Chapter 6

SOC 3880
Intro to Criminal Justice
mbritz@clemson.edu
Criminal Justice
CHAPTER 6
ISSUES IN LAW
ENFORCEMENT
AND POLICE
BEHAVIOR

© 2013 by Pearson Higher Education, Inc
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved
6.1
Describe police corruption issues.
6.2
6.3
6.4
6.5
Summarize the guidelines for using force and determining when
excessive force has been used.
Summarize the law enforcement code of ethics and police
subculture.
Describe the dangers, conflicts, challenges, and sources
of stress that police officers face in their work.
Compare various police styles.
6.6 Summarize how various police oversight programs operate.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

Define terms related to policing issues and challenges.
6.7
6.8
6.9 Summarize the legal aspects of intelligence gathering.
Explain the importance of police professionalism and
integrity and various methods for building them.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

Compare various police styles.
Learning Objectives
After this lecture, you should be able to complete the following Learning Outcomes
6.1

3 Styles of Policing6.1
Watchman
(Neighbor)
Legalistic
(Soldier)
Service
(Teacher)
5

Describe the dangers, conflicts,
challenges, and sources of stress that
police officers face in their work.
Learning Objectives
6.2

Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458 • All Rights Reserved7
6.2

6.2
Suspicious
Material
Human
Bites
Spitting Urine/Feces
Cuts/
Puncture
Wounds
CPR/First Aid
Body
Removal
Casual
Contact
Any Contact
with Blood or
Body Fluids
Contact with
Dried Blood

Summarize the law enforcement
code of ethics and police subculture.
Learning Objectives
6.3

6.3

6.3
Authoritarian Cynical Secret Efficient
Suspicious Hostile Conservative Prejudiced Insecure
Loyal Individualistic Dogmatic Honorable

6.3
12

Describe police corruption issues.
Learning Objectives
6.4

6.4

6.4
15

6.4
Grass Eaters Meat Eaters
Categories
of Corruption

Violent Crime
High-Level
Corruption
Low-Level
Corruption
Denial of Civil Rights
Criminal Enterprise
Property Crimes
Major Bribes
Role Malfeasance
Being Above “Inconvenient Laws”
Minor Bribes
Playing Favorites
Gratuities
6.4

Summarize the guidelines for using
force and determining when
excessive force has been used.
Learning Objectives
6.5

6.5

6.5
Deadly
Force
Less-Than-
Lethal
Weapons
Use of
Restraints
Use of Body
Positioning
Use of
Authority

6.5

6.5
23

Summarize how various police
oversight programs operate.
Learning Objectives
6.6

6.6

Explain the importance of police
professionalism and integrity and
various methods for building them.
Learning Objectives
6.7

Calls for
Increased Police
Professionalism
27
6.7
Corruption
Danger
Liability

Define terms related to policing
issues and challenges.
Learning Objectives
6.8

Summarize the legal aspects of
intelligence gathering.
Learning Objectives
6.9

6.9

6.1
6.2
6.3
Some explanations of police corruption focus on individual “rotten apples,”
whereas others focus on the “barrel,” or the whole department. Most
experts reject individual explanations and suggest that there is a deviant
police subculture or that corruption results from secrecy within
departments.
Pressures on police: how officers make decisions that affect the liberty of
private citizens. How police deal with the pressures of performance and the
use of deadly force, and how they face the issues of corruption and
brutality.
Police styles include: The watchman (neighbor), the legalistic officer
(soldier), and service (teacher).
Police corruption takes three forms: nonfeasance (failure to perform a legal
duty), misfeasance (failure to perform a legal duty in a proper manner),
and malfeasance (commission of an illegal act).
6.4
CHAPTER SUMMARY

6.5
The Supreme Court has ruled that police may use deadly force to stop a
suspect only if the suspect threatens the officer with a weapon or there is
probable cause to believe that the suspect is dangerous.
6.6
Intelligence gathering is a difficult task, however, because it takes a great
deal of skill and experience to distinguish disjointed information from true
intelligence. For mere information to become intelligence it must be linked
to particular individuals, locations, known groups, methods of operation,
patterns of past conduct, or communications that raise the level of
suspicion. Still, most intelligence leads to dead-ends, making it time-
consuming and sometimes frustrating work. This is characteristic of criminal
investigative work of all kinds.
6.7
All police officers enter a law enforcement career with an attitude of
professionalism and commitment, but all soon experience failure and/
or frustration on the job. The resulting disenchantment leads to cynicism for
some but renewed commitment for others.
CHAPTER SUMMARY

6.9
In the effort to develop information into intelligence, police are subject to
criticism. They have been accused of “profiling” racial or ethnic groups by
singling them out for scrutiny, unnecessary surveillance of suspects, of
following false terrorism tips that disrupt the lives of the subjects, and of
gathering intelligence without proper oversight. These criticisms are not to
be taken lightly, but they are common any time police take on a new role.
See page 217 for Key Terms.6.8
CHAPTER SUMMARY

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