Policing 2

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Police discretion:

  • the unwritten rule that police officers have the right to be selective in how they do thier jobs as long as they stay within widely prescribed departmental guidelines. 

LORD Scarman 1981:

"discretion is the art of suiting action to particular circumstances" 

  • need to be selective in order to create realistic law and order. 
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Police discretion and enforcement:

  • Police need 'reasonable suspicion' to excersie most arrest and stop and search poweres .
  • 'Objective basis' for suspicion required: 
  • - information recieved.
  • - someone acting 'covertly or warily' 
  • - someone carrying certain type or article at an unusal time or in a place with recent relevant crimes. 
  • stop and search and arrest decision are constrained only loosely by law. 
  • police powers are ill-defined and subjective. 
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Police discretion and enforcement:

  • Police need 'reasonable suspicion' to excersie most arrest and stop and search poweres .
  • 'Objective basis' for suspicion required: 
  • - information recieved.
  • - someone acting 'covertly or warily' 
  • - someone carrying certain type or article at an unusal time or in a place with recent relevant crimes. 
  • stop and search and arrest decision are constrained only loosely by law. 
  • police powers are ill-defined and subjective. 
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sources of police discretion.

Nature of criminal law:

  • vague definition, conflicting expectations
  • law used for social and medical problems .

police work environment: 

  • limited supervision of officers.
  • private encounters. 

Limited police resources: 

  • the myth of full enforcement. 
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factors that influence police discretion:

1) the incident 

2) the environment 

3) the force 

4) officer (their own experiences) 

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Cop culture:

Oragnisation culture: 

Shien (1985) 

" deeper level of basic assumption and beliefs that are shared by memebrs of an organisation, that operate unconsicously" 

  • all organisations have cultures: 

Reiner (2000) 

" has been developed as a pattern set of understanding that help officers to cope with and adjust to the pressures confronting the police" 

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Cop culture:

Oragnisation culture: 

Shien (1985) 

" deeper level of basic assumption and beliefs that are shared by memebrs of an organisation, that operate unconsicously" 

  • all organisations have cultures: 

Reiner (2000) 

" has been developed as a pattern set of understanding that help officers to cope with and adjust to the pressures confronting the police" 

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how is cop culture created and sustained?

Nature of work: 

Interactions with people: 

Socialisation 

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Reiner (2000)

7 Characteristics of cop culture: 

1) sense of mission

2) suspicion 

3) isolation / solidarity

4) conservatism 

5) machismo 

6) pragmatism 

7) radical prejudice

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Reiner (2000)

7 Characteristics of cop culture: 

1) sense of mission

2) suspicion 

3) isolation / solidarity

4) conservatism 

5) machismo 

6) pragmatism 

7) radical prejudice

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...

Canteen culture: 

  • is there a difference between what police say and what they do? 
  • police war stories .
  • street culture
  • patrol culture 
  • canteen culture 
  • headquater culture 
  • S.W.A.T culture 
  • cardigan squad - soft and fluffy culture of child protection units. 
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Subculture issues in policing:

Sexism: 

  • Reiner 2006 

Racism = Mclaughing 2007 

homophobia 

status culture 

management culture 

transphobia 

cop culture - female officers less likely to used force of using weapon in a situation. 

  - individual differences as police officers can have a massive ipact on the actions take by the police. 

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