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policingandjuvenilesF21.pptxPolicing and juveniles
Chapter 7
In this chapter we will first take a look at the history of police and juvenile relations, the evolution of community policing, legal aspects of policing as related to juveniles, and police discretion,.
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Role of police
Arresting youth
Processing delinquents and status offenders
Preventing juvenile delinquency
Protecting juveniles from victimization
History
19th century: increase in number of unemployed and homeless youths
Wickersham Commission, IACP advocated police reform
Development of delinquency control squads
Vollmer (Berkeley): prevention programs and juvenile aid bureaus, first organized special police services for youths
Iacp: Internation association for chiefs of police
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History
1960s: increased tension between police and citizens
US Supreme Court ruled against police authority in a number of cases restricting discretion
Civil unrest; police seen as oppressors
Increase in crime
Development of role in community awareness and crime prevention
Recognized need for specialized juvenile programs by the 1980s
Prevention: Police Athletic League
Law enforcement: Juvenile Court, school policing
Child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness
Police roles
Juvenile officers
Operate within a police dept.
Former patrol officers who are sometimes provided specialized training in
dealing with juveniles
Majority of the encounters end in informal outcomes, and are for minor offenses
Role of peacekeepers and crime preventers
Role conflict between law enforcement role and rehabilitation role
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Controlling violent crime
Problem-oriented policing
Focusing on problems underlying juvenile delinquency
Address problems of community disorganization
Directed patrols in hot spots
Community Policing
Emphasize on reducing fear, organizing the community, and maintaining order
The goal of police to help youth fits with this model
Advantages
Gives police more immediate information of criminal activity
Engage in proactive crime prevention
Increases police accountability to the public
Improves police public relationships
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Police practices, the law, and juveniles
Police and the law: Arrests
Law of arrest the same for adults and juveniles
Probable cause
Misdemeanor: police must observe crime
Felony: probable cause
Police have broader authority to take juveniles into custody, generally
Otherwise must have a warrant
Police can “arrest” youths for status offenses such as truancy, running away and alcohol use
Loco parentis (in place of parents)
Once arrested, formal safeguards of the 4th and 5th amendment attach
4th amendment standards of search and seizure have been determined to apply to juveniles
Police and the law: search and seizure
Same stop and frisk rule as for adults
Search after a legal arrest in the immediate area of the subject’s control
For many young people, stops are a familiar and frequent experience and also perceived to be unjustified and unfair.
44 percent of young people surveyed indicated they had been stopped repeatedly—9 times or more.
Less than a third—29 percent—reported ever being informed of the reason for a stop
Frisks, searches, threats, and use of force are common.
71 percent of young people surveyed reported being frisked at least once, and 64 percent said they had been searched.
45 percent reported encountering an officer who threatened them, and 46 percent said they had experienced physical force at the hands of an officer.
One out of four said they were involved in a stop in which the officer displayed his or her weapon.
Impact of stop and frisk: https:// www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/opinion/the-scars-of-stop-and-frisk.html
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Vera institute report
Trust in law enforcement and willingness to cooperate with police is alarmingly low.
88 percent of young people surveyed believe that residents of their neighborhood do not trust the police.
Only four in 10 respondents said they would be comfortable seeking help from police if in trouble.
Only one in four respondents would report someone whom they believe had committed a crime.
Young people who have been stopped more often in the past are less willing to report crimes, even when they themselves are the victims.
Each additional stop in the span of a year is associated with an eight percent drop in the person’s likelihood of reporting a violent crime he or she might experience in the future.
Half of all young people surveyed had been the victim of a crime, including 37 percent who had been the victim of a violent crime
Custodial interrogation
Miranda v Arizona put limits on police interrogations
In re Gault the Supreme Court held that Miranda applies to juveniles as well
In 2011 the Supreme Court ruled that age is a factor and police need to take care when questioning children in custody
Does a youth have the maturity to waive their Miranda rights?
Feld (2006) found that 80% of juveniles waive Miranda
Police use suggestive questioning with youth; minimized Miranda warnings
Supreme Court examined the ways in which Miranda was delivered and have concluded that even if “language was slightly different” the juvenile should get the gist of it
Juvenile false confessions: https://www.crimefreefuture.com/resources-defending-children-court/due-process /
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Police discretion
When should an officer arrest a youth? When should a summons be issued? When should they let them go with a warning?
Use discretion to choose an appropriate course of actions; give flexibility
Can result in discrimination
Leads to different results in similar situations
Majority of encounters with police don’t result in arrest
Study in 200 found that only 13% of encounters with police result in a juvenile arrest
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Bias and police discretion
Racial bias
https:// www.npr.org/2017/09/27/551864016/fewer-youths-incarcerated-but-gap-between-blacks-and-whites-worsens
Police turn to formal interventions more often with Black youth
Broken windows policing, and stop and frisk contribute to unfair treatment of African Americans
President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing
Law enforcement needs to adopt procedural justice as a guiding principle
Police agencies need to develop “clear and comprehensive” polices on use of force
Police agencies need to emphasize community policing
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New directions: law enforcement
Field interrogations
Foot patrol and neighborhood storefront police stations
Community mobilization programs (block watch, weed and seed, Neighborhood Watch, neighborhood cleanups, etc)
Mentoring
Curfews
Afterschool programs
