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Pop Quiz

Pop Quiz. Bittner argues there are 3 traits commonly associated with police work which affects how people view the police. Provide me with one of them (or impress me and provide all three). The First Sentence.

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Pop Quiz

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  1. Pop Quiz Bittner argues there are 3 traits commonly associated with police work which affects how people view the police. Provide me with one of them (or impress me and provide all three).

  2. The First Sentence • “The abandonment of the norm-derivative approach to the definition of the role of the police in modern society immediately directs attention to a level of social reality that is unrelated to the ideal formulations.” HUH?!

  3. Police Definitions • The police are an agency of government which enforces the law and keeps the piece • The police are a bunch of hot shots who get their kicks from hassling minorities, college students, and other people who are trying to have a good time • The police are a bunch of brave men and women who fight the forces of evil and make the world safe for decent people • The police are a weapon of the state, used to oppress the working classes, the poor, and minorities

  4. The problem • Definitions are normative—that is, they are based on what we think the police are (the ends), not what they actually do (the means). • We often think of police as upholding the law, but what they actually do are largely independent of this objective. This causes problems for police.

  5. Structural Traits 3 structural traits commonly associated with police work: (leads to normative definitions) • Police work is a tainted occupation • Police work is morally ambiguous and calls for quick solutions to complex problems • Police surveillance is inherently discriminatory

  6. A better definition Bittner’s objective definition: “The role of the police is best understood as a mechanism for the distribution of non-negotiably coercive force employed in accordance with the dictates of an intuitive grasp of situational exigencies.”

  7. Primary Function: Use of Force Bittner’s 3 arguments: • It fits better with the demands made of the police. • It gives better accounting of the actual allocation of police manpower and resources • It lends unity to all police activity

  8. In Sum • We value peace, and have banished violence from the CJ process, but know that force must still be used, so we’ve created the police. • The police are the only occupation in the country which can legitimately employ force against the citizenry. This is a special trust endowed by society, and police should be largely judged on how well they administer their coercive capacity. • Problem: how can a society of peace acceptably judge force, when it is largely opposed to it?

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