The Police And The Public

Ways we can make our society more civil, our police more humane, our population more responsible. Sociology. Cuts closer to the bone of truth about the police in America than any book I have read.--NY Times Book Review

Public opinion polls suggest that American's trust in the police and courts is declining. The same polls also reveal a disturbing racial divide, with minorities expressing greater levels of distrust than whites. Practices such as racial profiling, zero-tolerance and three-strikes laws, the use of excessive force, and harsh punishments for minor drug crimes all contribute to perceptions of injustice. In Trust in the Law, psychologists Tom R. Tyler and Yuen J. Huo present a compelling argument that effective law enforcement requires the active engagement and participation of the communities it serves, and argue for a cooperative approach to law enforcement that appeals to people's sense of fair play, even if the outcomes are not always those with which they agree. Based on a wide-ranging survey of citizens who had recent contact with the police or courts in Oakland and Los Angeles, Trust in the Law examines the sources of people's favorable and unfavorable reactions to their encounters with legal authorities. Tyler and Huo address the issue from a variety of angles: the psychology of decision acceptance, the importance of individual personal experiences, and the role of ethnic group identification. They find that people react primarily to whether or not they are treated with dignity and respect, and the degree to which they feel they have been treated fairly helps to shape their acceptance of the legal process. Their findings show significantly less willingness on the part of minority group members who feel they have been treated unfairly to trust the motives to subsequent legal decisions of law enforcement authorities. Since most people in the study generalize from their personal experiences with individual police officers and judges, Tyler and Huo suggest that gaining maximum cooperation and consent of the public depends upon fair and transparent decision-making and treatment on the part of law enforcement officers. Tyler and Huo conclude that the best way to encourage compliance with the law is for legal authorities to implement programs that foster a sense of personal involvement and responsibility. For example, community policing programs, in which the local population is actively engaged in monitoring its own neighborhood, have been shown to be an effective tool in improving police-community relationships. Cooperation between legal authorities and community members is a much discussed but often elusive goal. Trust in the Law shows that legal authorities can behave in ways that encourage the voluntary acceptance of their directives, while also building trust and confidence in the overall legitimacy of the police and courts. A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Series on Trust

Police do not and cannot prevent crime. This alarming thesis is explored by David Bayley, one of the most prolific and internationally renowned authorities on criminal justice and policing, in Police for the Future. Providing a systematic assessment of the performance of the police institution as a whole in preventing crime, the study is based on exhaustive research, interviews, and first hand observation in five countries--Australia, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, and the United States. It analyzes what police are accomplishing in modern democratic societies, and asks whether police organizations are using their resources effectively to prevent crime. Bayley assesses the impediments to effective crime prevention, describes the most promising reforms currently being tested by the police, and analyzes the choices that modern societies have with respect to creating truly effective police forces. He concludes with a blueprint for the creation of police forces that can live up to their promise to reduce crime and enhance public safety. Written for both the general public and the specialist in criminal justice, Police for the Future offers a unique multinational perspective on one of society's most basic institutions.

Because police are the most visible face of government power for most citizens, they are expected to deal effectively with crime and disorder and to be impartial. Producing justice through the fair, and restrained use of their authority. The standards by which the public judges police success have become more exacting and challenging. Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing explores police work in the new century. It replaces myths with research findings and provides recommendations for updated policy and practices to guide it. The book provides answers to the most basic questions: What do police do? It reviews how police work is organized, explores the expanding responsibilities of police, examines the increasing diversity among police employees, and discusses the complex interactions between officers and citizens. It also addresses such topics as community policing, use of force, racial profiling, and evaluates the success of common police techniques, such as focusing on crime "hot spots." It goes on to look at the issue of legitimacyâ€"how the public gets information about police work, and how police are viewed by different groups, and how police can gain community trust. Fairness and Effectiveness in Policing will be important to anyone concerned about police work: policy makers, administrators, educators, police supervisors and officers, journalists, and interested citizens.

The massive uprising following the police killing of George Floyd in the summer of 2020--by some estimates the largest protests in US history--thrust the argument to defund the police to the forefront of international politics. It also made The End of Policing a bestseller and Alex Vitale, its author, a leading figure in the urgent public discussion over police and racial justice. As the writer Rachel Kushner put it in an article called "Things I Can't Live Without", this book explains that "unfortunately, no increased diversity on police forces, nor body cameras, nor better training, has made any seeming difference" in reducing police killings and abuse. "We need to restructure our society and put resources into communities themselves, an argument Alex Vitale makes very persuasively." The problem, Vitale demonstrates, is policing itself-the dramatic expansion of the police role over the last forty years. Drawing on first-hand research from across the globe, The End of Policing describes how the implementation of alternatives to policing, like drug legalization, regulation, and harm reduction instead of the policing of drugs, has led to reductions in crime, spending, and injustice. This edition includes a new introduction that takes stock of the renewed movement to challenge police impunity and shows how we move forward, evaluating protest, policy, and the political situation.

Reductions in police department funding have raised the importance of volunteers in enhancing organizational performance, improving community trust and confidence, and at times accomplishing basic tasks to maintain public safety and security. During a period when police administrators are asked to do more with less, and to engage in smarter, community-oriented policing, citizen volunteers are an invaluable resource. Police Reserves and Volunteers is an invaluable primer for those looking to understand the benefits and challenges involved in the use of the volunteers within global law enforcement agencies. Using cases from a range of specialists and precincts, this edited volume provides a rare window into police administration from the state legislation that regulates police reserves in California to the local models observed in many counties and cities across the United States. Police Reserves and Volunteers offers volunteers, local elected officials, and law enforcement straightforward guidelines to enhance police goals and build public trust in local communities.

Exploring the basic meaning of police power and how it must be redefined. My ultimate objective is uncovering the dynamics of the police-citizen contact, including the emotional nature of not only the police officer but also the private citizen, and probing those wounds of discontent, frustration, and anger. We have to do it now. This is the year 2021, and we have to realize that nothing has changed. We see the failings of the police-citizen contact with no relief in sight. I hope to have an impact on all who read these practical insights that I have gained over forty-five years. I will help you recognize that it is necessary for the private citizens in the community to accept the fact that the police have a very difficult job. The police have to intercede in the citizens' personal issues of domestic violence, the acts of gangs and drugs that create victims, and other criminal acts in general that make the community feel unsafe. However, the demeanor in which an officer responds to these issues must be taught and controlled. We have seen that there is a cost to neglecting to teach the police self-reliance. Police officers' sense of self-reliance must become a foundation of police training. Just as we teach our children how to get dressed, use a fork properly, and drive a car, the police must be taught to be prepared beyond reading a book, self-defense, and shooting a pistol. There is a necessity for the police to not only prepare for resistance, defiance, and physical attacks but also to teach, guide, reinforce, and provide constant remedial training on the recognition and control of their reactions to their emotions. This cannot be a basic training subject; it must be an occupational necessity with daily reminders of advice, guidance, and support. It must also be recognized that it is not just an individual responsibility to work at such a complex nature of human reaction to emotions but a team effort. It begins at the top with recognition, education, and guidance. It must filter down with complete support for the man and woman wearing the badge and facing the onslaught of verbal attacks of overzealousness, callousness, and even racism at a time that emotions are strained and unpredictable. Self-reliance is only up to you. It creates your future and will reflect your success. My motivation has been to make clear that the small components in law enforcement are actually important. Failure to acknowledge their importance creates a sequence of events that perpetuate a lack of emotional control at a time that control is most important. Hopefully, this information will help in understanding the root of our failure to deal with our reactions to our emotions. This book is a must-have practical reference for both the police and the public alike.

"Project of the American Bar Association, Criminal Justice Standards Committee, Criminal Justice Section"--T.p. verso.