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CHAPTER 5

PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS IN MODERN POLICING

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, students should:

1. List the three primary purposes of police patrol.

2. Indicate some investigation strategies that are considered aggressive.

3. Describe how forensic experts use DNA fingerprinting to solve crimes.

4. Explain why differential response strategies enable police departments to respond more efficiently to 911 calls.

5. Explain why reactive arrest strategies might be incompatible with problem-oriented policing.

6. Determine when police officers are justified in using deadly force.

7. Explain why police officers are allowed discretionary powers.

8. Explain what an ethical dilemma is, and name four categories of ethical dilemmas that a police officer typically may face.

Lesson Plan

Correlated to PowerPoints

I. Police Organization and Field Operations

Learning Objective 1: List the three primary purposes of police patrol.

Learning Objective 2: Indicate some investigation strategies that are considered aggressive.

Learning Objective 3: Describe how forensic experts use DNA fingerprinting to solve crimes.

A.

5

The model of the modern police department is bureaucratic, with formal rules governing the actions of each member of the agency

B. The ultimate goal of the bureaucratic model is to reach maximum efficiency

C. The Structure of the Police Department

i. Each police department is organized according to its environment: the size of its jurisdiction, the type of crimes it must deal with, and the demographics of the population it must police

ii. Chain of Command

a. Regardless of size and structure, every department needs a clear rank structure and strict accountability to ensure proper functioning

b. Begins with the rank of chief down through the various levels

c. Delegation of authority

1. A critical component of the chain of command

2. Nearly every member is directly accountable to a superior officer

3. Connection encourages discipline and control while lessening unsupervised abuses of freedom

iii. Organizing by Area and Time

a. In metropolitan areas, police responsibilities are divided according to zones called beats and collection of beats called precincts, districts or a station

b. Most departments separate twenty-four hour day into three eight-hour shifts, also called tours or platoons

iv. Law Enforcement in the Field

a. The main goal of the department is the management of its field services, or operations or line services which include patrol, investigations, and special operations

b. Most police departments are generalists; police officers are assigned to general areas and perform all field services within boundaries of their beats. Large departments may be more specialized

D. Police on Patrol: The Backbone of the Department

Patrol officers are considered to be on the lowest rung of hierarchy, yet compose as many as two-thirds of a department’s sworn officers, and are considered the most valuable members of the agency.

i. The Purpose of Patrol

a. Deterrence of crime through maintenance of visible police presence

b. Maintenance of public order and a sense of security in the community

c. Twenty-four hour provision of services that are not crime related

ii. Patrol Activities

a. Preventative patrol through maintenance of police presence within the community, which takes 40% of patrol time

b. Responding to calls for service during 25% of patrol time

c. Administrative service, including paperwork, which comprises almost 20% of patrol time

d. Officer-initiated activities, such as contacts with citizens and speaking with pedestrians takes the remaining 15% of patrol time

E. Police Investigations

i. Considered to be the second main function of policing, through reactive means

ii. Delegated to the investigator, or detective

a. Most commonly promoted from patrol

b. Must prepare cases for trial

F. Aggressive Investigation Strategies

i. Undercover Operations

a. Detective bureaus can implement more aggressive strategies

b. Going undercover is considered a dangerous and controversial activity

c. Confidential informants may provide access to information about criminal activities

ii. Preventive Policing and Domestic Terrorism

a. Confidential informants can help prevent terrorist acts

b. Issue of entrapment

G. Clearance Rates and Cold Cases

a. The ultimate goal of all law enforcement is to clear a crime

b. Clearance rates vary based on the type of offense

c. Clearance rates also reflect the resources the agency expends on the particular type of crime

d. The clearance rate for violent crimes has been dropping for decades

e. As a result of low clearance rates, police departments are saddled with a growing number of cold cases, or criminal cases that have not been cleared after a certain amount of time

H. Forensic Investigations and DNA

i. Forensics is the practice of using science and technology to investigate crimes

ii. Forensics can be used to determine key elements of a crime, such as

a. The cause of death or injury

b. The time of death or injury

c. Type of weapon or weapons used

d. The identity of the crime victim

e. The identity of the offender

iii. Many police departments operate or are affiliated with crime laboratories

iv. Crime Scene Forensics

a. The first officer on the scene has the important task of protecting trace evidence, or very small pieces of evidence, from contamination

1. Trace evidence includes blood, fibers, fingerprints, hairs, etc.

b. Police will search a crime scene for bullets and spent cartridge casings.

1. The study of firearms, including the firing of the weapon and the flight of the bullet, is known as ballistics

c. Has been the most important piece of trace evidence for centuries

d. This method of identification is not infallible

1. It is often difficult to lift a suitable fingerprint from a crime scene.

v. The DNA Revolution

a. DNA is the genetic code for every living organism

b. DNA has supplanted fingerprinting as the most important piece of forensic evidence

c. No two people, except for identical twins, have the same DNA

d. A match can exclude a suspect, or identify one conclusively at the odds of 30 billion to 1.

vi. DNA in Action

a. The ability to gather DNA from a wide variety of evidence greatly increases the odds a crime will be solved

b. Databases and Cold Hits

1. National Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) stores the DNA profiles of offenders who have been convicted of murder and sexual assault

2. Cold hits occur when DNA samples from the crime scene match a profile included in the CODIS database

c. New Developments

1. The investigative uses of DNA fingerprinting are expanding rapidly

2. Taking advantage of a new technique known as “touch DNA,” investigators can collect evidence from surfaces that are not marked by obvious clues such as bloodstains or well-preserved fingerprints.

3. DNA sample taken from a crime scene soon may be able to provide law enforcement with a physical description of a suspect, including her or his eye, skin, and hair color and age.

Media Tool “Latest Victory for the California Innocence Project” · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX-LYg47O-4 · A short clip about the exoneration of Brian Banks.

II. Police Strategies: What Works

Learning Objective 4: Explain why differential response strategies enable police departments to respond more efficiently to 911 calls.

Learning Objective 5: Explain why reactive arrest strategies might be incompatible with problem-oriented policing.

A. Calls for Service

i. All agencies practice incident-driven policing, in which calls for service are the primary instigators of action

ii. Response Time and Efficiency

a. The speed with which the police respond to calls for service has traditionally been seen as a crucial aspect of crime fighting and crime prevention

b. Response time is the time elapsed between the instant the call is received and the instant police arrive at the scene

c. Response time has become the benchmark for efficiency

iii. Improving Response Time Efficiency

a. Call systems to reduce the strain on 911 operations

b. Another popular method of improving performance in this area is a differential response strategy, in which the police distinguish among different calls for service so that they can respond more quickly to the most serious incidents

iv. Next Generation 911

a. Most pressing challenges are technological in nature

b. Today, most emergency calls for service come from mobile phones, and increasing numbers of consumers are taking advantage of VoIP (voice-over-Internet protocol) technology.

1. Standard 911 systems cannot pinpoint the exact location of a mobile phone or a computer

2. If a caller is unable to provide that information, then, it can prove very difficult for police officers to determine the site of the emergency

3. The Next Generation 911 system relies on the internet and allows police to receive text messages, videos, photos, and location

i. But it is operated by local and state agencies and will likely not be available nationwide until the end of the century

Media Tool “State of Tennessee Leads the Way in Next-Gen-9-1-1” http://youtu.be/TLS6_WMQsLY · A short clip about the Next Gen calls for service system.

B. Patrol Strategies

i. Most officers work general patrol, making the rounds of a specific area with the purpose of carrying out general patrol functions

ii. General patrols are random

iii. Testing Random Patrol

a. Tested strategies of preventive patrol from 1972 through 1973

b. Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment

1. Control beats – normal preventive measures were taken

2. Proactive beats – level of preventive measures was increased

3. Reactive beats – preventive patrol was eliminated

Results showed that increasing or decreasing preventive patrol had little or no impact on crimes, public opinion, police response time, traffic accidents, and reports of crime to police

iv. Directed Patrols

a. Directed patrols target specific areas of a city and often attempt to prevent a specific type of crime

b. Philadelphia Foot Patrol Experiment

C. Predictive Policing and Crime Mapping

i. While the evidence for general patrol is inconclusive, the evidence for the effectiveness of directed patrol is quite strong

ii. Finding “Hot Spots”

a. The target areas of directed patrol are often called “hot spots” because of their high levels of criminal activity

b. Focusing on hot spots can yield positive results

c. Police departments are using GIS crime mapping technology to locate and identify hot spots and “cool them down”

iii. The Rise of CompStat

a. About two-thirds of large departments now employ some form of computerized crime mapping

1. CompStat starts with police officers reporting the exact location of crime and other crime-related information to department officials. These reports are then fed into a computer, which prepares grids of a particular city or neighborhood and highlights areas with a high incidence of serious offenses.

D. Arrest Strategies

i. Types of arrest

a. Reactive arrests are made by those officers on general patrol who observe a criminal act or respond to a call for service

b. Proactive arrests occur when the officer takes the initiative to target a particular type of criminal or behavior

ii. Quality-of-Life Crimes

a. Wilson and Kelling suggest that crime is related to the quality of life in neighborhoods. They created the broken windows theory:

1. Dilapidated neighborhoods send out signals that criminal activity is tolerated

2. This disorder spreads fear among citizens, dissuading them from leaving their homes

3. The broken windows theory is based on “order maintenance” of neighborhoods by cracking down on quality of life crimes

iii. The Broken Windows Effect

a. Wilson and Kelling argued that proactive police strategies could prevent rising crime rates.

E. Community Policing

i. In the broken windows theory, Wilson and Kelling argue that police must rely on community cooperation to reduce fear and crime in high-risk neighborhoods

ii. Community policing advocates a return to service as an element of the police function

iii. Return to the Community

a. Community policing is an approach that advocates police--community partnerships, proactive problem solving, and community engagement

b. Under community policing, patrol officers have much more freedom to improvise and are encouraged to build relationships with members of the community

iv. The Quiet Revolution

a. The strategy of increasing police presence in the community

b. Increases positive relations between police and citizens

F. Problem-Oriented Policing

i. Problem-oriented policing moves beyond simply responding to incidents and attempts to control or even solve the root causes of criminal behavior

ii. Police should look at the long term implications of a situation, and attempt to analyze the patterns of offending

Media Tool “Problem Solving Team in South Irving” · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YQNuzuNiRI · A short clip about Irving’s problem solving team.

What If Scenario What if . . . your local police department asked for your input with regard to changes it was going to make in organization and structure, specifically in the area of police patrol. What advice would you give about how the patrol activities could better serve your community? Are the demographics of your city such that a “beat” patrol might be successful? What role do factors such as culture or topography play in the decision? What other changes would you suggest to the police department to better utilize their resources?

III. “Us Versus Them”: Issues in Modern Policing

Learning Objective 6: Determine when police officers are justified in using deadly force.

A. Police Subculture

Values and perceptions shared by members of a police department, which are shaped by unique existence of the police officer and taught to new members

i. Socialization of a rookie police officer begins on the first day of the job through learning of values and rules of police work

a. Attending a police academy

b. Working with a senior officer

c. Making an initial felony arrest

d. Using force to make an arrest for the first time

e. Using or witnessing deadly force for the first time

f. Witnessing major traumatic events for the first time

ii. “Blue curtain” or “Blue wall of silence” will separate police from the civilians they protect

B. The Physical Dangers of Police Work

i. Police officers face threats of physical harm daily

ii. In 2012, there were 53,000 assaults against police officers, 28% of which resulted in injury

Media Tool “Traffic Stops: Control your Risk Factors” · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZLmCM5LlbI · A short clip about the risk factors involved in traffic stops.

C. Stress and the Mental Dangers of Police Work

Police work entails considerable mental pressures and stress

i. Police Stressors

a. The constant fear of being a victim of violent crime

b. Exposure to violent crime and its victims

c. The need to comply with the law in nearly every job action

d. Lack of community support

e. Negative media coverage

ii. The Consequences of Police Stress

a. High blood pressure

b. Heart failure

c. Burnout

d. Post-traumatic stress disorder

e. Re-experience the traumatic event through nightmares and flashbacks.

f. Become less and less involved in the outside world by withdrawing from others and refusing to participate in normal social interactions.

g. Experience “survival guilt,” which may lead to loss of sleep and memory impairment

h. Officers experience unusually high levels of cortisol, known as the stress hormone, which can lead to such issues as heart problems and diabetes

D. Authority and the Use of Force

i. Symbols of authority, including the uniform, badge, firearm, and nightstick, establish that a police officer has authority over civilians

ii. It is accepted that police use of force is inevitable, and that police must use force under certain circumstances to do their jobs effectively

iii. Use of Force in Law Enforcement

a. In general, use of force by law enforcement personnel is very rare

b. Police officers are often justified in using force to protect themselves or other citizens

c. The Christopher Commission advised that an officer only use force when faced with a credible threat, and only use the minimum amount of force necessary to control that threat

d. Nearly every agency has designed a “use of force” matrix to provide officers with proper use of force options

Media Tool “Albuquerque police routinely use excessive force - DOJ” · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWAisW6tGJ0 · A short clip about excessive use of force among police officers.

iv. Types of Force

a. Nondeadly force

1. Regulated by the concept of reasonable force

2. When a reasonable person deems that force was necessary

b. Deadly force

1. Force that an objective police officer realizes will place the subject in direct threat of serious injury

2. May result in death

v. The United States Supreme Court and Use of Force

a. Tennessee v. Garner (1985) mandated a change in the fleeing felon rules

b. Graham v. Connor (1989) increased the argument for reasonable amounts of force needed

Class Discussion/Activity Ask students to talk about the Supreme Court ruling in Tennessee v. Garner. Why did the Court rule that way?

IV. Police Misconduct and Ethics

Learning Objective 7: Explain why police officers are allowed discretionary powers.

Learning Objective 8: Explain what an ethical dilemma is, and name four categories of ethical dilemmas that a police officer typically may face.

i. Police officers have freedom to decide “what law to enforce, how much to enforce it, against whom, and on what occasions.” This judicial support of police discretion is based on the following factors:

i. Police officers are generally considered trustworthy and are therefore assumed to make honest decisions, regardless of contradictory testimony by a suspect.

ii. Experience and training give officers the ability to determine whether certain activity poses a threat to society, and to take any reasonable action necessary to investigate or prevent such activity.

ii. Due to the nature of their jobs, police officers are extremely knowledgeable in human, and by extension criminal, behavior.

iii. Police officers may find themselves in danger of personal, physical harm and must be allowed to take reasonable and necessary steps to protect themselves.

What If Scenario What if . . . you were the police chief of your town, and you discovered that police officers were frequenting a small grocery market because they heard that the owner gave free coffee and discounted groceries to police officers who came into the store wearing their uniforms. Police officers did not ask for freebies, but neither did the owner have a “policy” of providing freebies. When you interviewed the grocery store owner, he stated that he did it because he worried that if he didn’t, police would not come to his store if he called 911. How would you handle this problem? What level of accepting of gratuities by police officers is ok with you as a supervisor, if at all? What are the potential problems that may come as a result of allowing such activities?

A. Police Corruption

i. Types of Corruption

a. Bribery takes place when a police officer accepts money or other payments in exchange for “favors”

b. Shakedowns occur when an officer attempts to coerce money or other goods form a citizen or criminal

c. Mooching takes place when a police officer accepts “gifts” such as cigarettes, liquor, or services in return for favorable treatment

B. Police Accountability

i. Due to the inevitability of excessive force, corruption, and other misconduct, someone must determine who is responsible for policing the police

ii. Internal Investigations

a. Investigations that are conducted by the Internal Affairs Unit within the police department itself

b. Internal Affairs Units are often resented, but police officers do prefer to settle disciplinary measures internally

iii. Citizen Oversight

a. Frustration over accountability led to the development of citizen oversight committees

b. People, not sworn officers, review allegations of police misconduct or brutality

iv. Surveillance and Police Misconduct

a. Digital video has placed police misconduct under a spotlight

b. Police agencies now monitor police behavior with cameras and audio

c. Police officers now also monitor their own behavior

Media Tool “Internal Affairs: Protecting the Integrity of the Badge” · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RLjPZQ7jkk · A short clip discussing best practices regarding internal affairs complaints.

C. Ethics in Law Enforcement

i. Ethical Dilemmas

a. Majority of ethical dilemmas a police officer will face are not “clear-cut”

b. Incidents of an ethical dilemma

1. When an officer does not know the right course of action

2. If an officer has difficulty in doing what he or she considers to be right

3. If an officer finds a wrong choice to be very tempting

c. Because of the many rules that govern policing—the subject of the next chapter—police officers often find themselves tempted by a phenomenon called noble cause corruption.

ii. Elements of Ethics

a. Discretion – how a police officer must act and how he or she

cannot act

b. Duty – obligation to act in a certain manner

c. Honesty – critical attribute in making daily decisions

d. Loyalty – decisions about being loyal to other officers within the

department

e. Law enforcement administrators can encourage ethical

policing by doing the following:

1. Incorporating ethics into the department’s mission statement.

2. Conducting internal training sessions in ethics.

3. Accepting “honest mistakes” and helping the officer learn from those mistakes.

4. Adopting a zero-tolerance policy toward unethical decisions when the mistakes are not so honest.

Media Tool “Rampart Police Corruption Scandal” · https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhhpxpQHSoU · A short clip about ethical misconduct by some LAPD officers.

Lecture Notes

Chapter 5 begins with a discussion about the structure of police departments and a discussion concerning the chain of command. Delegation of authority is an integral component of every chain of command. It means that almost every member is directly accountable to a supervisor. This structure encourages structure and control, while lessening unsupervised abuses of freedom.

Chapter 5 also examines how responsibilities are divided by area and time. Beats, precincts, and shifts are defined. Next patrol services are discussed. Police patrol serves three primary purposes: it deters crime, it maintains public order, and it provides services to the community. While police spend the majority of their time on preventive patrol, the also spend a significant amount of time responding to calls for service. Furthermore, differential response strategies enable officers to respond more efficiently to calls by distinguishing between “hot” and “cold” calls for service. The concept of providing service to the community is somewhat related to the concept of community policing. Community policing involves not only developing a partnership with citizens, but implementing proactive problem solving techniques to address the root causes of crime in a particular community. In this sense community policing is quite different from the traditional crime-fighting methods employed by law enforcement. Spend some time with students contrasting these two policing styles. What do students think of the increased focus on providing service to the community?

From the first day on the job, police officers begin a process of socialization into the police subculture. This subculture is often marked by police cynicism and an intense sense of loyalty to fellow officers. If unchecked, this subculture can result in an “us versus them” mentality among officers. Police officers also face unique dangers on the job, including physical and mental stress. Police officers suffer from abnormally high rates of suicide, substance abuse, and stress-related illness. Some of this stress is the result of the obligation to use force, even deadly force, against citizens who present a danger to the community. The misuse of force is just one of the ethical issues faced by officers. Officers likely face ethical dilemmas each time they report for duty, a challenge that is exacerbated by burnout and cynicism among officers. To help put these issues into perspective for students, invite a patrol officer to the classroom to speak candidly to students about the best and worst parts of policing. Allow students to ask questions and formulate their own opinions about policing as a profession.

Key Terms

Ballistics - the study of firearms, including the firing of the weapon and the flight of the bullet.

(p. 143)

Blue curtain - a metaphorical term used to refer to the value placed on secrecy and the general

mistrust of the outside world shared by many police officers. (p. 154)

Broken windows theory - Wilson and Kelling’s theory that a neighborhood in disrepair signals

that criminal activity is tolerated in the area. Thus, by cracking down on quality-of-life crimes,

police can reclaim the neighborhood and encourage law-abiding citizens to live and work there.

(p. 151)

Bureaucracy - a hierarchically structured administrative organization that carries out specific

functions. (p. 137)

Burnout - a mental state that occurs when a person suffers from exhaustion and has difficulty

functioning normally as a result of overwork and stress. (p. 155)

Citizen oversight - the process by which citizens review complaints brought against individual

police officers or police departments. (p. 160)

Clearance rate - a comparison of the number of crimes cleared by arrest and prosecution

with the number of crimes reported during any given time period. (p. 142)

Cold case - a criminal investigation that has not been solved after a certain amount of

time. (p. 142)

Cold hit - the establishment of a connection between a suspect and a crime, often

through the use of DNA evidence, in the absence of an ongoing criminal investigation. (p. 145)

Community policing - a policing philosophy that emphasizes community support for

and cooperation with the police in preventing crime. (p. 151)

Confidential informant (CI) - a human source for police who provides information

concerning illegal activity in which he or she is involved. (p. 141)

Crime mapping - technology that allows crime analysts to identify trends and patterns of

criminal behavior within a given area. (p. 149)

Deadly force - force applied by a police officer that is likely or intended to cause death. (p. 156)

Delegation of authority - the principles of command on which most police departments are

based, in which personnel take orders from and are responsible to those in positions of power

directly above them. (p. 137)

Detective - the primary police investigator of crimes. (p. 140)

Differential response - a strategy for answering calls for service in which response time

is adapted to the seriousness of the call. (p. 147)

Directed patrol - a patrol strategy that is designed to focus on a specific type of criminal activity

at a specific time. (p. 149)

DNA fingerprinting - the identification of a person based on a sample of her or his

DNA, the genetic material found in the cells of all living things. (p. 143)

Duty - the moral sense of a police officer that she or he should behave in a certain manner.

(p. 162)

Forensics - the application of science and technology to establish facts and evidence

during the investigation of crimes. (p. 142)

Hot spots - a concentrated area of high criminal activity that draws a directed police response.

(p. 149)

Incident-driven policing - a reactive approach to policing that emphasizes a speedy

response to calls for service. (p. 146)

Internal affairs unit (IAU) - a division within a police department that receives and investigates

complaints of wrongdoing by police officers. (p. 160)

Noble cause corruption - knowing misconduct by a police officer with the goal of attaining

what the officer believes is a “just” result. (p. 162)

Police corruption - the abuse of authority by a law enforcement officer for personal gain.

(p. 159)

Police subculture The values and perceptions that are shared by members of a police department

and, to a certain extent, by all law enforcement agents. (p. 153)

Proactive arrest - an arrest that occurs because of concerted efforts by law enforcement

agencies to respond to a particular type of criminal or criminal behavior. (p. 151)

Problem-oriented policing - a policing philosophy that requires police to identify potential

criminal activity and develop strategies to prevent or respond to that activity. (p. 152)

Random patrol – (p. 148)

Reactive arrest - an arrest that comes about as part of the ordinary routine of police patrols and

responses to calls for service. (p. 150)

Reasonable force - the degree of force that is appropriate to protect the police officer or other

citizens and is not excessive. (p. 156)

Response time - the rapidity with which calls for service are answered. (p. 147)

Socialization - the process through which a police officer is taught the values and

expected behavior of the police subculture. (p. 153)

Stressors - the aspects of police work and life that lead to feelings of stress. (p. 154)

Trace evidence - evidence such as fingerprints, blood, or hair found in small amounts at

a crime scene. (p. 142)

Assignments

1. Research how DNA is used by law enforcement to solve crimes. Why is DNA said to be more useful than the traditional fingerprint? (LO 1)

2. Have students review the section detailing the “broken window” reform strategy theory of policing. Do you agree that cracking down on “quality of life” crimes will necessarily allow for people to reclaim their neighborhoods and encourage law-abiding citizens to live and work there? What are some of the barriers to police being able to utilize this reform strategy? (LO 4-5)

3. Ask students to consider the specific strategies utilized in community policing efforts. How can police officers becoming partners with the community help law enforcement fight crime? Do you agree with critics who say that community policing is more of a public relations gimmick than an actual crime fighting strategy? Why do critics of community policing hold this view? Is there some truth to it? How is the new emphasis on homeland security incompatible with the tenets of community policing? (LO 4-5)

4. Research the Rampart Scandal of the LAPD. Prepare a class presentation about the misconduct of the officers involved and why they were able to continue this misconduct for so many years. In this context, discuss how the Code of Silences contributes to misconduct. What can police departments do to reduce ethical misconduct? (LO 6, 8)

5. Watch the video about “Public Trust and Ethical Issues in Law Enforcement” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj2t4gOPcGg. Prepare a summary paper in which you discuss what you have learned from the video. Following, develop two strategies to increase public trust in law enforcement. (LO 8)

Answers To Critical Thinking Questions In The Text

1. In speaking with a domestic terrorism suspect, a paid FBI informant said, “Allah has more work for you to do,” adding, “Revelation is going to come in your dreams that you have to do this thing.” The “thing” was to shoot down American military airplanes with handheld missiles. If you were defending the terrorism suspect in court, how would you use this evidence? Why would your efforts be likely to fail?

ANS: I would try to use the defense of entrapment because the FBI agent planted the idea of committing the crime. This would likely fail because the suspects could have backed out at any time, which counteracts the entrapment claim.

2. What might be some of the drawbacks of relying on text messaging as part of Next Generation 911?

ANS: Officers must rely on the “texter” to provide an address or contact information. Police could receive “fake” messages and be distracted from the actual crime location. Police may lose response time by trying to verify the information and authenticity of the “texter.” Text messages also compromise the crucial exchange between dispatchers and callers as an emergency unfolds.

3. Criminologists John and Emily Beck suggest that crime reduction strategies should treat crime as if it were a form of pollution. How does this comparison make sense in the context of predictive policing and crime mapping?

ANS: John and Emily Beck talk about the risk society and how crime, just like pollution, can be prevented by predictive policing. Crime mapping can aid predictive policing by making crime hot spots visible and by allowing for predictive models of crime shifts (displacement of crime). One possibility is to increase guardianship and monitoring in risk areas to increase the risk for criminals to get caught and to deter criminals.

4. Suppose that a high-crime neighborhood is plagued by numerous abandoned homes and malfunctioning streetlights. Applying the “broken windows” theory, what steps should local politicians take to reduce crime in the area?

ANS: Politicians would fix the streetlights and attempt to make the neighborhood look nicer (remove graffiti, abandoned cars, etc.). The people who live there would then understand that crime is not tolerated and crime would decrease – at least in that neighborhood. Criminals may simply go somewhere else.

5. Nearly every police department in the country has a policy that limits its officers’ discretion to engage in high speed automobile pursuits of fleeing suspects. Why do you think such policies are so popular among police administrators?

ANS: If police departments do not engage in high speed pursuits then their credibility with citizens and criminals suffers because criminals don’t fear that the police will come after them and the citizens feel that the police aren’t doing their job. Also high speed pursuits often get media coverage and the department looks good if they catch the criminal – especially live on TV.

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