Enforcing the law
What are police officially required to do according to the law?
Police are required to enforce federal, state, and local laws as part of their official duty.
How was Timothy McVeigh initially stopped by police?
he was pulled over for driving without a license plate
What does crime prevention try to do before a crime occurs?
It tries to spot possible crime risks early and take steps to reduce or remove those risks before a crime can happen.
Why do police address small issues like graffiti?
to prevent bigger crimes
This police department developed the COMPSTAT crime analysis system in the 1990s.
What is the NYPD (New York Police Department)
Why doesn’t most police work involve fighting serious crime?
Because most of their daily tasks include non-emergency activities like answering service calls, directing traffic, and writing tickets.
Why was McVeigh taken into custody after the traffic stop?
he admitted to carrying a concealed weapon
How do we know crime prevention is not a new idea?
Because people have used methods like securing valuables and limiting access to certain areas long before modern police departments existed
police do more than catch criminals, what else do they do?
help keep neighborhoods calm by monitoring events and encouraging respectful behavior.
Police use data from these emergency calls to identify crime hotspots in COMPSTAT.
911 calls
How many police calls typically require actual law-enforcement action?
Only about 10–20% of calls involve situations that may lead to arrest or prosecution.
What unusual event caused McVeigh to stay in jail longer than normal?
What are two main goals of modern crime prevention?
To reduce opportunities for crime and to decrease fear of crime within the community.
What shows a police officer is doing well?
Few complaints and a quiet, smooth-running neighborhood.
COMPSTAT helps police commanders determine if these strategies are working to reduce crime.
anti-crime strategies
Why do police focus on certain laws more than others?
Their resources are limited, so they concentrate on issues that matter most to the community and have the biggest current impact.
How did the extra jail time help investigators?
What is the difference between crime-prevention techniques and crime-prevention programs?
Techniques include physical tools like locks, lighting, and cameras, while programs are organized efforts focused on specific problems, such as gang activity or identity theft.
What is the “Broken Windows” idea?
fixing broken or messy places shows people care and can reduce crime
This software tool analyzes crime locations and helps link related crimes together.
CrimeStat
Why is an officer’s behavior off duty important?
Because irresponsible off-duty behavior undermines public trust and harms the reputation of the police and the law they enforce.
What clue helped authorities realize McVeigh was a likely suspect?
Why is community participation essential in crime prevention?
Because programs like Neighborhood Watch and Crime Stoppers rely on citizens to observe, report, and work with police to reduce crime in their communities.
Order costs money and freedom policing needs funding and?
Many limit freedoms, so communities must choose how much order they want.
Police predict when and where these will happen to assign their resources more effectively.
crimes