Current Issues and Controversies in Policing

This text examines the major issues and controversies facing police officers today, providing with a solid understanding of the state of policing in the U. S. today.  This main theme of this text is change in policing, and the past, present and future issues that have and will shape this change.

Table of Contents:
Preface   1          RECRUITMENT AND SELECTION             The Traditional Approach                         The First Fifty Years of Professional Policing                         Reforming the Police: Recruitment and Selection as a First Step                         The Emergence of Selection Procedures: Elements of a Standard Process             Current Issues and Controversies                         Recruitment                         Basic Requirements                         Selection Tests                         Other Current Issues in Recruitment and Selection             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 1A Scholar’s Perspective: The Challenge of Police Recruitment, by Heath Grant             References   2          TRAINING THE POLICE             Craft versus Profession                         Policing as a Craft                         Policing as a Profession Finding the Middle Ground: Reducing the Gap between the Academy and the Street                         The Need for Training and Education             Police Academy Training                         Historical Perspective                         The Traditional Academy Model                         Shortcomings of the Traditional Academy Training             Field Training Officer Programs                         The San Jose Model                         The Benefits of an FTO Program                         Performance Evaluation of Rookies                         Selecting the Field Training Officers                         An Example of an FTO Program             In-Service Training                         Specialized Training                         Management Training             Current Issues                         Changing the Traditional Police Academy Pedagogy: Andragogy                         Training in Community/Problem-Oriented Policing                         Multicultural/Diversity Training                         Stress Management Training                         Domestic Violence Training                         Training in Handling the Mentally Ill                         Training in Communication and Writing                         Technology and Training                         Counterterrorism Training             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 2A Scholar’s Perspective: Police Training in America, by Maria (Maki) Haberfeld             References   3          DEVELOPING THE PROFESSIONAL POLICING MODEL The Origins of Professional Policing: Sir Robert Peel and the Metropolitan London Police                         The Impetus for Change in London                         Sir Robert Peel and the Metropolitan Police Act of 1829                         The Need for Development of Professional Policing in the United States             U.S. Policing in the Nineteenth Century                         Who Became Police Officers and How Did They Get the Job?                         The Activities of the Nineteenth-Century U.S. Police Officer                         Corruption and Brutality             Reforming the Police                         A First Attempt at Reform                         A Second Effort at Police Reform             Cracks in the Foundation of the Professional Police Model                         A Partial Success                         Signs of Trouble: Prohibition and the Wickersham Commission                         The Police Subculture and the Working Personality                         The 1950s and 1960s: National Crisis and the Police                         The Research Revolution                         Fallout from the 1960s: Policing Comes Full Circle             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 3A Scholar’s Perspective: Populism, Politics, and the Struggle for Police Professionalism in the United States, by Anders Walker References   4          NEW POLICING PHILOSOPHIES AND STRATEGIES             Problem-Oriented Policing                         Theoretical Foundations                         The Basic Elements of Problem-Oriented Policing: The SARA Model                         Characteristics of the Problem-Oriented Police Department                         Diffusion: How Widespread Is Problem-Oriented Policing?                         Research on the Effectiveness of Problem-Oriented Policing                         Limitations and Questions             Community-Oriented Policing                         Theoretical Foundations                         Core Features of Community Policing                         Diffusion                         Research on the Effectiveness of Community Policing                         Limitations and Questions             CompStat                         Background                         The Stages of CompStat                         The Six Core Components                         Diffusion and Impact of CompStat             Zero Tolerance Policing                         The Principles of Zero Tolerance Policing                         The Impact of Zero Tolerance Policing             COP, POP, CompStat, and Zero Tolerance: Similarities and Differences             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 4A Scholar’s Perspective: Ethical Complexities of Broken Windows Policing Strategies, by Justin Ready             References   5          THE POLICE ORGANIZATION             The Police Bureaucracy                         Bureaucracy and the Police                         The Quasi-Military Style of Policing             Civil Service             Police Unions Function and Structure of the Police Organization             Functions of the Police             Structure of the Police Organization             Supervision and Leadership Current Issues in Police Management and Organization             Alternative Organizational Methods             Manpower and Resource Shortages             Militarization of the Police Summary Key Terms Discussion Questions Appendix 5A Scholar’s Perspective: Restructuring of the City of Paterson, New Jersey, Police Department, by Michael C. Walker References   6          POLICE FIELD WORK             Police and the Law Key Legal Principles and Issues from the Bill of Rights: Search, Seizure, and Arrest                         Current Issues and Controversies Involving the Law             Discretion and Decision Making                         Defining and Discovering Discretion                         The Context of Police Decision Making                         Understanding the Complexity of Police Decision Making Building on What We Know: Increasing the Rationality of Police Decision Making             New (and Some Old) Crime Problems                         Drugs and Gangs                         Policing Domestic Violence                         Police and the Mentally Ill                         Identity Theft and Computer Crime                         Terrorism             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 6A Scholar’s Perspective: The Police and Sex Offenders, by Karen J. Terry             References   7          MEASURING POLICE PERFORMANCE             The Unclear Police Mandate             Traditional Measures of Police Performance                         The Numbers Game                         Summary             New Measures of Police Performance                         At the Department Level                         At the Individual Officer Level             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 7A Practitioner’s Perspective: Measuring Police Officer Performance in the NYPD, by Anthony J. Raganella             References   8          POLICE MISCONDUCT             Defining and Measuring Police Misconduct                         Police Crime                         Occupational Deviance                         Corruption                         Abuse of Authority             U.S. Policing and Misconduct: History, Prevalence, and Consequences                         The History of U.S. Policing and Misconduct                         How Prevalent Is Police Misconduct Today?                         The Consequences of Police Misconduct             Theoretical Frameworks for Understanding Police Misconduct                         The Rotten Apple Theory                         Structural Explanations             The Persistent Problems for Police                         Abuse of Authority                         Corruption                         Prejudice and Discrimination             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 8A Scholar’s Perspective: Police Pursuit: Policies and Training, by Geoffrey P. Alpert             References     9          POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY: INTERNAL MECHANISMS             Internal Control Mechanisms                         Careful Recruitment and Selection of Personnel                         Police Training                         Supervision                         Administrative Guidance                         Internal Affairs                         Integrity Tests                         Accreditation                         Changing the Subculture                         The Central Role of the Chief             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 9A Scholar’s Perspective: Early Warning Systems: Responding to the Problem Police Officer, by Samuel Walker, Geoffrey P. Alpert, and Dennis J. Kenney References   10        POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY: EXTERNAL MECHANISMS             External Control Mechanisms                         Criminal Law: Prosecuting the Police                         Civil Litigation: Suing the Police                         Judicial Intervention                         Special Investigations                         U.S. Department of Justice Consent Decrees                         Citizen Oversight                         Public Interest Groups, the Media, and the Public             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 10A Scholar’s Perspective: Supercession of the Camden, New Jersey, Police Department, by Carmen V. LaBruno             References   11        TECHNOLOGY AND THE POLICE             Stages of Technological Advancement                         The First Stage: 1881-1945                         The Second Stage: 1946-1959                         The Third Stage: 1960-1979                         The Fourth Stage: 1980-present             Crime Scene Investigation                         Historical Perspective                         The Locard Principle and Physical Evidence                         Basic Procedures in Crime Scene Investigation                         The Realities of Crime Scene Investigation             Crime Analysis                         Historical Perspective                         Crime Analysis in the Twenty-First Century                         Geographic Information Systems (GIS)             Other Technological Advances                         Computers and the Internet                         Global Positioning Systems (GPS)                         Closed Circuit Television                         NIBRS                         Biometrics                         Cold Case Squads                         Less-than-Lethal Weapons                         Imaging             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 11A Scholar’s Perspective: Crime Mapping – A Tool for Law Enforcement, by Jennifer B. Robinson             References   12        NEXT STEPS AND CHALLENGES FOR POLICE             The Future of Policing                         Recruitment and Selection                         Training the Police                         New Philosophies and Strategies                         Organizational Issues                         Police Field Work                         Measuring Police Performance                         Police Deviance and Responding to It                         Technology             Summary             Key Terms             Discussion Questions Appendix 12A Scholar’s Perspective: COPS and CSI: Reality Television? by Michael Hallett             References   INDEX