CJC 101 Exam 2

Wickersham Commission

Focused on two areas of American policing that were in need of reform: 1) Police brutality 2) "The corrupting influence of politics" This reform should come about through higher personnel standards, centralized police administrations, and the increased use of technology -Initiated the progressive (reform) era of American policing

Four basic responsibilities of the police

1) To enforce laws 2) To provide services 3) To prevent crime 4) To preserve the peace

Reasons state police agencies were created

1- To assist local police agencies, which often did not have adequate resources or training to handle their law enforcement tasks 2- To investigate criminal activities that crossed jurisdictional boundaries 3- To provide law enforcement in rural and other areas that did not have local or county police agencies

First Organized Police Department

1829: British home secretary Sir Robert "Bobbie" Peel organized law enforcement in London. He pushed the Metropolitan Police Act through Parliament, establishing the London Metropolitan Police. Uniforms = blue coats and top hats. "Bobbies" did not carry firearms and were assigned to specific areas, or "beats" to prevent crime. Under control of local, elected officials

Commission on Law Observance and Enforcement

1929 - Herbert Hoover - to assess the American criminal justice system

Patronage System

A form of corruption in which the political party in power hires and promotes police officers, receiving job-related "favors" in return

Affirmative Action

A hiring or promotion policy favoring those groups, such as women, African Americans, or Hispanics, who have suffered from discrimination in the past or continue to suffer from discrimination.

Probationary Period

A period of time at the beginning of a police officer's career during which he/she may be fired w/o cause

Sexual Harassment

A repeated pattern of unwelcome sexual advances and/or obscene remarks in the workplace. Under certain circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal and can be the basis for a civil lawsuit.

Professional Model

A style of policing advocated by August Vollmer and O.W.Wilson that emphasizes centralized police organizations, increased use of technology, and a limitation of police discretion through regulations and guidelines

Intelligence-led Policing

An approach that measures the risk of criminal behavior associated with certain individuals or locations so as to predict when and where such criminal behavior is likely to occur in the future

Night Watch System

An early form of American law enforcement in which volunteers patrolled their community from dusk to dawn to keep the peace

Community Policing

Based on the notion that meaningful interaction between officers and citizens will lead to a partnership in preventing and fighting crimes

Tokenism

Belief that someone has been hired or promoted to fulfill diversity requirements and have not earned their positions

First organized police department

Boston

Consent Decree

Law Enforcement agency often agrees to meet certain numerical goals in hiring women and members of minority groups. If it fails to meet these goals, it is punished with a fine or some other sanction.

Political Era of Policing

Most police officers received their jobs through political connections

Community Era

Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act: Federal Govt provided state and local police departments with funds to create a wide variety of police-community programs

Double Marginality

The double suspicion that minority law enforcement officers face from their white colleagues and from members of the minority community to which they belong 1) White police officers believe that minority officers will give members of their own race or ethnicity better treatment on the streets 2) Those same minority officers face hostility from members of their own community who are under the impression that black and Hispanic officers are traitors to their race or ethnicity

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

The federal agency responsible for protecting U.S. borders and facilitating legal trade and travel across those borders.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

The federal agency that enforces the nation's immigration and customs laws

Discrimination

The illegal use of characteristics such as gender or race by employers when making hiring or promotion decisions

Coroner

The medical examiner of a county, usually elected by popular vote

Sheriff

The primary law enforcement officer in a county, usually elected to the post by a popular vote

Recruitment

The process by which law enforcement agencies develop a pool of qualified applicants from which to select new members

Field Training

The segment of a police recruit's training in which he or she is removed from the classroom and placed on the beat, under the supervision of a senior officer

Basic Requirements for becoming a Police Officer

U.S. Citizen, Not have been convicted of a felony, Have or be eligible for a license in the state applying to, At least 21, Meet weight and eyesight requirements