Policing: The Essentials

First Edition

by Carol A. Archbold, Carol M. Huynh, and Thomas J.

Mrozla

Student Resources

1. A Timeline of Policing in America

o Learning Objectives

Learning Objectives
1. Examine the English roots of American policing.
2. Describe how slave patrols and watch groups evolved into formal police
agencies in colonial America.
3. Examine the ways that politics influenced American policing during the
political era.
4. Explain how the adoption of technology and actions by police reformers
changed American policing during the reform era.
5. Discuss the strategies used by some police agencies to strengthen and in
some cases build strong relationships between the police and the public
during the community/problem-solving era.
6. Identify how the terrorist attacks on 9/11 increased the use of intelligence by
American police agencies during the Homeland Security era.
o
o Flashcards
7. Traditional and Contemporary Policing Strategies

Learning Objectives
 Differentiate between the definitions of law enforcement and police.
 Define the traditional model of policing and identify some of the problems
associated with this model.
 Explain the negative consequences that can result from the use of broken
windows policing in racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods.
 Demonstrate how community policing can be used to build and strengthen
policecommunity relationships.
  Explain how stop and frisk is used as a zero-tolerance policing strategy.
 Recognize how some police agencies use intelligence more often after the
terrorist attacks of 9/11.
 Examine the ways that computers are utilized by police agencies that use
predictive policing strategies.
 Identify various combinations of alternative policing strategies that are used
by agencies that practice smart policing.

8. The Scope of American Law Enforcement

Learning Objectives
 Differentiate between the definitions of law enforcement and police.
 Compare the functions of municipal police and county sheriff’s agencies.
 Discuss the wide range of services provided by state-level law enforcement
agencies.
 Explain the purpose and functions of federal law enforcement agencies and
their respective departments within the federal government system.
 Examine similarities and differences in the types of services provided by
private security and police agencies.
 Compare rural and urban police agencies.
 Discuss fragmentation of police service and ways to manage it.

 Department of Homeland Security Created in 2003

with the mission to protect the United States from attacks

by foreign nations, and is one of two departments in the

federal government that houses federal-level law

enforcement agencies.

 Department of Justice Established in 1870, one of two

departments in the federal government, it houses federal-

level law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, DEA, ATF,

and Marshals Service

 Fragmentation Police services provided on the local level
that may overlap each other, which can lead to

communication problems and competition between

agencies, resulting in a waste of resources.

 Law enforcement The job of making sure people obey

the law and is one of many responsibilities of the police.

 Rural police Agencies that make up 40% of local police

agencies and cover areas with populations of less than

2,500 people. Sheriffs’ departments Considered a part

of local law enforcement with countywide jurisdictional

boundaries and are responsible for patrolling

unincorporated or sparsely populated areas, as well as

small towns that do not have their own municipal agencies.

 Tribal police
 A policing agency providing service to people residing on

Native American reservations acknowledged by the United

States federal government.

 University campus police

 Officers responding to a variety of calls for service within

the boundaries of their campus as well as overseeing events

that take place on campus, enforcing traffic laws,

 investigating crimes that take place on campus, and

providing security to all campus buildings.

9. Police Officers and Police Culture

Learning Objectives
 Discuss police culture
 Review the history and workplace experiences of women in American
policing.
 Recognize how American police agencies have become more
racially/ethnically diverse over time.
 Discuss the workplace experiences of police officers based on their sexual
orientation.
 Explore differences in the treatment of police officers based on some
combination (intersectionality) of their gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual
orientation.
 Examine how changes in police personnel have altered the police culture.

10. Becoming a Police Officer

Learning Objectives
 Describe recruiting strategies used by some American police agencies.
 Identify the common requirements for hiring police officers.
 Discuss general steps that police agencies use during the selection process
when hiring police officers.
 Review the three phases of training.
 Identify some of the factors that influence officers to seek promotion.
 Discuss the opportunities that are available for police officers seeking to
transition into specialty roles through lateral movement within police
organizations.
 Review some of the factors that influence police officers’ decision to remain
or leave their current organization (retention).

11. Police Organization and Leadership

Learning Objectives
  Explain the evolution of police organizations.
 Summarize the main theories that help explain the structure and function of
police departments.
 Explain the various ways police agencies can be altered.
 Examine the extent to which leadership and supervisory styles influence
officer behavior.
 Describe how police supervisors must manage personnel issues related to
stress, job satisfaction, morale, and cynicism among patrol officers.

12. Patrol, Investigations, and Technology

Learning Objectives
 Describe the various types of patrol used by the police and problems
associated with those patrol types.
 Identify the phases in the criminal investigation process.
 Explore various types of technology used by the police.

 Body-worn cameras Technology that is worn by officers

to record work-related activities.

 Civil disobedience The refusal to follow laws as a form

of protest.

 Clearance rates A measure of crimes solved by the

police.

 Closed circuit television Video surveillance

broadcasted to a limited audience.

 Community/problem-solving era The third era of

policing that emphasizes creating partnerships with the

community and solving underlying crime problems.

 Crackdowns Sudden and dramatic increase in police
presence, sanctions, and threats of apprehension either for

specific offenses or for all offenses in specific places.

 Crime mapping Plotting crimes and incidents of social

disorder on digitized maps.

 Criminal investigation The process of collecting facts

and other evidence to solve crimes.

 Cybercrime Criminal activity carried out using computers.

 Foot patrol A method of patrol where officers are more
able to have face-to-face interaction with residents.

 Gunshot detection systems Technology that uses

triangulation to detect and locate gunfire.

 License plate readers High-speed cameras that read

vehicle license plates instantaneously.

 Location-oriented patrol strategies Patrol focused in

areas where the probability of crime is high.

 Motorized patrol The dominant method of patrol that

emphasizes rapid response to calls for service.

 Nonlethal weapons Weapons designed to decrease the

probability of a fatality.
  Offender-oriented patrol strategies Strategies that
focus on the apprehension of individuals that commit a

disproportionate number of crimes.

 Police pursuit A police officer's pursuit of an actual or

suspected violator of the law.

 Specialized/directed patrol Focused patrol on certain

locations, toward specific offenders, or on certain crimes.

 Split-force patrol Patrol strategy in which one group of

officers is responsible for responding to calls for service

from the public while the other group forms a specialized

crime-suppression unit.

13. Police Effectiveness

Learning Objectives
 Review the definition of police effectiveness and how the measurement of
police effectiveness has changed over the course of the three eras of
American policing.
 Identify and describe the general crime control strategies, including
increasing police strength, routine preventive patro,; rapid response, and
generalized arrest strategies (e.g., mandatory arrest).
 Describe how proactive policing differs from general crime control strategies.
 Assess the evidence of crime reduction for broken windows strategies.
 Describe the different forms of community policing and whether they reduce
crime or influence residents’ perceptions of crime.
 Explain whether zero-tolerance policing is effective at reducing crime.
 Contrast intelligence-led policing with predictive policing and rate their
effectiveness in reducing crime.

14. Police Liability and Accountability

Learning Objectives
 Review the definition of liability and discover how police liability can lead to
lawsuits filed against police.
 Define police accountability and examine some of the accountability
mechanisms found within police organizations.
 Identify police accountability mechanisms found outside of police
organizations.

15. The Public and the Police

Learning Objectives
 Review the relationship between police and the public over the eras of
policing.
 Examine variation in individuals’ perceptions of the police.
 Identify factors that can influence the way the police view the public.
 Explore some of the ways that the police try to improve their relationship
with people in their communities.

16. Discretion and the Police

Learning Objectives
 Define discretion and explain how it is used by police administrators.
 Understand the factors that influence how police officers use discretion.
 Describe how discretion can be misused or abused.
 Explain the ways that police discretion can be controlled by mechanisms both
inside and outside of police organizations.

17. Police Deviance and Ethics

Learning Objectives
 Review the definition of terms associated with acts of police wrongdoing, and
learn how the prevalence and types of police misconduct have changed
throughout the history of American policing.
 Examine the types of police deviance that result in personal gain and types
that do not result in personal gain.
  Explore data sources that shed light on the frequency of police deviance in
the United States, as well as the levels of involvement in police deviance,
ranging from one police officer to an entire organization.
 Examine some of the causes of police deviance and how it results in negative
consequences for both police organizations and the communities they serve.
 Explore how police ethics plays a role in controlling police officer behavior.

18. Contemporary Issues in American Policing

Learning Objectives
 Examine how increased levels of stress may contribute to police officer
suicide.
 Explain why some people want to defund the police.
 Describe the additional training police officers need to identify cases of elder
abuse as the population of people 65 years and older grows in the United
States.
 Explain how the criminalization of people with mental illness contributes to
the increased interactions between the police and people with mental illness
(PWMI).
 Identify some of the reasons why police officers feel ill-equipped to help
people experiencing homelessness they encounter while on duty.
 Summarize the history of involvement of local police departments in the
enforcement of immigration laws in the United States.

19.