Police History
Explain the Community Era
Beginning in about 1980, a time when the police retained to work with the community to solve problems by looking at their underlying causes and developing tailored responses to them
Explain Community Oriented Policing
A contemporary approach to policing that actively involves the community in a working partnership to control and reduce crime
List the hierarchy of Law from lowest to highest
1. City/County Law
2. State Law
3. Federal Law
Explain the 4th Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Define Police Corruption
Misconduct by police officers that can involve but is not limited to illegal activities for economic gain, gratuities, favors, and so on.
Explain the Reform Era
(AKA Professional Era) From the 1930s to the 1980s, when police sought to extricate themselves from the shackles of politicians, and leading to the crime-fighter era - with greater emphases being placed on numbers - arrests, citations, response times, etc.
Problem Orientated Policing
Strategy that focuses on the underlying problems that cause crime rather than focusing on each specific criminal event.
(Identify underlying problems > analyzing them in detail > applying solutions > evaluate effectiveness of solutions)
Define Federalism
A type of government that divides powers between a national (federal) government and governments of smaller geographic territories, including states, counties, and cities
Explain the 5th Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
Define Consent Decree
Where police officers have violated citizens' civil rights, a tool used by the courts to compel an agency to generally perform within the dictates of the Constitution and make specific reforms
Explain the Political Era
From the 1840s to the 1930s, the period of time when police were tied closely to politics and politicians, dependent on them for being hired, and promoted, and for assignments - all of which raised the potential for corruption
Name the 4 basic tasks of Policing
1. Enforce the laws
2. Perform welfare tasks
3. Prevent crime
4. Protect the innocent
Define Stare Decisis
Latin for "to stand by a decision"- a doctrine referring to court precedent, whereby lower courts must follow (and render the same) decisions of higher courts when the same legal issues and questions come before them, thereby not disturbing settled points of law
Explain the Exclusionary Rule (including the case it came from)
The rule, coming from Mapp v. Ohio, providing that evidence obtained improperly cannot be used against the accused at trial
Define Civil Liability
In tort law, the basis for which a cause of action is made to recover damages; in criminal justice, where a police or corrections officer, for example, violates someone's civil rights
What are the 4 primary criminal justice officials of Early England that the U.S. adopted?
1. Sheriff - the chief law enforcement officer of a county, typically elected and frequently operating the jail as well as law enforcement functions
2. Constable - in England, favored noblemen who were forerunners of modern-day U.S. criminal justice functionaries; largely disappeared in the U.S. by the 1970s
3. Coroner - an early English court officer; today one (usually a physician) in the U.S. whose duty is to determine cause of death
4. Justice of Peace - a minor justice official who oversees lesser criminal trials; one of the early English judicial functionaries
Name and explain the 3 policing styles
Watchman - act as if order maintenance is their primary function
Legalistic - issue a large number of traffic citations, detain a high volume of juvenile offenders, and act vigorously against illicit activities
Service - police take seriously all requests for either law enforcement or order maintenance, but are less likely to respond by making an arrest or otherwise imposing formal sanctions
What are the 2 federal agencies that have unique missions?
Central Intelligence Agency
Internal Revenue Service
Explain 3 of these 8 Cases:
Chimel v. California
Arizona v. Grant
Maryland v. King
Terry V. Ohio
Minnesota v. Dickerson
Maryland v. Wilson
Carroll v. United States
Katz v. United States
Chimel v. California - searches incident to a lawful arrest are limited to the area within the arrestee's immediate control or that area from which he or she might obtain a weapon
Arizona v. Grant - when an individual has been arrested an is in police custody away from his or her vehicle, unable to access their car, officers may not then search the vehicle without a warrant
Maryland v. King - police can collect DNA from people arrested but not yet convicted
Terry v. Ohio - police have the authority to detain a person briefly for questioning even without probable cause if they have reasonable suspicion that person has committed a crime or is about to
Minnesota v. Dickerson - when a police officer is conducting a lawful patdown search for weapons feels something that plainly is contraband, the object may be seized even though it is not a weapon
Maryland v. Wilson - police may order passengers out of vehicles they stop, regardless of any suspicion of wrongdoing or threat tot eh officer's safety
Carroll v. United States - the police must have probable cause that if there had been enough time, a search warrant would have been issued, and urgent circumstances must exist that require immediate action
Katz. v. United States - any form of electronic surveillance, including wire-tapping, is a search and violates a reasonable expectation of privacy
Explain the idea of slippery slope in police corruption
The idea that a small first step can lead to more serious behaviors, such as the receipt of minor gratuities by police officers believed to eventually cause them to desire or demand receipt of items of greater value
List the 3 eras of U.S. policing in order
1. The Political Era (1840s -1930s)
2. The Reform Era (1930s -1980s)
3. The Community Era (1980s - present)
What are 3 variables that effect an officer's discretion?
1. The law
2. The police officer's attitude
3. The citizen's attitude
Name the major law enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security and The Department of Justice
Homeland Security:
- Customs and Border Protection
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Transportation Security Administration
- Coast Guard
- Secret Service
- Federal Protective Services
Department of Justice:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
- Drug Enforcement Administration
- U.S. Marshals Service
Name the 5 types of searches that can be conducted without a warrant
1. Searches incident to lawful arrest
2. Searches during field interrogation (stop and frisk)
3. Searches of automobiles under special conditions
4. seizures of evidence that is in "plain view"
5. Searches when consent is given
List the 11 major elements of the police hiring process
Application is filed > written exam > agility test > oral exam > character investigation > psychological exam > polygraph exam > medical/drug screening > recruit academy > probationary status > career status