NCJ Number
107166
Journal
Law and Contemporary Problems Volume: 47 Issue: 4 Dated: (Autumn 1984) Pages: 83-122
Date Published
1984
Length
40 pages
Annotation
Police discretion is generally molded within a deterrence rather than a compliance model for controlling behavior, but there are signs of a return to an older model of police patrol which aims at a balance of deterrence and compliance policing methods.
Abstract
The principal objective of compliance law enforcement is to secure compliance with the law by inducing conformity or by preventing law violations without detecting, processing, and penalizing violators. The primary objective of deterrence law enforcement is to secure compliance with the law by detecting violations, finding the perpetrators, and penalizing them to inhibit future violations. An emphasis on punishment and justice in the criminal justice system leads police managers to emphasize deterrence, focusing on crime clearance by arrests. This emphasis is expressed in a reactive mobilization model which deploys police in cars, which limits contact with citizens and neighborhood problems. A return to foot patrol in many jurisdictions, however, has brought a new emphasis on proactive and preventive policing. Policing may be entering a period in which managers are open to different ways of coping with law violations and their collective consequences for various neighborhoods and communities. 82 footnotes.