Police in America. Steven G. Brandl
views toward the police are shaped by our experiences with officers, by other people’s experiences with officers, and by media portrayals.
Research provides a good basis on which to develop an accurate understanding of the police.
The United States is a free society because citizens have freedoms from the government, but this puts the police in a peculiar situation. Officers are expected not to infringe on citizens’ rights and to protect citizens’ rights, but at the same time, they are expected to regulate citizens’ conduct.
The Bill of Rights to the U.S. Constitution set forth the freedoms citizens have from the government.
The system of an elected government and increasing the transparency of law enforcement agencies are supposed to provide for accountability of the police to the citizenry.
There are many controversies and difficulties associated with policing:The police are expected to control crime but they do not control many of the factors associated with criminal behavior. In addition, they are reactive, they have to follow the law, and they have limited resources.Citizens may not cooperate with the police and may even do them harm.The police pay more attention to some crimes, some people, and some areas than others. This can lead to criticisms about overpolicing and underpolicing.The local police department is often the social agency of first resort for people with many different problems. The twenty-four-hour-a-day availability of the police compounds this issue.Police very often use discretion, or their own judgment, in making decisions. Police discretion can affect people’s lives in major ways. Often it involves taking action against someone in order to protect someone else. These decisions can be controversial.Discretion that relates to use of force is especially controversial.Measuring good police performance is problematic.The news and entertainment media do not accurately depict the police and their work. This can distort the reality of policing and/or create unrealistic expectations of the police.
In a fair and just society, the police are obligated to use their power and authority responsibly, fairly, and ethically.
Many ethical concerns for the police relate to whether they use unethical (dirty) means to achieve good goals.
Important Terms
Review key terms with eFlashcards at edge.sagepub.com/brandl2e.
Bill of Rights 6
dirty means 14
discretion 11
ethics 13
free society 5
good ends 14
impossible mandate 9
morality 13
overpolicing 10
underpolicing 10
Questions for Discussion and Review
Take a practice quiz at edge.sagepub.com/brandl2e.
1 Why might personal experience with officers not be a good basis on which to draw accurate conclusions about the police?
2 What does it mean to say that a society is free? In general, how does policing a free society differ from policing a not-so-free society?
3 How is it that a technology, such as police body-worn cameras, may increase transparency and accountability of a police agency?
4 How is it that a system of elected government is supposed to provide accountability of the police to citizens? Does this system actually provide for accountability?
5 Do the police have an impossible mandate? Why or why not?
6 What is it about police practice that raises concerns about overpolicing and underpolicing?
7 How can police use of discretion be controversial?
8 Why is good policing difficult to measure?
9 How do the media distort the realities of policing? Why is this distortion important to recognize and understand?
10 How do ethical issues most often arise in police work?
Fact or Fiction Answers
1 Fiction
2 Fact
3 Fiction
4 Fact
5 Fiction
6 Fact
7 Fiction
Media Library
View these videos and more in the interactive eBook version of this text!
Career Video
1.1: Why Is Policing so Difficult in a Democratic Society?
Criminal Justice in Practice
1.1: Crime Control v. Due Process
SAGE News Clip
1.1: Illinois—Cop Coaches
Descriptions of Images and Figures
Back to Figure
Data from the graph in percent are as follows. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter: 61.6. Rape, revised definition: 34.5. Robbery: 29.7. Aggravated assault: 53.3. Burglary: 13.5. Larceny-theft: 19.2. Motor vehicle theft: 13.7. Murder, nonnegligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault are categorized as violent crimes, whereas burglary, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft are categorized as property crimes.
Back to Figure
All data are approximate. In both the graphs, the horizontal axis ranges from 1960 to 2017. The first graph shows the violent crime rate. The vertical axis is labeled rate per 100,000 people, and ranges from 0 to 800 in increments of 100. The graph is plotted through (1960, 180), (1972, 400), (1977, 490), (1982, 600), (1986, 530), (1994, 770), (2004, 500), and (2017, 390). The second graph shows the property crime rate. The vertical axis is labeled rate per 100,000 people, and ranges from 0 to 6,000 in increments of 1,000. The graph is plotted through (1960, 1,800), (1972, 3,800), (1978, 4900), (1982, 5400), (1986, 4500), (1992, 5000), and (2017, 2200).
2 The History of the Police in America
©North Wind Picture Archives/Alamy Stock Photo
Objectives
After reading this chater you will be able to:
2.1 Explain why an understanding of police history is important
2.2 Identify and discuss the four eras of policing and the reasons why each era began and dissolved
2.3 Discuss the role of constables, watches, slave patrols, and sheriffs during the pre-police era
2.4 Describe how the first police departments in the country operated
2.5 Compare how the reform era of policing differed from the political era
2.6 Discuss why the 1960s were so significant for the police
2.7