The Purpose and Effectiveness of Police Patrol - Literature review Example

Running Head: Police Patrolling The Purpose and Effectiveness of Police Patrolling The main purpose of this paper is to discuss the reasons why police patrollers are needed in the country, and why they have proven to be useful towards the development of peace and order throughout the nation. The researcher has also presented information that would show that the police patrol system is not without flaws. In other words, the system still requires plenty of improvement- one of them being the collaboration of the community members themselves. Clearly, it is important that for any system to work, there should be trust and cooperation between all involved parties. The same holds true with the police patrol system. The researcher has also outlined the process of offender profiling, which has also been a controversial issue in previous research studies, largely due to the incorrect representation of the crime suspects. Finally, the researcher has also included the matter of crime deterrence, and the factors that contribute to it being faulty as well. Recommendations shall further be provided at the end of the paper. I. Detection of Offenders According to Broemmel (2010), across the United States, more and more police departments have decided to make use of random police patrols in the hopes that crime rate levels would decrease. As a matter of fact, the usage of police patrols in various neighbourhoods across the country has resulted in an increase in safety levels in these areas. One of the reasons for this is that police patrols have resulted in quick responses to crime scenes, thereby decreasing the risk of offenders getting away. Based on previous studies on the matter, neighbourhoods that patronize the usage of police patrols enjoy better relationships with the authorities and vice versa. Despite speculations that police patrols are an expensive means of controlling the crime rate, there are definitely more advantages to enjoy as compared to the disadvantages. At the moment, a large amount of financial and manpower resources or urban police departments are being poured into patrol car operations. The main reason for this is to make sure that should there be an emergency, police men are on hand to assist whoever may be in trouble or in danger. The patrol process in itself is a queuing system wherein calls for service arrive during random periods and service time from these patrol cars vary. Police departments in areas such as New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Diego and Seattle have been using ‘queuing models’ in order to estimate the delay that may be caused in cases of emergencies due to the unavailability of patrol cars. The number of delays are also a gauge for police departments to know whether their system is efficient or not, and further information on the matter can be used to help determine the allocation of the patrol cars. There are also computer programs that have been designed to make sure that there is a schedule being followed. In other words, through such programs, police departments know the exact number of patrol cars that they should assign to each precinct in a certain location at different times of the day, and different times of the week. One of the popular queuing models is the Patrol Car Allocation Model (or PCAM), which was first designed by Chaiken and Dormont in the 1970’s (Green, 1984). II. Offender Profiling The concept of offender profiling refers to the process wherein social control agents do their best in order to narrow down their list of ‘potential suspects’ when they try to find out the offenders of a particular crime. Thus, the main goal of the profiling process is to first determine the facts that are known about the crime and the criminals in order to find out who are the actual people responsible or involved in the crime. In order to accomplish such a feat, police and other officials of the law first acquire existing reports on the suspects. Common factors are then identified. This means that previous offenses may be related to current offenses, and if such matches occur, then the law officials would have reason to actually suspect an individual. In other words, previous reports are part of the screening process that the policemen are on the watch for when they are out on patrol. Furthermore, they also keep a lookout for individuals who may match certain behaviour or demographic criteria. Demographic criteria include the individual’s race, sex, and age. Profiling has been considered to be one of the forms of social cognition, wherein the involvement of a certain individual in a crime is determined. Unlike other social thought processes, profiling has a specific purpose. Through such a process, social inference is utilized as an essential tool for reducing crime and although this process has its share of advantages, it also has several flaws as well. One of the main controversies surrounding offender profiling is the fact that law enforcers tend to follow their own stereotypes and form their own prejudices against a particular group of people. Such stereotypes and prejudices then serve as the basis for profiling. One such example is that non-White people tend to be the main suspects during the offender profiling process. However, police departments are quick to add that this is not because certain groups of people are discriminated upon. Rather, it is because non-Whites tend to attract more attention as compared to their White counterparts (Dabney, 2006). There have also been speculations that not all policemen on patrol are able to do their jobs as they should. For instance, policemen who are on patrol along the immigration border have been known to accept bribes and discriminate other individuals. There have been complaints that policemen actually accept bribes to ‘look the other way’ when drug traffickers and human smugglers attempt to cross the border (McCorkel, 2006). III. Reduction of Crimes According to Felson (1994), the usage of random police patrols has been ineffective, especially in large cities. However, research studies have shown that the increase of police patrols has considerably increased the visibility of the police to the public and that this has helped the public to have better perceptions of the police. In other words, such a move has been believed to improve the perceived legitimacy of the police. It must be noted that in order for the patrol system to be effective, there is a need for the public to actually cooperate with the law enforcers. According to Eck & Rosenbaum (1994), the cooperation between the police and the members of the community should be based on trust. If the police are successful at actually establishing good relationships with the members of the community, then they can use these networks to make sure that crimes are solved before they even occur or the occurrence of crime is decreased. Once trust is established between both the members of the community and the police, perceptions on the legitimacy of the police is increased, and this has been known to have a direct effect on the crime rate in a particular area. The main reason for this is that the legitimacy of the police fosters an increase in the willingness to actually obey the law. In addition, when the police is viewed as concerned individuals, who respect the law and the public, and when they are seen to possess legitimate authority, there is a significant increase in the positive attitudes that the public has of these law enforcers. Thus, when the policemen are seen to be ‘legitimate,’ then this decreases the occurrence of crime indirectly, thanks to the cooperation of the general public (Tyler, 1990). Policemen on patrol can use the power bestowed upon them to prevent and control a number of purposes. Aside from preserving the peace, preventing crime, detecting and arresting law offenders, and enforcing ‘all laws and ordinances,’ policemen on patrol are also given the duty to check all doors and windows during the evening, keep a lookout for ‘loiterers’ and other suspicious individuals, prevent the cases of soliciting, make and file reports on dead animals, and even see to it that all lights on the sidewalk are well lighted. Of course, they are ordered to also arrest felons, and they have to be able to deal with actual crime scenes. They are also expected to be able to provide instructions to whoever needs them, assist the elderly and the sick, and they are also given the power to keep sidewalks clear and stop illegal peddling (Cahalane, 1914). III. Crime Deterrent According to Weisburd & Eck (2004), there is sufficient evidence to conclude that in order to effectively reduce the crime rate and decrease disorder levels, there is a need to place policemen in certain geographic locations. This is also known as ‘hot-spot’ policing. Unlike police patrolling, wherein policemen are placed in random areas, hot-spots policing involves the placing of policemen in specific areas wherein crime has been known to occur. Thus, these policemen are assigned to really focus on such areas. Andenaes (1968) points out that the deterrence theory is one that suggests that the rising levels of crime penalties would lead to a decrease in the crime rate. In the past, both state and federal authorities have made sure that the system is reformed in a way that the severity of the sentences is increased, in order to improve the deterrent effect of punishment. Included among these reforms are sentencing guidelines that go according to the seriousness of the offense committed and the offender’s own criminal record. There are also mandatory minimum sentences, the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ legislation and other nonprobationable offenses. It must be mentioned that at both the state and the federal level, there has been a rise in the level of incarcerations. On the other hand, there has been a decrease in the number of probation sentences, and a rise in the average prison sentence. The concept of ‘recidivism’ is one that refers to a new conviction, a new arrest, a new sentence to jail, or the length of time until rearrest. In a study conducted by Gottfredson (1999), the recidivism rates of offenders who had been incarcerated (in a jail, a prison or in a youth facility), was compared with other offenders who had previously received suspended sentences or were put on probation. Based on the results of the study, it was found out that the type of sentence and the length of confinement had no significant effect on the chances that recidivism would occur again. However, incarceration has been believed to still serve as a warning to others so that they would not commit a crime. This has been a more effective deterrent as compared to noncustodial sentences. According to Spohn (2007), offenders who were sentenced to prison were more likely to be arrested and charged with another offense as compared to offenders who were merely placed on probation. There also appears to be a relationship between demographics and the level of recidivism. For instance, the gender, the race of an individual, the age and the education level attained has a significant effect on recidivism. Based on the results incurred, males have been found to have higher rates of recidivism than females, and black individuals have been found to have higher rates as well as compared to their White counterparts. Furthermore, younger offenders have higher rates of recidivism than those who are older, and offenders who have not graduated from high school at least have been foeund to have higher rates than those who have. IV. Conclusion The main reason why police patrols have been implemented throughout the United States is to make sure that crime rates are lowered and order is maintained in all communities across the country. The job of policemen on patrol does not merely consist of the capturing of criminals however. They are also assigned simple tasks such as making sure that all residents within a certain community are safe- this includes the checking of doors and windows at night to make sure that they are locked, and that street lights are well lighted (Cahalane, 1914). Another duty expected of policemen on patrol is offender profiling, which refers to the narrowing down of suspects with regards to a crime being committed. This would include determining the race of suspects, their age and even their sex. However, there have been complaints that some policemen accept bribes instead of arresting criminals as they should (McCorkel, 2006). There have also been instances wherein the offender profiling process is affected by the discrimination of some policemen when it comes to some suspects, particularly because of their race (Dabney, 2006). For the most part however, many advantages have stemmed from the implementation of police patrols in many communities, instead of the disadvantages. Eck & Rosenbaum (1994) are quick to point out that in order for such a system to be more effective, there needs to be an establishment of good relations with both the police and the members of the community. When this happens, the community members are able to place more trust in their government authorities, and they are encouraged to cooperate in helping reduce the rate of crime and disorder. With regards to crime deterrence, it has been found out that criminals who have been sentenced to serve time in prison have not proven to really change once their time has been served. They are still likely to commit offenses, and may likely end up in prison again. This is in comparison to offenders who have been placed merely on probation (Spohn , 2007). Judging from the findings of this paper, the researcher would like to suggest that there is a need for individuals with greater authority within the government system to continuously assess the performance of police patrollers. This is due to the fact that police patrollers have been known to not perform their duties as well as they are expected to- based on the reports of the community members themselves. Through regular assessments, there is a need to actually perform what is required of them. There may also be a need to re-evaluate methods of offender profiling to make sure that instances such as discrimination do not occur. With regards to crime deterrence on the other hand, the researcher would like to suggest that criminals who have served their time should still be placed on probation for a certain period of time in order to cut down the possibility that they may commit crimes again. Rehabilitation centers for criminals may also be a big help. References Andenaes, J. (1968). Does punishment deter crime? Criminal Law Quarterly, 11, 76-93. Broemmel, M. (2010) What are the benefits of police car patrols? Retrieved March 7 2010 from http://www.ehow.com/facts_5523153_benefits-police-car-patrols.html Cahalane, C. (1914) Police practice and procedure, New York: New York Police Department, 126-142. Dabney, D., Dugan, L., Topalli, V., and Hollinger, R. (2006) The impact of implicit stereotyping on offender profiling: unexpected results from an observational study of shoplifting, Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 33, 646. Retrieved Marc 7 2010 from http://cjb.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/33/5/646 Eck, J. E. & Rosenbaum, D. P. (1994). The new police order: effectiveness, equity, and efficiency in community policing. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Felson, M. (1994). Crime and everyday life. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. Gottfredson, D. M. (1999). Effects of judges’ sentencing decisions on criminal careers (National Institute of Justice Research in Brief). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Green, L. (1984) Multiple dispatch queuing model of police patrol operations, Management Service, 30 (6), 653. Retrieved March 7, 2010, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 618239551). McCorkel, J. (2006) Patrolling chaos: The US border patrol in deep South Texas, Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews, 177. Spohn, C. (2007) The deterrent effect of imprisonment and offenders’ stakes in conformity, Criminal Justice Policy Review, 18, p. 31. Retrieved March 7 2010 from http://cjp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/18/1/31 Tyler, T. (1990). Why people obey the law. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Read More