1. CHAPTER 5
The Role of Police in Society
Lecture slides prepared by Lisa J. Taylor

2. Abuse of Power by Police
The majority of police officers are professional and ethical.
However, a small minority abuse their power. This leads to
close scrutiny by the public of all police.
Police officers have tremendous power in our society:
•The power to arrest
•The power to mediate or to charge
•The power to use force
•The power of life and death

3. San
Francisco
Police
Testilying
Case
(2006)
Officers received tip regarding drug activity in
a home.
They filed an affidavit for a no-knock search
warrant, falsely indicating they had sent an
informant in to buy drugs.
When the raid team burst in, the 92-year old
female resident began shooting at officers. She
was killed by a hail of bullets.
When officers found no drugs, they planted
drugs, and forced an informant to lie about
buying drugs from the woman.
2 of the 3 officers ultimately confessed and
pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter.
The lead officer received a 6-year sentence.
Their sergeant pleaded guilty to federal
charges of violating the dead woman’s rights.

4. San
Francisco
Officers
Allegedly
Committed
Perjury in
Reporting
Drug Busts
(2011)
Officers were accused of committing
perjury by falsely describing drug busts
they conducted in written police reports.
Video taken by surveillance cameras
during separate drug raids show the
police officers failed to get consent from
the apartment-dwellers before
conducting warrantless searches for
narcotics.
The officers also misrepresented their
searches in later police reports.
Since these reports are written under
oath, this was tantamount to perjury,
according to the Public Defender.

5. Viewpoint: Police as Crime
Fighters
• Criminals are the “enemy” and are fundamentally different
from “good” people.
• Police are the “army” that fights the enemy.
• Police must be able to use any means necessary against
criminals.
• Since police are in a “war,” they must be allowed discretion
in
making decisions.

6. Herbert Packer's
Model of Law Enforcement
Crime Control Orientation
• Preventing criminal conduct is the most important
function of law enforcement.
• Failure of law enforcement means the breakdown of
order.
• Criminal process is the positive guarantor of social
freedom.
• Efficiency is a top priority.
• Emphasis is on speed and finality.
• There is a presumption of guilt.

7. Viewpoint: Police as Public
Servants
• Criminals are like any other citizens.
• Police have limited ability to affect crime rates one way or
the other.
• Police as public servants serve all people, including
criminals.
• Since police are public servants, their ability to use force
should be restricted.

8. Herbert Packer's
Model of Law Enforcement
Due Process Orientation
• There is a possibility of error.
• Finality is not a priority.
• There is insistence on prevention and elimination of
mistakes.
• Efficiency is rejected if it involves shortcuts.
• Protection of process is as important as protection of
innocents.
• The coercive power of the state is always subject to abuse.

9. Early American Law
Enforcement
• 19th
-century police were involved in social
service activities.
• Corruption was common in early police
departments.
• The move towards police “professionalism”
began in the 1920s.
• During this period, the role of crime fighter
emerged as a characteristic of police.
• The role of public servant was minimized.

10. Community Policing
• In some ways, a return to original police
involvement in service and engagement with
community.
• Focus is on proactive crime prevention rather than
emergency response.
• Encourages officers to see citizens as partners.
• Shifts decision-making and discretion downward to
patrol officers who know the neighborhood best.
• More visible operations increase police
accountability.

11. Ethical Problems in
Community Policing
• Gratuities may be an issue for officers who are
expected to create and maintain close ties to the
community.
• The officer’s discretion in enforcing the law may be
compromised by personal relationships.
• Increased autonomy and decreased supervision may
provide greater opportunity for misconduct.

12.  One police officer was fired and
two others were disciplined
after an internal investigation
revealed they routinely
accepted items from a local
convenience store without
paying for them.
 Accepting gratuities is a
departmental policy violation
and a violation of the officers'
code of ethics.
St.
Petersburg
Officers
Disciplined
for Taking
Gratuities

13. Klockars’ Police Control
Authority: Entitlement to unquestioned obedience
that derives from fulfilling a specific role.
Power: Power is the threat behind the authority.
Persuasion: The use of signs, symbols, words,
and arguments to induce compliance.
Force: Physical coercion.

14. Source of Police Authority?
The Social Contract
• Each person gives up complete freedom in exchange for
the guaranteed protection of the society against others.
• Police power is part of this quid pro quo.
• Police power exists to provide protection.
• Since police power may also violate rights if abused, it is
limited to what is minimally necessary for protection.
• If the social contract is the basis of police power, it is also
the basis of police ethics.

15. Ethical Standards Associated
with the Social Contract
• Fair access
• Public trust
• Safety and security
• Teamwork
• Objectivity

16. Characteristics of the Effective
Public Servant
• Wisdom
• Good character
• Balanced perception
• Integrity

17. Discretion
The power and authority to choose between two
or more courses of behavior.
Discretion may be influenced by “style”
of policing.

18. Duty
• The responsibilities attached to a specific role.
• Police roles include both crime fighting and
public service.
• How far does police duty extend…
Enforcing the written law?
Providing service?
Ensuring medical treatment is provided?
Preventing crime altogether?

19. Formal Ethics: Codes, Guidelines &
Rules
Aspiration/
Ideal “Code”
Principles/
Guidelines
Mandatory
Rules of
Conduct
Describes the
perfect
professional.
Describes the
value system of
the organization.
Serve as the
basis of
discipline.

20. Characteristics of Codes of
Ethics
 Fairness
 Service
 Importance of the law
 Personal conduct

21. Informal Ethics: The Subculture
 Typically form a homogenous social group.
 Have a uniquely stressful work environment.
 Participate in a basically closed social system.

22. “Themes” of Policing (Crank)

23. Police Characteristics (?)
 Cynical
 Isolated, alienated
 Defensive, distrustful
 Authoritarian, dogmatic
 More conservative than the general public
 Value equality less than the general public
 Value obedience over independence

24. Noble-Cause Corruption
• Involves officers employing unethical means to
catch criminals because “it’s the right thing to
do”
• Perceived by officers as fulfillment of their
profound moral commitment to make the world a
safer place to live
• Is utilitarianism (the end justifies the means)

25. North
Carolina
State Bureau
of
Investigation
Forensics
Scandal
(2010)
 A forensics expert for the NC State Bureau of
Investigation repeatedly lied on the stand
while providing testimony crucial to the 2003
conviction of a novelist accused of murdering
his wife.
 Michael Peterson's conviction was overturned
and he was granted a new trial in December
2011.
 Judge Orlando Hudson described at length
how the expert, Duane Deaver, an agent with
the NC State Bureau of Investigation, misled
a jury about his qualifications and the
reliability of his scientific opinions in the
Peterson case.
 Additionally, an independent audit completed
in 2010 found that agents at the crime lab
manipulated and withheld the results of
hundreds of tests to confirm the presence of
blood, tainting prosecutions based on that
evidence.

26. “Blue Curtain of Silence”
• Facing the wrongdoing of a fellow officer is a police officer’s
most difficult ethical dilemma.
• The code of silence present in police work is also present in
other occupations and professions.
• In policing, the code of silence is a form of noble-cause
corruption.
• Evidence indicates “blue curtain of silence” or “blue curtain of
secrecy” is breaking down but still present (2/3 of police said
“whistleblower would receive informal sanctions” & 61% said
officers do not always report even the most serious
violations/crimes of other officers).

27. Loyalty
 A component of the esprit de corps of policing.
 An absolutely essential element of a healthy
department.
 Explained by officers’ dependence on one another,
sometimes in life-or-death situations.
 A personal relationship, not a judgment.

28. Sanctions on “Whistleblowers”
 A distressing aspect of loyalty
 Are often extreme
 Have resulted in state and federal legislation to
protect whistleblowers
 Legislation is ineffective against informal ostracism
and rejection

29. Major Alexey
Dymovskiy -
Russian
Police
Officer
Alleges
Police
Corruption
 A police officer in Southern Russia was fired
after publicly accusing his bosses of
corruption.
 Dymovsky called on Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin to take steps to fight corruption in the
police force.
 He says officers are forced to make up
criminal charges against innocent people in
order to cover up the police's inability to
track down real criminals.
 Although Dymovsky was immediately fired
for what his superiors considered slander, an
official probe was allegedly launched by the
country's interior ministry into the situation in
the local police department.
 Dymovskiy spent 1 ½ years in jail for fraud
and misuse of authority.

30. Change in the Police Subculture
Increased diversity
• Work force no longer socially homogenous.
• Officers vary substantially in their cultural views.
• Few factors are strong predictors of officers’ values.
Civil litigation
• Has increased the risk of covering for another officer.
Police unions
• Have become more formal with increased power.

31. Zero-Tolerance Policy
--Implemented by William Bratton, N.Y. police chief, 1995-1999
• Police took an aggressive stance against street people and minor
criminals, especially those in the business area and subway
system.
• New York City enjoyed a dramatic decline in crime.
• However, citizen complaints against New York City police rose by
75%.
• Crime rates fell throughout the country during this period, even in
areas without zero-tolerance policies.
• Also used “CompStat” which is form of accountability.
Do you think zero tolerance is effective?

32. What Type of Policing Do We Want?
• If forced to make a choice, it is probable that the citizenry
would choose crime fighter.
• Generally, police do not encounter much criticism when
they are successful in their crime fighter role.
• The zero-tolerance policy, implemented by William
Bratton was an example of this.