Police Technology in the USA

 

Requests for police services are generally transmitted to headquarters by telephone and then by radio to officers in the field. Police have long operated on the theory that fast response time results in more arrests and less risk or injury to victims. The current trend is toward handling calls by priority, with emergency response reserved for cases involving an injured party or those in which a reasonable chance exists to prevent a crime or make an arrest at the scene. Modem computer-assisted dispatching systems permit automatic selection of the nearest officer in service. In some cities, officers can receive messages displayed on computer terminals in their cars, without voice communication from headquarters. An officer, for example, can key in the license number of a suspect car and receive an immediate response from the computer as to the status of the car and the owner’s identity. An increasing number of agencies are now using computers to link crime patterns with certain suspects. Fingerprints found at crime scenes can be electronically compared with fingerprint files. In recent years technological advances have been made in such areas as voice identification, use of the scanning electron microscope, and blood testing which is an important tool because only 2 persons in 70,000 have identical blood characteristics. Some of the new laboratory techniques, although highly effective, are extremely expensive, so their use is limited to the most challenging cases.

 

Golden Rule of the Police

 

The police have nothing whatever to do with the moral behaviour of individuals. They do not regard themselves as judges of what a private person should or should not do so long as the law is not broken. Drunkenness, gambling, adultery, are not, with certain exceptions, criminal offences, and the police never interfere with such cases if no offence has been committed. On the other hand, every police officer, man or woman has had some experience of being asked for advice by members of the public on domestic or family matters. Such advice as the police officer is able to give is, of course, always given, but it is a golden rule throughout the police service that advice should never be given unless it is first asked for. The happy relationship which exists between police and public in Britain would be immediately destroyed if the police ever got the reputation of being busybodies who put their noses into affairs with which they are not properly concerned.

 

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The Ideal Police Officer

 

The ideal police officer would be a man with the mental ability of a first-rate barrister, the organizing capacity of a secretary of state, and the tact of a family doctor. The ideal policeman, of course, should possess all the characteristics usually given to the hero of a romantic novel. He should be quick-witted, intelligent, and observant; he should have a wide knowledge of human nature, he should be exceptionally tactful, he should have a cool, unprejudiced mind; he should be always ready to act on his own initiative; he should also be courageous, strong, and incorruptible. But if all these qualifications were insisted upon, there would be very few policemen. One or two qualities, however, really are essential. The first task of a policeman, therefore, is to steady the nerves of the people who have called him in. If he himself is flustered, he will seldom if ever be able to get all the information he needs. His observation will be inaccurate and his mind will not be as clear as it should be. From this it follows that the two most important qualities, which a policeman needs, are tact – by which is meant the ability to deal with all types and classes of people without upsetting them – and quiet nerves.

 

Police Discipline

 

The police are not above the law and must act within it. A police officer is an agent of the law of the land and may be sued or prosecuted for any wrongful act committed in the performance of police duties. Officers are also subject to a disciplinary code designed to deal with abuse of police powers and maintain public confidence in police impartiality. If found guilty of breaching the code, an officer can be dismissed from the force.

 

Members of the public have the right to make complaints against police officers if they feel that they have been treated unfairly or improperly. In England and Wales the investigation and resolution of complaints is scrutinized by the independent Police Complaints Authority. The Authority must supervise any case involving death or serious injury and has discretion to supervise in any other case. In addition, the Authority reviews chief constables’ proposals on whether disciplinary charges should be brought against an officer who has been the subject of a complaint. If the chief constable does not recommend formal disciplinary charges, the Authority may, if it disagrees with the decision, recommend and, if necessary, direct that charges be brought.

 

The Government aims to ensure that the quality of service provided by police forces in Britain inspires public confidence, and that the police have the active support and involvement of the communities which they serve. The police service is taking effective action to improve performance and standards. All forces in England and Wales have to consult with the communities they serve and develop policing policies to meet community demands. They have to be more open and explicit about their operations and the standards of service that they offer.

 

Virtually all forces have liaison departments designed to develop closer contact between the force and the community. These departments consist of representatives from the police, local councillors and community groups.

 

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Particular efforts are made to develop relations with young people through greater contact with schools and their pupils.

 

The Government has repeatedly stated its commitment to improve relations between the police and ethnic minorities. Central guidance recommends that all police officers should receive a thorough training in community and race relations issues. Home Office and police initiatives are designed to tackle racially motivated crime and to ensure that the issue is seen as a priority by the police. Discriminatory behavior by police officers, either to other officers or to members of the public, is an offence under the Police Discipline Code. All police forces recognize the need to recruit women and members of the ethnic minorities in order to ensure that the police represent the community.

 

Police without Guns

 

One of the first things that visitors to Britain notice is that the police are unarmed. Britain is one of the few countries in the world (Norway and New Zealand are others) where the police do not normally carry guns. Most people in Britain, including the police, are happy with this. They feel that if the police were armed, criminals too would always carry guns, and the cycle of violence would increase.

 

A comparison is often made with the USA, where the rate of murder by firearms is almost ten times the UK rate. It would be fairer to look at a country like Belgium, where the police are armed but the murder rate is not much higher than in Britain. The trouble with comparisons with the USA is that it is a very different sort of society. Above all, there are 250 million handguns in the USA, whereas in Britain it is illegal to own a handgun; you can keep a shotgun or a hunting rifle, but even for these it is quite difficult to get a license.

 

Actually the first impression of an unarmed police service is not quite accurate. Some officers do have guns, but they do not patrol the streets with them. There are a number of police cars known as Armed Response Vehicles (ARVs), which contain guns locked in boxes. These are called in when necessary. In London, for example, there are 12 such ARVs, and they go into action about 25 times per day.

 

Verdict

 

Verdict, in law, is the pronouncement of the jury upon matters of fact submitted to them for deliberation and determination. In civil cases, verdicts may be either general or special. A general verdict is one in which the jury pronounces generally upon all the issues, in favor of either the plaintiff or the defendant. A special verdict is one in which the jury reviews the facts, but leaves to the court any decisions on questions of law arising from those facts. As a rule, however, special verdicts are not applicable to criminal cases, and in most instances the jury renders a general verdict of ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty.’ Generally, the jury’s verdict must be unanimous. In a number of states, however, the condition of unanimity has been modified, and verdicts can consequently be rendered by a designated majority of the jury. All jury members must be present in court when the verdict is given. In criminal cases a verdict of acquittal is conclusive upon the prosecution (the state), thus precluding double jeopardy, but the

 

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defendant may be tried again in the event the jury cannot reach a decision. The defendant must be present when the verdict is rendered.