Police Raid School With Guns Drawn

Police behaviour needs more scrutiny

04.08.2003 16:20

The importance of police behaviour when making arrests, does poor attitude cause crime?

Much evidence exists were the character of the person the police arrest is laid bare, however not much evidence exists or indeed empirical research exist that examine the role the officer played when making the arrest and indeed whether his attitude was the explosive factor during this interaction with the public. In fact we are going to examine the decision to make arrest and why the need for this is paramount in order to prevent a division from police and its public which in UK may have already commenced.
Many of the research studies which have examined police decisions to arrest suspected offenders have tended to concentrate on detailed analyses of the characteristics of the persons arrested compared with those whom no formal action is taken by the police, and on the personal interaction which surrounds the arrest decision, alternatively other studies have focussed on the organisational and occupational pressures upon the police to exercise their arrest discretion according to certain expectations, however we are aiming to re-address that imbalance and clarify how police behaviour is leading to arrests which will undoubtedly cause a division between the police and its public.
Skolnick (1966) found that during his research that the highest proportion of respondents(39%) gave ‘disrespectful behaviour’ as the reason for force being thought to be necessary in the arrest situation, directed particularly against the ‘ wise-guy’ who thinks he knows more than the officer, who talks back or insults the policeman. This is an important factor when considering rising crime figures because we must examine whether crime is actually rising or is it merely the police have lost their way and feel impotent, therefore they are making arrests which in reality should not be occuring. An argument relative to this would validate the claim that police are creating crime .Many arrests occur in the heat of a situation in which tempers are flared and as police officers are drawn from the society they police they are as susceptible to this as any other member of society, however this creates an imbalance set firmly against the citizen. The police officers flared temper will not result in his or her arrest , the citizen wont have any redress , this is simply injust. Controlling any situation is paramount to settle and prevent any further possibility of a disturbance. In order to maintain control the role of the police is constantly being assessed and any imbalances found are counteracted, well thats what we would all like to believe . Assuming that police control and authority have been established in a particular situation , to what extent is there a secondary handling problem of what to do next? This is were many arrests occur, all seems quiet, but a simple misjudged statement made by the officer directed wrongly or thoughtlessly towards the suspected offender then interpreted incorrectly will undoubtedly lead to an arrest. The arrest is usually for Breach of the Peace or assaulting a constable in the exectution of his duty. No officer has been touched in reality but that is not important at this stage, what is more important is that the officer has gained respect (if even in his eyes only) and he has gained control. His power has been firmly established, and when he gets back to his colleagues he is once again a man amongst men. Unfortunately this will have a lasting effect upon community relations and how the public see the role of policing within its community. To maintain excellent community relations the police need to be constantly aware of the attitudes they are expressing whilst in contact with the public. if they are constantly abusing this and arresting merely because the officer was unable to be dominant then respect will not be given freely and in fact the police will have to work to earn the same.


Karen Clark Stapleton




Drugtaking police officers and the need for accountability

04.08.2003 16:23

The importance of police behaviour when making arrests, does poor attitude cause crime and is there a necessity for mandatory drug testing of all police officers?

Much evidence exists were the character of the person the police arrest is laid bare, however not much evidence exists or indeed empirical research exist that examine the role the officer played when making the arrest and indeed whether his attitude was the explosive factor during this interaction with the public. In fact we are going to examine the decision to make arrest and why the need for this is paramount in order to prevent a division from police and its public which in UK may have already commenced.
Many of the research studies which have examined police decisions to arrest suspected offenders have tended to concentrate on detailed analyses of the characteristics of the persons arrested compared with those whom no formal action is taken by the police, and on the personal interaction which surrounds the arrest decision, alternatively other studies have focused on the organisational and occupational pressures upon the police to exercise their arrest discretion according to certain expectations, however we are aiming to re-address that imbalance and clarify how police behaviour is leading to arrests which will undoubtedly cause a division between the police and its public.

Skolnick (1966) found that during his research that the highest proportion of respondents(39%) gave ‘disrespectful behaviour’ as the reason for force being thought to be necessary in the arrest situation, directed particularly against the ‘ wise-guy’ who thinks he knows more than the officer, who talks back or insults the policeman. This is an important factor when considering rising crime figures because we must examine whether crime is actually rising or is it merely the police have lost their way and feel impotent, and are making arrests which in reality should not be occurring. An argument relative to this would validate the claim that the police are creating crime. Many arrests occur in the heat of a situation in which tempers are flared and as police officers are drawn from within the society they police they are as susceptible to this as any other member of society, however this creates an imbalance set firmly against the citizen. The police officers flared temper will not result in his or her arrest , the citizen wont have any redress, this is simply injust. Controlling any situation is paramount to settle and prevent any further possibility of a disturbance. In order to maintain control the role of the police is constantly being assessed and any imbalances or ambiguities found are counteracted, well thats what we would all like to believe, but in reality that is not the case. Assuming that police control and authority has been established in a particular situation , to what extent is there a secondary handling problem of what to do next?,as this is were many arrests occur, all seems quiet, but a simple misjudged statement made by the officer directed wrongly or thoughtlessly towards the suspected offender then a response that may be interpreted incorrectly will undoubtedly lead to an arrest. The arrest is usually for Breach of the Peace or assaulting a constable in the execution of his duty. No officer has been touched in reality but that is not important at this stage, what is more important is that the officer has gained respect (if even in his or her eyes only) and has gained control, or have they? Although power and control has been firmly re-established at this point is it maintainable and to what extent will his or her actions have both within the community with the officer and the future actions he or she will face, after all they too state clearly they are very much affected by stress. But in reality this type of stress is easily preventable and avoidable, as generally it has been solely the actions and in most cases the reactions which may result in the illegality of the actual arrest procedures that resulted in this situation, thus for many months the officer will suffer levels of stress related to the affects of his or her wrongful decision, and so easily avoidable. Quite often here I cannot help to remind myself of a certain phrase which struck a chord whilst investigating and researching policing and that was a simple line which appeared in the film Forest Gump, this related to many incidents I have witnessed and been told about during this research “Stupid is as stupid does” how very poignant ! To maintain excellent community relations the police need to be constantly aware of the attitudes they are expressing whilst in contact with the public. if they are repeatedly abusing this and arresting merely because the officer was unable to be dominant then respect will not be given freely and in fact the police will have to work to earn the same. If we compare the Guard outside Buckingham Palace who at times has to endure ridicule, berating and even common assaults then if he or she manages to restrain themselves why is it the police have a real difficulty in doing so. After observing many officers from both within the service and as a member of the public I noticed that many are reactive not proactive, they feel that we should respect the officer at all times even if the actions and attitudes being displayed are quite frankly intolerable.Once again it comes down to ‘cop-culture’ which eats away at the very heart of policing. The patrol officer who attends incidents in the community tends to perform a quasi-judicial role not unlike the magistrate, he makes a judgment without the necessary qualification to do so , his use of discretion is in many cases quite wrong, quite the same is the custody sergeant whose primary job is to assess whether a charge is acceptable similar to that of the examining magistrate as seen on the continent. It is fair to say that the police cannot enforce all the laws all of the time, but they can enforce the laws on an even keel. It is not good enough to say “I didn’t like the offender treating me like that” that is not justification for an arrest and will have little impact on crime, but it will ensure that an arrest is effected and that it will result in a clear up of that offence and thus the figures in the books balance, hardly prevention of crime more like creating crime in order to maintain a good set of books. Unfortunately most forces operate in this way.

If we move on to a point which will address whether it has become necessary to randomly test all police officers for the use of drugs whilst on duty then community policing becomes a relevant start point. Evidence suggests that 25% of the population have or are taking some form of drug , we are not going to distinguish between classes as this in reality merely blurs a situation that allows for excuses. Police officers as we have previously mentioned are drawn from the society within which they police, they are as susceptible as each of us to perform within the boundaries of the community, and therefore they will use drugs , tobacco , alcohol and sex at the same rates as any member of society. Here is were the need for distinction must occur. A police officer whilst on duty not a member of the public per se, he or she is allowed in law to rise above the simplistics of society and that is a necessity in order to maintain control and order. However, as technology improves and more legislation is passed that do not allow for the public to drive vehicles whilst being under the influence of drugs and facing a road side drugs test at the whim of a police constable in uniform, then the issue of mandatory drug testing of police officers become paramount. The prison service test offenders and also prison officers with what is termed a barringer drug test machine and urinary sampling, it uses the same technology as the roadside machines currently being tested . This machine does pick up on all forms of drug via a simple swab of the palm, but it is flawed in its usage, it also registers contamination from other sources such as bank notes , glasses in bars the list is endless. I have seen grandmothers in there nineties testing positive for cocaine and opium , they have been refused a visit with their relative in prison due to this contaminant found on the hand and on clothing they are wearing. With this occurring then it is an area of great concern. Police Officers use drugs this is a fact, to what extent nobody can be certain as they are not and have no mandate to test officers. The legality of roadside tests raises concern when it is clear that some form of cross contamination will occur. The Bank of England state that 20% of all bank notes currently in circulation are contaminated with some form of narcotic. When Police Officers search alleged offenders at the roadside they in general do not use gloves, they are merely trying to ascertain whether a weapon can be found so “rub-down”if that officer has used drugs and the effects are being secreted through sweat then cross contamination will occur. The simple fact of undressing will then contaminate the hands of the alleged offender. A vicious circle for many within the criminal justice system. Considering this it will become a matter of logistics as too how many criminals will be produced merely by inadequate police procedures . Once again we can see that the police will be creating crime not detecting it or clearing it up!, and to rid itself of the headaches of legal action all they need to do is test police officers using independent bodies. Otherwise it may lead to corruption by officers whose habits would undoubtedly result in a dismissal from a very well paid job. For any Chief Constable to state his or her officers do not use drugs would simply be a lie and so would it not be a positive recommendation for the Home Office to regulate poor procedure by having mandatory drug testing of all police officers. The police are not above the law , they are part of it the sooner they realise this, the reality of malpractice , corruption, ill discipline. poor leadership can be addressed. It goes without saying that the Police Federation and ACPO will be totally against this , what they need to consider is this scenario....
A police officer is called to a house , a noise can be heard. The officer hears a male shouting, and a female screaming “Hes got a gun”. The officer had taken a line of cocaine prior to coming on duty, just to get him or her through that dreaded night shift. He is armed with CS gas and a truncheon, his adrenaline is rushing, he cannot hear the TV on, the female shouts “OH NO”. The male says “Die Fucker Die” The officer rushes inside the house , he draws his CS gas and his truncheon, he bludgeons the male, the woman screams at him “What are you doing get off him” The officers is in total panic he attacks the female shouting “Get Down you stupid bitch” . Realistically the couple were watching a film, they had had a glass of beer, the film was rather good, but due to the influence of a drug the officer misinterpreted the situation. Unfortunately the male has a thin skull and is dead. The woman , his wife is pregnant with five other children.Imagine the scenario with a fast resonse police car ! Wouldn’t you rather see the mandatory testing of all police officers ?

Many police officers currently take some form of drug, these range from anabolic steroids used in gyms to cocaine to ‘poppers’ to cannabis. They do it during their days off, they do it whilst at the bars in police stations they do it just like everyone else, realistically though they are less likely to be charged with possession merely due to ‘cop -culture’ and this is wrong. Effective policing must start with effective management of a police service, this will involve some harsh reality that the police are not above the law and must learn to live with it , both in application and adherence. I look forward to the mandatory testing of all officers on a regular basis . Respect demands respect but this requires humility, something the service is devoid of .


karen clark stapleton