Question 1
Historical development of police forces in the United States and key founding fathers during the four periods
The Political Era
Police officers during this period regulated criminals rather than ensuring control of the criminal activities. Police officers had to establish a good rapport with professional petty law breakers such as pick pockets, in exchange for information about criminals who committed serious felonies ( Sinclair, 2017) . These relationships fueled petty crimes across the country since most of those criminals were under police protection. Also, police stations during this period were considered as the last resort for the poor, who ran to them for essential services. For instance, most police stations provided housing for the homeless. As a result, these stations became congested, dirty, and infested with diseases, hence leading to the banning of essential service provision by police. The ban on alcohol and public drinking, gambling, and sex working followed, hence fueling corruption within the police force and increasing crime. Most of the banned activities were now considered essential and were provided illegally by high profile criminals in conjunction with the police. Involved police officers were paid to protect the criminals while they execute their operations. For instance, Ex Head of NYC Detective Bureau, Thomas Byrnes made approximately $350,000 from such dirty deals between 1880-1895.
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Patronage problems emerged from political candidates who rewarded their supported with police jobs, which would later help them form political machineries to keep them in power. William M. Tweed of the Tammany Hall of New York City is an example of such a politician who used police officers recruited by him to protect him and maintain his power. Tweed managed to run machinery that led him to get to the Senate.
Reform Era
Reverend Charles Parkhust spearheaded the reforms in NYC police using the church as his platform. The Reverend referred to the police as a polluted institution that needed cleansing since the force only existed to promote crime rather than curb it. The reverend formed crusades that influenced the ousting of Byrnes and appointment of Theodore Roosevelt as the Commissioner of police in New York. Roosevelt implemented anti-corruption reforms through firing corrupt officers, and advancing security practices through introduction of police disciplinary action for misconduct and inspection of police at work. Other cities across the United States adopted these reforms, which did not change much until August Vollmer took over the police in Berkeley California ( Sinclair, 2017) . Vollmer believed that the work of the police force is more than apprehension and prosecution, rather, it encompasses full-cycle public services. In 1919, Vollmer began his reforms by changing recruitment practices where college graduates were employed instead, increased the size of police patrol from 3 to 27, introduced motorcycle and bicycle patrol, introduced fingerprinting technology for crime investigation, and ushered the Wickersham Commission which brought similar changes in other states.
Community Era
The development of police during this era was influenced by Orlando Winfield Wilson, who was the Chief of Wichita, Kansas Police Department between 1928-1939. Although the reforms were progressive since the early 1940s, most of Orlando's impact was either indirect through his actions during his tenure or direct due to his actions as a criminology professional at the University of California in the 1960s. Orlando established policies which led to the firing of corrupt officers from work after proof from investigations made. Also, his mission, known as the Square Deal Code was adopted as the International Association of Chiefs of Police in the U.S., which represented changes within policing. Based on Orlando's works as a professor of criminology, he championed reforms in Chicago police forces. However, the reforms failed to address issues of police brutality which had begun rising during his era. Since the brutality cases were also tied on racial grounds, especially the African American communities, the role of the police also shifted to take care of the communities.
The New Era
The reforms during the new era were sparked by the terror attack in September 11, 2001. The track led to introduction of various dynamics within the police force. The Department of Homeland Security was introduced during this period to boost security. Also, all police officers were subjected to terror response trainings to equip them better in future cases (Stevens, 2017). Also, since the end of the community era had issues on police brutality, the new era picked up on the same issues which are still prevalent and under reforms.
Relevancy of Black Lives Matter in changing the current role of police in the U.S. through protests
The Black Lives Matter Movement is a political and social platform which advocates for the rights of protesters against police brutality and racial-based violent acts by police force against against African American communities, through nonviolent and civil disobedience protests (Lebron, 2017). The movement was incepted in July 2013 as a hash tag by Opal Tometi, Alicia Garza, and Patrisse Lullors, and has since grown bigger.
The relevancy of the BLM movement in changing the role of police officers in the United States can be defined by the awareness it creates about evil police acts, and the power to drive legislation in police laws. The BLM movement emancipates the public from incidents of police brutality which might not otherwise have made their way into mainstream. For instance, the murder of Brianna Taylor and George Floyd are recent incidents of police brutality in the United States which led to a mass sharing of the events through the BLM hashtag and channels on social media (Hill et al., 2020). Through awareness, the BLM plays a vital role as a watchdog to the police force in the U.S. The awareness created has always led to the arrest of the responsible officers and charging by law. Such consequences establish discipline among police officers who fear to undergo incarceration for violence. Unlike the past, most violent events by police never used to get to the mainstream, hence promoting the behavior among police who would be confident about their identities being secured and kept secret. Also, the awareness creates the push for changes in policies which are supported by many people through signings of petitions. The new policies influence how police operate.
Question 2
APA (7 th ) as discussed during the library/research orientation and list 7 examples of scholarly research and 7 examples of non-scholarly work
APA 7th edition is the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition publication which provides a writing style manual for researchers, editors, writers, students, and educators in academic fields. The manual gives guidelines on headings, arranging tables, citation, figures, and language use.
Scholarly Articles
Stevens, D. J. (2017). An introduction to American policing. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Lebron, C. J. (2017). The making of black lives matter: A brief history of an idea. Oxford University Press.
Oliver, W. M. (2006). The fourth era of policing: Homeland security. International Review of Law Computers & Technology, 20(1-2), 49-62.
President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. (2015). Final report of the president’s task force on 21st century policing.
Cardez, M. (2015). Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 20(2), 127.
Vito, G. F., Reed, J. C., & Walsh, W. F. (2017). Police executives’ and managers’ perspectives on Compstat. Police Practice and Research, 18(1), 15-25.
Becker, H. K. (2017). Community policing: the US experience. In Criminal Justice Research: Inspiration Influence and Ideation (pp. 159-187). Routledge.
Non-scholarly Articles
Oppel, R., Taylor, B., & Bogel-Burroughs, N. (2020, September 24). What we know about Breonna Taylor's case and death. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html?0p19G=2103
The New York Times (2017, June 20). Dash camera shows moment Philando Castile is shot. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000005176538/dash-camera-shows-moment-philando-castile-is-killed.html
Mazzei, P. (2020, June 4). A popular Louisville restaurant owner was killed by the police. What happened? The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/us/louisville-unrest-david-mcatee.html?0p19G=2103
Wilson, D. (2014, August 13). What happened in Ferguson? The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=DEE912298E079541E80463B6E1031311&gwt=pay&assetType=REGIWALL
Caselaw Findlaw (1985). TENNESSEE v. GARNER. United States Supreme court Tennessee v. Garner (1985) No. 83-1035 Argued: October 30, 1984 Decided: March 27, 1985. Retrieved from https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/471/1.html
Hill, E., Tiefenthaler, A., Triebert, C., Jordan, D., Wiliis, H., & Stein, R. (2020, May 31). How George Floyd was killed in police custody. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html?0p19G=2103
Brown, D. L. (2017, July 23). In Detroit, 'the rage of oppression.' For five days in 1967 riots consumed a city. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/07/23/in-detroit-the-rage-of-oppression-for-five-days-in-1967-riots-consumed-a-city/%3foutputType=amp
Question 3
Recent highly publicized police shootings and discuss what you think needs to happen to reduce the number of deadly uses of force incidents between the police and community members
The Shooting of Breonna Taylor
The shooting of Breonna Taylor on March 13, 2020 in Louisville, Kentucky was a highly publicized murder. Breonna Taylor aged 26 at the time of her death was an EMT in a local healthcare facility. Police stormed her apartment to search the premise after they got wind that Ms. Taylor's house was used for drug trafficking by drug traffickers leaving 16 miles away (Oppel et al., 2020). According to Taylor's boyfriend, the police stormed in without announcement, which made him to fire in defense of their lives. However, one of the officers, Hankinson fired back 10 rounds into the apartment without caring about sight. Taylor got hit by 5 bullets that led to her succumbing to death.
The Shooting of Philando Castile
The murder of Castile by a police officer called Yanez happened in Falcon Heights, Minnesota on July 6, 2016 (The New York Times, 2017). Castile was driving home with his wife Reynolds and four-year daughter before he was pulled over by Yanez at around 9 p.m. Yanez had asked Castile for his Driver's License and registration when he was given a disclaimer that among the things in the car is a licensed gun. However, Castile told the officer that he was not pulling the gun but instead reaching the documents required. Yanez responded by firing seven shots from close range leaving Castile dead on the spot.
The Shooting of David McAtee
The shooting of McAtee happened on July 1, 2020 following a curfew reinforcement by police officers in Louisville (Mazzei, 2020). McAtee owned a barbeque restaurant in Louisville where protesters against the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor loomed. The officers are reported to have fired pepper balls at McAtee's restaurant to disperse the people who had violated the curfew and sought shelter in the restaurant. McAtee responded by firing a gun before he was shot dead twice in the chest.
Reducing the Use of Violence by Police
Police officers should be trained on cultural diversity and professional judgement skills. Police brutality in the United States has mostly been witnessed on African American communities, which informs on racism by police officers. Through education on cultural diversity, they would understand other cultures better and refrain from acting on social constructions surrounding a particular race. The same training would enhance their professional judgement while making arrests.
Question 4
Traditional, Community and Statistical Policing Strategies and what you think should be implemented to reduce Part 1 offenses in New York, Chicago, and Baltimore
Traditional policing strategy encompasses high visibility police action in areas identified for crime. The police are expected to show up on these areas frequently through random patrols and rapid responses to crime ad emergency calls. Community policing on the other hand involves cooperation between the police and community through facilitation of community services such as hygiene and projects such as draining sewer lines, trash collection, among other activities. The aim of community policing is to establish a good rapport between police and citizens such that the fear for police officers is eliminated among community members. Last, statistical policing strategy uses data solutions and tools to identify crime patterns, track crime locations and mapping, and ensure accurate deployment of police resources to these locations. Part I crimes in New York, Chicago and Baltimore would be better reduced using traditional policing where increased police patrols in the streets would reduce crime through increasing the likelihood of arresting criminals.
Question 5
Impact that statistical/technology-based initiatives (comp stat) and other programs have on 21 st Century Law Enforcement. Also, list and describe the four core principles of the Comp Stat program and whether it has been effective in crime reduction in U.S. communities.
Use of statistical initiatives in policing has had great impact in crime reduction and enforcement of the law. Compstat policing employs big data tools to analyze different crime patterns, perform heat maps for crime areas, identify distribution of police resources across a target region and advice on possible actions, and generally track police action in patrols, police chase, among other activities. These solutions have helped curb crime through making of arrests of high profile criminals and maintaining law and order in assigned beats. The four principles that guide this operation include: (1) Timely and accurate information or intelligence; (2) Rapid deployment of resources; (3) Effective tactics; and (4) Relentless follow-up. The police have well established channels of obtaining intelligence about crimes through cooperation with communities and through use of Compstat strategies. Intelligence is obtained both in real-time and progressively during investigations. Each piece of information is treated uniquely and required resources are deployed after which action is executed promptly. Arrests are followed by thorough investigation to connect the dots in the crime patterns observed. Through the use of these principles, law enforcement officers have been successful in curbing crime in major cities such as New York.
Question 6
The primary tenets of Pillars I, II and III of the 21 st Century Task Force Report on Policing in the U.S
Primary Tenets of Pillars I, II, and III
Pillar I of the 21st century task force report on policing is 'Building trust and legitimacy.' The pillar stresses on officers being guardians rather than showing a warrior mentality to young people. The pillar also insists on officers being mentors to students.
Pillar II 'Policy and oversight', states that policing policies should reflect community values. For instance law breaking within a school environment should be handled first by the administration in the school. Pillar III, 'Technology and social media' focuses on engagement with the youth through modern digital platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.
7 key benefits of implementing recommendations from the 21 st Century Task Force Report.
Enhanced citizen engagement through use of social media engagement tools.
Accurate gauging of community sentiments about crime through the use of Compstat and social media.
Reduction of implicit bias.
Reduction of crime through use of community policing.
Enhanced confidence in police forces by citizens through community policing services.
Improved quality of life among citizens in areas such as health and hygiene through community policing services.
Reduction of fear of crime due to the restored confidence among citizens about their security.
Question 7
Three major themes or topics from Parts I, II and III from Leaders Eat Last
The main themes featuring in the parts I, II, and III from Leader Eat Last are trust, sacrifice, and selflessness (Cardez, 2015). The three parts insist on the fact that leaders need to be empathetic and ready to put their teams first so that their followers achieve a sense of safety on them. When employees feel safe, they can easily trust their leaders and be more confident about the decisions they make. In this way, employees are ready to take risks and work extra hard to propel the company of an agenda forward.
Question 8
The premise of the police and policing mindset of the Warrior versus Guardian
mindset in American policing. Also, list three of the most prevalent issues facing 21 st century law enforcement today.
The warrior versus guardian mentality is part of Pillar I of the 21st century task force report on policing in U.S. The tenet is a guide on building trust and legitimacy among citizens, especially the young people. The tenet is built on the belief that the youth will easily obey the police if they believe that they are legitimate. Legitimacy in this sense is earned by the police being friendly and positioning themselves as mentors in patriotism, and life success. Through implementation of this pillar, law enforcement can easily deal with the 21st century issues such as narcotics in the streets, cybercrimes, and lack of trust on police. Police brutality is the main factor that drives lack of confidence and trust in police by the youth while this also translates towards the government at large. These trust issues have pushed the youth into drug selling in streets and smuggling weapons. Also, advancement in technology has increased the rates of cybercrime, which is a new challenge for police to deal with in the 21 st century.
Question 9
Development and rise of militarization in American Policing in terms of and tactics and deployment. How militarization efforts were utilized in Ferguson, MO.
The development and rise of militarization in the U.S began in the early 1920s during the Prohibition. The prohibition led to the emergence of organized crimes across the country where many people joined illegal businesses such as bootlegging, among other crimes to survive the period. These criminals used sophisticated weapons to support their activities, hence, causing a retaliation by police who adopted to the use of complex military weapons. Later in 1965, the SWAT team was formed and first deployed in Detroit riots. SWAT has since grown to tens of thousands of units across the country. In 1997, the 1033 program further militarized police by allowing them to access military hardware. Last, the 2001 terror attack boosted these efforts through formation of the Department of Homeland Security and increased military weapons to police departments. The deployment of these police officers is done using heavy artillery and military combat for protection.
How militarization efforts were utilized in Ferguson, MO.
The Ferguson MO riots experienced militarization of police where the FPD used a lot of force to dismiss the protest leading to hundreds of casualties. The FPD police were equipped with pepper guns, rubber bullets, bullet proof jackets, military guns with live bullet rounds, and dressed in full military combat. Police in riots would be expected to scatter the crowds and prevent chaos, whilst the FPD did none of that. Instead, FPD officers violently beat up the rioters, fired pepper balls and rubber bullets, and used live bullets to scatter the crowds.
Question 10
According to research, only a small percentage of police officers engage in unethical or official misconduct. True or False ________________________.
Answer; True
Recent influx of media attention on police use of force and how it has contributed to over generalization of police misconduct and misbehavior.
The media has a powerful platform for public emancipation. Currently, digital media platforms have the ability to reach millions of people at the same time through live sessions among other methods. Since, most people in the modern era use digital media, it becomes easier for information to be passed through these channels. Therefore, stories of police use of force readily go viral. The trends tend to create a tinted image for the whole police force since every day has a case of brutality reported across the world. The developed hashtags also generalize the reported cases which tends to paint all police officers as brutal. Such hashtags include #Endpolicebrutality, #Policebrutality, #Saynotopolicebrutality among others.
Question 11
Four eras of policing in the United States. Also, discuss the challenges of American Policing in a Democratic Society regarding legitimacy, public order, protection of rights.
The four eras of policing include the Political era, the reform era, the community era, and the new era (Oliver, 2006). The political era of police development in the United States is marked by the period between 1840 and 1930. There were two primary challenges during this era, that is, regulation of criminals, and patronage problems. The reform era in police historical development is marked by the period between 1930 and 1970s. The reform era is the period that marked a lot of changes in the police force to eliminate the corruption that had infested the institution. The community era began in the late 1970s up to 2001. The community era is defined by a further reduction of corruption and establishment of police as community servants. The New era of police development in the U.S is marked by the period between 2001 and the present time.
Challenges of American Policing in a Democratic Society regarding legitimacy, public order, protection of rights.
In a democratic modern society, police experience a challenge in law enforcement caused by the tainted image of police as brutal and violent. Therefore, while citizens’ go into the streets to protest for human rights, LGBTQ rights, feminism, among other movements, the police are usually stuck in the dilemma to act in fear of the provocation and judgement. Most of these protests involve massive looting which places police in a tricky position. Also, there exists a conflict on protection of the rights of protesters to their freedom of expression and gathering during riots and their right to life when riots turn violent. The duty of police officers is to maintain law and order even in extreme situations. Therefore, most officers face challenges dealing with the scenario aforementioned. However, some officers flip hence finding themselves in scandals of police brutality.
Question 12
The current movement regarding defunding or re-allocating resources from U.S. Policing and whether you think it can or cannot work.
The movement of defunding is a mass action procedure by racial justice activists to push for budget cuts in police departments for the reason that citizens pay high taxes to fund police yet they use those resources to kill innocent citizens. Defending might not effectively work because it with worsen the situation. The salaries of police officers will would be reduced significantly while also exposing the police force to only limited access resources. This kind of frustration might force these police officers to indulge in organized crime to make extra pay.
Question 13
Research as discussed during the library/research orientation and list and discuss 10 databases that can be utilized foe criminal justice and social science research.
Research refers to investigation or inquiry into a particular topic of study with the purpose of finding an understanding about the existence, and relationship of the topic with other issues that are identified by the researcher. Ten databases for criminal justice research include:
Criminal Justice Database (ProQuest) Access: UC Only
SocINDEX with Full Text Access: UC Only e-books
Scopus (Elsevier) Access: UC Only
Web of Science Access: UC Only
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
Nexis Uni Access: UC Only
NTIS (Access via government website) Access: Free Government Documents
OmniFile Full Text Mega Access: UC Only
PAIS (ProQuest) Access: UC Only Primary Sources
PAIS (Public Affairs Information Service)
ProQuest Congressional Publications Access: UC Only Government Documents
All parts of a Master’s Thesis (i.e. introduction, review) and describe plans for comprehensive exam preparation.
Master’s thesis contains six chapters and an abstract. The introduction chapter focuses on outlining the background of the research, the problem statement, the aim of the thesis and objectives, and the significance of the study. The literature review chapter reviews related literature from the past on the research topic. The methodology chapter outlines procedures used to conduct the research while the results section reports the findings. The discussion chapter connects the results with past literature and the research objectives to establish if the research purpose was achieved. Finally the conclusion chapter summaries the thesis. In preparation to do a thesis or any other exam, an individual needs to perform thorough research to collect related knowledge to every concept that is within the scope of the curriculum, and then apply the findings to a topic of choice.
Question 14
The illegal and systemic actions of the Ferguson Police Department toward its citizenry and why they were sued by the Justice Department.
Ferguson Police Department violated law enforcement rules by using force in dismissal of rioters, and engaging in racial profiling of the protestors in Ferguson MO. Out of the arrests made, more than 90% of those apprehended were African Americans which indicated the bias in race during arrests yet the protestors were highly diversified (Wilson, 2014). Also, the officers used excessive force by beating up and using rubber bullets, pepper balls, among other violent weapons. The officers responsible were sued by the justice department for violation of law enforcement professional conduct codes.
Question 15
Development of use of force
in American policing and what if any changes needs to be implemented regarding training, policies, etc. Also, be sure to discuss TN v. Garner case and other key cases that have influenced police use of force policies and procedures.
The use of force by officers began several decades ago, but intensified after the bootlegging and prohibition period was announced. Since most citizens had joined organized crime in New York and Chicago, and other parts of the country, Police officers got militarized to reduce the retaliation by the angry mob. The TN versus Garner case of 1985 is an example of a shooting and use of force that led to loss of a life during an escape from prison. Regardless of the escape, law enforcement did not permit the officer to shoot since there was no threat from the suspect. Similarly, the Detroit 1967 riots that led to the whole city to a standstill for a week was not well handled by the police (Brown, 2017). Numerous people died in the riots due to shooting and beatings by the police, while other succumbed to injuries. Training of police officers will be helpful in equipping them with knowledge of handling riots without violence.
References
Brown, D. L. (2017, July 23). In Detroit, 'the rage of oppression.' For five days in 1967 riots consumed a city. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.washingtonpost.com/news/retropolis/wp/2017/07/23/in-detroit-the-rage-of-oppression-for-five-days-in-1967-riots-consumed-a-city/%3foutputType=amp .
Becker, H. K. (2017). Community policing: the US experience. In Criminal Justice Research: Inspiration Influence and Ideation (pp. 159-187). Routledge.
Cardez, M. (2015). Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't. Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship, 20(2), 127.
Caselaw Findlaw (1985). TENNESSEE v. GARNER. United States Supreme court Tennessee v. Garner (1985) No. 83-1035 Argued: October 30, 1984 Decided: March 27, 1985. Retrieved from https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/471/1.html
Hill, E., Tiefenthaler, A., Triebert, C., Jordan, D., Wiliis, H., & Stein, R. (2020, May 31). How George Floyd was killed in police custody. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html?0p19G=2103
Lebron, C. J. (2017). The making of black lives matter: A brief history of an idea. Oxford University Press.
Mazzei, P. (2020, June 4). A popular Louisville restaurant owner was killed by the police. What happened? The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/us/louisville-unrest-david-mcatee.html?0p19G=2103
Oppel, R., Taylor, B., & Bogel-Burroughs, N. (2020, September 24). What we know about Breonna Taylor's case and death. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html?0p19G=2103
The New York Times (2017, June 20). Dash camera shows moment Philando Castile is shot. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/100000005176538/dash-camera-shows-moment-philando-castile-is-killed.html
Sinclair, G. (2017). At the end of the line: Colonial policing and the imperial endgame 1945–80 . Manchester University Press.
Stevens, D. J. (2017). An introduction to American policing. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Oliver, W. M. (2006). The fourth era of policing: Homeland security. International Review of Law Computers & Technology, 20(1-2), 49-62.
President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing. (2015). Final report of the president’s task force on 21st century policing.
Wilson, D. (2014, August 13). What happened in Ferguson? The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/08/13/us/ferguson-missouri-town-under-siege-after-police-shooting.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=DEE912298E079541E80463B6E1031311&gwt=pay&assetType=REGIWALL
Vito, G. F., Reed, J. C., & Walsh, W. F. (2017). Police executives’ and managers’ perspectives on Compstat. Police Practice and Research, 18(1), 15-25.
