses. The violence outlined
F
in these indictments, and perpetrated
A
across decades, shows the lengths to
N
which these individuals
are willing to go
to control theirY
criminal enterprises and
in organized crime’s leadership and
strength. However, she cautioned,
“Arresting and convicting the hierarchies of the five families several times
over has not eradicated the problem. . . .
As one generation of Mob leaders is
wiped out by arrests or internal battles,
a new generation takes over.”
Organized crime evolves. Today, it is
do little to curb crimes since Albanian
and Russian crime organizations now
rule the streets.
Chapter 5 is about the history and
structure of law enforcement. Among
the issues examined is the FBI’s
decades-long struggle against orga-
intimidate others.” He noted that the
nized crime. How has organized crime
Mob “is probably not nation-wide in its
been able to survive and flourish for so
scope and impact as it once was, but it
long? Should organized crime remain a
1
5 He declared, “The
is an ongoing threat.”
Department of 6
Justice and our partners
are determined to eradicate these crimi8
nal enterprises once and for all, and to
T
bring their members to justice.” FBI
S
priority of law enforcement? These are
important questions not only for lawmakers and law enforcement officials
at all levels of government but for concerned citizens as well.
The Limited Authority of American
Law Enforcement
The United States has more than 15,700 public law enforcement agencies at
the federal, state, and local levels of government. The vast majority of those
agencies, however, are local and serve municipalities, townships, villages, and
137
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Part Two Law Enforcement
jurisdiction The right or authority of
a justice agency to act in regard to a
particular subject matter, territory, or
person.
counties. The authority of each agency—whether it is the FBI, a state highway
patrol, or a county sheriff’s department—is carefully limited by law. The territory within which an agency may operate is also restricted. The city police,
for example, may not patrol or answer calls for service outside the city’s boundaries unless cooperative pacts have been developed. Jurisdiction, which is
defined as a specific geographical area, also means the right or authority of a
justice agency to act with regard to a particular subject matter, territory, or
person. It includes the laws a particular police agency is permitted to enforce
and the duties it is allowed to perform. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol, for
example, has investigative and enforcement responsibilities only in traffic matters, while the Kentucky State Police have a broader jurisdiction that includes
the authority to conduct criminal investigations throughout the state. Each of
the 70 federal law enforcement agencies, large and small, has a specific jurisdiction, although one criminal event may involve crimes that give several federal agencies concurrent jurisdiction. For example, in a bank robbery, if mail
of any sort is taken, both L
the Postal Inspection Service and the FBI are likely
to investigate the case.
I create and direct law enforcement agencies, the
Beyond the statutes that
procedural law derived from
D U.S. Supreme Court decisions also imposes limitations on the authority of those agencies. Giving arrested suspects the familiar Miranda warnings before
D questioning is a good example of the Court’s role
in limiting the authority of the police. In addition, police civilian review
E and procedures, and civil liability suits against
boards, departmental policies
officers who have abused L
their authority curtail the power of the police in the
United States.
Thus, there is a great L
difference between law enforcement with limited
authority, operating under
, the rule of law in a democratic nation, and law
enforcement in countries where the law is by decree and the police are
simply a tool of those in power. Even in comparison with other democratic
nations of the world, however, the United States has remarkably more police
T
agencies that operate under far more restrictions on their authority. To
understand the origin ofI those unique qualities of law enforcement in the
United States, it is necessary to look first at the history of law enforcement
F provided the model for most of American crimin England, the nation that
inal justice.
F
A
N
Y
1
5
6
8
T
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The only police contact most citizens have is in a traffic situation in a local or state jurisdiction.
Should citizens have more contact with the police in non-law-enforcement situations? Why or
why not?
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Chapter 5 History and Structure of American Law Enforcement
139
THINKING CRITICALLY
1. Why do you think it is important that law enforcement agencies have limited authority?
English Roots
If you are the victim of a crime, you might expect that a uniformed patrol
officer will respond quickly to your call and that a plainclothes detective
will soon follow up on the investigation. Because there are thousands of
police departments in local communities across the nation, you might also
take for granted that the police handling your case are paid public servants
employed by your city or county. Such was not always the case in the
United States—or in England, where the basic concepts of American law
L
enforcement and criminal justice originated. The criminal justice system in
England took hundreds of years to develop, but eventually
the idea arose
I
of a locally controlled uniformed police force with follow-up plainclothes
D
investigators.
D
E
THE TITHING SYSTEM
L
Before the twelfth century in England, justice was primarily
a private matter
had
to
pursue perpebased on revenge and retribution.1 Victims of a crime
L
trators without assistance from the king or his agents. Disputes were often
settled by blood feuds in which families would wage
, war on each other. By
the twelfth century, a system of group protection had begun to develop.
Often referred to as the tithing system or the frankpledge system, it afforded
some improvements over past practices. Ten families,
T or a tithing, were
required to become a group and agree to follow the law, keep the peace in
I even larger areas, ten
their areas, and bring law violators to justice. Over
tithings were grouped together to form a hundred, F
and one or several hundred constituted a shire, which was similar to a modern American county.
The shire was under the direction of the shire reeveF(later called the sheriff),
the forerunner of the American sheriff. The shire reeve received some assisA
tance from elected constables at the town and village levels, who organized
able-bodied citizens into posses to chase and apprehend
N offenders.2 County
law enforcement agencies in the United States still sometimes use posses to
Y
apprehend law violators. The Maricopa County (Arizona)
Sheriff’s Department, for example, has a 3,000-member volunteer posse, whose members are
trained and often former deputies.3
1
5
THE CONSTABLE-WATCH SYSTEM
6
The Statute of Winchester, passed in 1285, formalized the constable-watch
system of protection. The statute provided for one man
8 from each parish to be
selected as constable, or chief peacekeeper. The statute further granted constables the power to draft citizens as watchmen and T
require them to guard the
city at night. Watchmen were not paid for their efforts
S and, as a result, were
often found sleeping or sitting in a pub rather than performing their duties. In
addition, the statute required all male citizens between the ages of 15 and 60
to maintain weapons and to join in the hue and cry, meaning to come to the
aid of the constable or the watchman when either called for help. If they did
not come when called, the male citizens were subject to criminal penalties for
aiding the offender. This system of community law enforcement lasted well
into the 1700s.
Two features of this system are worthy of note. First, the people were the
police, and second, the organization of the protection system was local. These
two ideas were transported to the American colonies centuries later.
tithing system A private self-help
protection system in early medieval
England, in which a group of 10 families,
or a tithing, agreed to follow the law,
keep the peace in their areas, and bring
law violators to justice.
shire reeve In medieval England, the
chief law enforcement officer in a territorial area called a shire; later called
the sheriff.
posses Groups of able-bodied citizens
of a community, called into service by
a sheriff or constable to chase and
apprehend offenders.
constable-watch system A system of
protection in early England in which
citizens, under the direction of a
constable, or chief peacekeeper, were
required to guard the city and to pursue
criminals.
constable The peacekeeper in charge
of protection in early English towns.
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FYI
THE BOW STREET RUNNERS
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding, founder of the Bow Street
Runners, is perhaps better known for his
literary accomplishments. His most
famous work is Tom Jones, which first
appeared in 1749 and is considered by
literary scholars as the first “satisfactory” novel written in English.
Source: William H. McNeill, History
Handbook of Western Civilization
(Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1965), 526.
In 1748, Henry Fielding, a London magistrate, founded a group of professional
law enforcement agents to apprehend criminals and recover stolen property in
the entertainment district of London, known as Bow Street Covent Garden.
This publicly funded detective force, named the Bow Street Runners, was by
far the most effective official law enforcement organization of its day. Efforts
to duplicate it in other parts of London proved unsuccessful, but Fielding’s
work in organizing the first British detective force, and his writing addressing
the shortcomings of the criminal justice system, had a great deal of influence.
They helped pave the way for a more professional and better-organized response
to the crime problems that were dramatically increasing in London by the end
of the eighteenth century.4
THE LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE
L
Because of the Industrial Revolution, urban populations in cities like London
swelled with an influx ofI people from the countryside looking for work in
factories. A major result of
Dthis social transformation was that England began
experiencing increasing poverty, public disorder, and crime. There was no clear
consensus about what to D
do. Several efforts to establish a central police force
for London had been opposed
E by people who believed that police of any kind
were a throwback to the absolute power formerly wielded by English kings.
L
Parliament eventually responded,
in 1829, with the London Metropolitan
Police Act. It created a 1,000-officer police force with professional standards
L
to replace the patchwork of community law enforcement systems then in use.
Members of the London ,Police became known as bobbies, or peelers, after
Robert Peel, the British Home Secretary who had prodded Parliament to create
the police force.
To ensure discipline, the
T London Police were organized according to military rank and structure and were under the command of two magistrates, who
I
were later called commissioners.
According to Peel, the main function of the
police was to prevent crime, not by force but by preventive patrol of the comF
munity. Londoners, who resented such close scrutiny, did not at first welcome
this police presence in the
F community. Eventually, though, the bobbies (the
term was originally derogatory) showed that the police could have a positive
A
N
Y
1
5
6
8
T
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The London Metropolitan Police discover another victim of Jack the Ripper. What do you
suppose were some of the unique problems encountered by the first bobbies, or peelers?
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Chapter 5 History and Structure of American Law Enforcement
141
Table 5.1 Robert Peel’s Principles of Policing
1. The police must be stable, efficient, and organized along military lines.
2. The police must be under governmental control.
3. The absence of crime will best prove the efficiency of police.
4. The distribution of crime news is essential.
5. The deployment of police strength both by time and area is essential.
6. No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper; a
quiet, determined manner has more effect than violent action.
7. Good appearance commands respect.
8. The securing and training of proper persons is at the root of efficiency.
9. Public security demands that every police officer be given a number.
10. Police headquarters should be centrally located and easily accessible to the people.
L
I strength.
12. Police records are necessary to the correct distribution of police
D
D
effect on the quality of life in the community. Peel’s military approach to policE today throughout the
ing and some of his other principles remain in effect
world. Peel’s Principles of Policing are outlined in Table 5.1.5
L
L
THINKING CRITICALLY
,
11. Policemen should be hired on a probationary basis.
1. Do you think any of the early English systems of law enforcement (e.g., tithing) could work
today? Why or why not?
T
I
The Development of AmericanF
F
Law Enforcement
A
The United States has more police departments than any other nation in the
world. The major reason for this is that local controlN
is highly regarded in the
United States. Thus, like many other services, even small communities that
Y
can barely afford police service provide it locally. This practice is primarily
Peel’s Principles of Policing A dozen
standards proposed by Robert Peel, the
author of the legislation resulting in the
formation of the London Metropolitan
Police Department. The standards
are still applicable to today’s law
enforcement.
responsible for the disparity in the quality of American police personnel and
service. The struggle to improve American law enforcement began even before
1
formal police departments came into existence.
5
EARLY AMERICAN LAW ENFORCEMENT
6
The chance for a better life free of government intervention
was key in the
8
decision of many colonists to cross the Atlantic and settle in the New World.
American colonists from England brought with themTthe constable-watch system with which they were familiar if not completely
S satisfied. Boston estab-
lished a night watch as early as 1634. Except for the military’s intervention in
major disturbances, the watch system, at least in the cities, was the means of
preventing crime and apprehending criminals for the next two centuries. As
in England, the people were the police. Citizens could pay for watch replacements, and often the worst of the lot ended up protecting the community. In
fact, Boston and other cities frequently deployed the most elderly citizens and
occasionally sentenced minor offenders to serve on the watch.6 Later, in rural
and southern areas of the country, the office of sheriff was established and the
power of the posse was used to maintain order and apprehend offenders. In
essence, two forms of protection began to evolve—the watch in the villages,
FYI
The “Leatherheads”
In Dutch-influenced New York in the
seventeenth century, the first paid officers on the night watch were known as
leatherheads because they wore leather
helmets similar in appearance to the
helmets worn by today’s firefighters. The
leatherheads were not known for their
attention to duty and often spent entirely
too much of their watch schedule inside.
Source: Carl Sifakis, “Leatherheads: First
New York Police,” in The Encyclopedia of
American Crimes (New York: Smithmark
Publishers, Inc., 1992).
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Part Two Law Enforcement
towns, and cities and the sheriff in the rural areas, unincorporated areas, and counties. Communities in the North
often had both systems.
LAW ENFORCEMENT IN THE CITIES
As had happened in England, the growth of the Industrial
Revolution lured people away from the farms to cities.
Large groups of newcomers, sometimes immigrants from
other countries, settled near factories. Factory workers
put in long days, often in unsafe and unhealthy working
conditions. Some workers organized strikes, seeking better working conditions, but the strikes were quickly suppressed. As the populations of cities swelled, living
conditions in some areas became overcrowded and
L
unhealthy.
Major episodes of urban violence occurred in
the Ifirst half of the nineteenth century because of the
social and economic changes transforming American cities. D
Racial and ethnic tensions often reached a boiling
point,
resulting in mob disturbances that lasted for days.
D
A particular source of trouble was the drinking establishE located throughout working-class districts of citments
ies. Regular heavy drinking led to fights, brawls, and
L
even full-scale riots.
Unlike
L London, which organized its police force in
1829, American citizens resisted the formation of police
,
departments,
relying instead on the constable-watch system, whose members lit streetlights, patrolled the streets
to maintain order, and arrested some suspicious people.
T
Constables
often had daytime duties, which included
New York had a watch system as early as 1658. Why did the
investigating health hazards, carrying out orders of the
I
watch system of policing last so long?
court, clearing the streets of debris, and apprehending
criminals
F against whom complaints had been filed. Neither the night watch nor the constables tried to prevent or discover crime, nor
Funiform. This weak protection system was unable
did they wear any kind of
to contain the increasing A
level of lawlessness.
Municipal Police ForcesNIn 1844, New York City combined its day and night
watches to form the first paid,
Y unified police force in the United States. Close ties
developed between the police and local political leaders. As with the first police
in London, citizens were suspicious of the constant presence of police officers in
their neighborhoods. Also,1 citizens had little respect for the New York police
because they thought they were political hacks appointed by local officials who
5 for their own gain. During the next several years, the
wanted to control the police
struggle to control the police in New York built to a fever pitch.7
6
In 1853, the New York state legislature formed the Municipal Police Department, but within 4 years8 that force was so corrupt from taking bribes to
overlook crime that the legislature decided to abolish it. It was replaced by
the Metropolitan Police,Twhich was administered by five commissioners
appointed by the governor.
S The commissioners then selected one superintendent. Each commissioner was to oversee the others, as well as the superintendent, and keep them all honest. In the minds of the legislature, the new
structure was an improvement that would prevent corruption in the top level
of the department. But when the Metropolitan Police Board called on Mayor
Fernando Wood to abolish the Municipal Police, he refused. Even after New
York’s highest court upheld a decision to disband the Municipals, the mayor
refused. The Metropolitans even tried to arrest Mayor Wood, but that failed
attempt resulted in a pitched battle between the two police forces. When the
National Guard was called in, Mayor Wood submitted to arrest but was immediately released on bail.
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Chapter 5 History and Structure of American Law Enforcement
During the summer of 1857, the two police forces often
fought over whether to arrest certain criminals. A particularly troubling practice was one police force releasing from
custody the criminals arrested by the other force. Lawbreakers operated freely during the dispute between the
two police forces. Criminal gangs had a free hand to commit robberies and burglaries during most of that summer.
The public became enraged over this neglect of duty and
the increased danger on the streets of New York City. Only
when another court order upheld the decision to disband
the Municipal Police did Mayor Wood finally comply.
Following the course charted by New York City, other
large cities in the United States soon established their
own police departments. In 1855, Boston combined its
day and night watches to form a city police department.
By the end of the decade, police departments had been
L
formed in many major cities east of the Mississippi. The
I
officers’ duties did not vary substantially from the duties
of those who had served on the watch. After the Civil
D
War, however, peace officers began to take on the trappings of today’s police. They began to wear uniforms D
and
carry nightsticks and even firearms, although many citiE
zens resisted giving this much authority to the police.
143
A street arrest in 1878 Manhattan, New York. What problems did
the police of this era encounter?
L
L departments. Local popolitics prevented the development of professional police
litical leaders understood that controlling the police was
, a means of maintaining
Tangle of Politics and Policing Until the 1920s in most American cities, party
their own political power and of allowing criminal friends and political allies to
violate the law with impunity. In fact, in some cities, the police were clearly extensions of the local party machine, which attempted to T
dominate all activity in a
community. If local politicians gave police applicants a job, it became the hired
I
F
F
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1
5
6
8
T
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By the early 1900s, most American cities had organized, uniformed police forces similar to the police force of Newport, Rhode Island, pictured
circa 1910. How do current police officers differ from those depicted in the photo?
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Part Two Law Enforcement
officers’ job to get out the vote so the politicians could keep their positions. The
system was so corrupt in some cities that police officers bought their jobs, their
promotions, and their special assignments. In collaboration with local politicians,
but often on their own, the police were more than willing to ignore violations of
the law if the lawbreakers gave them money, valuables, or privileges.
A Brief History of Blacks in Policing For most of American history, blacks
who have wanted to be police officers have faced blatant discrimination and
have generally been denied the opportunity.8 The first black police officers in the
United States were “free men of color.” They were hired around 1805 to serve as
members of the New Orleans city watch system. They were hired primarily because other people did not want the job. In addition to serving on the watch, they
were responsible for catching runaway slaves and generally policing black slaves
in New Orleans.
By 1830, policing had become more important in New Orleans, and the “free
men of color” lost their jobs
L on the city police force to others who wanted
them. Not until after the Civil War were black Americans allowed to be police
I
officers again. During Reconstruction,
black Americans were elected to political
office and hired as police D
officers throughout the South. This did not last long.
By 1877, the backlash to Reconstruction drove black Americans and their white
D offices, and black police officers throughout the
Republican allies from elective
South lost their jobs. By 1890,
E most southern cities had all-white police departments. The few black police officers in the southern cities that retained them
generally could not arrestLwhite people and were limited to patrolling only
areas and communities where other black Americans lived. By 1910, there were
L officers in the entire United States, and most of
fewer than 600 black police
them were employed in northern
cities.
,
The hiring of black police officers did not begin again in most southern cities until the 1940s and 1950s. They were hired primarily to patrol black communities, to prevent crime,
T and to improve race relations. Still, few black
Americans ever rose to command positions in their departments. Indeed, prior
I Americans had ever been promoted to the comto the 1950s, only two black
mand position of captain: Octave Rey of New Orleans and John Scott of
F
Chicago. Both served relatively short tenures in the position: Rey from 1868
to 1877 and Scott from 1940
F to 1946.
A
LAW ENFORCEMENT IN
N THE STATES AND ON THE FRONTIER
The development of law enforcement
on the state level and in the frontier terY
ritories was often peculiar to the individual location. Without large population
centers that required the control of disorderly crowds, law enforcement was
more likely to respond to specific situations—for example, by rounding up
1
cattle rustlers or capturing escaped slaves. Still, out of this kind of limited law
enforcement activity, the 5basic organizational structure of police units with
broader responsibilities was born.
slave patrols The earliest form of policing in the South. They were a product of
the slave codes. The plantation slave
patrols have been called “the first
distinctively American police system.”
6
Southern Slave Patrols In
8the South, the earliest form of policing was the plantation slave patrols.9 They have been called “the first distinctively American poT were created to enforce the infamous slave codes,
lice system.”10 The slave patrols
the first of which was enacted
S by the South Carolina legislature in 1712. Eventually
all the Southern colonies enacted slave codes. The slave codes protected the slaveholders’ property rights in human beings, while holding slaves responsible for
their crimes and other acts that were not crimes if they were committed by free
persons. Under some slave codes, enslaved people could not hold meetings, leave
the plantation without permission from the master, travel without a pass, learn to
read and write, carry a firearm, trade, or gamble. Both the slave codes and the slave
patrols were created in part because of a fear of bloody slave revolts, such as had
already occurred in Virginia and other parts of the South.
The most publicized slave revolt was the Nat Turner Rebellion of 1831 in
Virginia. Turner and five other slaves killed Joseph Travis, Turner’s owner, and
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Chapter 5 History and Structure of American Law Enforcement
his family. Approximately 70 more rebels joined Turner,
whose immediate plan was to capture the county seat,
where munitions were stored. Turner was unsuccessful in
his plan, but during the siege, he and his rebels killed 57
whites. Turner was tried, convicted, and hanged, along
with 16 other rebels. In response to the revolt, white mobs
lynched nearly 200 blacks, most of whom were innocent.11
Slave patrols generally consisted of three men on
horseback who covered a beat of 15 square miles. They
were responsible for catching runaway slaves, preventing
slave uprisings, and maintaining discipline among the
slaves. To maintain discipline, the patrols often whipped
and terrorized black slaves who were caught after dark
without passes. The slave patrols also helped enforce the
laws prohibiting literacy, trade, and gambling among
slaves. Although the law required that all white males
L
perform patrol services, the large plantation owners usuI
ally hired poor, landless whites to substitute for them.
The slave patrols lasted until the end of the Civil War
Din
1865. After the Civil War, the Ku Klux Klan served the
purpose of controlling blacks just as the slave patrols D
had
before the Civil War.
145
The plantation slave patrols have been called “the first distinctively American police system.” Have any elements of the slave
patrols influenced contemporary American policing? If yes, what
are they?
E
L
Frontier Law Enforcement In the remote and unpopulated areas of the nation, and particularly on the expandL
ing frontier, justice was often in the hands of the people in a more direct way.
Vigilantism was often the only way that people could
, maintain order and de12
fend themselves against renegades and thugs. Even when formal law enforcement procedures were provided by the sheriff or a marshal, courts in
many communities were held only once or twice a T
year, leaving many cases
unresolved. This idea of self-protection remains very popular in the South
and the West, where firearms laws in many statesI permit people to carry
loaded weapons in a vehicle or even on their persons
F if they have completed
a qualification and licensing procedure.
F
A
N
Y
1
5
6
8
T
S
The Texas Rangers, organized in the early 1800s to fight Native Americans, patrol the Mexican
border, and track down rustlers, were the first form of state police. Why and how do you think
the Rangers have endured for so long?
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Part Two Law Enforcement
CJ
State Police Agencies Self-protection did not prove sufficient as populations
Online
Texas Rangers
To learn more about the history of the
Texas Rangers, visit the Texas Ranger Hall
of Fame and Museum website at www
.texasranger.org/index.htm. Why do you
think the Texas Rangers have elite status?
and their accompanying problems increased. As early as 1823, mounted militia
units in Texas protected American settlers throughout that territory. Called rangers, these mounted militia fought Native Americans and Mexican bandits. The
Texas Rangers were officially formed in 1835, and the organization remains in
existence today as an elite and effective unit of the Texas Department of Public
Safety.13
The inefficiency and unwillingness of some sheriffs and constables to control crime, along with an emerging crime problem that exceeded the local
community’s ability to deal with it, prompted other states to form state law
enforcement agencies. In 1905, Pennsylvania established the first modern state
law enforcement organization with the authority to enforce the law statewide,
an authority that made it unpopular in some communities where enforcement
of state laws had been decidedly lax.14 The Pennsylvania state police officially
had been created to deal with crime in rural areas, but in its early years it
frequently responded to industrial
discord. The event that led directly to the
L
formation of the state agency was the 1902 anthracite coal strike, which caused
I
a national crisis and the intervention
of President Theodore Roosevelt. Industrialists believed municipal
police
departments
and the state militia were too
D
unreliable during strikes because officers were overly sympathetic to workers
D community ties and social origins. Industrialists
with whom they often shared
assumed that a centralized mobile force, recruited statewide with ties to no
E
particular community, would eliminate any sympathy between officers and
15
workers. The authority of
Lstate police agencies was extended with the advent
of the automobile and the addition of miles of state highways. Some form of
L existed in every state by the 1930s.
state law enforcement agency
,
PROFESSIONALISM AND REFORM
T
You will recall that the people themselves were once the police, as they served
on the watch. Being an adult
I citizen was about the only qualification. No training was required, and it was common practice for citizens who did not want
F sometimes hiring sentenced offenders. Because
to serve to hire replacements,
of the few services and the
F little order the watch provided, not much else
seems to have been required. Even when organized police forces were develA in the United States, qualifications for the job
oped in the 1840s and 1850s
mattered little beyond the right political connections or the ability to purchase
N
one’s position outright.
Not until the latter partYof the nineteenth century did qualifications for the
position of police officer begin to evolve. In the 1880s, Cincinnati posted two
qualifications to be a police officer.16 First, an applicant had to be a person of
high moral character—an 1
improvement over earlier times. Three citizens had
to vouch for the applicant’s character at a city council meeting. If deemed
acceptable by the council,5 the applicant was immediately taken to a gymnasium and tested for the second qualification, foot speed.
6
Both Cincinnati and New York began police academies in the 1880s, but the
curriculum was meager and
8 recruits were not required to pass any examinations to prove their competence. The lack of adequate standards and training
T
for police officers was recognized
as a major stumbling block to improved
policing. A group of reformers
within
policing allied themselves with the
S
Progressives, a movement for political, social, and economic change. Among the
reformers was August Vollmer, who became chief of police of Berkeley, California,
in 1909. During his tenure as chief from 1909 to 1932, Vollmer attempted to
create a professional model of policing. With Vollmer and a succession of internal reformers who followed, a new era of professional policing began.
Vollmer and his followers advocated training and education as two of the
key ingredients of professionalism in policing. He also believed strongly that
the police should stay out of politics and that politics should stay out of policing. Vollmer believed that the major function of the police was fighting crime,
and he saw great promise in professionalizing law enforcement by emphasizing
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Chapter 5 History and Structure of American Law Enforcement
147
that role.17 He began to hire college graduates for the Berkeley Police Department, and he held college classes on police administration.
Within a few decades, this professional model, sometimes called the reform
model, had taken root in police departments across the country. To eliminate
political influences, gain control of officers, and establish crime-fighting priorities, departments made major changes in organization and operation. Those
changes included the following:
• Narrowing of the police function from social service and the maintenance
of order to law enforcement only.
• Centralization of authority, with the power of precinct captains and commanders checked.
• Creation of specialized, centrally based crime-fighting units, as for burglary.
• A shift from neighborhood foot patrol to motorized patrol.
• Implementation of patrol allocation systems based on such variables as
crime rates, calls for service, and response times.
• Reliance on technology, such as police radios, to L
both control and aid the
policing function.
I
• Recruitment of police officers through psychological screening and civil
D
service testing.
• Specific training in law enforcement techniques. D
E gain the opportunity to
Policewomen It took a long time for policewomen to
perform the same roles and duties as their male counterparts.
From the early
L
1900s until 1972, when the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission began
L
to assist women police officers in obtaining equal employment
status with male
officers, policewomen were responsible for protection and crime prevention
,
work with women and juveniles, particularly with girls. The Los Angeles Police
Department created the City Mother’s Bureau in 1914 and hired policewomen to
work with delinquent and predelinquent children whose mothers did not want
T
formal intervention by a law enforcement agency. Policewomen
were also used
to monitor, investigate, and punish young girls whose
I behavior flouted social
and sexual conventions of the times.
The first woman to have full police power (1905) wasFLola Baldwin of Portland,
Oregon. The first uniformed policewoman was Alice F
Stebbins Wells, who was
hired by the Los Angeles Police Department in 1910. By 1916, 16 other police
departments had hired policewomen as a result of the A
success in Los Angeles.18
CONFLICTING ROLES
N
Y
Throughout their history, Americans have never been sure precisely what role
they want their police officers to play. Much of the ambivalence
has to do with
1
American heritage, which makes many Americans suspicious of government
5 acted as peacekeepers,
authority. At one time or another, local police have
social workers, crime fighters, and public servants, completing any task that
6
was requested. Often, the police have been asked to take on all those roles
simultaneously.
8
For most of the nineteenth century, distrust of government was so strong and
the need to maintain order in the cities so critical that T
the police operated almost
exclusively as peacekeepers and social service agents,Swith little or no concern
for enforcing the law beyond what was absolutely necessary to maintain tranquility.19 In this role, the police in many American cities administered the laws that
provided for public relief and support of the poor. They fed the hungry and
housed the homeless at the request of the politicians who controlled them. Later,
other social service agents, such as social workers, began to replace them, and a
reform effort developed to remove policing from the direct control of corrupt
politicians. As a result, the police began to focus on crime-fighting as early as the
1920s. Having the police enforce the law fairly and objectively was thought to be
a major way of professionalizing law enforcement. This approach also fit the
professional model of policing advocated by Vollmer and other reformers.
August Vollmer. Do you agree with
Vollmer’s idea that police should
focus on law enforcement and leave
social services and the maintenance
of order to others? Why or why not?
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Part Two Law Enforcement
L
I
D
D
E
L
L
Brutal tactics by some police officers to suppress civil rights protests during the 1960s led to
calls for improved standards of,police conduct and training. Have new standards of conduct
and training ended brutal police tactics?
T
I strong doubts about the role of the police emerged
By the end of the 1960s,
again. The role they had been
F playing encouraged them to ferret out crime and
criminals through such practices as aggressive patrol, undercover operations,
F In some neighborhoods, the police came to be
and electronic surveillance.
viewed as armies of occupation. Some confrontations between police and citiA
zens resulted in violence. The civil rights movement produced a series of
demonstrations and civil N
disorders in more than 100 cities across America,
beginning in 1964. As in the labor struggles of the late nineteenth and early
Y were called in to restore order. Some police
twentieth centuries, the police
officers suppressed the demonstrations with brutal tactics. The anti–Vietnam
War movement during the 1960s sparked protests all over the country, espe1 Again, police officers were called on to maintain
cially on college campuses.
and sometimes to restore order. Thousands of students were sprayed with tear
5
gas, and some were beaten and even killed by police.
By the end of the 1960s,
6 it was clear that police standards and training had
to be improved. To many observers, fast response and proactive patrols did not
8 crime, and officers increasingly were seeing their
seem effective in reducing
work world through the windshield
of a cruiser. The likelihood of establishing
T
rapport with the people they served was remote as officers dashed from one
crime scene to another. S
Four blue-ribbon commissions studied the police in the United States. The
four commissions and the years in which they released their reports are:
National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, 1967
President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of
Justice, 1967
National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals,
1973
American Bar Association’s Standards Relating to Urban Police Function,
1973
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Chapter 5 History and Structure of American Law Enforcement
All four reports made the same major recommendations: They pointed out the
critical role police officers play in American society, called for careful selection
of law enforcement officers, and recommended extensive and continuous training. The reports also recommended better police management and supervision
as well as internal and external methods of maintaining integrity in police
departments.
In an attempt to follow many of the specific recommendations of the reform
commissions’ reports, police selection became an expensive and elaborate process. It was designed to identify candidates who had the qualities to be effective
law enforcement officers: integrity, intelligence, interpersonal skills, mental stability, adequate physical strength, and agility. Attempts were also made to eliminate
discriminatory employment practices that had prevented minorities and women
from entering and advancing in law enforcement. Finally, it became more common for police officers to attend college, and some police agencies began to set
a minimum number of college credit hours as an employment qualification.
L
COMMUNITY POLICING
I
D
By the 1970s, research began to show that a rapid response
to crime does not
necessarily lead to more arrests and that having more police officers using methD
ods made popular under the professional or reform model does not significantly
20
reduce crime. What was emerging was the view that
E unattended disorderly
behavior in neighborhoods—such as unruly groups of youths, prostitution, vandalism, drunk and disorderly vagrants, and aggressiveLstreet people—is a signal
to more serious criminals that residents do not care what
L goes on in their community and that the criminals can move in and operate with impunity.
, with community- and
The 1970s and 1980s saw some experimentation
neighborhood-based policing projects.21 Those projects got mixed results, and
many were abandoned because of high costs, administrative neglect, and citizen
apathy. However, higher crime rates, continued community
T deterioration, and recognition of the failure to control crime caused law enforcement to again question
I working well enough. It
the role it was playing. The enforcer role still was not
appeared senseless simply to respond to calls for service
F and arrive at scenes of
crime and disorder time and time again without resolving the problems or having
F
any lasting effect on the lives of the residents of the community.
Out of this failure and frustration came the contemporary concept of community policing.
A
Under a community policing philosophy, the people of a community and the
police form a lasting partnership in which they jointly
N approach the problems
of maintaining order, providing services, and fighting crime.22 If the police show
they care about the minor problems associated with Y
community disorder, two
positive changes are likely to occur: Citizens will develop better relations with
the police as they turn to them for solutions to the disorder, and criminals will
see that residents and the police have a commitment1to keeping all crime out
of the neighborhood. Once again, the emphasis has shifted
from fighting crime
5
to keeping peace and delivering social services. The goal is eradicating the
causes of crime in a community, not simply responding
6 to symptoms.
In the early 1990s, many communities across the nation began implementing
8 called for a shift from
community policing strategies. Community policing
incident-based crime fighting to a problem-oriented approach
in which police
T
would be prepared to handle a broad range of troublesome situations in a city’s
S so that officers could
neighborhoods. There was greater emphasis on foot patrol
come to know and be known by the residents of a neighborhood. Those citizens
would then be more willing to help the police identify and solve problems in
the neighborhood. Many other aspects of community policing are discussed
more fully in Chapter 6.
COMPSTAT
At about the same time that community policing was becoming popular in many
American cities, a new policing strategy was being implemented in New York
149
MYTH
Random patrol, as opposed to directed
patrol, reduces crime. It is important to
have police out in patrol cars scouting
neighborhoods and business districts.
FAC T
There is not much value to such random patrols other than perhaps helping
people feel safe. They would probably
feel even safer if the police were walking a beat. However, little research
supports the idea that officers who ride
around for 3 to 5 hours of their shifts
are repressing crime. Even being available to respond to calls from the public
is not a strong argument for such
patrols. Only a small percentage of
reported crimes and other incidents
require a rapid response.
community policing A contemporary
approach to policing that actively involves the community in a working partnership to control and reduce crime.
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Part Two Law Enforcement
Figure 6.1
Law Enforcement Officer Code of Ethics
The purpose of the Code of Ethics is to ensure that all peace officers are fully aware of their
individual responsibility to maintain their own integrity and that of their agency. Every peace
officer, during basic training, or at the time of appointment, shall be administered the
[following] Code of Ethics.
As a law enforcement officer, my fundamental duty is to serve mankind; to safeguard lives
and property; to protect the innocent against deception, the weak against oppression or
intimidation, and the peaceful against violence or disorder; and to respect the constitutional
rights of all men to liberty, equality, and justice.
I will keep my private life unsullied as an example to all; maintain courageous calm in the
face of danger, scorn, or ridicule; develop self-restraint; and be constantly mindful of the
welfare of others. Honest in thought and deed in both my personal and official life, I will be
exemplary in obeying the laws of the land and the regulations of my department. Whatever I
see or hear of a confidential nature or that is confided to me in my official capacity will be
kept ever secret unless revelation is necessary in the performance of my duty. I will never act
officiously or permit personal feelings, prejudices, animosities, or friendships to influence my
decisions. With no compromise for crime and with relentless prosecution of criminals, I will
enforce the law courteously and appropriately without fear or favor, malice or ill will, never
employing unnecessary force or violence, and never accepting gratuities.
L
I
D
D
E
I recognize the badge of my office as a symbol of public L
faith, and I accept it as a public
trust to be held so long as I am true to the ethics of the police service. I will constantly strive
to achieve these objectives and ideals, dedicating myself to L
my chosen profession—law
enforcement.
,
Canons
1. The primary responsibility of police officers and organizations is the protection of
citizens by upholding the law and respecting the legally expressed will of the whole community
and not a particular party or clique.
T
I
2. Police officers should be aware of the legal limits on their authority and the “genius of
F
the American system,” which limits the power of individuals, groups, and institutions.
F law and not only their
3. Police officers are responsible for being familiar with the
responsibilities but also those of other public officials.
A
4. Police officers should be mindful of the importance of using the proper means to gain
proper ends. Officers should not employ illegal means, nor N
should they disregard public safety
or property to accomplish a goal.
Y
5. Police officers will cooperate with other public officials in carrying out their duties.
However, the officer shall be careful not to use his or her position in an improper or illegal
manner when cooperating with other officials.
1
5
6
7. In their behavior toward members of the public, officers will provide service when
possible, require compliance with the law, respond in a manner
8 that inspires confidence and
trust, and will be neither overbearing nor subservient.
T will follow the law; officers have
8. When dealing with violators or making arrests, officers
no right to persecute individuals or punish them. And officers
S should behave in such a manner
so the likelihood of the use of force is minimized.
6. In their private lives, police officers will behave in such a manner that the public will
“regard (the officer) as an example of stability, fidelity, and morality.” It is necessary that
police officers conduct themselves in a “decent and honorable” manner.
9. Police officers should refuse to accept any gifts, favors, or gratuities that, from a public
perspective, could influence the manner in which the officer discharges his or her duties.
10. Officers will present evidence in criminal cases impartially because the officer should
be equally concerned with both the prosecution of criminals and the defense of innocent
persons.
Source: Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, Administrative Manual (State of California: POST, 1990), c-5.
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Chapter 6 Policing: Roles, Styles, and Functions
Table 6.1 Law Enforcement Officers Assaulted
in the United States by Circumstance, 2009
Circumstances at Scene of Incident
Total
Total
Disturbance calls (family quarrel, man with gun, etc.)
Burglaries in progress or pursuit of burglary suspects
Robberies in progress or pursuit of robbery suspects
Other arrest attempts
Civil disorders (mass disobedience, riot, etc.)
Handling, transporting, custody of prisoners
Investigation of suspicious persons and circumstances
Ambush (no warning) situations
Handling mentally deranged persons
Traffic pursuits and stops
All other
57,268
18,672
850
552
8,797
789
7,274
5,475
228
1,146
5,479
8,006
Percentage of Total
100%
32.6
1.5
0.9
15.4
1.4
12.7
9.6
0.4
2.0
9.6
14.0
L
Source: United States Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, LawI Enforcement Officers Killed and
Assaulted, www2.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2009/data/table_68.html.
D
D
killed in the line of duty, many fewer than the 142 officers killed feloniously
in 2001, and 9 fewer than the 57 officers killed feloniously
in 2007. However,
E
2001 was an unusual year. Among the 142 officers feloniously killed were the
L tragedy of September
72 federal, state, and local officers killed during the
11—the most officers killed in the United States on aLsingle day. In 1999, only
42 officers were feloniously killed in the line of duty, which was the lowest
,
recorded figure in more than 35 years.4
Of the 48 officers feloniously killed in the line of duty in 2009, 15 were
ambushed by their assailants, 8 died from felonious attacks during arrest situations, 8 were killed during traffic pursuits and stops,T
6 were murdered answering disturbance calls, 5 during tactical situations (for example, barricaded
I
offender, hostage taking, and so on), 4 while investigating
suspicious persons
or circumstances, and 2 while transporting or maintaining
F custody of prisoners.5
Accidents, such as automobile accidents, during the performance of official
F2009, down from the 83
duties claimed the lives of an additional 47 officers in
in 2007.6
A
N
Table 6.2 Body Armor Requirements for Field Officers in Local Police
Y
Departments, by Size of Population Served,
2003 and 2007
PERCENTAGE OF AGENCIES REQUIRING FIELD
OFFICERS TO WEAR ARMOR WHILE ON DUTY
Population
Served
All Sizes
1,000,000 or more
500,000–999,999
250,000–499,999
100,000–249,999
50,000–99,999
25,000–49,999
10,000–24,999
2,500–9,999
Under 2,500
Total
At All Times
2003
2007
2003
2007
71%
63
79
68
68
69
74
74
80
63
75%
77
81
78
73
74
77
81
79
69
59%
44
60
56
50
52
61
63
69
52
65%
62
55
61
55
62
66
71
73
57
1
5
6
8
T
S
In Some Circumstances
2003
2007
12%
19
19
12
18
17
13
11
11
11
10%
15
26
17
18
12
11
11
7
12
Source: Matthew J. Hickman and Brian A. Reaves, Local Police Departments, 2003, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau
of Justice Statistics (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, May 2006), 25, Table 56; Brian A. Reaves, Local
Police Departments, 2007, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics (Washington, DC: U.S. Government
Printing Office, December 2010), 19, Table K, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/1pd07.pdf.
201
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Part Two Law Enforcement
From 1972 through 2009, 5,293 law enforcement officers were killed in the
line of duty: 2,909 were feloniously killed, and 2,384 were accidentally killed.
The highest number of officers killed in any one year was 218 in 2001, while
the lowest number killed in any year was 95 in 2009. In general, and with few
exceptions, the number of law enforcement officers killed while on duty has
declined since the early 1970s.7
OPERATIONAL STYLES
operational styles The different overall
approaches to the police job.
After police officers are trained and begin to gain experience and wisdom from
their encounters with veteran police officers and citizens on the street, it is
believed that they develop operational styles that characterize their overall
approach to the police job. If these styles actually exist, it means that the effort
of the police department to systematically train and deploy officers with the
same philosophy and practical
L approach to policing in the community has not
been entirely successful. The research on operational styles shows that they
vary both between departments
and among officers of the same department.
I
One of the earliest scholars to report on the existence of policing styles was
DWilson, who found the following three styles in a
political scientist James Q.
study of eight police departments:
D
1.
2.
3.
Legalistic Style—The E
emphasis is on violations of law and the use of
threats or actual arrests to solve disputes in the community. In theory,
the more arrests that L
are made, the safer a community will be. This style
is often found in largeLmetropolitan areas.
Watchman Style—The emphasis is on informal means of resolving
, in a community. Keeping the peace is the
disputes and problems
paramount concern, and arrest is used only as a last resort to resolve
any kind of disturbance of the peace. This style of policing is most
commonly found in economically
poorer communities.
T
Service Style—The emphasis is on helping in the community, as
opposed to enforcing Ithe law. Referrals and diversion to community
treatment agencies areFmore common than arrest and formal court action.
The service style is most likely to be found in wealthy communities.8
F
Sociologist John Broderick, who also studied operational styles among the
Acers by their degree of commitment to maintaining
police, classified police offi
order and their respect forNdue process:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Enforcers—The emphasis
Y is on order, with little respect for due process.
Idealists—The emphasis is on both social order and due process.
Optimists—The emphasis is on due process, with little priority given to
social order.
1
Realists—Little emphasis is given to due process or social order.9
5
Another classification is based on the way officers use their authority and
power in street police work.
6 The two key ingredients of this scheme are passion and perspective. Passion is the ability to use force or the recognition that
8 of resolving conflict; perspective is the ability to
force is a legitimate means
understand human suffering
T and to use force ethically and morally. According
to political scientist William Muir’s styles of policing, police officers include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
S
Professionals—Officers who have the necessary passion and perspective
to be valuable police officers.
Enforcers—Officers who have passion for the job, for enforcing the law,
and for taking decisive action; their inner drive or value system allows
them to be comfortable using force to solve problems.
Reciprocators—Officers who lack the passion to do the job; they have a
difficult time taking action, making arrests, and enforcing the law; their
values make it difficult for them to use force to solve problems.
Avoiders—Officers who have neither passion nor perspective, resulting
in no recognition of people’s problems and no action to resolve them.10
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Chapter 6 Policing: Roles, Styles, and Functions
203
Are there identifiable styles of policing? What value do these styles hold for
us? In any area of human endeavor, classifications have been constructed. We
have developed classifications for leaders, prisoners, quarterbacks, and teachers. These classifications give us a framework of analysis, a basis for discussion.
But can they be substantiated when we go into a police agency to see if they
actually exist?
Social scientist Ellen Hochstedler examined the issue of policing styles with
1,134 Dallas, Texas, police officers and was not able to confirm the officer styles
identified in the literature by Broderick, Muir, and others. Her conclusion was
that it is not possible to “pigeonhole” officers into one style because the way
officers think and react to street situations varies, depending on the particular
situation, the time, and the officers themselves.11
THINKING CRITICALLY
L
I
2. Is there an operational style of policing that you think is the most effective? If so, which one?
D
3. Do you think it is possible to identify styles of policing? If so, how can it be done? If not,
D
what obstacles prevent identification?
E
L
L
Police Functions
, out is long and varies
The list of functions that police are expected to carry
1. Which characteristics do you think are the most important for police officers to have? Why?
from place to place. In the following sections, we look at the major operations
of police departments and the services they provide.
T
I
PATROL
F backbone of the departPolice administrators have long referred to patrol as the
ment. It is unquestionably the most time-consuming and resource-intensive
F
task of any police agency. More than half of the sworn personnel in any police
department are assigned to patrol. In Houston, Chicago,
A and New York City,
for example, patrol officers make up more than 65% of the sworn personnel
N
in each department.
Patrol officers respond to burglar alarms, investigate
Y traffic accidents, care
for injured people, try to resolve domestic disputes, and engage in a host of
other duties that keep them chasing radio calls across their own beats and the
entire city and county when no other cars are available to respond. Precisely
1
how to conduct patrol activities, however, is a matter of much debate in the
nation today. Indeed, it seems that there are many ways
5 to police a city.
6
direction. Between their responses to radio calls, they8were told to be “systematically unsystematic” and observant in an attempt to both prevent and ferret out
T as 50% of an officer’s
crime on their beats. In many police departments, as much
time is uncommitted and available for patrolling the beats
S that make up a politiPreventive Patrol For decades, police officers patrolled the streets with little
cal jurisdiction. The simultaneous increases in the official crime rate and the size
of police forces beginning in the 1960s caused police managers and academics to
question the usefulness of what has come to be known as preventive patrol or
random patrol. To test the usefulness of preventive patrol, the now famous
Kansas City (Missouri) Preventive Patrol Experiment was conducted in 1972.
The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department and the Police Foundation set
up an experiment in which 15 patrol districts were divided into three matched
groups according to size, record of calls for service, and demographic characteristics. In the first group, the “control beats,” the police department operated
the same level of patrol used previously in those beats. In the second group
preventive patrol Patrolling the streets
with little direction; between responses
to radio calls, officers are “systematically unsystematic” and observant in an
attempt to both prevent and ferret out
crime. Also known as random patrol.
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L
I
D
D
E
L
L
Street patrol is the most resource-intensive
task of any police agency. Are there acceptable
alternatives to street patrol? If ,yes, what are they?
MYTH
Adding more police officers will reduce
crime.
FACT
Short of having a police officer on every
corner, evidence indicates no relationship between the number of police
officers and the crime rate.
directed patrol Patrolling under guidance or orders on how to use patrol time.
of districts, the “proactive beats,” the police department doubled or even tripled the number of patrolTofficers normally deployed in the area. In the third
group of districts, the “reactive
beats,” the police department deployed no
I
officers at all on preventive patrol. Officers only responded to calls for service
F own. At the end of the 1-year study, the results
and did no patrolling on their
showed no significant differences in crime rates among the three groups of
F
patrol districts. In other words, a group of districts that had no officers on
preventive patrol had theAsame crime rates as groups that had several times
the normal level of staffing engaged in patrol activity. The number of officers
made no difference in theNnumber of burglaries, robberies, vehicle thefts, and
other serious crimes experienced
in the three groups of police districts. Perhaps
Y
even more important is that the citizens of Kansas City did not even notice
that the levels of patrol in two of the three districts had been changed.12
The law enforcement community was astounded by the results of the study,
1
which showed that it made no difference whether patrol officers conducted
preventive, or random, patrol.
5 The research was immediately attacked on both
philosophical and methodological grounds. How could anyone say that having
6 made no difference?
patrol officers on the street
One of the criticisms of
8 the study was that no one in the community was
told that there were no officers on patrol in reactive districts. What might have
T had the community known no officers were on
happened to the crime rates
patrol? Moreover, during the
S course of the study, marked police cars from other
departments and districts crossed the reactive districts to answer calls but then
left when the work was completed. Thus, there appeared to be a police presence
even in the so-called reactive districts.
This study has forced police executives and academics to reconsider the
whole issue of how patrol is conducted, once considered a closed issue. Police
administrators have begun to entertain the possibility of reducing the number
of officers on patrol. Innovations in patrol methods have also been proposed.
Directed Patrol In directed patrol, officers are given guidance or orders on how
to use their patrol time. The guidance is often based on the results of crime
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Chapter 6 Policing: Roles, Styles, and Functions
205
analyses that identify problem areas. Evidence shows that directed patrol can
reduce the incidence of targeted crimes such as thefts from autos and robberies.13
Crime Mapping One technological innovation in crime analysis that has aided
directed patrol is Geographic Information Systems (GIS) crime mapping. GIS
crime mapping is a technique that involves the charting of crime patterns within
a geographic area. Crime mapping makes it possible to keep a closer watch on
crime and criminals through the generation of crime maps capable of displaying
numerous fields of information. For example, if a series of armed robberies of dry
cleaning stores had been committed over a period of several weeks in three adjacent police beats, police crime analysts would be able to record, analyze, and
determine a definite pattern to these robberies, and make a reasonable prediction
as to when and where the next robbery in the series is likely to occur. The patrol
and investigation forces could be deployed at a prescribed time to conduct surveillance of the prospective target dry cleaning store or stores with a good chance
the robber can be arrested. This use of crime mappingL
is referred to as “resource
reallocation” and is probably the most widely used crime-mapping application.
I
Figure 6.2 is an example of a crime map.
Crime mapping is also used as a tool to help evaluate
D the ability of police
departments to resolve the problems in their communities. This is the primary
D
purpose of the New York City Police Department’s CompStat
process, for exam14
responsible for statistical
ple. Begun in 1994, CompStat is a divisional unit E
analysis of daily precinct crime reports frequently using crime mapping. The
information produced by CompStat is used by the chief
L of police to judge the
performance of precinct commanders and by precinct commanders to hold
L in Chapter 5).
their officers accountable (see the discussion of CompStat
,
Figure 6.2
T
Crime Map of Total Crime Index in the City of Atlanta, Georgia,
2008
I
F
F
A
N
Y
1
5
6
8
T
S
GIS crime mapping A technique that
involves the charting of crime patterns
within a geographic area.
CJ
Online
GIS Crime Mapping
To learn more about GIS crime mapping
and how it works, visit the GIS Lounge at
http://gislounge.com/features/aa101100
.shtml. Why is crime mapping important?
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Crime mapping is likely to be used increasingly in crime scene investigations and the forensic sciences. For example, a GIS-based system has been
created that can determine the origin of gunshots through sound triangulation.
Crime mapping will also be combined with other technologies such as aerial
photography so that geocoded data can be superimposed on aerial photographs
rather than computer-generated maps. This should aid community policing
efforts by making census data, liquor license locations, drug-market data, and
probationer addresses, for example, readily available in a more useful form.
Another technology that will be combined with crime mapping is Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology. It would allow beat officers to track and
monitor probationers and parolees in the area, for example. It is currently used
in some departments to help manage the department’s fleet of vehicles.15
Aggressive Patrol In nearly all police departments, some patrol officers have
aggressive patrol The practice of
having an entire patrol section make
numerous traffic stops and field
interrogations.
field interrogation A temporary detention in which officers stop and question
pedestrians and motorists they find in
suspicious circumstances.
used aggressive patrol tactics and have been rewarded as high performers because they made many arrests
L for both minor and serious offenses. When the
entire patrol section is instructed to make numerous traffic stops and field interI
rogations, the practice is referred
to as aggressive patrol. A field interrogation is
a temporary detention in which
offi
cers stop and question pedestrians and moD
torists they find in suspicious circumstances. Such procedures have been found
to reduce crime in targetedDareas.16
At least two problems can occur as a result of aggressive patrol. First, random
E
traffic stops and field interrogations inconvenience innocent citizens. To avoid
conflict, the police must beLcertain that those tactics are necessary, and they must
explain the necessity to the public. Second, it is often difficult to get all officers
L patrol division motivated to use aggressive patrol
on each work shift and in each
tactics. Many officers are reluctant
to carry out their duties in an aggressive way.
,
Nevertheless, with crime rates high and research confirming that aggressive
patrol can reduce crime, aggressive patrol tactics are likely to continue.
T
officers patrol their beats on
I foot. Is there value in this practice, or is it just nostalgia for a more romantic period in law enforcement? The use of motorized
F to respond rapidly to citizen calls and to cover
patrols has allowed the police
large geographical areas. Yet,
F officers working a busy shift, perhaps responding
to more than two dozen calls, come to feel as if they are seeing the world
A a windshield. Moreover, it is now generally acthrough
cepted
N that rapid response time is useful in only a small
portion of the incidents and crimes to which the police
are asked
Y to respond.
Foot Patrol For some time, there has been renewed interest in having police
Challenging conventional wisdom about rapid
response, two cities—Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New
Jersey—launched
substantial foot patrol programs. In
1
Newark, the results of the foot patrol experiment showed
that 5foot patrol had little or no effect on the level of
crime.
6 However, positive effects were identified:
1.
2.
3.
8Newark residents noticed whether foot patrol officers were present.
T
They were more satisfied with police service when
foot patrol officers delivered it.
S
They were less afraid than citizens being served by
motorized patrol.17
In Flint, Michigan, the extensive neighborhood foot
patrol experiment also had positive results:
Field interrogation has been found to reduce crime in targeted
areas. What are some of the problems with field interrogations?
1.
2.
3.
4.
Flint residents had a decreased fear of crime.
Their satisfaction with police service increased.
There were moderate decreases in crime.
There were decreased numbers of calls for police
service.
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Chapter 6 Policing: Roles, Styles, and Functions
Table 6.3 Types of Regularly Scheduled Patrols Other than
Automobile Used by Local Police Departments,
by Size of Population Served, 2007
PERCENTAGE OF DEPARTMENTS USING EACH
TYPE OF PATROL REGULARLY
Population
Served
Foot
Bicycle
All sizes
1,000,000 or more
500,000–999,999
250,000–499,999
100,000–249,999
50,000–99,999
25,000–49,999
10,000–24,999
2,500–9,999
Under 2,500
55%
92%
81
78
59
56
52
50
58
54
32%
100%
100
89
71
69
58
44
36
15
Motorcycle
16%
100%
94
91
90
74
55
25
8
4
Marine
4%
69%
52
26
12
12
6
5
4
1
Transporter
2%
31%
29
24
15
6
4
2
1
—
Horse
1%
77%
61
50
17
5
2
1
—
0
Air
1%
100%
71
57
14
5
1
1
0
—
L
I
D
— Less than 0.5%.
Dautomobile patrols.
As of 2007, all but a few local police departments surveyed reported routine use of
Source: Brian A. Reaves, Local Police Departments, 2007, U.S. Department of Justice,
E Bureau of Justice Statistics
(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 2010), 15, Table 12, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub
L
/pdf/1pd07.pdf.
L
,
Citizens would wait to talk to their neighborhood foot patrol officer about
a problem instead of calling the police department through 911 and speaking
with an officer they were not likely to know. One astounding result of the
T
Flint program was that the foot patrol officers became so popular that citizens
saw them as real community leaders. They often Ibecame more influential
than some elected officials. Evidence of the degree of satisfaction with the
F voted three times to
foot patrol program in Flint was that the community
continue and expand foot patrol at a time when the
F city was experiencing
one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates.18 Perhaps even more important, the findings of foot patrol research provided theAseeds of a much broader
concept for law enforcement: community policing, which we will discuss
N
later in this chapter. Table 6.3 shows the percentage of agencies, by size of
population served, that used various types of patrolY(other than automobile)
on a routine basis in 2007 (the latest year for which data were available). All
but a few local police departments used regularly scheduled automobile
patrols during 2007.
1
5
6
The role of the detective has generally been glorified by media sources in both
8 in particular, has capfiction and nonfiction accounts. Homicide investigation,
tured the imagination of fiction readers worldwide. Most
T police officers aspire
to be investigative specialists by attaining the position of detective. But it
S in a police department
should be noted that detectives represent only one unit
INVESTIGATION
that conducts investigations. Investigators work in a variety of capacities in a
police agency:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Traffic homicide and hit-and-run accident investigators in the traffic
section.
Undercover investigators in narcotics, vice, and violent gang cases.
Internal affairs investigators conducting investigations of alleged crimes
by police personnel.
Investigators conducting background checks of applicants to the police
department.
207
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5.
6.
Uniformed patrol officers investigating the crimes they have been dispatched to or have encountered on their own while on patrol.
Detectives of criminal investigation divisions who conduct investigations
into reports of criminal activity made by patrol officers.
What Is Criminal Investigation? Criminal investigation has been defined as a
lawful search for people and things to reconstruct the circumstances of an illegal
act, apprehend or determine the guilty party, and aid in the state’s prosecution
of the offender.19 The criminal investigation process is generally divided into
two parts: the preliminary, or initial, investigation and the continuing, or followup, investigation. Most of the time the preliminary investigation in both felony
and misdemeanor cases is conducted by patrol officers, although for homicides
and other complex, time-consuming investigations, trained investigators are dispatched to the crime scene immediately. The continuing investigation in serious
crimes is ordinarily conducted by plainclothes detectives, although small and
L require patrol officers or a patrol supervisor to folmedium-sized agencies may
low up on serious criminalI offenses.
For less serious crimes, many police departments use solvability-factor score
Dto assess information collected at crime scenes. The
sheets or software programs
assessment, which is done by the responding officer, a case-screening officer, or
D
a felony-review unit, determines which cases are likely to be solved, given the
initial information obtained.
E Promising cases are turned over to detectives for
follow-up investigation. The rest are often closed on the basis of the preliminary
L only if additional information is uncovered.20
investigation and are reopened
L
Investigative Functions In
, any type of investigation in a police agency, all in-
vestigators share responsibility for a number of critical functions. They must:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Locate witnesses and suspects.
T
Arrest criminals.
Collect, preserve, and analyze evidence.
I
Interview witnesses.
F
F
A
N
Y
1
5
6
8
T
S
Criminal investigation is a time-consuming task that requires much attention to detail. What
aspects of criminal investigations are the most time-consuming and why?
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Chapter 6 Policing: Roles, Styles, and Functions
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
209
Interrogate suspects.
Write reports.
Recover stolen property.
Seize contraband.
Prepare cases and testify in court.
The specific application and context of those functions vary considerably,
depending on whether the investigation is of the theft of expensive paintings,
for example, or the rape of an elderly widow living alone.
The Role of the Detective At first glance, the role of the detective seems highly
desirable. To a patrol officer who has been rotating work shifts for several years,
seldom getting a weekend off, detectives in the police department seem to have
a number of advantages:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
They do not have to wear uniforms.
They have anonymity during work hours if theyLchoose it.
They have steady work hours, often daytime hours
I with weekends off.
They have offices and desks.
D
They enjoy the prestige associated with the position.
In many agencies, detectives receive higher compensation and hold a
D
higher rank.
Perhaps most important, they enjoy more freedom
E than patrol officers
from the police radio, geographical boundaries, and close supervision.
L
All these advantages add up to a high-status position, both within the police
L
department and in the eyes of the public.
,
Productivity Despite all the advantages of being a detective, investigators are
often faced with insurmountable obstacles and stressful work conditions. Notifying
the next of kin in a homicide is one of the worst tasks: T
I
F
F
A
N
Y
Of all the dirty tasks that go with the dirty work of chasing a killer, notifying the
next of kin is the job that homicide detectives hate most. It’s worse than getting
up at 3 A.M. on a February night to slog through a field of freezing mud toward a
body that needed burying two days ago. Worse than staring into the flat cold eyes
of a teenager who bragged about dragging a man through the streets to his death.
Worse than visiting every sleazy dive in town until you finally find the one person
who can put the murderer away and having that person say as cool as a debutante
with a full dance card, “I don’t want to get involved.”21
Detectives have the cards stacked against them most of the time. Unless they
discover, during the preliminary investigation, a named suspect or a descrip1 the chances of solving
tion or other information that leads to a named suspect,
the crime are low. Property crimes with no witnesses are particularly hard to
5
solve. In 2009, for example, the clearance rates for crimes against persons were
66.6% for murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, 56.8%
6 for aggravated assault,
41.2% for forcible rape, and 28.2% for robbery. In crimes against property, the
clearance rates were 12.5% for burglary, 21.5% for 8
larceny-theft, and 12.4%
for motor vehicle theft. Clearances for crimes against
T persons are generally
higher than for property crimes because crimes against persons receive more
S witnesses frequently
intensive investigative effort and because victims and
identify the perpetrators. In 2009, for example, the nationwide clearance rate
for violent crimes was 47.1% and for property crimes, 18.6%.22 Studies have
found that much of what a detective does is not needed and that an investigator’s technical knowledge often does little to help solve cases.23 In one study,
for example, fewer than 10% of all arrests for robbery were the result of investigative work by detectives.24 Nevertheless, police agencies retain detectives
and plainclothes investigators for a number of reasons:
1.
Detectives have interrogation and case presentation skills that assist in
prosecution.
MYTH
Improvements in detective work and
criminal investigation will significantly
raise clearance rates or lower the
crime rate.
FAC T
“Cleared” crimes generally solve
themselves. The offender either is
discovered at the scene or can be
identified by the victim or a witness.
Investigation rarely solves “cold” or
“stranger” crimes.
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Part Two Law Enforcement
2.
3.
Technical knowledge, such as knowing about burglary tools, does help
in some investigations and prosecutions.
Law enforcement executives can assign detectives to a major, high-profile
case to demonstrate to the public that they are committing resources to
the matter.
The major studies of investigative effectiveness emphasize the value of
improving the suspect-identification process. Once a suspect is identified by
name or some other clearly distinguishing characteristic, the chances of making
an arrest are increased substantially.
Identification Developments in Criminal Investigation Two of the most significant advances in criminal investigation have been the development of the
integrated automated fingerprint identification system (IAFIS) and DNA profiling. IAFIS has resulted in the arrest and conviction of millions of criminal suspects who otherwise might
L never have been brought to justice. DNA profiling
holds even greater promise. However, before examining these two investigative
tools, it is instructive to consider
the findings of a two-year congressionally manI
dated study of forensic science and the crime lab system by the National Academy
D
of Sciences.25
The study, released in D
2009, discovered that the nation’s forensic science
system has serious deficiencies and that it needs major reforms and new
E and mandatory certification programs for forenresearch. Lacking are rigorous
sic scientists and strong standards
and protocols for analyzing and reporting
L
on evidence. Needed are more peer-reviewed, published studies establishing
L and reliability of many forensic methods. In
the scientific bases, accuracy,
addition, many forensic science labs require greater funding, staffing, and effec,
tive oversight.
The study revealed that with the exception of nuclear DNA analysis, no
forensic method has been rigorously shown able to consistently, and with a
high degree of certainty, T
demonstrate a connection between evidence and a
specific individual or source.
I Yet, it is precisely this type of evidence that has
been used to convict criminal defendants. Of the more than 230 people exonF than 50% of the cases involved faulty or invalerated by DNA evidence, more
idated forensic evidence. Highly suspect is evidence from ballistics,
F
handwriting, bite marks, tool marks, shoe prints, and blood spatters—to name
only a few techniques. Even
A fingerprint evidence is of concern. The researchers
argue that zero-error-rate claims made about fingerprint analyses are not plauN guarantee that two individuals’ prints are always
sible; uniqueness does not
so sufficiently different that
Y they could not be confused. Recommended is the
accumulation of data on how much a person’s fingerprints vary from impression to impression, as well as the degree to which fingerprints vary across a
population.
1
This is not to say that non-DNA forensic evidence is useless. It could, for
example, provide valuable
5 information to help narrow the range of possible
suspects or sources. However, before this evidence is used to “prove” that a
6 research is needed to validate basic premises
defendant is guilty, substantial
and techniques, assess limitations,
and discern the sources and magnitude of
8
error. The panel of researchers strongly urged Congress to establish a new, independent National InstituteTof Forensic Science to help solve these problems.
S
DNA Profiling DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a molecule present in all forms
of life. A unique genetic profile can be derived from blood, hair, semen, or other
bodily substances found at the scene of a crime or on a victim. Not only can
bodily substances found at a crime scene be matched with DNA samples from a
suspect to give an extremely high probability of identifying the perpetrator, but it
is believed that soon DNA from a sample as small as a flake of dandruff will
yield a positive, unique identification with no need to consider mathematical
probabilities.
DNA profiling has three distinct functions: linking or eliminating identified
suspects to a crime; identifying “cold hits,” whereby a sample from a crime scene
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Chapter 6 Policing: Roles, Styles, and Functions
is matched against numerous cases in a DNA database and a positive match is
made; and clearing convicted rapists and murderers years after they began
serving their sentences. DNA profiling would be very useful, for example, in
cases where a murderer’s blood was found at the scene of a crime after a deadly
struggle or in a rape case where seminal fluid could be obtained from the
victim. In approximately one-third of DNA examinations, the suspect’s DNA
cannot be matched with biological evidence from the crime scene. Thus, potential suspects can be eliminated from consideration early in the investigative
process, allowing investigators to focus their efforts more effectively on other
suspects or cases. Potential suspects also can be eliminated from an investigation years after the crime occurred, as happened in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case. The then 6-year-old beauty queen was killed in 1996, and her brother
and parents remained suspects for more than a decade. In 2008, based on
results obtained from a new technology called “touch DNA,” the cloud of
suspicion was finally removed from the Ramsey family. Touch DNA involves
scraping genetic material from an object that otherwise
L could not be seen. In
this case, newly discovered DNA from a few minute skin cells matched DNA
found earlier and was not from the Ramsey family.I Investigators will try to
locate a match in the national DNA database, which at
Dthe time had more than
5 million offenders’ profiles. For now, the murder remains unsolved.26 Figure 6.3 shows how DNA profiling is performed.
D
A serious issue at present is whether DNA databases ought to be assembled
and from whom the samples should be taken. ManyEstates permit the taking
of DNA samples from arrested and convicted subjects.LSome enthusiasts believe
that DNA samples should be taken from all suspects in crimes, while a smaller
L all people at birth.
number believe the samples should be collected from
Another controversial issue is how long DNA samples
should be kept. In
,
December 2008, 17 judges on the European Court of Human Rights, Europe’s
highest human-rights court, struck down a British law that allowed the government to store DNA and fingerprints of people with no criminal record. The
T
law had allowed the government to keep samples until an individual died or
reached the age of 100. Britain’s DNA databases, with
I more than 4.5 million
samples, have been taken from arrestees, regardless of whether they have been
charged, convicted, or acquitted and, occasionally, F
from crime victims. The
court unanimously ruled that Britain’s “blanket and indiscriminate”
storage of
F
DNA samples and fingerprints of people with no criminal record violated peoA Rights Convention to
ple’s right to privacy—a protection under the Human
which the United Kingdom is a signatory. The ruling likely will require Britain
N
to destroy about 1 million samples in its DNA database.27
Currently, the most complete DNA database in theY
United States, with more
than 9 million samples (as of November 2010), is the Combined DNA Index
System (CODIS), which is managed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI).28 CODIS comprises DNA profiles that have been
1entered into local, state,
and other national databases. The profiles are from either biological evidence
5 crimes and other feloleft at crime scenes or individuals convicted of violent
nies. Undoubtedly the more collected samples in a database, the more likely
6
a match is going to be found. But privacy concerns and the potential for misuse of DNA samples are likely to hinder any more intrusive
measures on the
8
part of agents of the justice system.
T
Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems
S
An expensive but
invaluable tool in criminal investigation are Integrated Automated Fingerprint
Identification Systems (IAFIS). This relatively new technology was launched in
1999, and allows investigators to sort through thousands of sets of stored fingerprints for a match with those of a crime suspect. In fact, many of the current attempts to match prints would not have been made without IAFIS because the old
process would have taken thousands of hours. Today, the average response time
for an electronic criminal fingerprint submission is about 10 minutes. IAFIS process an average of approximately 162,000 ten-print submissions per day. Large
metropolitan police agencies use it to identify 200–500 suspects a year who
would have escaped apprehension before the implementation of IAFIS. The
CJ
211
Online
DNA Evidence
The National Commission on the Future
of DNA Evidence is a program sponsored
by the National Institute of Justice.
Visit the program’s website at http:
//permanent.access.gpo.gov/lps14610
/www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/dna/welcome
.html. How big a role should DNA play in
criminal investigations?
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Part Two Law Enforcement
Figure 6.3
How DNA Profiling Is Performed
DNA, deoxyribonucleic acid, is the material that carries the genetic pattern that makes each
person unique. Scientists in the laboratory can map DNA patterns in samples of skin,
blood, semen, or other body tissues or fluids. The DNA patterns can then be
analyzed and compared.
There are two main DNA testing procedures used in criminal forensics.
1 Samples are taken of tissue or body fluids at crime scenes.
Comparison samples are taken from victims and suspects.
RFLP (Restriction Fragment
Length Polymorphism)
PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)
2 In the laboratory, DNA is
extracted from the samples.
2 In the laboratory, DNA genetic material is
extracted from the samples and mixed with
enzymes to cut the DNA into fragments.
3
4
5
L
I
The DNA fragments are put in D
a special
gel and exposed to an electrical charge
to sort the fragments by size. D
Genetic tracers are used to search
E out
and lock onto specific fragments of the DNA.
L
The tracers reveal a pattern. Each
L that
evidence sample will have a pattern
can be compared with the sample from the
,
victim and the sample from the suspect.
T
I
F
Comparing the patterns in the
F
samples results in a DNA profile
representing distinctive features
A
of the samples that may or
N
may not match.
Y
3 Part of the DNA molecule
is amplified in a test tube to
produce billions of copies of
that part.
4 The amplified DNA is
analyzed.
5 The analysis of the
evidence sample can be
compared with the analysis
of the sample from the victim
and the sample from the suspect.
Crime
evidence
Suspect
Victim
Suspect
Victim
Match
Crime
evidence
No Match
1
5
6
8
initial and maintenance costs for an IAFIS, however, are expensive. Table 6.4
T police departments with access to IAFIS. The FBI’s
shows the percentage of local
Integrated Automated Fingerprint
Identification System is the world’s largest,
S
with more than 66 million prints on file. The Florida Department of Law
Enforcement’s system, by contrast, has only about 5 million prints on file.29
Cybercrime The use of computer technology to commit crime is of increasing
cybercrime The use of computer technology to commit crime.
concern to law enforcement officials. The FBI reports that the losses from cybercrime each year total about $10 billion even though two-thirds of computer
crime victims fail to notify the authorities. Some of the reasons for not reporting
computer crime are the fear of loss of the public’s confidence in the organization,
the attention to vulnerability that a crime report would attract, and the shame of
not providing adequate security to protect trusted assets.
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Chapter 6 Policing: Roles, Styles, and Functions
213
Table 6.4 Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems
(IAFIS) in Local Police Departments, by Size of
Population Served, 2007
PERCENT OF DEPARTMENTS WITH IAFIS ACCESS
Population
Served
All Sizes
1,000,000 or more
500,000–999,999
250,000–499,999
100,000–249,999
50,000–99,999
25,000–49,999
10,000–24,999
2,500–9,999
Under 2,500
Total
with Access
Exclusive/
Shared Owner
70%
100%
100
100
98
94
92
79
73
58
11%
92%
87
57
62
37
35
17
8
2
Remote
Terminal Access
7%
15%
13
37
22
20
14
9
5
5
Access through
Other Agency
54%
15%
16
15
24
41
48
54
60
52
L
I
D
Source: Brian A. Reaves, Local Police Departments, 2007, U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics
(Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, December 2010), 39, Appendix Table
D 15, http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov
/content/pub/pdf/1pd07.pdf.
E
L
L
, and Internet technolA variety of offenses can be committed using computer
ogy. Following are some of them.
• Auction Fraud. Auction fraud involves fraud attributable to the misrepreT
sentation of a product advertised for sale through an Internet auction site
or the nondelivery of products purchased throughI an Internet auction site.
• Child Pornography/Child Sexual Exploitation. Computer telecommunicaF
tions have become one of the most prevalent techniques
used by ...
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