Justice without Trial Chapter 3

Justice without Trial Chapter 3

 

Skolnick is concerned with describing and understanding the police “working personality.” As officers, especially those who are front-line practitioners, have a different occupation it goes to follow that they would have distinctive situational and employment-based variables which would influence their cognitive lens and behavioral patterns.

 

There are two principle variables which define an officer’s role—these are danger and authority. These two elements work together to increase an almost constant state of suspicion and to isolate an officer from those who do not share their occupation. The symbolic assailant is a term which indicates the physical and action-oriented characteristics which demonstrate that an individual may be a dangerous person. As an officer is continuously assessing their environment, the symbolic assailant represents the easiest way to identify those who are acting suspiciously, regardless if the individuals exhibiting the characteristics are dangerous or not.

 

As most members of society do not participate in this incessant risk-assessment, the practice serves to isolate police practitioners. Some officers even go as far as to hide their police identity from friends, as to admit that one is an officer is to assume that one is assessing their behavior.

 

The occupation of policing has a high level of solidarity as a result of the unique experience that officers encounter. Officers come together because the controlling of dangerous situations put them at odds with the general population. Officers are also expected to exhibit high levels of morality, and they are less likely to engage in social gatherings with those who do not understand the place that police officers come from.

 

Comparative Policing Chapter 7: Indian Policing

 

Chapter 7 discusses the evolution of the Indian police force. Their first reform occurred in the 18^th Century after they were colonized by the British. With that, it’s understandable that these 18^th Century modernizations were done by Robert Peel, who is also considered the father of our modern policing system.  Several ideologies are consistent throughout all of Peel’s endeavors: 1. Professional organization; 2. Hierarchy within the ranks; 3. Paramilitary in appearance and strategies.

 

There are also ideologies that are different than our own: 1. They have unarmed police officers that have the primary contact with the public and conduct all criminal investigations; 2. The armed officers have little or no direct contact with the public and have specialized training (i.e. SWAT, special ops). Like our police forces, they have had issues with corruptness, politicization, and discrimination. There is a consensus in that country, as with ours, that their current system is no longer capable and must be overhauled before further reform will have positive results.  My question for this information, should you choose to use it, would be:

 

Comparative Policing Chapter 9: Israeli Policing

 

Israeli policing began in 1948 when the establishment of Israel as an independent state occurred, working as a Minister of Public Security. This colonized public force primary role was to help the British rule the colony through centralized paramilitary force. Since this inception, terrorist activity has occurred as a part of daily life since through Palestinian armed groups because of disagreement in the new state. Primary tasks were to use combat and security oriented mission in dealing with mass disturbances, riots, and terrorism.

 

Training of officers is done with a military style. Israel’s culture is composed of Jewish, Muslim, Christians, and Druze. Citizens who are Druze are expected to be in the Israeli army. Immigration from Russia, Romania, Thailand, and Ethiopia caused an increase in cultural diversity for which the police force has also included in their field. During the late 1990’s a project is known as ‘Police 2000’ sought university graduates to join the force to promote educational and professionalism in the force.

 

Israeli police national headquarters is in Jerusalem which includes seven departments: Investigations and crime fighting, patrol and security, traffic, logistics, personnel, planning, and the community and civil guard department. Six district commands are also implemented with sub-districts. Israeli police are on constant watch for threats to the security of public safety because of both external and internal states. It is believed that military style approaches toward policing are appropriate for Israel based on national security needs and growing demands.

 

Comparative Policing Chapter 11: United Kingdom

 

Despite being one of the oldest democracies, the United Kingdom did not feature widespread government-sanctioned policing until the mid-19th century. Sir Robert Peel founded the London Metropolitan Police in 1829, and law enforcement spread from there to other parts of the country. Police forces continued to expand into the 20th century, and in 1964, the tripartite system was established that balanced police power between a central government, chief constables of individual forces, and police authorities.

 

In comparing global crime rates, the United Kingdom is one of the least violent countries in the world. Though homicide rates remain low primarily due to stringent laws forbidding gun ownership, crimes involving guns have been increasing since the 1990s. The authors attributed this growth to the influx of organized crime from Russia and other Baltic nations, as well as increases in urban gang activity and illicit drug sales.

 

Similar to the US, police in the United Kingdom struggle with accusations of excessive force, public approval ratings, balancing legal restrictions versus fighting crime, and ethical conflicts. Regarding the use of force, UK officers do not regularly carry firearms, and when an armed police response is needed, armed strike teams are summoned and deployed. Traditionally, officers have been presented to the public as normal citizens in uniform, only using force when necessary—commonly equipped with just a truncheon or baton for defense. More recently, officers have been issued defense sprays for protection.

 

UK officer powers are restricted by the Police and Criminals Evidence Act of 1984 (PACE), which allows for arrests and searches under certain conditions. Interestingly, the legal standard for PACE is reasonable suspicion for most arrests and searches, a lower legal threshold than US officers are required to achieve. Similar to the US, police powers in the last decade were expanded as well in response to terrorist activities.

 

No national police exist that cover the United Kingdom in its entirety. England and Wales have 43 agencies, Scotland 8 forces, and an additional entity in Northern Ireland. Also mirrored in the US, police agencies have changed their focus in recent years from crime prevention to security to prevent terrorism. The authors contended that this presents a continuing challenge police. As the nation welcomes more immigrants with different goals and customs, the population will continue to become more heterogeneous, yet law enforcement has struggled to diversify recruiting as well as connect community policing programs to residents. As such, contemporary police will be forced to find balances between respecting the rights of individuals versus maintaining safe communities.

 

Questions for Discussion

 

Question 1: The authors attribute the United Kingdom’s comparatively low murder rates to laws that restrict gun ownership. What if American politicians decided to tighten restrictions on gun ownership in all of the United States? Would this dynamic change in policy make police officer use of force more or less frequent? Explain.

 

Question 2: Haberfeld and Cerrah (2008) find that the Indian police model may, in the future, benefit from the community policing model used here in the U.S. Would you consider that model to have had a positive effect on police/community relations? Why? Why not?

References

 

Haberfeld, M. R., &Cerrah, I. (2008).Comparative policing: The struggle for democratization. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

 

Skolnick, J. (2011). Justice without trial: Law enforcement in democratic society (4^thed.). Quid Pro Books: New Orleans, LA.