Module 5
CRJ 307: Police, Society, and Community Service
Essays:
Police deviance is said to be behavior that does not conform to
the standards of norms or expectations. Identify and discuss the
three major sources of those standards. Is one source more
important than the others?
Worden identified five ways in which police officers are
different from one another. List and discuss those five ways.
Contrast socialization theory and pre-dispositional theory.
Module 5
Chapter 8 Summary
Chapter 8 looks at police behavior. Police behavior may be
described from a universalistic perspective or a particularistic
perspective. The universalistic perspective examines the ways
in which police are similar. The particularistic perspective
examines the way in which police differ from each
other.
The universalistic perspective approaches police behavior from
three perspectives. The sociological perspective emphasizes the
social context in which the police are hired and trained. The
psychological perspective examines the nature of the police
personality. The organizational perspective is concerned with
the formal and informal factors of the department.
Particularistic perspectives examine the different policing styles
discovered through research. Worden (1989) suggests that there
are five ways in which police differ from one another. Police
are different in their view of human nature, role orientation, and

attitudes toward legal and departmental restrictions. Worden
also found that the beliefs and behavior of the police are
influenced by their clientele. The final difference involves the
relationship between management and peer group
support.
Socialization theory maintains that it is the work experience and
the peers that determine police behavior. The formal
socialization takes place during training the new officer. The
informal socialization takes places as the new officer interacts
with experienced fellow officers.
Pre-dispositional theory states that the values and
characteristics the officer had before employment are brought
with him or her to the job. Research indicates that police have
different values from the rest of society. Racial and ethnic
differences, education, and police socialization does little to
changes pre-dispositional values.
There have been numerous studies conducted looking at police
behavior. This chapter recognizes that these studies are just as
important today as they were decades ago. Westley's
Violence and the Police
(1970) discussed in-group solidarity among the police and the
code of silence found to exist in policing. Skolnick's
Justice Without Trial
(1966) examined the danger in police work. Skolnick termed
the person the police officer thinks is potentially dangerous the
symbolic assailant.
Wilson's
Variety of Police Behavior
(1968) may be seen as the most important study of police
behavior. Wilson identified three styles of policing. In the
watchman style, the police utilize a great deal of discretion. In
the service style, the police see themselves as providing a

wanted service for the community. The police handle situations
informally, and arrest is not always necessary. In the legalistic
style, the police see themselves as law enforcers, making arrests
if possible.
Rubenstein conducted a study in 1973 known as
City Police.
His study supports the socialization theory of police behavior.
Officers learn on the job.
Van Maanen's study,
Observations on the Making of Policemen
, conducted in 1973, found four stages in which the police
officer is initiated into policing. The first is the preentry stage.
The individual chooses to make policing a career. The second
stage, admittance, involves the police academy experience.
Stage three, change, occurs as the new officer is out of the
academy and into the field. Continuance is the final stage and
involves the officer adjusting to the reality of police
work.
Brown suggested four styles of police behavior in
Working the Street: Police Discretion
(1981). Old-style crime fighters are very aggressive and
interesting only in felonies. Clean-beat crime fighters are
interested in all violations and are concerned with legal
procedure. Service-style officers just do enough to get by.
Professional-style officers, the most desirable type of officers,
know when to be tough and when to be service minded.
Crank's
Understanding Police Culture
(1998) saw four central principles in the elements of police
culture. Coercive territorial control is the most central
principle. The other principles include the unknown, solidarity,
and loose coupling.

In the police officer's use of discretion, there are a number of
variables. Organizational variables include the bureaucratic
nature and work periods and areas. Situational variables include
mobility, demeanor, race, gender, age, victim–offender
relationship, seriousness of the offense, mental state of the
citizen, location, and presence of others. Officer factors would
include education, age, experience, race, gender, and career
orientation. Finally, the neighborhood may impact the officer's
use of discretion.
This chapter ends by taking a look at police deviance. Several
types of deviance are identified. Police crime, occupational
deviance, police corruption, and abuse of authority are included
in the types of deviance. Gratuities are included in this
discussion.
The Knapp Commission investigated police corruption in the
New York City Police Department in the late 1960s and early
1970s. They identified police officers who do not actively
solicit graft but will accept it when it comes along as grass
eaters. Meat eaters are officers who actively solicit
opportunities for financial gain. A code of silence exists among
police officers, making the investigation of corruption
difficult.
Is police corruption part of the nature of policing, or is it the
result of a few bad officers bringing down all of policing? The
systemic theory of corruption suggests the former. The rotten-
apple theory of corruption suggests the latter. The rotten-apple
theory would support the pre-dispositional theory of police
behavior. The systemic theory of corruption supports the
sociological theory of behavior.
Kappeler, Sluder, and Alpert identified four types of corruption
in officers' dealings with drugs. Use corruption involves police

officers using drugs. Economic corruption involves police
attempting to seek personal gain. Police violence is the use of
force to obtain confessions. The subjugation of a defendant's
rights may involve planting drugs on a suspect. Noble-cause
corruption occurs when the police use questionable means to
achieve a good end.
Module 6
CRJ 307: Police, Society, and Community Service
Module 6
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT 6
Please read Chapters 9 and 10. Then answer the following
essay questions. Each essay question should be at least one page
in length, double spaced, one inch margins, 12 pt. font, Times
New Roman, APA Format and must include both citations and
references.
Essays:
Identify several of the differences between internal
investigations and criminal investigations.
Chart the history of the civil review board. Discuss the three
different eras.
The authors cite four limitations of professional and ethical
standards. List and discuss those four limitations.
Chapter 9 Summary
Chapter 9 looks at police behavior and the use of force and
coercion. The police are authorized to use force to maintain
order and gain compliance.

Many studies have been conducted examining the police use of
force during interactions with citizens. One such study was
conducted by Reiss (1967). In over 5,000 observations of
police–citizen interactions, Reiss found that almost 60 percent
of the citizens behaved in a civil manner toward the police. In
those 5,000 interactions, the police made an arrest in less than 5
percent of the encounters. Most citizen encounters with the
police involved the citizen requesting help.
The Bureau of Justice Statistics conducted the Police–Public
Contact Survey in 1996. This survey found that 21 percent of
the population had face-to-face contact with the police in 1996;
0.6 percent of the population had been handcuffed by the police
in 1996.
The police are trained to use a continuum of force. This
continuum starts with just the presence of the police to be able
to control the situation. As the continuum increases, the police
increase the amount of force. At the far end of the continuum is
the police use of deadly force. Between the extremes are the use
of firm grips, the use of pain points, and impact techniques. The
police are trained in the use of firearms, pepper spray, self-
defense techniques, officer survival, flashlights, and canines.
The chapter outlines three types of conflict involving the use of
force. Type 1 conflicts involve the law and departmental policy
supporting the use of force by the police, but parts of the
community do not support the use of force. Type 1 conflicts
occur most often in minority neighborhoods. Type 2 conflicts
occur when there are differences between the law and
departmental policy. High-speed chases may be an issue in Type
2 conflicts. Type 3 conflicts occur when the officer's behavior
is approved of by the community but not the law and
departmental policy. The potential for such conflicts may occur
with community-oriented policing.

Although authorized to utilize force, sometimes the police abuse
that authority. This could include physical abuse, verbal and
psychological abuse, legal abuse, and violations of civil rights.
Physical abuse was commonplace in the 1930s. The police
would use the third degree.
In addition to the use of force, the police may utilize deception
with the suspect. The police are permitted to use deception as
long as they do not make promises they are not authorized to
make.
The Rodney King beating is included in the discussion of police
brutality and excessive force. In looking at police brutality at
the turn of the century, one view is that there is a problem.
Human Rights Watch has stated that there is no effective system
of police accountability. Citizens have brought suit against the
police but have not been very successful in court.
Another view of police brutality does not believe that it is a
problem. This perspective of brutality places blame on the
media for over-sensationalizing police behavior.
In the police use of deadly force, deadly force is used with the
intent to cause great bodily injury or death. The FBI, the
National Center for Health Statistics, and studies of individual
cities maintain data on police behavior resulting in death. It is
estimated that the police killed 13,000 people from 1949 to
1990. Environmental and departmental factors may influence
the use of deadly force by the police. Environmental factors
include the neighborhoods where the police work. High-crime
areas increase the risk of deadly force. Regarding departmental
factors, police agencies with restrictive shooting policies have
reduced the frequency of deadly force.
Officer factors influence the use of deadly force. The perception

of whether a threat exists and how often the officer is exposed
to threats may affect the officer's use of deadly force. Off-duty
officers are involved in as many as 15 to 20 percent of the
incidents of deadly force. The race of the officer is also
significant in the examination of deadly force. African
American officers are more likely to use deadly force and to be
the victims of deadly force. This is because they often live and
work in high crime areas. It also appears that female officers
use deadly force less often than do male officers.
Evidence suggests that the race of the suspect influences the use
of force. African American and Hispanic minorities are more
likely to be shot by the police.
Under the fleeing-felon rule, the police were justified in using
deadly force on a felony suspect who was fleeing a crime scene.
Changes in departmental policy and changes in the law have
called for alternatives to the fleeing-felon rule. Many
departments have adopted the defense-of-life shooting policy.
Since more departments have restricted the use of deadly force,
fewer citizens have been killed by the police. These limited
policies have not created an increase in the number of officers
being injured or killed by citizens.
Chapter 10 Summary
The police are the most visible representatives of the criminal
justice system. They are feared and respected at the same time.
However, the police are also human. Who has the responsibility
of controlling police behavior?
The control of police behavior may occur in two fundamentally
different ways. One way is through mechanisms of oversight.
There are mechanisms that are internal to the police
organization. These mechanisms include standard managerial

processes, internal complaint reviews, and early-warning
systems.
Standard managerial processes would include written directives.
Departmental policies, goals, objectives, procedures, and
regulations should be a part of the written directives for a
department. The directives provide guidance for the officers,
outline expected standards of behavior, and give direction for
training.
However, there are limitations of written directives. Much of
police work is discretionary. The directives certainly could not
cover every situation that the officer may encounter. The officer
may be left to make a split-second decision without having
directives for support.
Another mechanism is the internal investigation. It is the
responsibility of internal affairs to respond to citizen
complaints against police officers. Internal affairs would
conduct investigations against the officer in much the same way
as any other investigation conducted by a police agency. The
investigation may reveal that the complaint was justified. This
is a sustained complaint. An unsubstantiated complaint is one in
which there is no supporting evidence. Unfounded complaints
are those that did not occur as alleged by the complainant. If the
officer's behavior was justified and legal, then the officer will
be exonerated. If disciplinary action is taken against the officer,
it may range from termination of employment to demotion, to
probation, or reprimand.
There are several issues concerning internal investigations.
Location and personnel, orientation of internal affairs units, and
sustained complaints may influence citizens and the filing of
complaints. If an officer is disciplined, the officer has the right
to appeal the action. This may take the form of grievance
arbitration. One study found that grievance arbitration usually

reduces the amount of discipline by 50 percent.
The third internal mechanism is early-warning or early-
identification systems. Under this system, the officer's behavior
is monitored and management is notified when the behavior
crosses the line.
Another kind of oversight mechanism is outside the police
department. One such mechanism is the civilian review board.
The history of civil review may be traced through three
different eras. The first era (1960s) was at a time in which
reformers wanted politics removed from the police. The second
era (1970s) saw increases in public concern about the criminal
justice system and increases in public support for civil review.
The third era (1980s) saw the establishment of civil review
boards at a time in which the police were no longer so
suspicious of their presence.
Another external mechanism is the police auditor system. This
mechanism focuses on the police department and the policies
and procedures of the department. It does not focus on the
individual citizen complaints.
A third external mechanism is legal control. This obviously
would involve the use of the law—criminal, civil, and
administrative—in the control of police behavior.
Other efforts to control police behavior may involve
professional standards and ethical standards. The policing
occupation has been moving toward professionalization. In
order to be considered a profession, certain criteria must be
met. Autonomy, a unique body of knowledge, education and
training, certification, and a commitment to service are the
criteria used to judge whether an occupation is a true
profession.

Ethical standards are a very effective way of controlling
behavior. The police have a code of ethics to be strived for.
Given the unique nature of policing, one may look at the
different ethical perspectives and how they may apply to police
behavior. Ethical formalism places a moral worth on doing one's
duty. Ethical utilitarianism determines what is morally good or
bad by the results of one's actions. The ends are more important
than the means. Ethical relativism approaches good and bad
from the perspective that what is considered good varies with
the particular values of the individual or group.
Professional and ethical standards may be limited when trying
to control police behavior. First, the standards may be a good
model but fail to have an impact on the day-to-day police
behavior. The unique nature of policing may limit the
effectiveness of the controls. The fact that policing is
unpredictable limits that effectiveness. Third, justification for
behavior may be applied to any of the ethical perspectives in
such a way that the police will always be right. Finally, there
exists an informal code of ethics among police. This informal
code may be used more in the day-to-day activities of the
police.
Module 7
CRJ 307: Police, Society, and Community Service
Module 7
HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT 7
Please read Chapter 11. Then answer the following essay
questions. Each essay question should be at least one page in
length, double spaced, one inch margins, 12 pt. font, Times New
Roman, APA Format and must include both citations and

references.
Essays:
Discuss the difference between the identity of the police
woman
and the
police
woman.
Explain how deliberate indifference to sexual harassment may
expose the department to liability.
Explain the findings in the case of
Griggs v. Duke Power Company
as it relates to policing.
Chapter 11 Summary
Chapter 11 addresses legal issues for the police. Of course,
many of the legal issues faced by the police will be from the
Fourth Amendment rights of search and seizure. The police
must have probable cause in order to secure a search warrant or
an arrest warrant. The case of
Brinegar v. U.S.
(1949) indicated that "probable cause exists where the facts and
circumstances within the officers' knowledge, and of which they
have reasonably trustworthy information, are sufficient in
themselves to warrant a belief by a man of reasonable caution
that a crime is being committed." This is a higher legal
standard than reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion is
based on objective facts and logical conclusions that crime has
been or is about to be committed.
Alabama v. White
(1990) declared that reasonable suspicion is a lower standard

than probable cause.
Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment may
be inadmissible in court because of the exclusionary rule.
Evidence illegally obtained is inadmissible in court. An
extension of the exclusionary rule is the fruit of the poisonous
tree doctrine. This doctrine states that illegally obtained
evidence used to secure further evidence must also be
excluded.
Terry v. Ohio
(1968) outlined the requirements for a stop and frisk. The
police may briefly detain an individual and frisk the outer
clothing of the individual if have a reasonable suspicion that the
individual may be armed. This type of search is limited to
looking for weapons that may harm the officer.
Minnesota v. Dickerson
made it clear that drugs found during a stop and frisk must the
excluded as evidence.
Fourth Amendment requirements would cover arrest situations,
in that an arrest is a seizure.
U.S. v. Watson
(1976) stated that the police do not need a warrant for routine
felony arrests made in public. However,
Payton v. New York
(1981) requires the police to secure a warrant for felony arrests
in a private home unless exigent circumstances are present.
Once the subject is arrested, the police may search the area
under the immediate control of the arrestee without needing a
warrant, as declared in
Chimel v. California
(1969).
The police are permitted to make a protective sweep through the
house to search for individuals that make pose a safety risk to

the police. This is limited to a search for individuals, not
evidence, as stated in
Maryland v. Buie
(1990).
The police are permitted to make warrantless searches in
looking to secure property. Evidence in plain view of the police
may be subject to seizure without needing a warrant. However,
the case of
Arizona v. Hicks
made it clear that not all cases may be that "plain." In this case
the police turned around a suspected stolen stereo receiver to
look at the serial number and the court ruled that a search.
Open fields do not fall until Fourth Amendment protections.
This was the ruling in
Oliver v. U.S.
(1984).
California v. Greenwood
(1988) ruled that abandoned property is not protected either.
The police are permitted to pursue individuals into buildings,
including homes, without a warrant. This is the hot pursuit
exception.
The police may ask an individual for consent to search and a
warrant would not be required. The citizen has the right to
refuse to grant consent, but the police do not need to advise the
citizen of that right to refuse (
Schneckloth v. Bustamonte,
1973).
The issue of vehicle searches and the right to search has often
been the subject of case law.
Carroll v. United States
(1925) allows for the police to search the vehicle if it is mobile

and the police have probable cause.
Wyoming v. Houghton
(1999) allows for the search of passengers' belongings with
probable cause. If the police make a custodial arrest, they are
also permitted to search the passenger's compartment of the
vehicle without a warrant, even without probable cause (
New York v. Belton
, 1981). However, if the police only issue a citation, they are
not permitted to search the vehicle without probable cause
(Knowles v. Iowa, 1998).
The courts have also allowed pretextual stops. This would be a
situation in which the police use the stop for a minor traffic
violation as the pretext to a more serious violation. The court
upheld this practice in the case of
Whren v. U.S.
(1996).
The case of
Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz
authorized police sobriety checkpoints.
One may look at the Fifth Amendment regarding interrogations
and confessions. The case of
Miranda v. Arizona
(1966) requires the police to advise the defendant of his or her
rights in cases of custodial interrogations. If the individual is in
custody and the police are going to ask questions specific to the
crime, they must advise the defendant of his or her right to
remain silent and right to an attorney before beginning the
questioning.
However, when there is a matter of public safety, the police
may be permitted to ask questions of the defendant without first
advising the defendant of his or her rights. This public safety
exception was defined in the case of

New York v. Quarles
(1984). The threat to public safety will supersede the
defendant's rights against self-incrimination.
The inevitable discovery exception was the result of the case of
Nix v. Williams
(1984). This case first appeared before the Supreme Court
under the citation of
Brewer v. Willliams
(1977). At that time the Court reasoned that the speech made
by the police was the functional equivalent to an interrogation
and any responses made by the defendant would be inadmissible
in court. However, in the
Nix
case, the Court ruled that the police would have inevitably
found the girl's body, even without the statements from
Williams. Therefore, the statements made by Williams would be
admissible in court.
By the very nature of the job, the police may be subject to civil
liability. The police may be sued in state court for violations of
state law. They may also be sued in federal court for violations
of constitutionally protected rights. Under state torts the police
may be held liability for an intentional tort. This will involve
behavior that is specifically designed to cause some type of
injury or harm. The police did not have to intend the specific
harm that resulted but did intend to enter into the behavior that
led to the harm. Some common forms of intentional torts would
include wrongful death, assault, false arrest, and excessive use
of force.
Negligent torts are for behavior that is inadvertent and
unreasonable and results in damage or injury. To be successful
in a claim of negligence, the plaintiff must prove a legal duty, a
breach of duty, proximate cause, and actual damage or injury.
Failure to prove all four of the requirements results in a finding

for the defendant.
A civil liability case may be heard in federal court if the police
violated an individual's constitutional or federally protected
right. Title 42 of the U.S. Code, Section 1983 provides relief
for the citizen. To be successful in a Section 1983 action, the
plaintiff must show that the police were acting under the color
of state law and that the violation was of a constitutionally
protected right. The police have several defenses available to a
Section 1983 claim. Defenses include absolute immunity,
qualified immunity, probable cause, and good faith.
The philosophy of community policing may lend itself to
increases in civil liability. Because of the greater contact with
the public, the police may be exposed to more opportunities for
civil liability. However, the police may decrease their contact
with the public if they fear a lawsuit. This is known as de-
policing.