Chapter 2

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# Chapter 2:  
# Policing in the American Context

[Justin Nix](https://jnix.netlify.app)  
*School of Criminology and Criminal Justice*  
*University of Nebraska Omaha*

<br>
<br>
<br>
.white[February 8, 2022]

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# Policing in a Democracy

???

Your textbook says that “democracy ensures that a certain amount of crime is inevitable.” 
- **Why?** 
  - Concern over people’s rights and privacy, which vastly restricts the power of the police and the government

- Democracy = "Rule by the people"

- Policing in a democracy = *by consent*

<img src="scales.png" width="35%" style="display: block; margin: auto;" />
--

- .small[“…is subject to the rule of law embodying values respectful of human dignity, rather than the wishes of a powerful leader or party; can *intervene in the life of citizens only under limited and carefully controlled circumstances*; and is publicly accountable…”]

???

Can you think of any examples of how police authority to intervene in our lives is limited? 
- **4TH AMMENDMENT**
  - Protects us from unreasonable searches and seizures
  - Under most circumstances, warrant required to enter private residences, conduct searches, seize evidence

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# Policing in a Democracy

- The US is a *representative democracy*

???

**Representative democracy**: we elect officials to represent our interests

- Adheres to [federalism](https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/learning-material/federalism)

???

**Shared power**
- Strong federal government makes laws, but states also have the power to make their own 
- (but see supremacy clause — Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States Constitution)

- A union of self-governing states
  
--

- Dual federalism
  
???

**Dual Federalism**
- Only powers vested in fed government are those explicitly detailed in the Federal Constitution. Other powers are left to the states to decide
  
--

- But see *Supremacy Clause* [(Article VI, paragraph 2)](https://constitutioncenter.org/interactive-constitution/interpretation/article-vi/clauses/31)
  
--

- US is more of a *cooperative federalism*
  
???

Really we have a **cooperative federalism** structure
  - The lines between fed and state power are somewhat blurry
  - Fed govt has a lot of power over states (e.g., Interstate Commerce clause)
  
--

- This structure defines the three *levels* of US policing

- Federal, state, and local
  
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***Why not have a single, centralized police force?***

???

- Federalism
- It's impractical
- Early fear of policing being more or less a military regime

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# Police Organizational Environment

Agencies operate in an environment characterized by *competing interests and priorities*

???

If you're the Chief of the Omaha Police Department, who is the #1 influencer of the way you run your agency?

- The community

???

- Elections, review boards, filing complaints, reporting crimes

--
  
  - Not a monolith

- Elected officials
  
--

- The media

- Professional organizations, training institutes, and think tanks

<br>
What percentage of Americans express [confidence in the police](https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx)?

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## The Community

???

I've shown you this before, but reminder: this is a Gallup Poll that has been conducted every summer since 1993. 
- The line is the % of American adults who have *a great deal* or *quite a lot* of **confidence in the police**.

- Roughly 1,000 adults from all 50 states + DC

- **What is most notable to you about this graph??**

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## The Community

???

Here, I've included Americans' confidence in other institutions over the same period.

**What stands out?**

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## The Community

- Those percentages mask a lot of variation

- How do you think the following *individual characteristics* are related to *confidence in police*?

--
  
  - Race
  
???

- Historically lower among non-whites
- Black and Hispanic confidence in police took a hit after Ferguson, White confidence did not.

- Age
  
???

- Younger people tend to have less confidence in police
  - Young confidence also took a hit post-Ferguson; meanwhile old confidence increased
  
--

- Gender
  
???

- Pretty mixed; no clear relationship
  
--

- Political ideology
  
???

- Liberal confidence took a hit post-Ferguson; conservative confidence increased
- The party gap widened post-Ferguson as well
- This reflects the broader trend that conservatives tend to lean crime control and liberals tend to lean due process.
  
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## The Community

- [Adam Fine et al. (2020)](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11292-020-09438-7) show that among Black children, perceived police legitimacy falls every year [between the ages of 7 and 14](https://theconversation.com/kids-perceptions-of-police-fall-as-they-age-for-black-children-the-decline-starts-earlier-and-is-constant-145511)

???

**Why do you think this is?**

**What are the implications of this for...**

- Increasing trust and legitimacy?
  
  - Diversification of policing? 
  
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## Elected Officials

### Executive influence

- How does POTUS influence policing?
  
<img src="biden.jpg" width="50%" style="display: block; margin: auto;" />

???

POTUS appoints the federal agency heads (DOJ, DHS)

- Some, like COPS Office, decide how to distribute federal funding opportunities

Also indirectly influences policing by appointing SCOTUS justices

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## Elected Officials

### Executive influence

- How do governors influence policing?
  
<img src="ricketts.jpg" width="30%" style="display: block; margin: auto;" />

???

Governor sets policy and spending priorities for the state

- In some cases, s/he appoints the head of the state police department(s)
- In Missouri, the governor appoints members of the *Board of Police Commissioners*, who in turn oversee the KCPD.

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## Elected Officials

### Executive influence

- How do mayors and city council members influence policing?
  
<img src="stothert.jpg" width="25%" style="display: block; margin: auto;" />
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- Council-manager form  
  - Mayor-council form

???

- **Council-manager**: the council makes decisions, and the mayor votes along with the members. City manager runs city operations.

- **Mayor-council**: No city manager. Mayor is responsible for operations.

- Strong mayor - limitless authority
  - Weak mayor - serves city council
  
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## Elected Officials

### Legislative influence

???

**Legislators** don't directly set police budgets, but they do influence them by enacting legislation that provides funding (for whatever they perceive to be priorities)

- E.G., Clinton's [Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act (1994)](https://www.ncjrs.gov/txtfiles/billfs.txt)

- Created the [COPS Office](https://cops.usdoj.gov/)

### Judicial influence

???

Judicial oversight determines when police have abused their authority, and impacts the **outer limits of enforcement**, which we'll discuss more later in the semester.

- E.G., landmark SCOTUS decisions

???

***In what ways have the courts impacted policing in the last ~50 years?***

- Legality of terry stops
- Exceptions to the warrant requirement
- Police use of force
- Note that many cases that don't make it to SCOTUS remain binding in their state or federal circuit

- We'll cover several over the course of the semester

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## The Media

### Film and Television

- What are some of your favorite fictional movies that depict police characters?

- Some of mine are *Beverly Hills Cop*, *Die Hard*, *Training Day*, *The Departed*, and *Blue Streak*
  
--

- What about television shows?

- My favorites were *Brooklyn Nine-Nine* and *Reno 911!*

- But don't forget reality shows like *COPS* and *Live PD*

- ***Do you think these depictions influence our expectations of the police?***

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## The Media

### News media

- Journalism helps hold government officials, including police, accountable

- [WAPO](https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/investigations/police-shootings-database/) has been tracking fatal police shootings since 2015

- The public gets [information about crime](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0002716295539001011) from the news

- ***In general, do you think the news media accurately portrays crime and policing?***

???

**Impression management**
- Many agencies operate their own social media pages, enabling them to circumvent the news media (e.g., Cheng 2021).

- ***Do you agree with this practice?***

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## The Media

### Social media

- Viral videos

- E.G., Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Philando Castile, George Floyd
  
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- Helps social movements gain traction

- E.G., #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo

- Can also spread misinformation

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## Professional Organizations

- [International Association of Chiefs of Police](https://www.theiacp.org/)

???

IACP is one of the largest professional organizations in the world. Founded in 1893 and has over 20K members from 89 countries.
- Annual conference with panels on technology, training, evidence-based practices, etc. 
- Research Center
- Police Chief Magazine

- [Major Cities Chiefs Association](https://majorcitieschiefs.com/)

???

MCCA is comprised of the 50 largest cities in the US and the 7 largest in Canada
- Holds two conferences per year
- Pushes out publications, survey results

- [American Society of Evidence-Based Policing](https://www.americansebp.org/)

???

ASEBP founded much more recently, circa 2015.
- Pushing to formalize evidence-based policing, i.e., agencies have a moral responsibility to follow the science.
- Annual conference, usually in a city with a strong criminology department
- Most of the executive board hold PhDs

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## Training Institutes

- [FBI National Academy](https://www.fbi.gov/services/training-academy/national-academy)

???

FBI NA was founded in 1935 and is based in Quantico VA
- Runs a 10-wk course for managers nominated by their agency heads
- Covers intelligence theory, terrorism, law, forensics, leadership...

- [Southern Police Institute](https://louisville.edu/spi)

???

SPI was founded in 1951 and is housed at the University of Louisville.
- For mid-level managers
- Has two different courses, 10/12 weeks

- [Federal Law Enforcement Training Center](https://www.fletc.gov/)

???

FLETC is operated by DHS and is based in Glynco GA
- Courses on firearms, tactics, driving, investigations
- Hosts periodic summits that include presentations and roundtables with researchers

## Think Tanks

- [Police Executive Research Forum](https://www.policeforum.org/)

???

PERF is a nonprofit founded in 1976
- Research and policy organization
- Provides management services, technical assistance, and executive-level education to agencies
- Pushes out periodic reports

- [National Police Foundation](https://www.policefoundation.org/)

???

NPF is a nonprofit founded in 1970 that did some of the earliest evaluations of police practices (e.g., KC Patrol Experiment)
- I collaborated with them in 2018 on a report analyzing a spike in shootings by the Phoenix Police Department

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# Have a great day! 😄

### *It always seems impossible till it is done.*

<div style="text-align: right"> - Nelson Mandela </div>