Police in America. Steven G. Brandl
that carry the antidote.32 The biggest challenge is usually the cost of equipping all patrol cars with the medication, as its cost is approximately $100 per dose. While police officers armed with naloxone can save lives by being in the right place at the right time, it must be understood that these measures do very little in addressing the deeper and more complex problem of opioid abuse in our society.
Naloxone is one way by which drug abuse affects the job of police officers. Drug use also creates significant law enforcement work for the police in terms of responding to and investigating crimes committed by drug users to support an addiction, enforcement of illegal drug sale crimes, and dealing with interpersonal conflicts that result from drug abuse.
Several observations can be made regarding this classification of activities and responsibilities. First, over time police departments have emphasized some responsibilities over others. For example, during the political era, service to politicians and order maintenance were the focus of the majority of police departments. In the reform era, law enforcement was the central objective. In the community problem-solving era, service to citizens and order maintenance are probably most strongly emphasized.
Second, the lines that differentiate service, law enforcement, and order maintenance are at times rather blurry. For example, when the police ask a citizen to turn down his or her music because the neighbors are complaining, it would best be considered order maintenance. When the police return and issue a citation for loud music, it would be law enforcement. Police patrol could be considered a service to the community, order maintenance, or perhaps even law enforcement.
Photo 4.6 The police sometimes find themselves in a difficult position: They are supposed to preserve the public peace, but at the same time, they are supposed to protect the right of people to protest.
Protest Against Racism and Hate in Chicago/Anadolu Agency/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Third, law enforcement and order maintenance may conflict. For example, citizens have the right to protest, and the police are supposed to protect that right, but the police are also supposed to preserve the public order. Sometimes the police make arrests of citizens who protest. This conflict underscores the difficult position the police sometimes find themselves in.
Fourth, some activities performed by the police, especially service activities, can be provided by other agencies. For example, citizens who lock themselves out of their cars can rely on locksmiths, not the police. Residents in some community neighborhoods rely on private security companies to provide or supplement patrol. Some departments contract with private companies to help investigate vehicle accidents.33 The reasoning is that, by reducing work demands of the police, it allows the police to focus on other more essential responsibilities. Conversely, some departments voluntarily take on service responsibilities that are more in line with the mandate of other agencies; “scoop and run,” as described in the introduction to this chapter, is an example.
Finally, different police departments emphasize different aspects of the policing role. A police department is not a “one size fits all” entity. One community may have disparate expectations of their police compared to another community. For example, in his classic book, Varieties of Police Behavior,34 James Q. Wilson identified three styles of policing reflected by police departments: the legalistic, watchman, and service-oriented styles. In departments that adhere to a legalistic style of policing, enforcement of the law is the top priority. Not surprisingly, officers in legalistic departments make a lot of arrests and issue a lot of citations. In departments that follow a watchman style of policing, order maintenance and controlling disorder are the top priority. Police departments that reflect the service-oriented style of policing believe citizen satisfaction is the top priority. The main goal is to serve the citizens of the community; arrests are made when necessary, but police action is mostly geared toward providing services and assistance to citizens.
legalistic style of policing: Policing style in which enforcing the law is the top priority.
watchman style of policing: Policing style that focuses on order maintenance.
service-oriented style of policing: Policing style that maintains citizen satisfaction is the top priority.
To illustrate the different styles of policing, consider a situation in which a police officer discovers juveniles who are in violation of a curfew ordinance. In the legalistic departments, the juveniles would most likely be issued citations. In the watchman-style departments, they would probably be brought to the police department and their parents called to pick them up. In the service-oriented departments, the juveniles would most likely be taken home to their parents, perhaps without legal consequences.
Just like police departments may have certain priorities and orientations, so may police officers.35 It is not a stretch of the imagination to think that police officers bring their own ideas, preferences, styles, and belief systems to the job. These attitudes relate to officers’ personalities and their occupational outlooks or the way they view their role. The fact is that the role of the police varies based not only on the police department but also the officers who work within a department.
Main Points
We have the police for various reasons:To control crimeTo deal with situations where force may be neededTo respond to people with special needsTo handle situations where something ought not to be happening and about which something needs to be done immediatelyTo enforce the law, maintain order, and provide services
When police enforce the law, they give it meaning. The police do not pay equal attention to all laws or to all offenders.
Although law enforcement is an important function of the police, as it is critical to the functioning of the entire criminal justice system, the police spend relatively little time on law enforcement activities.
Crime control is a difficult, if not impossible, mandate. This means that because the police cannot control the factors associated with crime, they cannot control crime.
Many strategies used to try to achieve the crime control mandate are controversial, such as pedestrian and vehicle stops.
Crime control is difficult to measure. Crime statistics are flawed, and variation in crime levels is not easily attributed to police actions.
Ideally, crime can be controlled through the incapacitation and/or deterrence of criminals. Deterrence is difficult for statisticians to measure and for the police to provide. Some people do not need to be deterred; other people cannot be deterred.
One of the most important tools of the police is their ability and authority to use force; that is a defining feature of the police occupation. However, police use of force can be controversial.
Not only are some functions of the police difficult or impossible to achieve, some conflict with one another.
A police department is not a “one size fits all” entity. Different communities have different expectations of their police. As a result, departments may emphasize different aspects of the policing role (law enforcement, order maintenance, or service). The outlooks of police officers may also determine the role orientation of their departments.
Important Terms
Review key terms with eFlashcards at edge.sagepub.com/brandl2e.
deterrence 69
gate keepers 64
incapacitation 69
law enforcement 74
legalistic style of policing 75
order maintenance 74
service