Week 6: Police Organization & Roles

1. Week 6: Police Organization & Roles • Chapter deals with three questions about police departments (which are related): • What are police supposed to do? (the “Police Mandate”) • What do they actually do? (the “Police Role” & Policing Styles) • How are police departments set up? (Organizational structure)

2. 1. Police Mandate: What are police supposed to do & how can they do it? • “Mandate” = Mission + Authority • Police Mission contains multiple goals: • Law enforcement • Order Maintenance • Public Service • Problem solving • Protection • Note: • Lack of agreement about goals • Goals may be broad & mutually conflicting

3. 1. the “Police Mandate” (cont.) • Police also defined by what they are authorized to do in fulfilling the mission • We authorize police to: • Use coercive methods • Engage in search and seizure • Use force and weapons • Demand compliance from citizens • Use other extraordinary methods • If Mission is inconsistent, then the police mandate becomes a “Mission Impossible”

4. 2. Police Role: What Police Do • “The Functions and Activities by which police seek to carry out their mission” • Patrol Function • Investigation Function • Support Function • Special Services & other functions • “Policing Styles” – refer to distinctive strategies by which police carry out their mission

5. 2. Police Role • Note distinctive features of police work that shape how police role is carried out • Need for quick decisions • Misinformation & incomplete information • Discretion and independence • “Dirty work” & moral ambiguity • Conflict & opposition • Danger & aggression • Importance of authority & obedience

6. 2. Police Role & “Styles” • Organizational Styles (J.Q. Wilson) • Legalistic style – arrest-oriented • Watchman style – problem-solving-oriented • Service style – service-provision-oriented • Individual Officer Styles • “Enforcers”: emphasize order • “Idealists”: emphasize due process • “Pragmatists”: emphasize a balance of the two • “Realists”: emphasize neither

7. 2. Police Role & “Styles” • What determines the style of policing? • Individuals who fill the role • Selection • Training • Organizational context • Structure • Culture • Community context • Political/Legal context • Technology • Broader cultural setting and ideology

8. 2. Police Role (cont.) • Patrol Function = most basic and universal  AKA: the “heart” of policing? • Almost all officers enter policing as patrol officers • Small depts: all officers are patrol • Large depts: largest number of officers = patrol • Different kinds of patrol activities? • Generalpatrol vs. Focusedpatrols: • Focus on specific areas (hot spots) or specific activities (drug trade; sexual deviance; gangs; special problems) • Methods of Patrol • Most common = In-vehicle • Alternative methods: foot; bike; boat; horse • Reactive vs. Proactive patrols = important diff

9. 2. Police Role -- Patrol (cont.) • Proactive vs. Reactive Patrol? • Reactive = responding to reports of crime • Most crimes identified through citizen calls • Response time = critical factor? • Proactive = efforts to prevent crime • Deterrent patrols = being visible • Aggressive patrols = making arrests & stops • Problem-solving patrols = identifying troubles • Outreach patrols = connecting to community

10. 2. Police Role -- Patrol (cont.) • Experiments on Patrol Strategies • Kansas City Patrol study – deterrent patrol • Illustrate the pros and cons of field experiments • Other studies of aggressive and targeted patrol  sometimes show more success • Notable experimental patrol programs: • Data-driven/targeted patrols (COMSTAT) • Aggressive Order Maintenance patrol (NYC) (“zero-tolerance” patrolling) • Programs in other cities?

11. 2. Police Role -- Patrol (cont.) • Evaluating Patrol Strategies • Valid, objective evaluations are difficult • Research is limited to single, selected cases • Hard to generalize to other times & places • Different studies show different results • Avoid simple general conclusions about patrol methods • The results have been mixed and complex • Can we draw strong conclusions from New York? • How about other cities?

12. 2. Police Role - Investigation • Investigative Function: collecting information to solve cases • To identify suspected offenders for apprehension • To locate evidence and witnesses for prosecution • General Investigation • By patrol officers (first-responders) • By detectives (follow-up investigatopms) • Half of cases are dropped  not investigated further • Most investigations last only a few days or hours • Most cases not solved by detective work or crime scene analysis (robberies; burglaries; thefts; arsons) • What about CSI? It combines & confuses 3 jobs

13. 2. Police Role -- Investigation (cont.) • Focused or targeted investigations • By detectives in special units or tasks • Limited to specific types of crimes or problems • Drugs; vice; financial crimes; fraud; cybercrimes • Proactive investigations – to generate info • Undercover • Stings • Raise considerable legal questions of propriety (e.g., entrapment) • Also raise practical questions of value (e.g., effectiveness; corruption; misconduct)

14. 2. Police Role -- Investigation (cont.) • Summary of research on investigations: • Most cases = unsolved • Most investigations = very brief (a few hours) • Intensive follow-up investigations = rare • Initial investigations by patrol officers = critical in clearing case • Delay in calling police = greatly reduces chances of solving case • Technology is valuable in some cases but over-rated in most

15. 3. Organizational structure of Policing • The Traditional Policing Model: • Quasi-military framework • Strong emphasis on law enforcement (over service and order maintenance) • Primary emphasis on reactive, coercive actions • Police officers defined as professional crime-fighters • Strong reliance on technology  Used to define “real policing”

16. 2. Police Role (cont.) • Criticisms of Traditional Model: • Generates police agency as a “closed system” (leading to an us-versus-them orientation) • Encourages a “warfare” mindset • Authoritarian structure produces cynicism, simplistic thinking, and informal evasions & deviance • Warfare framework often generates discrimination (profiling), coercion (brutality), & community conflict • Male-oriented and male-dominated • Ineffective in “protecting and serving” community

17. 2. Police Role (cont.) • Making changes to the Traditional Model? • Change police officers: selection; education • Change policing styles: patrolling; uniforms; coworking • Change management styles: TQM • Change police-community relations: DARE • Change police-management relations: civil service; unionization • Change organizational structures: hierarchy, centralization, communication, divisions

18. 2. Police Role (cont.) • Many tweaks & variations have been tried • Very few have been permanent or large-scale • Major alternative = “Community Oriented Policing (C.O.P.)” • Different model of social control & policing • Implies a major shift in thinking about how policing should be organized and done • a different model of police operations • a different model of police organization • A redefinition of “good policing”

19. 2. Police Role (cont.) • Widely introduced with federal legistation in 1994 • Set up the COPS office in U.S. Justice Dept. • COP model has 3 components: • Community Partnerships • Connection; communication; collaboration • Problem-Solving • Proactive and preventive  SARA strategy • Demilitarization • Decentralization; flattening; labor relations; evaluation

20. 2. Police Role (cont.) • COP calls for radical overhaul in police departments and police work • Implementing COP • Initial promotion and acceptance of COP • Strong advocates and strong Cynics and Critics • Federal money prompted widespread adoption • Widespread adoption of elements of COP • Full implementations of COP are very rare • Very little meaningful research on COP • Future of COP? At odds with Homeland Security?

21. 3. Organizational Structure: • Note: agency size is a major factor • Quasi-Military framework as dominant feature • Hierarchical rank & command structure • Closed system • Impersonality & detachment from community • Formalization • Professionalization • Military culture: group cohesion & use of force • Bureaucratic organization as a key variable • Division of labor, specialization, segmentation • Emphasis on standardization & accountability

22. 3. Organizational Structure: • Use of Organizational Charts to describe organizational structure • Shows how tasks are divided and valued • Shows how administration is organized • but not how communication and authority are actually patterned – e.g., chain of command, span of control • Also does not indicate anything about the organization culture and routine practices • Note the distinction between: • Occupational structure and culture • Organizational structure and culture

23. 4. Evaluating Police Performance • Competence in Police work • Difficulty in defining “good police work” • Difficulty in objectively assessing good police work • Reliance on easy to measure criteria • Reliance on “Law Enforcement” outcomes • Misconduct in Police work: • “Abuse of authority” • “Corruption” • How to police the police? • Anternal Affairs & administrative discipline • Police Review Boards • Criminal & Civil Liability?

24. Chief of Police Administrative Chief of Staff Business Manager Deputy Chief Patrol Division Investigative Division Support Division Administrative Division Professional Standards Communication Shift 1 Detectives Computer Services Shift 2 Major Crimes Community Relations Crime Lab & Records Shift 3 Special Operations Accounting Traffic Personnel Licenses & Permits C.O.P. Training Special Units Equipment Maintenance