CASE STUDY Research a court case that involves the Fourth Amendment and the police authority to perform searches. Provide an overview of the case, discuss the purpose of the Fourth Amendment, and disc
Unit IV , Policing Slide 1 Hello class, welcome to Unit IV. Slide 2 Human behavior is a very complex and difficult to predict and what was known as the trial of the century : t he State of California versus O . J. Simpson. O . J. Simpson was a former NFL football star, a broadcaster , as well as an actor. It was said that O . J. Simpson was loved by many. In June 1994, O . J. Simpson was accused of killing his ex -wife and her friend. He was ultimately found not guilty , which resulte d in violence, riots, and chaos throughout the country. O . J. Simpson had the means to obtain the best defense attorneys that money could buy. Thu s, as an example, as a law enforcement officer, how can you stop crime before it happens? If, in fact, human b ehavior is very difficult to predict. The textbook discusses about utilizing predictive analytics. Does anyone know what is predictive analytics? Predictive analytics is basically using data and historical variables to predict what will occur in the futu re. In your textbook, you will read about a study that showed how computers have a better percentage of predicting a crime than a person (Siegel & Worrall, 2019) . However, the computer still had over a 95% failure rate of determining where the next crime will be committed. Slide 3 So, can the police predict a crime? Well, let's first discuss what is the role of the police? We always hear that the police is here to protect and serve. But what exactly does that mean? The police job is to protect the community and its citizens from danger. The police also responds to emergencies and, when applicable, make arrests and collect and gather evidence. As you wi ll read in y our textbook, the police not only serves as an enforcer but also assist the public when needed, help with traffic, and offers his presence, which helps create a sense of safety. There's a term in policing known as the broken window theory. So what is the broken window theory? The broken window theory basically says that communities that has abandoned houses, broken windows , an d deteriorated infrastructure, t hese are signs that there may be a high level of crime in that neighborhood. The theory indicates t hat this type of deteriorating environment will facilitate more crime in the neighborhood. So if one finds that this theory is valid, then it should be said that the community should focus on updating the neighborhood by getting rid of graffiti, cleaning u p trash , and facilitating a community where citizens will not see the police as adversary . Slide 4 This is where community policing comes into play. Community policing is basically where the police become a part of the community. To a degree, the police a ctually become stakeholders within the community. Community policing also facilitates effective communication with the police and the community. In the midst of an investigation, which we will talk about later, communication with the citizens of the commun ity can be extremely beneficial in solving crimes . The overall goal of community policing is to foster a positive relationship with the police and the community. Community policing involves police getting to know the citizens by name, communicating with t he public, and more so the ability for the police to walk in the neighborhood on foot patrol to get a closeness with the public that they serve and protect. So we discussed the positives of community policing. Can you think of any challenges that may come with community policing? It could be said that a challenge for a community policing is that the police and the citizens may become too close. How can you effec tively police someone that you become too close with? For example, if I have a close relationship with someone and now at a later date, I'm trying to make an arrest on that person, how will that person take that? Will that individual take me seriously aft er having and trying to foster a good relationship? Do you see any other challenges with community policing? Another potential predicament with community policing is that the police are relying on citizens in the community to assist with solving crimes. I f the community is not open to community policing, this will be very problematic as the police are using resources in the community to assist with such initiatives. However, the citizens in the community are not having any part of this. Slide 5 The textbook examines how the police force has been under great scrutiny as of late due to the shooting deaths of unarmed African American males (Siegel & Worrall, 2019) . So why is this? Is it due to a lack of trainin g, or what? The textbook also examines characteristics of your typical police officer. Majority of police officers are white males with a high school diploma. It was stated that these individuals see the job of a police officer as stable and a profession that exhibits authority and respect. So should a police force look like a diverse population as such as the demographics of that community? Or does it really matter? One may state that there's very limited numbers of minorities and women who make up the po lice forces throughout the country. So why is this? H aving a police force that exhibits the makeup of the community may assist with relations between the community and the police. The authors of our textbook also examine the personalities of police officer . It was stated that police personality tend to be dogmatic, author itarian, and suspicious (Siegel & Worrall, 2019) . It was also stated that a great deal of police officers tend to be skeptical of the public that they serve. You will also review further in this unit about the four basic styles of policing. They are as follows : the crime fighter, the social agent, the law enforcer, and the watchman. Slide 6 It is very much documented that being a police officer is not an easy job.Police officers have to deal with stress, fatigue, and violence. These factors can take a serious toll on the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of a police officer. In order t o deal with the level of stress of a police officer, it is important that a police eat healthy, get proper sleep , and enjoy a hobby. Additionally, breathing techniques and mindfulness are great tools that will assist when dealing with stress. Slide 7 Ano ther factor that may lead to stress is that as a police officer, someone's life or the life of the police officer is threatened, a police officer may utilize deadly force. Utilizing deadly force is probably the last option that most police officers would e ver want to consider using. Non -deadly force is used if an officer is potentially trying to constrain someone. Non -deadly force would be associated with the use of handcuffs. The other type of force that police officers tend to use, is less than lethal fo rce, less than lethal force. A police officer may utilize a Taser , or pepper spray. Slide 8 Another import ant aspect of a law enforcement officers' job is to solve crimes. A part of solving crimes is for police to interrogate suspects and to perform searc hes on suspects and property to obtain evidence. However, based on the Fourth Amendment, this limits police searches and requires warrants for police to perform a great deal searches. Now there are some searches that do not require a search warrant. The se instances are for purposes of conducting investigations and to protect the public safety. Specific incidents consist of search incidents to a valid arrest, stop and frisk, automobile searches, consent searches, plain view searches, and extenuating circu mstances. You will learn more about each of these later throughout the unit. Reference Siegel, L. J., & Worrall, J. L. (2019). Essentials of criminal justice (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage.
