Good Policing (From Administration and Management of Criminal Justice Organizations: A Book of Readings, Second Edition, P 104-124, 1994, Stan Stojkovic, et al, eds. -- See NCJ- 161200)

• NCJ Number: 161203
• Author(s): J J Fyfe
• Date Published: 1994
• Length: 21 pages
• Sale Source: Waveland Press, Inc.
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

The social mandate of American police officers is a mix of conflicting duties and responsibilities that has evolved with little input from police officers themselves.

Abstract

Police officers are often called upon to do the impossible or to provide services they have not been adequately prepared to perform. Close ties of the police to powerful individuals have sometimes made police departments a major vehicle of job patronage, and the closeness of the police to communities and politicians has also led to corruption. Further, lessons from history demonstrate that policing can probably be regarded as ideal only in places that are themselves idyllic and untroubled. Consequences of vaguely defining the police role and minimal police participation in specifying that role are widespread. These consequences are felt in such areas as setting priorities, measuring quality, preventing crime, apprehending criminals, and dealing with accusations of discrimination. Good policing is defined in terms of job satisfaction, the police subculture of rules, police services, and problem-oriented policing. 47 references and 12 footnotes