POLICE AND THE SOCIAL SYSTEM - REFLECTIONS AND PROSPECTS (FROM AMBIVALENT FORCE - PERSPECTIVES ON THE POLICE, 2D ED., 1976 BY ARTHUR NIEDERHOFFER AND ABRAHAM S BLUMBERG SEE NCJ-44843)

• NCJ Number: 44844
• Author(s): A S BLUMBERG; A NIEDERHOFFER
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 22 pages
• Corporate Author: Holt, Rinehart and Winston
• Publication Format: Document
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

SOME CAUSES OF POLICE AMBIGUITY AND FRUSTRATION, THEIR HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, AND PORTENTS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE POLICE ARE EXAMINED.

Abstract

SOCIOLOGISTS VIEW CRIME AS A NORMAL PRODUCT OF SOCIETY. EVERYONE VIOLATES THE LAW, BUT FEW CAN BE PROSECUTED. THERE ARE SEVEN TYPES OF CRIME: UPPERWORLD (I.E., CORPORATE), ORGANIZED, VIOLENT PERSONAL, PUBLIC ORDER, COMMONPLACE (PETTY THEFT, FRAUD), POLITICAL, AND PROFESSIONAL. COMMONPLACE CRIME, WHILE NOT THE MOST HARMFUL OF THESE TYPES, IS THE MOST VISIBLE. THUS, IT IS THE MOST VULNERABLE TO THE INSTRUMENTS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT. LIKE OTHER BUREAUCRACIES, THE POLICE FORCE IS ANXIOUS ABOUT ITS PRODUCTIVITY AND RELATED BUDGETARY GRANTS; PUBLIC ORDER AND COMMONPLACE OFFENSES SERVE AS THE REQUISITE STATISTICAL DATA BOLSTERING LAW ENFORCEMENT BUDGETS. THE POLICE ARE EXPECTED BY SOCIETY TO PERFORM EFFECTIVELY WITHIN TWO MODELS OF JUSTICE -- THE DUE PROCESS MODEL, IN WHICH PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE ACCUSED PERSON IS OF FOREMOST IMPORTANCE; AND THE CRIME CONTROL MODEL, CONCERNED PRIMARILY WITH EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTION IN DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS. THE POLICE ARE THE MOST VISIBLE ELEMENT OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, AND AS SUCH ARE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY NEGATIVE FEATURES OF THE END PRODUCT OF THAT ENTIRE SYSTEM. IN MANY CASES, POLICE PERFORM MORE IMPORTANT JUDICIAL FUNCTIONS THAN DO JUDGES, PARTICULARLY IN DECIDING WHICH PERSONS TO ARREST. A SYSTEM OF EXTERNAL REVIEW IS NECESSARY TO CONTROL AND REDUCE POSSIBLE HARMFUL CONSEQUENCES OF POLICE DISCRETION. SOME MEDIEVAL ENGLISH LAWS ARE EXAMINED, AND SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE LAW ENFORCEMENT ABUSES THEY WERE DESIGNED TO CORRECT AND THOSE OF THE 1970'S ARE DEMONSTRATED. MANY POLICE OFFICERS FEEL THAT THERE IS ONE UNIVERSAL SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEMS -- PROFESSIONALIZATION (INCREASED SPECIALIZATION, TRAINING, EDUCATION, ETC.). PROBLEMS WHICH COULD RESULT FROM THIS APPROACH ARE POINTED OUT. CRITICAL ISSUES WHICH MAY BE FACING THE POLICE UP INTO THE 1980'S INCLUDE POLICE UNIONIZATION, THE ROLE OF POLICEWOMEN, CIVIL DISORDERS, AND THE FUTURE DIRECTION OF THE FBI.