Читать книгу Police in America - Steven G. Brandl - Страница 15

When you think of the police, you most likely envision officers who work in local police agencies, such as the police in your city or county police departments. Officers who work in these agencies are the police you are most likely to see and with whom you are most likely to interact. However, there are many other law enforcement agencies, including state and federal law enforcement agencies. The focus of this book is on general service police agencies that have responsibility for crime prevention and investigation, order maintenance through patrol and other means, and the provision of other miscellaneous services. Although state and federal investigative agencies have an absolutely critical role in law enforcement efforts, in this book, limited attention is paid to the unique and specific issues associated with the operation of these organizations.

Photo 1.1 Interpretation of inkblots may depend on a person’s personality and experiences.

©iStockphoto.com/akova

Prior to officially becoming a member of a police force, officers take a sworn oath to support the laws of the United States, their state, and their community. This is the basis for the frequent reference in this book to sworn officers in contrast to civilians who also work in police departments. Sworn officers have the authority to make arrests and to legitimately use force. As discussed throughout this book, when all the layers of complexity are stripped away, the bottom line is that it is these two fundamental powers of the police—the authority to make arrests and to use force—that can make the police controversial. Some of this controversy is reflected in the strong and varied views of citizens about the police. Some people see the police as a problem; some see the police as the solution. Some people see the police as friend; some see the police as foe. The police are, as explained decades ago by sociologist Arthur Niederhoffer, a Rorschach test in uniform.² Our views toward the police are shaped by our experiences with them, by other people’s experiences that we see or hear about, by social and mainstream media, and by the news.³ To one degree or another, each of these factors combine to form the basis of opinions about the police.

Of the factors that may affect your views of the police, it may be tempting to believe that your personal experiences with the police are the most valid. After all, if you’ve personally seen and experienced it, it must be true. However, it is important to understand that personal experience is not always a good source of knowledge from which to generalize. There are at least three reasons for this.

A Question to Consider 1.1 Why Such Strong Feelings About the Police?

Citizens tend to have strong opinions about the police. Why don’t people have similarly strong opinions about other public service workers, such as firefighters, garbage collectors, or even teachers?

Exhibit 1.1 Contacts Between Police and the Public

The 2018 report titled “Contacts Between Police and the Public”⁴ explains that in 2015, 21% (53.5 million people) of U.S. residents aged 16 or older had contact with the police during the previous 12 months. Approximately 23% of whites, 20% of blacks, and 17% of Hispanics had contact with the police. Police were equally likely to initiate contact with whites and blacks but less likely to initiate contact with Hispanics. Police had about equal contact with males and females. The most common circumstance by which people had contact with the police was as a result of being a driver in a traffic stop. The most common reason for the traffic stop was speeding. Approximately 95% of people reported that the police behaved properly during the stop. Two percent of people who had contact with the police reported that they experienced a nonfatal threat or use of force by the police. Most of these people perceived the action by the police to be excessive.

First, personal experiences are limited: It is hazardous to draw conclusions about police officers, police departments, and police work based on just a few contacts with a limited number of officers in a couple of agencies. As an analogy, if you have had a bad professor for one class, it does not make all professors bad, and your experience certainly does not make your university a bad one.

Photo 1.2 Similar to a Rorschach ink blot test in Photo 1.1, people are likely to view the police in different ways based on their experiences and other factors.

Jason Van Dyke Verdict/Jim Vondruska/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Second, negative information (about the police or anything else) is usually perceived as more significant than positive information. If you have had negative experiences with the police you are more likely to remember them than positive ones. In essence, your views of the police may be affected more strongly by your perceived negative experiences, even though you may have more frequent positive experiences with them.

Finally, studies show that people are not necessarily objective when evaluating the police. In particular, research has shown that evaluations of interactions with officers are largely influenced by a person’s previously existing beliefs toward the police.⁵ So, for instance, when a person who thinks highly of the police has a contact with the police, that person is likely to evaluate that specific experience favorably. When a person who thinks poorly of the police has an interaction with the police, that person is likely to rate that contact negatively. For these reasons, personal experiences are not a foolproof method of developing an understanding of the police.

Research, which involves the systematic collection and analysis of data, offers a more accurate way of developing knowledge about the police—or any other phenomenon, for that matter. However, research also has limitations. In particular, on some issues research has not been conducted, so some questions remain unanswered. Sometimes research is conducted on a specific issue and then when an answer is provided, further research on the issue ends. As a result, research studies on some issues tend to be dated. Some studies focus on seemingly narrow issues in which the “big picture” and the most important conclusions are not of concern. Some research is not well executed, leaving one to question whether the results are believable. And finally, many times research findings conflict. As will be discussed in this book, all of these concerns are present with research on the police. In spite of these limitations, however, a careful consideration of research findings still has the ability to provide a more accurate understanding of reality than any other source.

Not surprisingly, this book offers a discussion of the police that incorporates research findings. It incorporates the most significant research on relevant issues and also seeks to provide a “real-world” objective understanding of the police. An important goal of the book is to identify, confront, and dispel the assumptions and myths that exist with regard to policing today. Police in America provides an understanding of the role and functions of the police, the controversies and difficulties associated with police responsibilities, and the effectiveness of police activities.