Police in America

1
Police in America

• Chapter Six
• The Police and Crime

2
Crime Control Strategies

• Proactive versus reactive
• General versus specific
• Particular Crimes
• Specific Places
• Specific Offenders
• Specific Victims

3
Crime fighting responsibilities

• Preventing crime
• Patrol
• Deterrence value
• Formal crime prevention programs
• Security improvement, target hardening
• Community Policing
• Citizens are co-producers of police services

• Apprehend criminals
• Citizen reports
• Police officer on-view observations
• Police-initiated investigations
• Unfounding crime
• Civil not criminal
• Insufficient evidence
• Abuse discretion

4
Criminal Investigation

• Preliminary Investigation
• Identify and arrest suspect
• Provide aid to victims
• Secure crime scene
• Collect physical evidence
• Prepare preliminary report

5
Criminal Investigation

• Follow up
• Interviews witnesses
• Canvass crime scene
• Discussing the case with patrol officers
• Interviewing suspects
• Check records and NCIC files

• Effectiveness
• Clearance
• Arrest
• Eye witness identification
• Criminalistics
• Case screening
• Scientific selection of cases based on solvability

6
Special Investigations

• Undercover
• Deliberate deception
• Associates with criminals
• Less supervision
• Drugs
• Buy and bust
• Trading up
• Long-term undercover
• Drug crackdown

• Drugs
• Demand reduction strategy
• DARE
• SMART-Oakland
• Gangs
• Gang suppression
• GREAT
• Guns
• Hate Crimes
• School Crime
• Terrorism
• Computer crime

7
African Americans and drug possession