Police Officer Crime
Contrary realities to media portrayals of policing - correct answer police are
rarely involved in shoot-outs with dangerous criminals. The risk police officers face of being killed on the
job has also decreased. In 2002, officers stood a one in 16,464 chance of being killed on the job. Police
officers have a lower fatality rate than taxi drivers, garbage men, fishermen, loggers, (and the US
Presidency!). Although the idea is widely endorsed that the most dangerous types of calls police must
handle involve domestic violence, data show that this belief is clearly a myth. Police officers are many
times more likely to commit suicide than be killed by a criminal.
police presence deters crime myth - correct answer The Kansas City Patrol
Study
What is partly responsible for myths of police occupation? - correct answer
The police subculture. Because they see themselves as a group separated from larger society, police
develop a unique worldview characterized by an "us-them" orientation. New officers are socialized into
the police subculture beginning with initial training. This socialization process instills and reinforces
many myths surrounding the police occupation, including the ideas that "real" police work involves
crime fighting, that policing involves dangerous work, and that the rigors of police work produce an
inordinate amount of stress for officers.
Myth of Crime Fighting - correct answer that police spend the majority of their
time involved in crime fighting activities. Crime is not evenly disbursed, some officers in a typical year
would not encounter a single violent crime. The average officer makes 17 arrests a year, 14 for petty
crimes like minor alcohol and drug possession.
Consequences of Inaccurate portrayal of police - correct answer 1. neglects
order maintenance/peacekeeping activities,
2. Devalues much of the work P.O's perform.
3. Creates unrealistic expectations about crime prevention and solution
P. O's are primarily focused on (4) - correct answer 1. reducing the # of serious
crimes
2. Clearance rates
, 3. response times
4. Quantitative measures (# of arrests, productivity, indicators).
Deadly force - correct answer minorities are the most frequent recipients of
the excessive use of force. The government does not track how many people are killed/wounded by
police bullets each year.
3 sources of info about deaths caused by police - correct answer 1. FBI #'s
2. Figures fromthe centers for Disease control
3. Data from the bureau of justice
because law enforcement is decentralized, there is no requirement to report to the UCR. After the
ferguson protests in 2015, there was a call for a national database, as well as there was a call 25 years
ago.
Wall street journal findings about deaths caused by police - correct answer
1800 deaths between 2007-2012, from 110 police departments. Also discovered that justifiable P.O
homicides from 35/105 police agencies were not included in the FBI records. Since 2011, less than 3% of
state/local agencies have reported fatal shootings
Arrest Related Deaths - correct answer Annual census of the # and
circumstances of civilian deaths that occured in the process of arrests. However there is a lack of
standardized methods/defs/varying participation rates result in significant underestimates.
Washington Post findings - correct answer 40% of unarmed people shot were
black, which is 2x the rate of unarmed white men who were shot. It falsely perceives blacks to be a
greater threat than non blacks to their safety. Black individuals who were shot and killed were less likely
to be attacking the P.O's than were white victims. For a handful of officers, it was their 3rd fatal shooting
and for one it was his 4th.
Myths with use of deadly force - correct answer police are in a continual gun
battle with criminals, the police as crime fighting heros on mean streets, the police as less violent/prone
to the use of force than previously. Police because of training/culture can be conditioned into believing
they are under a constant threat.
Contrary realities to media portrayals of policing - correct answer police are
rarely involved in shoot-outs with dangerous criminals. The risk police officers face of being killed on the
job has also decreased. In 2002, officers stood a one in 16,464 chance of being killed on the job. Police
officers have a lower fatality rate than taxi drivers, garbage men, fishermen, loggers, (and the US
Presidency!). Although the idea is widely endorsed that the most dangerous types of calls police must
handle involve domestic violence, data show that this belief is clearly a myth. Police officers are many
times more likely to commit suicide than be killed by a criminal.
police presence deters crime myth - correct answer The Kansas City Patrol
Study
What is partly responsible for myths of police occupation? - correct answer
The police subculture. Because they see themselves as a group separated from larger society, police
develop a unique worldview characterized by an "us-them" orientation. New officers are socialized into
the police subculture beginning with initial training. This socialization process instills and reinforces
many myths surrounding the police occupation, including the ideas that "real" police work involves
crime fighting, that policing involves dangerous work, and that the rigors of police work produce an
inordinate amount of stress for officers.
Myth of Crime Fighting - correct answer that police spend the majority of their
time involved in crime fighting activities. Crime is not evenly disbursed, some officers in a typical year
would not encounter a single violent crime. The average officer makes 17 arrests a year, 14 for petty
crimes like minor alcohol and drug possession.
Consequences of Inaccurate portrayal of police - correct answer 1. neglects
order maintenance/peacekeeping activities,
2. Devalues much of the work P.O's perform.
3. Creates unrealistic expectations about crime prevention and solution
P. O's are primarily focused on (4) - correct answer 1. reducing the # of serious
crimes
2. Clearance rates
, 3. response times
4. Quantitative measures (# of arrests, productivity, indicators).
Deadly force - correct answer minorities are the most frequent recipients of
the excessive use of force. The government does not track how many people are killed/wounded by
police bullets each year.
3 sources of info about deaths caused by police - correct answer 1. FBI #'s
2. Figures fromthe centers for Disease control
3. Data from the bureau of justice
because law enforcement is decentralized, there is no requirement to report to the UCR. After the
ferguson protests in 2015, there was a call for a national database, as well as there was a call 25 years
ago.
Wall street journal findings about deaths caused by police - correct answer
1800 deaths between 2007-2012, from 110 police departments. Also discovered that justifiable P.O
homicides from 35/105 police agencies were not included in the FBI records. Since 2011, less than 3% of
state/local agencies have reported fatal shootings
Arrest Related Deaths - correct answer Annual census of the # and
circumstances of civilian deaths that occured in the process of arrests. However there is a lack of
standardized methods/defs/varying participation rates result in significant underestimates.
Washington Post findings - correct answer 40% of unarmed people shot were
black, which is 2x the rate of unarmed white men who were shot. It falsely perceives blacks to be a
greater threat than non blacks to their safety. Black individuals who were shot and killed were less likely
to be attacking the P.O's than were white victims. For a handful of officers, it was their 3rd fatal shooting
and for one it was his 4th.
Myths with use of deadly force - correct answer police are in a continual gun
battle with criminals, the police as crime fighting heros on mean streets, the police as less violent/prone
to the use of force than previously. Police because of training/culture can be conditioned into believing
they are under a constant threat.
