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Chapter Summaries

PART I. POLICING FOUNDATIONS

 1. Police in a Democracy

This first chapter is concerned with the police and their place in the government. As members of the executive branch of the government in the United States, the police have the authority and responsibility to enforce the laws. The police are enforcing these laws in a democratic society. This position presents several conflicts for the police.

The police provide services to the people. However, some of these services are ones that the public may not want. This may be true in situations of traffic enforcement and arrests. The police also may infringe upon the freedom of the public. One often equates democracy with freedom. However, there are limitations on that freedom and the police are there to remind the members of society of those limitations.

The police are also not without their limitations. The police are governed by the rule of law. Laws exist to regulate the behavior of the police in the performance of their duties. Procedural laws indicate what the police may or may not do in enforcing the substantive laws.

The public police may exist in a number of forms. These forms include tribal police, public safety, consolidation, special-jurisdiction police, contract, as well as taskforce. There are municipal, county, and regional police. It is these organizations that have the most employees when compared to the federal and state organizations.

Regardless of their structure the police have a role to play in the American society. However, exactly what the role involves may differ depending upon the source of the expectations. The community may have certain expectations of the police. The police department may also have expectations of its officers. These expectations may be formal, coming from rules and regulations. The expectations may also be informal, coming from fellow officers. Lastly, individual officers have their own beliefs as to what policing should be.

There are a number of role debates that have influenced policing throughout the years. Should policing be legalistic and rule-oriented or political and responsive? Should policing be proactive or reactive? Should the police be concerned with law violations only or include more of a police-community involvement? These are issues that concern not only the police but the community as well.

Much of the discussion in chapter one relates to the values, goals, and strategies of policing. The values, goals, and strategies are influenced by the role of the police. A legalistic orientation would include different values and goals than would a political orientation or a police-community involvement.

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 2. Police History

The history of policing may be traced back to a time when the family enforced the customs or norms of conduct. A more formal type of policing became evident in Rome in about 6 A.D., when a police force patrolled the city twenty-four hours a day.

The more familiar policing methods began in England with the passage of the Metropolitan Police Act in 1829. Sir Robert Peel, along with Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne, developed an approach that emphasized prevention. Police were distributed throughout the city to create a visible presence to enhance the deterrence approach.

This method of policing was brought to America. By the mid-1800s, police forces were established in many cities, loosely based upon the Peelian principles. Four theories were used to explain the development of police departments in America. The disorder-control theory suggests that police departments developed in response to a need to suppress mob violence. The crime-control theory suggests that police departments developed in response to increases in criminal activity. The class-control theory suggests that the police were developed as a result of class-based economic exploitation. Finally, urban-dispersion theory maintains that police departments resulted, not from a need, but because other cities had them.

These early efforts of policing were plagued by political corruption. Politics were found throughout the police organization. Many individuals became police officers by way of the patronage system. It was not until the Progressive Era of the late 1800s and early 1900s that politics began to fade from policing. A bureaucratic model of policing replaced the political emphasis. Efforts were made to reform policing in the twentieth century by having commissions report on the problems in policing. The Chicago Crime Commission, the Wickersham Commission, and the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice were several important investigative bodies that recommended changes.

The state police did not develop as rapidly as the municipal police. The Pennsylvania State Police was created in 1905 and became the model for other states to follow. State police agencies did not exist in every state until the 1960s.

The federal law enforcement agencies likewise were slow to develop. The Revenue Cutter Service and the U. S. Marshals were created in the late 1700s. The Postal Inspectors and the Secret Service followed in the mid-1800s. The FBI took on its crime-fighting role in the 1930s. Many other federal agencies were in existence by the 1990s.

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 3. Community Policing

Chapter Three examines the transition toward community policing. This transition was due, in part, to research about policing and the recommended changes as the result of the research. The research had indicated a gap between the public and the police. The legalistic style of policing tended to broaden that gap while narrowing the scope of police activity. Police-community relations were seen as a way to bridge this distance through the use of communication and mutual understanding.

Crime prevention became the focus of police-community relations; a number of methods were employed. Target hardening, CPTED, community crime prevention, and situational crime prevention were methods used to help build a more crime-free society and to build rapport with the citizens.

Team policing was attempted in a number of cities across the country. Team policing called for decentralization and increased community participation. The teams were to function as a unit with decisions being made within the team. They were also to maintain close relationships with the members of the community. One reason for the downfall of the team-policing concept was that middle management felt threatened by the decentralization of decision-making.

In the 1980s, foot patrol was making a comeback in the policing ranks. Citizens were becoming more involved in various aspects of policing. Community policing became the result of this broader approach to policing. Community policing called for more citizen input, a widening of the police function, and more personalized service to the citizens. The police were assigned to the same areas for extended periods of time, allowing for positive interaction between the police and the community members. Partnerships were being formed. Rather than just responding to calls for assistance, the police, along with the community members, were looking for ways to solve the problems of the area.

Today community policing is utilized by many departments across the country in one form or another. This diversity in programs makes the evaluation of community policing difficult. Federal and state budgets have allocated funds to police departments to help them continue community-policing efforts.

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PART II: POLICE ADMINISTRATION

 4. Police Management

Police management has progressed through three different perspectives. The first was classical police management. This management style emphasized the paramilitary structure of policing. This model also attempted to keep politics out of policing. After criticisms of the classical style, behavioral police management became popular. This style placed a greater emphasis on the wise use of discretion. The third perspective is a contemporary police management, including systems theory, contingency theory, and private sector influences.

Organizational design examines the structure of the department. A tall structure has many levels and a narrow span of control. Decision-making is left to the few at the top of the structure. A flat structure has few levels with a wide span of control. Decision-making becomes the responsibility of lower-level personnel.

Regardless of the structure, the police organization will have goals to achieve. These goals may be influenced by the community, the organization, and by the individual. To measure the effectiveness of the department, the police rely upon statistics such as the Uniform Crime Report and victimization surveys.

The police management must be able to handle diverse groups. Within the police organizations, the managers will have their culture, and the line officers will have their culture. Managers have their priorities and those priorities may not be the same as those of the street officers. Managers must also deal with police labor unions. There may be some interaction in the cases of grievances or work conditions.

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 5. Police Organizational

As police agencies contemplate adopting the community-policing philosophy, they must also be concerned about organizational change. More importantly, they must be concerned about the resistance to the organizational change.

Members of organizations may resist change because they misunderstand what is expected of them, they are used to doing things one way, or they feel a threat to their authority. In an effort to overcome resistance to change, the police organizations must be prepared to listen to the community and involve the community in the change. The organizations will need the support of the other agencies in their jurisdiction as well as the elected officials. The members of the department will need to be involved in the decision-making processes and feel a part of the change.

Madison, Wisconsin, was the earliest department to make the transition to community policing. This involved a change in leadership, an experimental police district, and citizen involvement.

Chicago's attempt to move to community policing has been the largest-scale effort to date. To be effective, the entire department and the city had to be involved. The community played an important part in the transition. The department was to have a strong commitment to training. An analysis of both projects, Madison and Chicago, showed that the efforts were successful.

Since community policing involves crime prevention and problem solving in the attempt to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods, jobs were redesigned. This increased the officer's ability to use discretion and imagination. The officer could use alternative methods in attempting to solve the community's problems. Departments needed to be innovative. They had to develop and utilize new ideas and methods. This innovation must start at the top with the chief. The chief must then be able to motivate the subordinates. The public must also support the innovation. If the public is permitted some input, they tend to be supportive.

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 6. Selection and Development

So you want to be a police officer? Chapter Six guides you through the various stages of selection and development.

The initial step in the selection process is recruitment. A variety of strategies may be used to attract qualified individuals. In New York, the Police Cadet Corps is used to attract college-educated individuals. This program provides scholarships to police cadets to continue college while also working part-time to gain some experience.

Now that we have a number of applicants, we must select those that are best suited for the department. This is an area that has legal challenges. Court cases have outlined that testing must be shown to be related to job performance and that the requirement of some college is acceptable given the complex nature of the profession.

The police agencies may have a number of minimum standards used to measure the candidates. Issues of age, height and weight, physical agility and strength, and education have been topics of legal battles. Case law may help guide police agencies in the formulation of their minimum standards.

Applicants may be subjected to background investigations, which would include previous drug use. Applicants may have to take a polygraph examination, psychological screening, and meet medical requirements. Candidates will be required to take a written examination and an oral interview.

Once the candidates are selected, the next phase will be training, usually conducted at the police academy. The training should include programs that incorporate the  department's mission statement and ethical considerations. The training should also be based upon what the officer does in the course of a day. The actual content of the training will vary from state to state but will probably include subject areas such as the laws of arrest, patrol techniques, domestic violence, investigations, cultural diversity, and ethics.

Upon satisfactory completion of the police academy, the rookie police officer will begin his or her field training. This will include assignment to a field-training officer who will act as the mentor for the rookie officer. The new officer will be on "probation" for a specific period of time. The new officer will be evaluated many times before he or she completes probation and is on their own.

The officer begins his or her career path. This path may include advanced training to remain current with the changes in the law. The path may take the officer toward specialized training to prepare for specific jobs in the department. The individual may be interested in supervisory training in preparation for management training and promotion.

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 7. Field Operations

Police field operations consist of patrol and investigations. Patrol has been referred to as the "backbone of policing" because the largest percentage of police personnel is assigned to patrol.

The goals of patrol include (1) crime prevention and deterrence, (2) apprehension of offenders, (3) creation of a sense of security and satisfaction, (4) provision of noncrime-related services, (5) traffic control, and (6) identifying and solving community problems.

The police wanted to create a visible presence that would deter would-be offenders. However, the development of the radio and the telephone changed the police patrol tactics from proactive to reactive. With the development of community policing, the police are expected to be aware of what is going on in their patrol zones. This includes a heightened awareness regarding terrorism and terrorist acts. The police should become target oriented and utilize event analysis.

The Kansas City Preventive Patrol Experiment was possibly the most influential early study on police operations. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of random patrol. By altering the patrol assignments in the areas, it was thought that the crime rates and citizen satisfaction in the areas would be changed as well. The study, instead, determined that the changes in patrol assignments did not change the crime rates or citizen satisfaction. The conclusion drawn was that random patrol was not effective.

Not all calls for police service require immediate attention. Police response times may be important in emergency situations but meaningless in many other situations. The police were able to develop differential police response (DPR) to help reduce costs, improve effectiveness, and not affect the level of citizen satisfaction.

Following the Kansas City experiment, police began targeting hot spots of crime. These hot spots were identified by analyzing crime data and discovering that a large percentage of crime was occurring in selected parts of the city. Directed patrol then targeted these hot spots. The police were proactive and focused on the problems within the hot spots. This would involve crackdowns on drunk driving, gang violence, and guns. Numerous programs were successful across the country in targeting and attempting to deter these problems.

The issue of police pursuits caused departments nationwide to reevaluate their policies. Some jurisdictions limited pursuits to violent felonies only, which resulted in a decrease of pursuits. Foot pursuits were also addressed and specific training led to improved methods of apprehending suspects and decreased officer injuries.

Investigation is another function of the police operation. The police detective wears many hats. The detective may be involved in undercover operations, intelligence-gathering operations, and investigation of all types of crimes. It is the investigator that will follow up on the initial reports and attempt to put the puzzle pieces together. Recent developments in physical evidence are available to assist the investigator in solving the puzzle. The automated fingerprint identification system and DNA are available to help the investigator track down suspects.

PART III: POLICE BEHAVIOR

 8. Behavior and Misconduct

When examining police behaviors, one may look at the way in which various police organizations are similar. This would be from the universalistic perspective. Universalistic perspectives would include the sociological, psychological, and organizational perspectives.

One may also look at the way in which the police are different in their styles of policing. This is the particularistic perspective. This perspective would include their view of human nature, the different role orientations, the different attitudes toward legal and departmental restrictions, clientele influences, and the relationship between management and peer group support.

Socialization theory supports the idea that police behavior is the result of experiences on the job. It is the job that influences the behavior of the police officer. Predispositional theory suggests that it is the values and attitudes that the officer brings to the job that determine his or her behavior. This theory suggests that a certain type of individual is attracted to policing.

This chapter examines a number of studies concerned with police behavior. Westley's study (1970) discovered a closeness among police officers and a code of silence that would prohibit officers from talking about police misbehavior. Wilson's study (1968) identified three organizational styles among police: watchman style, service style, and legalistic style. Van Maanen (1973) identified four stages a police officer goes through as he or she is initiated into policing and continues through the years. The pre-entry choice is the time when the individual selects policing as a career choice, for whatever reason. The second stage is the introduction. The recruit attends the police academy. The encounter is stage three and the officer experiences what police work is really like. The final stage, termed metamorphosis, is the time that the officer adjusts to policing. Crank (1998) examined the police culture. According to Crank, the culture is organized around four principles. One is coercive territorial control. The police may use force to control the public. The second principle is the unknown. This principle is concerned with the unpredictable nature of policing. Solidarity is the third principle and examines the cohesiveness of policing. The final principle is loose coupling. The police may become innovators in their dealings with offenders.

Part of police behavior will involve discretion. There are a number of variables that influence the officer's decision to arrest or not to arrest. There are departmental variables. There are neighborhood variables. There are situational variables that would include demeanor and attitude of both the suspect and the complainant. Situational variables also include race, gender, seriousness of the crime, and age. Another set of variables concerns the officer. The age, race, experience, and gender of the officer may influence discretion.

The last part of Chapter 8 examines police deviance. Police crime, occupational deviance, police corruption, and abuse of authority are the different types of police deviance. The Knapp Commission investigated corruption in the New York City Police Department in the 1960s and 1970s. The Commission described officers who actively pursue opportunities for corruption as meat eaters. The officers who take advantage of opportunities that come their way are described as grass eaters. The police may engage in deviance for financial gain, sexual misconduct, or drugs.

 9. Force and Coercion

The use of force is a necessary part of policing. Police have the authority to utilize whatever force is necessary to maintain order, effect an arrest, and to gain compliance.

There have been a number of studies concerning the use of force over the years. In a recent study (Greenfield, Langan, and Smith 1997), researchers contacted American citizens to ask about encounters with the police. Of the 44.6 million citizens that had encounters with the police during the previous year, only about 2.6 percent were handcuffed. Force, or the threat of force, may be ever present in police interactions, however many citizens may never notice. The force may be very mild and include only verbal commands.

Police are trained to use a continuum of force escalating from a mere presence to deadly force. They are trained from the areas of firearms and pepper spray to flashlights and canines. There may be situations where the police must use force and be within the guidelines of the law and the department, but conflict with members of the community. Other situations may involve a conflict between the law and the departmental policy. In a third instance, the actions may meet the expectations of members of society but be inconsistent with the law and policy.

Not all uses of force are proper. There may be cases of excessive force and police brutality. Physical and psychological force was common into the 1930s. The police would give the suspect the third degree. Case law from the 1960s ruled that these tactics violated the suspect's constitutional rights and were prohibited. However, the police were still permitted to use coercion has a means to gather information.

Police may sometimes have to utilize deadly force. Data concerning the number of individuals killed by the police is available from several sources. It is estimated that the police killed as many as 13,000 people from 1949 to 1990. Some researchers believe that this number is actually low.

There are many variables to consider when looking at the police use of deadly force. Research has looked at the community or neighborhood where police must work as a factor that may influence the use of deadly force. Factors relating to the officer would include the officer's assignment, the race of the officer, and the gender of the officer. The race of the offender has been examined as having an influence on deadly force. Lastly, changes in the law and policy influence the officer's use of deadly force.

10. Accountability and Ethics

Chapter 10 examines police accountability.  How is police behavior controlled? One way is through mechanisms of oversight. There are oversight mechanisms found inside the police organization. One of those mechanisms includes the management of the organization. This would include written directives. The directives explain the policies, objectives, and regulations of the agency. A second internal mechanism for management would be the internal investigation. If a citizen files a complaint against an officer, there may be in investigation conducted by members of the department.

Early warning system or identification system would be another of the internal mechanisms.  This mechanism looks for signs of police behavior that may lead to citizen complaints.

There are a number of external mechanisms. The first of the external mechanisms would be a civilian review board. Members of the community review citizen complaints. Many large cities have some form of civilian review boards in place. Proponents of civilian review boards believe that the police cannot regulate their own behavior, so there is a need for external control. However, some believe that the citizen can have no idea what the police do and therefore cannot sit in judgment.

Police auditor systems examine the policies of the police organization.  The police auditor system differs from civilian review boards in that the auditor system is not concerned with the review of citizen complaints.

The third external mechanism in the control of police behavior is through the use of the law.  The police may be arrested, may be held civilly liable, or even decertified.

The second half of the chapter looks at professionalism as a means of controlling behavior.  The characteristics of a profession include autonomy, unique body of knowledge, education and training, certification, and a commitment to service.

In addition to professionalism, ethical standards may help to regulate behavior.  However there are different approaches to what may be considered ethical.  Ethical formalism places the value on "doing one's duty."  Ethical utilitarianism relies on the ends of one's actions.  Ethical relativism depends upon the group or individuals.  The community policing philosophy is consistent with ethical relativism.

11. Legal Issues

The police are governed by the rules of criminal procedure. These rules outline what the police may and may not do in the processing of an individual through the criminal justice system.

The police must often deal with the Fourth Amendment issues of search and seizure. The police are permitted to stop and frisk individuals based upon a reasonable suspicion but need a higher standard, named probable cause, to affect an arrest. Much case law exists to illustrate reasonable suspicion and probable cause. The police may rely upon this case law to gain an understanding of how the court may rule in their particular circumstance.

If the police violate the conditions of the Fourth Amendment, the exclusionary rule may apply. This rule states that evidence illegally obtain is inadmissible in court. That evidence cannot be used against the defendant. The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine is an extension of the exclusionary rule. If evidence illegally obtained leads to the collection of more evidence, that additional evidence is also inadmissible.

Case law also exists to illustrate times when the police may search for evidence or seize persons or property without satisfying the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement. Exceptions exist that allow the police to perform activities without having a warrant, and the evidence gathered or persons arrested in such circumstances are lawful.

Police are usually permitted to seize evidence if it is in plain view, in an open field, or the result of a hot pursuit. An often-debated issue deals with the search of an automobile. Partly because of the mobility of the vehicle, the courts will tolerate the warrantless search of a vehicle. The Carroll Doctrine has led to a number of court decisions expanding the rights of law enforcement in the search of a vehicle.

The rules of criminal procedure also apply to situations when the individual has already been arrested. The police must advise the defendant of his or her Miranda Rights in the situations of custodial interrogations. This must be done because the defendant enjoys the right against self-incrimination, as outlined in the Fifth Amendment.

There are exceptions that apply in these circumstances as well. Public safety and inevitable discovery are two such circumstances. The Supreme Court has ruled that the police do not have to give Miranda warnings if there is a concern for public safety. However, once that concern has passed, the police must advise the defendant of his Constitutional rights. The Court has also ruled that statements made without the benefit of counsel, once requested, may still be used in court. This was covered under the inevitable discovery exception.

The police may be held civilly liable if they commit a wrong against an individual. The police may be held liable in state courts for intention or negligent torts (wrongs). The police may be held liable in federal court for violations concerning a constitutional or federally protected right. There are defenses that may be available to the police in cases of federal violations.

One of the impacts of civil liability is known as de-policing. This occurs when the police interact less often with the citizens for fear of a liability lawsuit.

PART IV: CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

12. Cultural Diversity

Policing, historically, has been a male-dominated profession. This dominance continues today. America's society has become more culturally diverse.  Policing has become more diverse but not at the same pace as society.

Minorities have not enjoyed easy access into policing.  If minority members were admitted into policing, they received unequal treatment.  Work assignments, evaluations, and promotions were usually restricted.  Black officers could not arrest a white offender.  They would have to call a white officer to arrest the white offender.

In evaluating the performance of the black officer, some evidence suggests that the black officer was actually harder on the black suspect. This was done to prove to the other officers that they were not biased. This was termed "double marginality." Today, the black officer is more confident and less willing to accept the discriminatory practices. Double marginality is less of a problem.

Similarities are found with women in policing. Females are underrepresented in policing. The early policewoman was restricted in her assignments. She worked with juveniles and family problems, female victims, and other social-welfare types of duties. The female police officer did not go on patrol until 1968. Early evaluations of the female police officer found that she was capable of doing the job as well as the male officer.  Studies found that female officer was less likely to use her firearm in violent confrontations. She was less likely to injure a citizen and was more emotionally stable.

Policing had to answer to a challenge of discrimination in employment. The courts found that testing and hiring practices of the police excluded minorities and females. The police had to institute affirmative action plans to hire minorities and females. Those individuals that were not part of the plan felt that they were being discriminated against in a situation known as reverse discrimination.

Throughout the decades, the number of women and minorities continued to increase. Despite increasing numbers on the department, women and minorities remained underrepresented in supervisory positions.

As the numbers continue to improve, the female officer still must find a place in the police culture. Being a male-dominated profession, there exists a sexist and macho perception of the role of police.  The female officer decides to take on the traditional police values and norms or to maintain the traditional feminine manner.  No matter the orientation, sexual harassment is another concern for the female officer.  Any allegations of sexual harassment need to be taken seriously.  If the department fails to adopt policies prohibiting sexual harassment and displays a deliberate indifference, they may be exposed to liability.

Progress has been made in diversifying the police department.  Inclusion of minority and female officers in the recruitment process will help to continue the diversification of policing.

13. Stress and Officer Safety

Policing may not be the most dangerous profession, but it is stressful. A number of studies have been conducted over the years examining police stressors. Stressors have been found in departmental practices and in the inherent nature of police work. Throughout the years and the studies, some consistent responses to stressors include killing someone in the line of duty, court practices, shift work, and the lack of support from administration. Newer sources of stress for the police have been negative media coverage and civil litigation. Airborne and bloodborne diseases are also an area of concern for the police. Stress may vary across gender lines and racial lines.

The limited amount of research conducted on stress and emotional problems has focused on alcohol abuse, drug abuse, suicide, and marital and family-related problems. It has been a common belief that alcohol abuse is prevalent in policing. Police work is an environment where social drinking is commonplace. There is little direct evidence on the amount of drug abuse among police officers, but it is viewed as an increasing problem. Suicide has become the most dreaded result of a police officer under stress. A study on police suicide found that the police were eight times more likely to commit suicide than to be killed in a homicide and three times more likely to commit suicide than to die in job-related accidents. Regarding the family and problems associated with stress and the job, several factors contribute to marital strife. Overprotection of the family, problems with the children, hardening of emotions, and sexual problems has all been discovered to cause family problems.

When it comes to officer safety, there are three perspectives. There is the perceived danger that relates to the public's belief about danger in police work. There is the potential danger that relates to those situations that could become dangerous for the officer. Lastly is the actual danger that involves the actual rates of injury and deaths that result from accidents and attacks from citizens. One study found that approximately 75 percent of the incidents resulting in officer deaths were initiated by the police officer. Most of the fatalities occur in situations that the police know are dangerous. Knowing the types of circumstances that lead to officer deaths or injury will assist those in charge of training the officers. They could help the officers recognize high-risk situations and what to do in those situations.

It is suggested that citizens be instructed about how to behave when interacting with the police. For example, in traffic stops, citizens should keep their hands in plain view and follow the officer's instructions. This will help to reduce the officer's fears and may help to keep both the officer and the citizen safe.

14. Higher Education

Is a college education necessary to be a police officer? Chapter 14 examines this issue. This is not a recent issue either--August Vollmer felt that the police should be educated in the "technology of policing" but also in college-level courses. This was in the early 1900s. It was the rising crime rate in the 1960s and the ghetto riots of the mid-1960s that became the driving forces behind requiring higher education for police officers.

The federal government became involved in the late 1960s by passing legislation that created programs for police to pursue a college education and receive tuition reimbursements or waivers. This was also in response to a presidential commission that, in 1967, called for the nation's police officers to have baccalaureate degrees.

Higher education is not the same as technical training. Early programs seemed to focus on technical police training rather than academics. By the late 1960s and the early 1970s, the programs began to widen their focus to more academically based education. Colleges across the country responded by adding criminal justice/criminology courses to the curriculum. Oddly enough, it was also at this time that the LEEP program was phased out.

According to a national study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 1 percent of approximately 3,000 agencies participating required a college degree for employment. Even if not required, many individuals entering policing today have some college experience. Approximately 25 percent of the officers in the field have a baccalaureate degree. This increase in education has also found its way up the ladder with more police chiefs holding college degrees.

Studies have indicated that college-educated officers do better on the job. They are better communicators, problem-solvers, more in touch with the diverse culture of their jurisdiction, and more accepted by the citizens of their jurisdiction. However, it appears that college-educated officers are less satisfied and more frustrated with policing.

The courts have supported the position of higher education for police through their decisions. Challenges have been raised concerning the requirement of college experience and the courts have ruled in favor of the requirement, citing the complex nature of policing. Also, it appears as though the college experience requirement does not have a negative impact on minority-officer recruitment. So what August Vollmer called for nearly 100 years ago is still a work in progress.

15. Contemporary and Emerging Issues

As the text comes to a close, the authors take a look at things to come. The future of policing is examined against a number of factors likely to influence the future.

The American society is constantly changing. Americans are living longer and an unprecedented segment of society could be categorized as elderly. This situation poses a problem for the police. The police must deal with the possible victimization of the elderly, a strain on social agencies, and fewer tax dollars to apply to the police budget.

Diversity of the American population will continue to occur. The police must deal with a diverse citizenship. The police will have to be aware of the ethnic differences, the cultural norms, and have the ability to calmly handle potentially violent situations.

Americans are also moving, many out of the suburbs and toward rural areas. This means that the small-town police department may have to handle circumstances previously not found in rural America.

Police have been dealing with issues of racial profiling, eyewitness identification, deinstitutionalization of mentally ill individuals, and computer crime. Privatization is a trend that, contrary to popular thought, is not new. Private police existed before public police. Private security will continue to develop, because the police can only do so much. Federalization of crime control and law enforcement is seen as a continuing trend. The federal government has passed more federal criminal laws and has jurisdiction over many drug and gun violations. Militarization also appears to be active in the United States. The military has been involved in the domestic "war on drugs" and, more recently, counterterrorism efforts.

As technology has changed the world, so technology has changed policing. Technology has created equipment to improve officer safety, to improve investigations, and to help maintain information and communications.

With the advent of the Department of Homeland Security, the police must be more proactive in protecting U. S. soil. This will include sharing information with other agencies, a closer check on U. S. borders, and a greater commitment to community-oriented policing and problem-oriented policing. The police can keep citizens informed and help them prepare for possible terrorist events, and attempt to create a feeling of safety and security.