Criminal Justice

1. © 2014 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved
Chapter 6
Policing:
Issues and
Challenges
Scott Moller, JD
Introduction to Administration of Justice

2. © 2014 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
Describe dangers, conflicts, and stress that police face.
Describe police corruption and ways to build integrity.
Describe the police working personality and subculture.
Describe the changed role of US police post-9/11.
CHAPTEROBJECTIVES
6.5 Describe civil liability issues associated with policing.
6.6
6.7
6.8
6.9
Show why professionalism and ethics are vital in policing.
Summarize guidelines for using force and for determining
when excessive force has been used.
Describe racial profiling and biased policing, including why
they have become significant issues in policing.
Suggest ways to address diversity issues in policing.

3. Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.1
Describe the police working
personality, relating it to police
subculture.

4. Police Subculture/Working Personality6.1
4
Police subculture: Set of informal values which characterize the police as
a distinct community with a common identity; informal socialization plays
a bigger role than police academy training.
Watch these: End of Watch video (3:01) | Training Day video (4:58)
Police Personality: Characteristics
• Authoritarian – to control emotional, confrontational situations
• Suspicious, Cynical, Secretive – useful in investigations
• Loyal, Honorable – necessary to uphold the law
• Conservative, Individualistic, Dogmatic/rules-oriented
• Defensive against outsiders – code of silence video (2:38)
Police Personality: Sources
• Some aspects exist in people drawn to police work, e.g.,
conservatives defending middle-class values
• Other aspects are created via
socialization into the police subculture
How can police subculture be changed?
• External: investigations, monitoring
• Internal: new hiring and training practices
• Internalized: – focus on professionalism

5. Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.2
Describe different types of police
corruption and possible methods
for building police integrity.

6. Police Corruption6.2
6
While most police perform honorably, policing is ripe for corruption
(abuse of police authority for gain) because it is highly discretionary,
coercive, and routinely takes place in private settings, in the presence of
witnesses often regarded as unreliable.
Police corruption has been divided into two categories:
1. Occupational deviance – for personal gain, e.g., bribes
2. Abuse of authority – for organizational gain, e.g., using physical
force to coerce confessions
A History of US Police Corruption
• 1931 Wickersham Commission – Political Era ends; Reform Era begins
• 1970 Knapp Commission - Video: Protection Rackets (3:35)
• Video: Serpico’s dilemma (5:01)| Video: Serpico now (4:28)
• Divided corrupt police into:
1. Grass Eaters – passively accept corrupt activity
2. Meat Eaters – actively seek corrupt activity
• 1993 Mollen Commission – described more aggressive corruption
• 2000 LAPD Rampart Division (CRASH)
• Videos: 1 (15:00) 2 (15:00) | News (2:54)

7. High Level Corruption
Violent Crime – abusing, torturing, killing
suspects
Denial of Civil Rights – routinized schemes
to deny rights, planting evidence, etc.
Criminal Enterprise – reselling drugs, etc.
Property Crimes – Police theft, etc.
Major Bribes
Role Malfeasance – biased testimony,
destroying evidence
Being Above “Inconvenient Laws”
Minor Bribes
Playing Favorites – letting friends go
Gratuities – free meals, coffee
Low level corruption
Philadelphia Police
Corruption Exposed,
Possible Remedies –
video (2:27)
Range of Police Corruption6.2

8. Building Police Integrity
8
WHY IS CORRUPTION
DIFFICULT TO CONTROL?
• Officers reluctant to report
corrupt activities
• Administrators reluctant to
acknowledge the existence of
corruption
• Corrupt transactions benefit the parties
involved
• Lack of victims willing to report
corruption
• Differential association says that
frequent continued association makes
associates similar
• Internal affairs – The branch of a police
organization tasked with investigating
charges of wrongdoing
• Drug testing of police is lawful where there is
reasonable suspicion of abuse.
6.2
Law Enforcement Oath
of Honor
On my honor, I will
never betray my
badge, my integrity, my
character or the public
trust. I will always have
the courage to hold
myself and others
accountable for our
actions. I will always
uphold the
Constitution, my
community, and the
agency I serve.
Law Enforcement
Code of Ethics (POST)

9. Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.3
Describe dangers, conflicts,
challenges, and sources of stress
that police officers face in their
work.

10. Dangers of Police Work6.3
10
On any given day, officers are exposed to:
• External dangers
• Violence, bites, cuts, hazardous substances
• Disease, bodily fluids, body removal
• Internal dangers
• Stress and fatigue – long, irregular hours, facing
stressful situations, held to high standards, seeing
people at their worst, frustration
One week after Hurricane Katrina, 2 NOPD officer suicides:
1. Paul Accardo (Dept. Spokesperson)
2. Officer Lawrence Celestine
Video (27:37): Trooper Bobby Smith, Visions of Courage

11. Violence in the Line of Duty
11
According to an FBI study, most slain officers:
• Good-natured and conservative in use of force
• Perceived as well-liked, friendly, laid-back, and easygoing
• Failed to wear protective vests
6.3
US Officers Killed in the
Line of Duty, 2011
Police deaths in decline:
• Increased officer
awareness
• Body armor
• Less-lethal weapons
• Mandatory cuffing
• Dashboard videos to
critique officer behavior
• Better armed police
Areas of concern:
• Need to educate
police about AIDS,
anthrax, contamination

12. Sources of Officer Stress and Fatigue6.3

13. Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.4
Describe the changed role of
American police in the post-9/11
environment.

14. 14
Post 9/11 Policing6.4
Agencies at all levels now devote more time
and resources to counter-terrorism.
1. Intelligence Led Policing – Scientific use of
intelligence, broader than a single criminal
investigation
• Tactical – hardening targets, catching
criminals
• Strategic – developing strategies and
allocating resources, seeing trends
2. Information Sharing and Anti-terrorism
• LEO – National computer
communications and information service
• NLETS – State criminal histories, homeland
alert messages, immigration databases,
AMBER alerts, hazardous materials
notifications
3. Fusion Centers – JTTF, RTTF
4. National Criminal Intelligence Sharing Plan

15. Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.5
Describe civil liability issues
associated with policing, including
common sources of civil suits
against the police.

16. Remedies and Sources of Police Liability6.5
Remedies for Police Misconduct
1. Civil Remedies – e.g., sec. 1983 civil rights suits, Bivens actions
2. Criminal Charges against officers - Idaho v. Horiuchi (2001)
3. Non-judicial Remedies – e.g., suspension, demotion, termination
4. Exclusionary Rule Remedies
Sources of Police Liability
1. Failure to protect property in police custody
2. Negligent care of suspects in police custody
3. Failure to render proper emergency medical assistance
4. Failure to prevent a foreseeable crime
5. Failure to aid private citizens
6. Lack of due regard for the safety of others
7. False arrest/False imprisonment
8. Inappropriate use of force, assault, battery
9. Malicious prosecution
10. Violation of constitutional rights
11. Pattern of unfair/inequitable treatment
12. Racial profiling

17. Civil Suits
17
The most common sources of civil liability are assault, battery, false
imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.
• Biscoe v. Arlington County (1984) – police liable for bystander injury
• City of Canton, Ohio v. Harris (1989) – police failure to train
• 1983 lawsuit – Federal civil suit brought under Title 42, Sec. 1983, US
Code against any officer who denies constitutional right to life, liberty,
or property without due process
• Bivens Action (Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Agents (1971)) – A civil
suit brought against federal government officials for denying the
constitutional rights of others
In the past, the doctrine of sovereign immunity barred legal actions
against state and local governments, but that is changing.
• Qualified immunity
– Hunter v. Bryant (1991) – arrestee sued Secret Service agents
– Saucier v. Katz (2001) – protestors sued federal agents
– Pearson et al v. Callahan (2009) – held Saucier v Katz test for
qualified immunity, while valid, is not mandatory
6.5

18. Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.6
Describe racial profiling and biased
policing, including why they have
become significant issues in policing.

19. Racial Profiling and Biased Policing
19
• Racial profiling – Police-initiated action based on race,
ethnicity, or national origin, rather than behavior
– Violates 14th Amendment equal protection
– Harms police/community cooperation
– Is socially divisive
6.6
Racially Biased Policing: A Principled
Response
• 2001 PERF report recommends that
supervisors:
– Monitor activity reports
– Conduct spot checks and regular
sampling of in-car videotapes
and radio transmissions for bias

20. Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.7
Summarize guidelines for using force
and for determining when excessive
force has been used.

21. Police Use of Force: Cases6.7
21
Police use of force (deadly or non-deadly) must be objectively
reasonable under the totality of the circumstances.
Graham v. Connor (1989) – Diabetic reaction misconstrued as
intoxication led to police physical encounter, broken foot, cuts, bruises.
Rule: Analyze excessive force claims under 4th Am. reasonableness
standard, not substantive due process. Video (7:29)
Scott v. Harris (2007) – Harris led police on high speed chase, squad
rammed his car, rendering him quadriplegic, he sued for excessive
force.
Rule: High-speed car chase threatened bystanders; ramming was
reasonable under the 4th Am., even placing fleeing driver at risk of
serious injury or death.
Tennessee v. Garner, 471 US 1 (1985) – Police shot fleeing burglar, per
fleeing felon rule – common-law rule that authorizes deadly force to
prevent the escape of all felony suspects, whatever the circumstances.
USSC held this rule is constitutionally unreasonable.

22. FBI Policy: Use of Deadly Force6.7
22
FEDERAL DEADLY FORCE POLICY – USED BY FBI
1. Defense of life – agents may use deadly force when they have
probable cause to believe the subject poses imminent danger
of serious physical injury or death to others
2. Fleeing felon – agents may use deadly force to prevent
escape if they have probable cause to believe subject has
committed a felony involving the infliction or threatened
infliction of serious physical injury or death, and escape would
pose an imminent danger of serious physical injury or death to
others
3. Verbal warning – if feasible, and if doing so would not increase
danger, agents should give a verbal warning before using
deadly force
4. Warning shots – agents may not fire warning shots
5. Vehicles – agents may not fire weapons solely to disable
moving vehicles

23. Police Use of Force Continuum6.7

24. Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.8
Demonstrate why
professionalism and ethics are
important in policing today.

25. Calls for
Increased
Police
Professionalis
m
Issues
25
Corruption
Danger
Liability
Police Professionalism6.8

26. Education and Hiring
26
• Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) program
– Official program that sets standards for state, local
police
• Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in
Georgia for non-FBI federal officers
• Benefits of hiring educated officers
– Better written reports
– Enhanced communication skills
– More effective job performance
– Fewer citizen complaints
– Greater initiative
– Wiser use of discretion
– More sensitive to racial/ethnic issues
– Fewer disciplinary problems
6.8
Recruitment and
Selection Criteria
– Personal interviews
– Basic skills tests
– Physical agility
measurements
– Medical exams
– Drug tests
– Psychological
evaluations
– Background
investigations

27. Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.9
Identify issues related to ethnic and
gender diversity in policing, and suggest
ways of addressing them.

28. 28
Racial Diversity in Policing6.9
The ranks of US police forces today display
much greater ethnic diversity than ever
before.
From 1990 to 2003:
• Number of black police officers increased
by 14,800, or 37%
• Number of Hispanic police officers
increased by 22,300 or 98%
2006 study found black police executives
generally well accepted and integrated.
Annetta Nunn,
joined the
Birmingham
Police, per a
consent decree
brought on by a
discrimination
lawsuit. She was
promoted to
Sergeant, then
Lieutenant, then
Captain, then
Deputy Chief on
March 24, 2000,
and finally Chief
of Police in 2003.

29. Gender Diversity in Policing
29
• Women as effective police officers
– Though underutilized in some departments, female officers are no
longer viewed as a unique presence in law enforcement.
– Example: Vicki Myers is chief of both Pacific Grove and Seaside
police departments video (3:02)
• Benefits of increased female officer presence
– Tend to use less physical force than male officers (more likely to
use chemical deterrents) ; less often accused of using excessive
force
– May help to defuse/de-escalate confrontations
– May possess enhanced communication skills
– Facilitate cooperation and trust required in community policing
– May respond more effectively to incidents of violence against
women
6.9
Departments are actively
recruiting female officers
Police Chief Magazine
SDPD Recruiting article

30. © 2014 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved
The process of informal socialization plays a bigger role than
formal police academy training in police subculture.
Internal Affairs investigates charges of corruption.
Police face physical and emotional hazards at work.
9/11 changed the focus of police to fight terrorism.
Police risk both criminal and civil liability in their work.
CHAPTERSUMMARY
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
Anti-racial profiling efforts include monitoring activity
reports and communications, and spot checks.
A professional police officer demonstrates strictly ethical
behavior both on and off duty.
6.6
6.7
6.8
There are five levels of use of force for police.