Policing and society - Summary Introduction to Criminal Justice PDF

Preview

Summary

summary for policing and society ...

Description

Policing and society Structure, function & key roles of police •

Structure

•

Function  The purpose of the NSW Police Force is to work with the community to reduce crime and violence and improve public safety. Key roles  Preventing, detecting and investigating crime;  Monitoring and promoting road safety;  Maintaining social order;  Performing and coordinating search and rescue operations; and.  Emergency management.

•

Historical contexts of policing 

Histories of police in Australia  Australian police organisations highly centralised and bureaucratic  1789 first civilian police force in NSW  Early formations of policing in Australia influenced by British and Irish models but evolved differently.

Police powers & discretion •

Main powers in relation to:  Investigation of offences  Search and seizure of property  Arrest and questioning  Prosecution of summary offences (local court)  Controlled operations (surveillance and entrapment)



Police discretion  Define discretion - The power and ability to make decisions  What is police discretion? - Discretion is defined as the power or right to decide or act according to one's own judgment, that impact the people they are policing.  Why is it important? - A police service which cannot act due to lack of discretionary powers is near useless - EXAMPLE: o Mitigating factors — perhaps the offender did something that was technically illegal, but had a reasonable explanation for it  Driving with a revoked license when they are taking a passenger to hospital for an emergency  Homeless person stealing food  Why is it bad? - a police service whose acts are free from check or oversight is likely to be dangerous and bias. o adverse police discretion has resulted in longer criminal records for Aboriginal individuals than non-Indigenous individuals  Over-policing of indigenous groups  Discrimination  Violates human rights

Models/styles of policing •

•

•

Community Policing  Define - promotes community-based problem solving initiatives, where police work with community members to deal with a whole range of problems within the community.  Examples - Eye watch o To provide a forum for crime and anti-social behaviour issues without the hindrance of lifestyle and timeframes o To provide crime information and “Keep a Lookout Out For” o To facilitate guest speakers for important topic Problem-Oriented Policing  Define - involves the identification and analysis of specific crime and disorder problems, in order to develop effective response strategies.  Examples - Hot spots - Profiling offenders Intelligence-Led Policing  Define - Collection and analysis of data about crime and disorder, then allocation of resources.

 Examples

•

•

Public Order Policing  Define - use of police authority and capacity to establish a legitimate equilibrium between governmental and societal, collective and individual, rights and interests in a mass demonstration of grievance.  Examples - Greater use of force - Militaristic Zero Tolerance Policing  Define - high profile, proactive maximum enforcement street policing strategy that requires police officers to pursue even the most minor offences with the same vigorous more serious forms of criminality  Examples - Police Crackdown in Cabramatta o Uniform and undercover police o Sniffer dogs, horses, bicycles

Issues in policing • • • • •

Police culture Policing Indigenous populations Policing ethnically and culturally diverse populations Plural and private policing Policing transnational and technology driven/facilitated crimes...