Pages Text: 146-155 Policing: Issues and Trends Issues in Patrolling o Assignment of Patrol Personnel o The assignment of officers is based on factors such as crime statistics, 911 calls, degree of urbanization, pressures from business and community groups, ethnic composition, and socioeconomic conditions. o Preventive Patrol: Has long been thought to help deter crime. Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment: A 15 beat area was divided into three sections, each with similar crime rates, population characteristics, income levels, and numbers to call the police. In one area, labeled "reactive," all preventive patrol was withdrawn and the police only entered in response to citizens' calls for service. In another section labeled "proactive," preventive patrol was raised as much as four times the normal level, The third section was used as a control. After observing the three sections for a year, the researchers concluded that the changed in patrol strategies had no major effects on the amount of crime reported, the amount of crime as measured by citizen surveys, or citizens' fear of crime. Neither a decrease nor an increase in patrol activity had any apparent effect on crime. Hot Spots: In the past, patrols were organized by "beats." It was assumed that crime can happen anywhere, and the entire beat must be patrolled at all times and places. Directed Patrol: A proactive form of patrolling that directs resources to known high-crime areas. o However, the extra police pressure may simply cause lawbreakers to move to another neighborhood. Rapid Response Time: Most departments are organized so that calls for help come to a central section that dispatches the nearest officers by radio to the site of the incident. Because most citizens have access to phones, most cities have 911 systems, and because most officers are in squad cars linked to headquarters by two-way radios, cell phones and computers, police can respond quickly to calls. 3 decision making delays that slow the process of calling the police:
Ambiguity Delays: Some people find the situation ambiguous and are not sure whether the police should be called. They might see an event but not know whether it is a robbery or two young men "horsing around." Coping Delays: Other people are so busy coping, taking care of the victim or directing traffic, that they cannot leave the scene to call the police. Conflict Delays: Still other people must first resolve conflicts before they call the police. For example, they may call someone else for advice about whether or not to call the police. Because of these delays, communication problems can slow response. Although delay is a major problem, reducing delay would only slightly increase arrest rates. Foot vs. Motorized Patrol: Although studies have shown that foot patrols are costly and do not greatly reduce crime, they do make citizens less fearful, increase satisfaction with the police, and give officers a greater appreciation of neighborhood values. One Person vs. Two Person Patrol Units: Officers and their union leaders support the two-person squad car. They claim that police are safer and more effective when two officers work together in dangerous or difficult situations. However police administrators contend that the one-person squad is car much more cost effective and permits them to deploy more cars on each shift. They also contend that an officer working alone is more alert and attentive because he or she cannot be distracted by idle conversation with a colleague. Aggressive Patrol: A proactive strategy designed to maximize police activity in the community. It takes many forms such as "sting" operations, firearms confiscation, raids on crack houses, programs that encourage citizens to list their valuables, and the tracking of high-risk parolees. The zero-tolerance policing of the 1990s in New York City is an example of aggressive patrol linked to the "broken windows" theory. Handguns are the leading risk factor for criminal harm. James Wilson argues that police should focus their guncontrol efforts on guns being carried in high-risk places, by high-risk people, and at high-risk times. Antifencing efforts, often called "stings" are a widely used law enforcement technique. Typically, police set up a storefront operation then pose as fences and buy stolen property from thieves. Large amounts of property
are recovered, and thieves are arrested and successfully prosecuted. The most cost effective of the aggressive patrol strategies seems to be those that encourage officers to carry out more field questioning and traffic stops. Community Policing: Consists of attempts by the police to involve residents in making their own neighborhoods safer. Based on the belief that citizens are often concerned about local disorder as well as crime in general, this strategy emphasizes cooperation between the police and citizens in identifying community needs and determining the best ways to meet them. Community Policing has 4 components: o Community-based crime prevention o Changing the focus of patrol activities to non emergency services o Making the police more accountable to the public o Decentralizing decision-making to include residents Police officers need to view citizens as customers to be served and partners in the pursuit of social goals rather than as a population to be watched, controlled, and served in a reactive fashion. Problem Oriented Policing: An approach to policing in which officers routinely seek to identify, analyze, and respond to the circumstances underlying the incidents that prompts citizens to call the police. Policing and New Technology o Investigative Tools One of the most rapidly spreading technological tools for law enforcement officers is the computer; especially the portable kind used in police cars. Computers provide for instant electronic communication that permits the radio airwaves to be reserved for emergency calls rather than for requests to check license numbers and other routine matters. Computers also give officers quick access to databases to help identify suspects such as individuals' criminal histories, driving records, and outstanding warrants. In addition, computers are used to investigate financial crimes, cyber crime, and people involved in child pornography on the Internet. Police have also begun to use surveillance cameras in many ways. o Weapons Technology
Nonlethal Weapons: Weapons such as pepper spray and airfired beanbags or nets designed to incapacitate a suspect without inflicting serious injuries or a likelihood of death.