Policing and crime control

Question 1

What year and why was the establishment of the metropolitan police justified?

Answer 1

• 1989
• justified in relation to growing concerns about crime and disorder

Question 2

What did the ‘new police’ initially focus on?

Answer 2

focused on:
- order maintenance
- patrol
- prevention

Question 3

Why were the police a key gateway to the formal criminal justice institution?

Answer 3

• the general ‘scarecrow’ function of uniformed patrol remained bedrock of police crime control activities

Question 4

When was the specialist detective squad established?

Answer 4

• not until late 19th century, 1877 Police CID

Question 5

What was a key feature from the foundation of modern police services?

Answer 5

• popular and political association of the police with crime control

Question 6

Myth of police crime control: findings from empirical research 1960-1990s

Answer 6

-majority of police time spent on non-crime matters
- most crime not reported to police

• majority of crime control is actually achieved via network of informal/ community controls
• a very small proportion of those crimes that do come to police attention result in detection/ prosecution
• majority of ‘solved’ cases are down to info provided by public, or are self solving rather than through traditioanl detective methods

Question 7

Majority of police crime is spent on what matters?

Answer 7

non-crime matters

Question 8

Majority of crime control is actually achieved via….

Answer 8

network of informal/community controls

Question 9

What proportion of crime that does come to police attention results in detection/prosecution?

Answer 9

a very small proportion

Question 10

The majority of solved cases are down to info provided by….?

Answer 10

provided by the public or are self solving rather than through traditional detective methods

Question 11

Classic research studies emphasised limited effectiveness of….?

Answer 11

traditional policing in reducing crime

Question 12

What percentage of attrition in criminal process is reported?

Answer 12

42%

Question 13

What are the 4 non-crime police functions?

Answer 13

• breadth of the police mandate
• order maintenance
• emergency response e.g natural disasters, traffic incidents
• general social service functions e.g dealing with missing persons, helping the public

Question 14

How do the police fit in to the culture of control?

Answer 14

they are frontline enforcers of laws and regulations

Question 15

What are the political definitions of police as ‘crime fighters’?

Answer 15

• conservative reforms from 1990s on, to increase police ‘effectiveness in reducing crime’
• ‘tough on crime, tough on the causes of crime’: new labour position presented police as key to crime reduction
• ‘the main job of the police is to catch criminals’ (Home Office 2010)

Question 16

What are policing innovations?

Answer 16

• ‘zero tolerance’/broken windows policing: vigorous policing of minor crimes/disorders leading to falls in more serious crime
• ‘smart policing’: hotpots, crime pattern analysis, directing limited police resources to key places and times where crimes occur
• ‘saturation’ policing following terrorist incidents: impact on general crime rates

Question 17

The police as CJS ‘gatekeepers’

Answer 17

• almost all prosecuted ‘crime’ comes to the courts via the police
• policing policies and police discretion play a vital part in shaping the official picture of crime
• most ‘serious’ crimes do come to the attention of the police and have much higher rates of detection
• growing police powers and ‘re-balancing’ of the criminal justice process
• despite the ‘dark figure’ of unreported/unrecorded crime, and low overall detection rates, the police remain an enduring symbol the state’s commitment to crime control