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Further Policing Revision, Exams of Criminology

Swinburne University of Technology (SUT)Criminology

More detailed policing revision, useful for exam study

Typology: Exams

2017/2018

Uploaded on 09/03/2018

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History(of(Policing(in(Australia(
!
Early(Institutions(of(Law(Enforcement:(
!
- Prior!to!the!mid!18th!century!policing!had!been!conducted!by!volunteers!and!was!locally!
organised.!!
- The!idea!of!policing!as!a!broader!social!administration!coexisted!with!a!narrower!but!more!
familiar!conception!of!policing!as!the!control!of!public!disorder.!In!England!and!Ireland!in!the!
early!nineteenth-century!social!protest!and!disorder!prompted!proposals!for!the!
establishment!of!a!permanent!police!force!to!maintain!order!and!suppress!dissent.!!
- !
The(model(of(the(modern(police(force!is!traced!back!to!the!London!Metropolitan!Police,!founded!by!
Sir(Robert(Peel(in(1829!Established!in!1829,!the!Metropolitan!Police!were!informed!that!their!first!
duty!was!the!prevention!of!crime,!a!task!which!was!to!be!achieved!through!a!system!of!regular!beat!
patrol.!!
In(pre-federation(Australia!each!of!the!colonies!established!their!own!police!forces.!When!these!
colonies!merged!to!create!the!Commonwealth!of!Australia!in!1901,!the!states!retained!the!rights!
and!responsibilities!for!their!internal!law!enforcement.!
In(Victoria(before(1853,!for!example,!there!were!numerous!different!police!forces!including!!
- the!City!Police!
- County!of!Bourke!Police!
- !Geelong!Police!
- Gold!Fields!Police!
- Water!Police!
- !Rural!Bench!Constabulary!
- Mounted!Police!and!Native!Police!Corps!(Haldane!1995).!!
Similar!patterns!of!local!control!and!organisation!were!evident!throughout!colonial!Australia.!!
The(mid-nineteenth(century(legislation!was!passed!that!created!Australia's!modern!police!forces!as!
highly!centralised!and!bureaucratic!organisations.!
- The!Acts!creating!colonial!police!forces!specified!that!they!were!to!be!commanded!by!a!
single!officer!(called!chief!commissioner,!commissioner!or!inspector)!who!was!responsible!
for!governing!the!police.!!
Australian(policing(diverged(from(the(localised(systems(of(policing(that(emerged(in(both(Britain(
and(the(USA.((
Policing(&(Indigenous(Australians:!!
- from!the!1830s,!colonial!governments!were!under!some!pressure!from!London!to!protect!
Indigenous!people.!Police!duties!in!relation!to!Indigenous!Australians!also!involved!tasks!
distinct!from!the!routine!work!of!public!order!policing!or!criminal!investigation.!The!policing!
of!Indigenous!Australians!involved!the!surveillance!of,!and!intervention!in,!family!life,!the!
monitoring!of!itinerant!Indigenous!Australians,!the!management!of!Aboriginal!money,!
dispensing!rations!and!blankets!and!other!duties!!
- Late!19th!Centaury:!In!this!period!Acts!were!passed!empowering!governments!to!'protect'!
Indigenous!Australians!through!close!control!of!their!affairs,!including!powers!to!control!
their!place!of!residence,!conditions!of!employment!and!to!assume!the!care!and!custody!of!
their!children.!!
Recruitment,(Training(&(Discipline:((
- standard!of!recruits!to!Australian!police!forces!was!not!high,!with!many!early!constables!
having!convict!backgrounds!and!frequent!dismissals!for!drunkenness!and!other!forms!of!
misconduct!
- early!policing!was!an!often!poorly!conducted!occupation.!
- reason!for!the!low!quality!of!early!recruits!was!the!poor!pay!policing!offered.!
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Download Further Policing Revision and more Exams Criminology in PDF only on Docsity!

History of Policing in Australia Early Institutions of Law Enforcement:

  • Prior to the mid 18th century policing had been conducted by volunteers and was locally organised.
  • The idea of policing as a broader social administration coexisted with a narrower but more familiar conception of policing as the control of public disorder. In England and Ireland in the early nineteenth-century social protest and disorder prompted proposals for the establishment of a permanent police force to maintain order and suppress dissent.

The model of the modern police force is traced back to the London Metropolitan Police, founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 Established in 1829, the Metropolitan Police were informed that their first duty was the prevention of crime, a task which was to be achieved through a system of regular beat patrol. In pre-federation Australia each of the colonies established their own police forces. When these colonies merged to create the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, the states retained the rights and responsibilities for their internal law enforcement. In Victoria before 1853 , for example, there were numerous different police forces including

  • the City Police
  • County of Bourke Police
  • Geelong Police
  • Gold Fields Police
  • Water Police
  • Rural Bench Constabulary
  • Mounted Police and Native Police Corps (Haldane 1995). Similar patterns of local control and organisation were evident throughout colonial Australia. The mid-nineteenth century legislation was passed that created Australia's modern police forces as highly centralised and bureaucratic organisations.
  • The Acts creating colonial police forces specified that they were to be commanded by a single officer (called chief commissioner, commissioner or inspector) who was responsible for governing the police. Australian policing diverged from the localised systems of policing that emerged in both Britain and the USA. Policing & Indigenous Australians:
  • from the 1830s, colonial governments were under some pressure from London to protect Indigenous people. Police duties in relation to Indigenous Australians also involved tasks distinct from the routine work of public order policing or criminal investigation. The policing of Indigenous Australians involved the surveillance of, and intervention in, family life, the monitoring of itinerant Indigenous Australians, the management of Aboriginal money, dispensing rations and blankets and other duties
  • Late 19th^ Centaury: In this period Acts were passed empowering governments to 'protect' Indigenous Australians through close control of their affairs, including powers to control their place of residence, conditions of employment and to assume the care and custody of their children. Recruitment, Training & Discipline:
  • standard of recruits to Australian police forces was not high, with many early constables having convict backgrounds and frequent dismissals for drunkenness and other forms of misconduct
  • early policing was an often poorly conducted occupation.
  • reason for the low quality of early recruits was the poor pay policing offered.
  • introduction of minimum standards for recruits reflected the perception that policing was above all a physical task.
  • Victoria's 1853 Police Regulation Act stipulated that recruits should be of sound constitution, able-bodied, under 45 years of age, 'of good character for honesty, fidelity and activity' and able to read and write.
  • 1882 entry into the Victorian Police Force was only open to those under 30 years of age, at least 5 foot 9 inches tall who were 'smart, active and could read and write well'.
  • In 1905, for example, the conservative Catholic Commissioner 'll" _.io. William Cahill instructed inspectors that candidates had to establish good character, that their relatives would not bring discredit on the force, and they did not have any 'illicit entanglements with females' or illegitimate children
  • by the 1860s recruits were more uniformly drawn from policing and military backgrounds
  • Nineteenth-century policing was also dominated by the Irish-born. In 1871 police officers born in Ireland accounted for nearly 80 per cent of the Victorian Police Force, and this pattern was replicated throughout colonial Australia Training: colonial police forces were highly influenced by military models, nineteenth century in Victoria, for example, police training consisted primarily of military style drill. military style drill was useful in creating 'smart and efficient constables'. Early 20th^ Centaury: police forces were diversifying training to include a greater range of instruction. A revised seven-week training course for new recruits which, along with physical aspects, included;
  • a basic course in law and legal procedure
  • with instruction in how to serve a summons and execute a warrant
  • the preparation of reports
  • the giving of evidence and knowledge of relevant legislation The emergence of a collective occupational identity is also evident in the emergence of police unionism in the early twentieth century Women in Policing: From 1931 to the beginning of World War II there were only two female police officers appointed in Queensland. It was thought that policing was 'unnatural and unsuitable as a job for women' The main tasks assigned to these women were: escorting female prisoners; searching female prisoners; typing; and other clerical duties. Police Corruption:
  • Misconduct
  • Fabrication of evidence
  • Acceptance of bribes and gratitude’s
  • Assaults
  • Harassment & Discrimination
  • Internal corruption: discrimination, favouritism in regard to assignment and promotion, sexual harassment, benefit fraud, personal use of equipment Police were roundly condemned for the following failings:
  • Neglect of domestic violence & sexual assault victims
  • Racial & Ethical discrimination in street crime enforcement
  • Deaths in police custody, especially indigenous suspects
  • Excessive force against public demonstrators
  • Reckless high-speed pursuits
  • Investigative incompetence leading to wrongful convictions

Background Investigation Form: Applicants are given a detailed form to complete regarding their entire lives – including residencies, schools, jobs, driving record, military experiences, any criminal activity detected and undetected. A release waiver is included allowing details to be shared with the investigator. Photos & Fingerprints: These are used for identification purposes and criminal record checks Educational Records: These are used to verify completion and degree and also determine attendance and disciplinary issues Employment Records: These are used to verify or examine jobs, titles, absenteeism, job performance, honesty, initiative and work relationships Credit Check: This check verifies past behaviour of fulfilling obligations as well as determining the risk of being susceptible to bribes. It is also helpful for investigating the possibility of addictions Criminal History: Every law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction over areas in which the candidate resides, went to school, or worked is contacted Driving Record: The applicant’s record of accidents and traffic infractions is reviewed Military History: This is used to determine any discipline issues while in the military, as well as the discharge type Police Training Process, Probationary Period & In-service Training:

  1. Recruit Training: initial training a police officer receives. Teaches officers state law, and educates them in the goals, objectives, and procedures of the state and their individual department. Provides the knowledge, skills and abilities to do the job. Recruit training starts with the police academy, moves onto field training and ends with the completion of a probationary period
  2. The Police Academy: Provides most of the average police officers formal career training. It is often the beginning of the socialisation process for the new officer. Police Culture & Subculture Culture: The total way of life of a society or large group of people. There is clearly a close and binding relationship between a society and its culture. Made up of:
  • Beliefs
  • Customs
  • Practices
  • Languages
  • Symbols
  • Material Objects Socialisation is the process by which people learn culture. We become who we are as a result of our interaction with other human beings. Subculture: Consists of certain material and non-material aspects of a way of life associated with a group in society that is different from the parent (dominant) culture. Material Culture: Is made up of all the tangible objects and inventions that are devised, used and understood by those who share in a given culture Nonmaterial Culture: Is made up of the intangibles of a culture such as language, customs, values, norms, principles, scientific formulations, it exists at the level of beliefs, ideas and mental imagery. **Characteristics of the Police Subculture:
  1. Self Differention:** How the police subculture defines itself as distinct from the public that it is supposed to be protecting and serving
  • Like many other subcultures the parent culture is viewed in terms of us (the police) vs. them (the public or everyone else)
  • The public is viewed as hostile, untrustworthy, and capable of committing violence
  • It is important for police officers to be secretive, always supportive of each other and remain united.
  1. Internal Solidarity or Social cohesiveness:
  • Police officers are expected to stick together and help each other out as members of the same team under all sorts of circumstances both minor and major
  • The common experiences that police officers share: Going through the academy, wearing the same uniform, enforcing the same laws, sharing a common department regimen and bureaucratic hierarchy, needing to back each other up which leads to bonding with fellow officers
  1. Isolation: The sense of self-differentiation when taken to an extreme and without the balance provided by countervailing experiences police officers feel they are separate and isolated from every other group in society. **The Six Truths (Sparrow, Moore, & Kennady 1990) Characteristics of the police subculture:
  2. Police are the only real crime fighters
  3. No one understands the nature of police work, except fellow officers
  4. Loyalty to colleagues counts more than anything else
  5. It is impossible to win the war on crime without bending the rules
  6. Other citizens are unsupportive and make unreasonable demands
  7. Patrol work is only for those who are not smart enough to get out of it Aspects of Police subculture shared with the parent culture:**
  • Law: Police officers may base their actions and behaviour on a subculture socialisation about how to use their discretion, however they are still bound by the responsibilities and powers as defined in the law
  • Bureuatic Control: The informal norms of the police subculture often serve to skirt and subvert beaurcratic rules. The overlap between the subculture and larger beaurcratic culture determines the officers’ actions
  • Adventure/Machismo: both the formal and informal subculture of policing continue to emphasise the importance of aggressiveness and bravery
  • Saftey: Both the police administration and fellow officers encourage officers to be safe and to value their own personal security in the process of policing communities, particular those known to be unfriendly to them
  • Competence: The police subculture emphasises the importance of being able to take control over areas of responsibility.
  • Morality: Police officers often see themselves as involved in a battle between good and evil in which they are unexpectedly warriors on the good side. The formal bureaucracy encourages these attributions also Sociological Perspectives on Police Subculture:
  1. Functionalist point of view The police subculture performs some extremely important functions within a police department and among police officers in general. Rules and regulations that govern police behaviour in a variety of situations are often nebulous and unclear. The police subculture interprets these rules in a practical and understandable manner to its members. It also serves to socialize new recruits during their police academy experience and during field training into guidelines about "how we do things" and how the wide discretion that all police officers have is to be exercised. Now, given that some aspects of society may also be
  • Police officers are usually recruited from groups with modest economic, educational, and social status
  • Entry level qualifications for police officers have focused on physical characteristics and abilities – not intellectual prowess or moral vision
  • Significant progress towards professionalism status was achieved during the 20th^ centaury
  • To function effectively within a community, policing requires officers to acquire non- traditional police skills so they may involve the community as a co-participant in the control of crime and maintence of order
  • As most police activity is situational, discretionary, and agency specific the skills required of the police officer are more akin to occupational attributes which are developed through education, training, and police experience
  • The term professionalism implies that its members must adhere to certain ethical standards of behaviour and achieve a minimum level of compliance to be employed in a particular discipline or occupation Characteristics of Professionalism:
  • A code of ethics and standards of conduct
  • A public service orientation
  • Common goals and principles
  • A recognised body of knowledge relative to the profession
  • A system for credentialing or licencing its members
  • An organisation that promotes high standards and the interests of the profession Different Forms of Police Misconduct: Various unethical behaviour such as:
  • Graft
  • Criminal Activity
  • Abuse of Authority
  • Corruption
  • Occupational Deviance
  • Other forms of illegal and unethical behaviour Consequences of Un-Ethical Behaviour:
  • Creates an environment of mistrust between the public and police
  • Trust and Integrity are core to a good and effective relationship
  • Miscarriages of Justice
  • Non-Enforcement of the law
  • A poor police public image
  • The possibility of the officer and agency being sued in federal and state courts
  • Individual officers involved in unethical conduct may receive a reprimand, disciplinary action, termination or criminally prosecuted
  • Public embarrassment, humiliation of family and friends, increased stress, and loss of respect are also negative by products of unethical conduct Role of the Police Subculture: The role of the police subculture is to present a united front to the general public and to set out the ethical ways officers are expected to conduct themselves whilst conforming and upholding the law.

A subculture’s informal code of conduct is governed by a set of expectations as well as perceived threats to members of the group. Attitudes, beliefs, and informal rules are conveyed with punishments being imposed for non-conformity and rewards are distributed for conformity. Prevention and correction of unethical conduct:

  • Unethical behaviour patterns develop over time
  • These patterns are exemplified by symptoms that can be identified by police management as well as the problematic officer’s peers
  • Symptoms of unethical conduct include: unusually high number of citizen complaints, use of force, resisting arrest, combined with chronic performance problems Penalty Guide: Distinguishes between first, second, and third offences and has five levels of punishment for misconduct. Infractions include: discourtesy, ethnic bias, driving violations, domestic violence, DUI’s, sexual harassment, insubordination, theft, false imprisonment and lying under oath. The purpose of the guide is to eliminate uncertainty associated with disciplinary action, modify offender behaviour, set expectations for others, ensure accountability, fairness, and consistency. Police Officer Rights: In order to protect officers some states have enacted public safety otherwise known as a Police Officer Bill of Rights. These laws provide that police officers:
  • Cannot be prevented from engaging in political activity, including seeking election to a school board
  • Are entitled to due process when under investigation or being interrogated
  • Cannot be subjected to punitive action or denied promotion for choosing to exercise rights under the statutes
  • May not have the adverse comments entered into a personnel file without notice, or opportunity to review the comments and sign the document
  • Shall have 30 days to respond to any adverse comments entered into a personnel file
  • Cannot be compelled to submit to a polygraph or similar examination nor can a refusal to submit to such examination be used against the officer
  • Cannot be compelled to disclose information regarding personal assets, or income unless such disclosure is necessary to determine suitability for assignment to a specialised enforcement agency
  • Shall not have any agency owned or leased personal locker searched unless the search is conducted in the officer’s presence, or with the officer’s consent, or the officer is informed that a search will take place under the authority of a valid search warrant Systems of Policing: Standard model of policing:
  • One size fits all approach, reactive strategy regardless of: Level of Crime, Nature of Crime, Variations in the community
  • Same methods no matter what area in which one resides
  • Focused on law enforcement: Control crime though threat of punishment
  • Wide array of practices including: Foot patrol, getting police out of cars, walking the streets, getting to know the community, increasing accessibility of police, community newsletters, education projects
  • Breaking down the walls between police and the community **3 Core Elements of Community Policing (CP):
  1. Community Involvement:**
  • Develops key partnerships.
  • Work and collaborate with groups and organisations to determine priorities and come up with tactics to reduce crime
  • Transparent in approaches: Police need to be clear about what they are doing on a day to day basis
  • Give more information on effectiveness of policing
  • Community must be proactive – neighbourhood watch programs
  • Broken Window Policing (Wilson & Kelling, 1982)
  • Obvious disorder increases vulnerability to crime
  • Community are responsible for cleaning up after crime i.e. Broken windows
  • Reducing the appearance of disorder may increase the actual safety of community
  • Debate on whether it works 2. Problem Solving:
  • Reduce crime through identification and analysis of problems
  • Understand why crimes occur
  • Relies on community partnerships 3. Decentralisation:
  • Organisational restructuring: Devolve Hierarchy, local solution to local problems
  • Police become part of community
  • Empirical Evidence: Insufficient evidence to support CP strategies on crime outcomes, some conflicting results, impact on community perceptions Problem – Orientated Policing (POP):
  • Coming up with a wide array of approaches to reducing and prevent ng crime within a community, in specific targeted areas
  • Find problems and tailor solutions to the problems, and measure the effectiveness of the solutions
  • Herman Goldstein (1979) ‘means over end’
  • Change in police practices Broader focus on responding to problems, respond to problems, not call, evaluate effectiveness
  • Guiding framework POP: SARA S canning: Identifying and prioritising problems – what is going on and what needs to be fixed A nalysis: Determine nature, characteristics, elements of crime – what is driving the problem

R esponse: Develop and implement intervention – come up with new ways to solve specific problems A ssessment: Evaluate intervention: scientific analysis on the effectiveness of the crime prevention strategy, evaluate what occurred and the outcome Hot Spots Policing (HSP):

  • Fewer approaches – but targeted to specific areas/hot spots
  • Shift away from random patrol – targeting police efforts to problematic areas
  • Disproportionate amount of crime being committed in certain areas i.e.: hotels, shopping centres, neighbourhoods
  • Based on evidence that crime clusters in small areas
  • Features: facilitate crime opportunities and offender behaviour
  • Over half of all crimes occur in hot spot areas
  • Accurate identification of hot spots is critical
  • Use crime data to map out where crime congests
  • Focus efforts on those places
  • Based on the premise of rational choice theory: offenders will commit when they have a higher chance of reward and low risk of being caught HSP Response:
  • Target known offenders: keeping tabs on people who are known to be criminals
  • Develop community policing partnerships
  • Directed patrol and traffic stops: pulling over known offenders and suspected offenders
  • Foot patrol – increasing presence of officers Interviewing: Why do Police conduct interviews:
  • To discover if a crime has been committed, if so what crime
  • To find evidence to identify the correct perpetrator of the crime
  • Reduces need to conduct extensive suspect interrogations
  • Helps lead to the discovery of new evidence in the case
  • To determine if an eyewitness is telling the truth Eyewitness Memory: Process of making a memory includes encoding, storage and retrieval, each affected by a number of factors
  • Encoding factors: Stress and Violence/Weapons
  • Storage Factors: Time and Age
  • Retrieval Factors: Misremembering and not recalling enough Problems with Eyewitness memories:
  • Post Event Information: Distinguishing between information from the event and from other sources, Especially problematic in young children
  • Social Desirability Factors: Give answers we think the officer wants to hear, repeating the same question encourages guessing/changing answers
  • Witness Factors: Stress/Anxiety levels, viewpoint of the event differs between witnesses

Structure of Police Interviews:

  1. Brief Introduction
  2. Ask witness what happened (short narrative)
  3. Ask specific questions about suspects actions and appearance i.e. suspects age, race, height, weight, facial hair, clothing
  4. Ask generally for any additional information, and thank witness The cognive interview
  • Created during the 1980s by R. P. Fisher and R. E. Geiselman
  • Realized we had documented strategies to help with encoding an event, but not to retrieve an event
  • Evidence based strategies to help witnesses recall more information Based on two key memory principles
  1. The features of a prompt must overlap with how the event was encoded
  2. There may be several retrieval paths to retrieve any given memory The cognitive interview strategies: The cogniative interview contains four general memory instructions for eyewitnesses:
  3. Report everything, even if it doesn’t seem important
  4. Mentally recreate the environmental and personal contexts of the original event
  5. Recount the event in a variety of temporal orders o Forward, then backwards
  6. Report the event from a variety of perspectives - From own perspective, then as if viewing from the back of the room The cognitiave interview research: Benefits: 25 - 35% more correct answers, with no increase in incorrect answers Problems : Didn’t address complications of real witnesses, lots of event information still not recalled Revisions based on memory processes : Never interrupt a witness, Limited mental resources mean distractors interfere with memory retrieval, Example, ask open ended questions and conduct the interview in a quiet location, keep questions relevant on topic, Witnesses activate only one memory at a me - Example, if witness is describing suspect’s face, next questions should be about face, Guide witness’ imagery - Request witness close eyes and imagine sensory picture of the event Children as Witnesses: In the cases of child abuse, the child victim’s testimony is often the primary/only source of evidence. Challenges in interviewing children:
  • Memory & Language development (children who have been chronically abused often have slowed cognitive development)
  • Understanding of the abuse
  • Understanding of the interview process
  • Suggestibility

Children’s Suggestibility: Suggestibility is the degree to which a person’s memory/report of an event can be influences by social and psychological factors Examples: acquiescence to yes/no or forced choice questions, taking on interviewer suggestions into a narrative, confabulations due to social demands. Can arise from the social situation or problems with memory – encoding/storage/retrieval Heightening suggestibility:

  • Repeating questions or asking child ‘are you sure?’
  • Too many specific and/or leading questions
  • Selective reinforcement: Reinforcing child only when they deliver certain information
  • Bribery for information – ‘remember one more thing and we get a. break’
  • Disputing what the child tells you – ‘I’m sure your sister wouldn’t have done that’ Stages in a Child Interview: Child interviews often generally follow a set structure to achieve the best evidence i.e. National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) protocols.
  1. Ground Rules Phase: A police interview differs from children’s normal interactions with adults. This phase is to explain to the child how to act during the interview. Numerous ground rules are used worldwide. The most common are:
  • Truth – It is important to only tell the truth here
  • Understanding – Tell me if you don’t understand a question
  • Discouraging guessing – If you don’t know an answer just say I don’t know
  • Correcting the interviewer – If I make a mistake you should tell me
  1. Rapport Building Practice Phase: The interviewer has a short discussion with the child about something the child has done recently or an activity the child likes to do. Example – soccer practice, his/her last birthday party Benefits: Rapport building, gets child used to being the key contributor to the conversation, gets child used to open questions
  2. Substantive Phase: Main part of the interview where key events (abuse) are discussed
  • Introduce the topic in a non-leading manner. I.e. ‘What are you here to talk to me about today?’
  • Ask open questions to elicit a narrative of the event
  • Get an idea of everything that’s happened
  • Investigate in more detail key parts of the incident
  • Specific questions should be avoided in this phase
  1. Break and Further Questioning: Take a short break so the child can have a rest and so interviewer can review what information is still needed. After the break ask for any key details which were omitted. May require specific questions
  2. Closing and Neutral Topic:
  • Thank the child for their time
  • Ask the child ‘is there anything else?’
  • Discuss a neutral topic with the child before ending the interview (soothing for the child after discussing abuse)
  • Invite them to contact you should they have anything else to say

Eyewitness Identifications: Wrongful convictions can occur either by misidentification by an eyewitness or incorrect DNA evidence A Crime will always involve a:

  • Culprit: individual who committed the crime
  • Suspect: Individual who is placed in the line-up
  • Defendant: Individual who is on trial for the crime
  • Prisoner: Person who is in prison for the crime Ideally the culprit is the same individual as the prisoner, however this is not always the case. The Innocence Project works on cases where DNA evidence is available and the individual who has been convicted claims to be innocent. Steps in the Investigation: 1. Crime is committed and there is an eyewitness present 2. Police Interview eyewitness – eyewitness will describe who and what they saw (Describe the individuals who committed the crime) 3. The police will interview known individuals who fit the description – or alternatively a sketch artist will draw a sketch and this will be released into the media 4. Once the police have a suspect they may get the witness to identify them in a line up 5. If identified in a line-up the witness may testify against the suspect in court (this could occur up to two years after the initial investigation) Purpose of the Line-up: Line-ups in an experimental setting can help determine the identification accuracy and how often witnesses get it right or wrong. A typical paradigm includes:
  • Exposure to perpetrator
  • Delay/Interfering task (In order to interfere with memory of perpetrator)
  • Identification Procedure Target Present Line Up: Suspect is in the line-up, if correct suspect is chosen in the line-up it is called Correct Identification Target Absence Line Up: Suspect is not in the line up Live Line Up: Witness identifies the suspect from a group of individuals in person Photo Line Up: Witness is presented with a series of photos Show up: Witness is taken to a location and shown the suspect Estimator Variables: Factors which influence eyewitness performance which are not under the control of the criminal justice system. Age of witness, presence of weapon, length of exposure, change of suspects appearance or age of victim System Variables: are factors which influence eyewitness performance which are under the control of the criminal justice system. Who administer the line-up, line up presentation, selection of foils (Fillers/Distractors), instructions to witness or feedback to witness. These factors may influence the identification decision.

Best Practice Identification Procedures:

  1. Single Suspect Line-up: neither the witness or officer know who the suspect is. Uses an independent investigator or computer to avoid influencing the witness’s decision
  2. Single Blind Administration: Police officer is aware that the suspect is in the line-up. The officer may influence the witness’s decision.
  3. Foil Selection: A Fair line-up is made of individuals that match the description of the suspect. A biased line-up is made up of individuals that do not match the description of the suspect and that individual will stand out Sequential Line-up: Most Debated Recommendation: False ID Rate of 15% Correct ID Rate of 44%
  • Administrator is blind to suspect
  • Presented one at a time
  • Witness must make a decision for each photograph – cannot change decision
  • Each photograph only seen once
  • Witness does not know number of individuals Simultaneous Line-up: False ID Rate of 28% Correct ID Rate of 52%: Witness identifies the suspect from a group of individuals. Witness tends to compare individuals to each other and will choose who they think most fits the description. Offender Profiling: FBI – Style Profiling: Relies on crime scene characteristics to develop profiles of unknown, specific to unknown offender. Tries to come up with a profile to help police figure out who committed a specific crime. Assumes that certain crime scene characteristics come from certain offender characteristics. Focus is on one specific crime. 4 Steps of FBI Profiling:
  1. Data Assimilation: Collect all the information regarding the crime, Information from: Police reports, crime scene photos, pathologist reports, witnesses and victim statements
  2. Crime Scene Classification: Classify crime scene as Organised or Disorganised (only for serial sexual murder crime scenes) Organised Crime Scene: Evidence of planning, Uses Restraint, Brings/Removes weapon, Concealment of Evidence Disorganised Crime Scene: Littler preparation, no restraints, improvises weapon, leaves weapon, limited attempt at concealment
  3. Crime Reconstruction:
  • Tries to reconstruct what occurred
  • What the offender does will change depending on what the victim does
  • Need to understand relationship and interaction that took place
  • Look at data and understand the sequence of events
  • Try to understand the role the victim’s behaviour may have had on offender, as this may change according to offender’s MO
  1. Profile Generation:
  • Pull information together to come up with a coherent profile
  • May include demographic information e.g.: age, gender, lifestyle, personality dynamics
  • Function of profile is to facilitate the investigation and allow police to be

Diversity and Policing: Women in the police force: While women make up 50% of the general public they comprise little more than 25% of the police force, and the proportion is significantly lower at higher ranks. The low proportion of women within the police force can be attributed to a number of factors. Significant efforts are being made to achieve a more representative police force.

  • Up until 1972 it was a requirement for female police recruits to be single.
  • Women have a caring supportive, encouraging and nurturing role in raising their families, especially with children. They endure being a mediator between siblings arguing even getting physical with each other and most of the time are the peace keepers.
  • there shouldn't be any difference between men and women in the police force. It's like any job where people work collectively, everyone brings their unique personalities and skills to the group.
  • ninety percent of policing involves communication, public relations and paperwork (Hickey

Policing aboriginal Communities: Police played a significant role in:

  • Dispossession of land
  • Segregation
  • Regulating all facets of life
  • Removal of children (1883-1969) The way forward is cultural awareness training, either on the job or in the police academy, aboriginal community liaison officers, engagement programs, Koori Courts The Future of Policing: Policing innovations & Development: Major developments since 1970s include changes in:
  • Fundamental Mission: Shift from reactive policing (Punishing criminals once crime has taken place) to proactive policing (preventing crimes before it takes place)
  • Core policing strategies: Change from standard model of policing to more innovative techniques such as hot spot policing
  • Relationships with communities: Shift from a us vs them relationship towards working with the community to work on crime solving problems **4 Categories of Innovation:
  1. Programmatic:** Establish new operational methods for using the resources of an organisation to achieve particular results i.e.: Drug education programs by police in schools, self-defence training for women, mandatory arrest polices for domestic violence, erecting fences to discourage burglary 2. Administrative: Changes in how organisations prepare themselves to conduct operations or account for their achievements. Includes: Performance management systems, New recruiting techniques, new training approaches – more education in training 3. Technological: Acquire new piece of innovative equipment – DNA Testing, Crime mapping software, Non-Lethal weapons 4. Strategic: Fundamental change in overall philosophy and orientation of the organisation.

Includes: community policing, hot spot policing, problem orientated policing, third party policing Issues for the future:

**1. What works?

  1. What doesn’t work?
  2. What should police be doing?**