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POLITICS AND POLICING.
Term Paper ID:29246
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Essay Subject:
Establishing policing policy.... More...
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14 Pages / 3150 Words
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Paper Abstract:
Establishing policing policy. Crime control as an important act of government. The policy development process. Proposes a study to examine the extent to which politics, political ideology or elected political officials shape and inform the policies, attitudes and behaviors of police officers in the United States and in South Africa. Methodology and survey instrument.
Paper Introduction:
The Influence of Politics on Policing: A Comparative Analysis
INTRODUCTION
Statement of the Problem
Most citizens, regardless of their country or nationality, tend to regard crime control and policing as one of the most important acts of government (Carrick, 2000). Policy formation in general and as it applies to policing is the process of establishing a direction for agency philosophy or employee conduct. Carrick (2000), in discussing policy formation and policing, noted that involving organizational decisionmakers and managers, elected officials, and members of the civic body in the policy development process ensures that policy moves from complete, accurate information and assumptions.
Establishing policing policy is a potentially controversial
Text of the Paper:
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Perrucci and Knudsen (1993) claim thatin groups, individuals socialize one another to conform to group norms byusing peer pressure. In the United States, charges of police corruption, racial prejudice,and inefficiency are also commonplace (Police corruption and..., 2 ).Unlike South Africa however, police departments in the United States areauthorized at the state or metropolitan level. Type of Analysis Once all 2 survey instruments have been returned to the researcher,data analysis will be undertaken. (2 1). These two variables comprise the independent variablesanalyzed in the study. St. It is further limited in that the research instrumentused to obtain data was developed by the researcher. (2 2). D. However, as Roane (2 1) has noted, the federalgovernment in the United States has found itself confronted with thenecessity of investigating metropolitan police departments suspected ofinappropriate behavior or actions. This processwill continue until the entire sample has been identified and all responsesobtained by the researcher. Additionally, many members of racial and ethnicminority groups in the United States perceive their relationship with thepolice to be essentially antagonistic and are suspicious of the intent ofnew enforcement and prevention strategies. (1993). In this response system, subjects use thenumbers one through five to indicate the level of agreement or support forthe statement. Transforming police organizations from within.British Journal of Criminology, 4 (4), 557-573. Paul, MN:West Publishing. Dupraz (2 2)contends that the racial injustice of the apartheid police system hasdeclined. METHODOLOGY Design The research design developed to provide answers to the researchquestions posed above consists of a survey of registered voters in bothSouth Africa and the United States using a survey instrument created by theresearcher based on the foregoing review of literature. Using the1/kth method of randomization, no fewer than 1 male and 1 female voterswill be identified and asked to participate. Police officers are generally conservative on social issues. According to Nevin (2 2), South Africa's police force is confrontingan epidemic of crime with no genuine reduction in the national crime ratehaving been achieved to date. The Economist, 35 (81 2), 42-43. Policing policies are representative of the political ideology of the governing political parties. The polarization of citizens in both countries along the lines ofrace or ethnicity appears to be a factor that has not yet been effectivelyaddressed by policymakers. The FBI LawEnforcement Bulletin, 7 (2), 23-25. National Journal, 32(25),193 -1931+. America's police force has been racially integratedfar longer than that of South Africa, which admitted people of color to theSAP beginning in 1994. Each of these groups will contain 5 subjects, evenlydivided between male and female respondents. Bailey (199 ) as well as Patton (1999) have argued that the use ofLikert ranking scales in a survey with an exploratory focus on attitudesand perceptions is preferable. Four groups of subjects will be created: White New Yorkers, White South Africans, Black New Yorkers, and BlackSouth Africans. These are some of the moresignificant concerns that impact upon the relationship between politics andpolicing in both the United States and South Africa. Research Questions Several research questions are addressed in the study. Rohe, et al(2 1) claim that community policing involves reforming decisionmakingprocesses and creating new cultures within police departments. Marks (2 ) contends that the SAP are aclassic example of a highly politicized police force which, despite the endof apartheid, continues to function in a manner discriminatory to the vastmajority of South Africa's people of color. Marks, M. A stratifiedconvenience sample of voters in the cities of Johannesburg, South Africa,and New York City will be developed using voter registration poll lists.Randomization will be employed to generate the sample (described below)using the 1/kth method of randomization described by Bailey (199 ). (2 1). The firstresearch question is: To what degree does politics appear to affect thedevelopment of police policy in South Africa and the United States? Bailey (199 ) stated thatusing a convenience sample to explore social issues of this type is alegitimate research practice - a view with which Patton (1999) is inagreement. References Bailey, K. It is in this general theoretical framework that the present studyis positioned. In search of safety: Policetransformation and public responses in South Africa. Police departments act as a source of social control. Available athttp://apll.freeyellow.com/drugs23.html. Among themost common external forces of social control are laws, police agencies,the courts, and penal or correctional systems. In larger social groups, including society, socialcontrol is exerted through such pressures and through formal mechanismssuch as law, statute, and police power. Whena new political party - the African National Congress (ANC) - took controlof the government, efforts to reform the South African police (SAP) wereundertaken (Morna, 1995). 8. (2 1). No end in sight: South Africa's endless woes.Harvard International Review, 24(2), 1 -12. Philosophically, community-oriented policing differs from thetraditional policing of South Africa in that it calls for sharedresponsibility for community safety, crime prevention, and officerdiscretion in the performance of police duties. Please complete the following questions as indicated.Gender: Male/Female ______ Age(in years):______Years Voting:____ Race/Ethnicity (Select one): White___Black____Hispanic______Other (specify):______Residence (select one): New York City/JohannesburgPolitical party Affiliation (Please specific):_______________Have you ever been a political candidate or elected official? (199 ). (1995). In the present study, only South Africans identifying themselves asBlack (alternatively, Bantu, Zulu, and so forth) will be selected forparticipation. Police departments sometimes use power inappropriately. Suchgroups can be constructed according to any number of variables, includingrace/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, political or religious affiliation,age or gender, and so forth. In each gender grouping, 5 percent of the subjects whose responses are included in the survey will beidentified as either Caucasian or as persons of color. The Influence of Politics on Policing: A Comparative Analysis INTRODUCTION Statement of the Problem Most citizens, regardless of their country or nationality, tend toregard crime control and policing as one of the most important acts ofgovernment (Carrick, 2 ). Gastrow, P., & Shaw, M. Aself-addressed and stamped return envelope will be included in the packageto facilitate the return of surveys. Citizens in both the United States and South Africa have continued toexpress concerns with respect to police impartiality (Gleick, 1995; Marks,2 ). Gastrow and Shaw (2 1) maintain that efforts to undertake atransformation of the South African police department have not been assuccessful as anticipated due to a rising crime rate and ongoing tensionsbetween traditionalism and modernity. This will permit analysis ofthe data with respect to the variables of race, gender, and location. 4. The debate over prevention versus intervention isalso seen by this analyst as rooted in political ideology. New York: TheFree Press. Governments use the police power to enforce laws that are shaped by political views and ideology. Roane, K.R. Policing policies are shaped by political parties or political actors. By structuring the policiesof each of these forces, any society identifies the norms of behavior thatit expects to be met by its members. It assumesa commitment to broadly focused, problem-oriented policing and requiresthat police be responsive to citizens' demands. The survey isexploratory rather than predictive in that it seeks to determine whatspecific attitudes are held toward the interaction on the pert of SouthAfrican and American voters and how the variables of gender andrace/ethnicity may be associated with such views. Community policingand planning. To thatend, the proposed research includes the development of a population ofrespondents in two cities - New York City and Johannesburg - stratifiedaccording to gender and race/ethnicity (operationally defined as White orBlack residents). For the most part, theorists take theposition that a strong interaction between political values and beliefs andsocial control mechanisms invariably exists (Gastrow & Shaw, 2 1). This suggests that suchagencies are more likely to be responsive to local concerns and tocommunity residents. The FBI LawEnforcement Bulletin, 7 (6), 9-14+. Review Gastrow and Shaw (2 1) reported that when Nelson Mandela waspresident of post-apartheid South Africa, the government laid great stresson the need for reconciliation. Rohe, W.M., Adams, R.E., & Arcury, T.A. Carrick (2 ), in discussing policyformation and policing, noted that involving organizational decisionmakersand managers, elected officials, and members of the civic body in thepolicy development process ensures that policy moves from complete,accurate information and assumptions. Establishing policing policy is a potentially controversial area andrequires leadership from the law enforcement community and other key actorsin a national polity (Carrick, 2 ; Perry, 2 1). (2 ). Stewart-Brown, R. These are the issues that will beexamined in the proposed study. In the United States, as Roane(2 1) has contended, a number of urban police departments continue to reelfrom charges of police brutality, inappropriate racial profiling, andprejudice against racial minorities. Consequently, large sections of SouthAfrica's population (particularly Black South Africans) regarded the policeforce as racist, oppressive, and illegitimate (Gastrow & Shaw, 2 1). South Africa is being challenged to simultaneously restore law andorder and diversify the SAP and the various homeland police forces.Greater citizen involvement is being sought in overseeing police activitythroughout the country (Morna, 1995). It is likely that several random selections will be needed to obtaina matched sample with respect to the variables of gender and race/ethnicityfrom both cities. Dancing with the police. (2 ). The degree to which individual citizens or communities have inputinto the policing policy formation process depends in large measure uponthe degree to which a polity empowers its citizens. Dupraz, E. Thus, to adegree, the present study functions as a pilot study which will be used toexamine the instrument and to generate preliminary responses to theforegoing research questions. Under apartheid, the liberal use offorce had been central to policing and the White South African police andother law enforcement agencies were often excessive in the use of violenceagainst criminals and political dissenters alike. Patton, M. Survey Instrument The following instrument was developed by the researcher after areview of literature and an examination of instrument constructionstrategies described by Bailey (199 ) and Patton (1999). Police officers often exhibit prejudice and bias in their actions. Policy formation in general and as it appliesto policing is the process of establishing a direction for agencyphilosophy or employee conduct. 1. The majority of South Africans had been policed more for controlpurposes than for crime prevention. Behind the razor wire. In poor minority communities there is often resistance onthe part of police to include this aspect of community policing in thepolicy formation process. Almost onepoliceman in eight in South Africa was charged with a crime in 1996 (Behindthe razor wire, 1999). Africa Report, 4 (1), 32-36. Community mobilization. Perry, F.L. Empirical research of this type, according toBailey (199 ) offers insight into the attitudinal differences or variancesexpressed by subgroups within a general population; results can begeneralized within specific and defined limits to the larger population orsub-groupings of which respondents are members. 5. Government spending on crime comprised 1 .2 percent of thenational budget in 1999 and 2 , but the crime rate has not decreased. Using a demographic profile, whichwill be included in the survey instrument, random selection will continueuntil 5 male and 5 female White voters in each city and 5 male and 5 female non-White voters in each city has been obtained and completedinstruments returned to the researcher. (2 ). The surveyinstrument also collects the kind of demographic information that is neededto identify the stratified subgroupings of participants. If yes,please specify position: __________________________________________________________________________________________Are you currently a member of a law enforcement agency or a police officer: Yes/No For each of the following statements, please use this scale toindicate your agreement with the statement or your belief that it is trueor important: 1 - Very true/important; 2 - Somewhat true/important; 3 -Not sure; 4 - Somewhat untrue/ important; 4 - 5 - Very untrue/unimportant. By establishing policing policy, elected officials identify the lawenforcement responses to problems in the community (Rohe, Adams, & Arcury,2 1). 6. The instrument hasnot been tested and found to be either reliable or valid. Proposing Empirical Research. Methods of Social Research. Tensions between those South African policeofficers who served during the apartheid era and new recruits from theANC's old army continue to be high. Perrucci, R., & Knudsen, D.D. Voter registrationpoll lists will be obtained from the local Board of Election Commissionersin New York City and the equivalent agency in South Africa. Community policing is a desirable strategy for controlling crime. Inferential statistics, includingPearson's r correlation coefficient and T-tests, will be employed todetermine attitudinal variances according to the variables of gender andrace/ethnicity as well as location. 3. The term person ofcolor is used in South Africa to refer to all non-White South Africans,including Black Africans and other groups such as Indians (Gastrow & Shaw,2 1). 11. At the same time, the United States federalgovernment - like that of South Africa - has found itself charged with theresponsibility of investigating numerous police departments and theactivities of selected police officers. FBI LawEnforcement Bulletin, 69(1), 8-11. Such issues are of less significance in the United States than inSouth Africa (Behind the razor wire, 1999). Broadly speaking, social controlrefers to all those attitudes and behaviors originating in the socialenvironment that have the effect of directing or restricting the attitudesand behaviors of an individual or group (Perrucci & Knudsen, 1993). The crooked blue line. New York:Pyrczak. (2 2). Carrick, G. Bailey (199 ) characterized stratified sampling as a technique thatis helpful in obtaining information from discrete subject groups. Community policing benefits people and involves people in law enforcement and crime control. In the present study, stratificationaccording to the key demographic variables of gender and race/ethnicitywill be undertaken to facilitate comparison between gender cohorts andracial or ethnic groups. Police departments are prone to corruption unless carefully monitored by citizens. Police corruption and the war on drugs. (1995). 12. After the transformation of South Africa'sapartheid system, it was anticipated that major changes would beforthcoming in the South African police system, whose policies andprocedures were representative of apartheid itself (Nevin, 2 2). Dupraz (2 2) argues that the ANC has done little since 1994 to solveproblems stemming from high levels of violence in South African society.Nevin (2 2) suggests that law and order authorities in South Africa areturning to new technologies in their search for effective ways ofcontrolling crime in the country. 2. A period of two weeks after mailing will be allowed to pass, atwhich time a second round of randomization will be conducted. (1999). Sample The subjects identified as likely to participate in the researcheffort will be adult (i.e., age 18 and over) registered voters living ineither New York City or Johannesburg, South Africa. Nevin, T. Frequency distributions will be createdand results presented in tabular form. Participants will be assured ofconfidentiality and that their names and other identifying information willnot be included in the final report. Police departments,regardless of their location or their national culture, are regularlysubjected to criticism focused on organizational failures that may includeunjust application of laws due to prejudice or bias, police corruption,inefficiency, poorly managed or inadequate resources, and excessiveaffiliation with a partisan political view (Perry, 2 1). 9. Despite ongoing efforts to change the image and behavior of the SAPand other provincial police agencies, crime has accelerated throughout thecountry and criticisms of the ANC failure to effectively reform the policein South Africa have also proliferated (Kroll, 1998). Third, the research willalso seek an answer to the following question: Do Americans and SouthAfricans of different racial or ethnic groups hold different perspectiveson the intersection between politics and policing in their country?Finally, the research will also seek to determine whether or not genderinfluences perceptions of the effects of politics on policing. While community policing and the placement of more than 1 , newpolice officers on America's streets were goals of the Clintonadministration, the reality is that these efforts have also been augmentedby politically enacted laws that empower the police (Byrd, 2 ).Politically, the criminal justice agenda in the United States is seen byByrd (2 ) as very much representative of the ideology of governmentofficials. Under thecommunity policing initiative, law enforcement officers and policymakersare being required to embrace community members as a resource to solvecrime problems. Professional police traffic stops. It isalso seen as helping to create stable, healthy neighborhoods in whichcitizens as well as political officials participate in the policy formationprocess (Rohe, et al, 2 1). As noted above, it is likely that several rounds of randomization andmailing will be needed to construct the stratified sample as describedabove. There are, of course, some important differences between South Africaand the United States that directly impact upon policing. Thesecond research question is: What are the perceptions of registered votersin South Africa and the United States regarding the interaction betweenpolitics and police policy in their communities? Daedalus, 13 (1), 249-265+. Thus, a stratified sample randomly selected isrequired (Bailey, 199 ; Patton, 1999). Integral to reconciliation was thetransformation of the police force of South Africa into a more egalitarianand proactive law enforcement agency. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Theoretical Framework Sociologists have identified the theory of social control as integralto the study of behavior in groups. Police policies are made by government to be applied to all people equally. Data Collection Using a survey instrument presented below, each respondent identifiedas a potential participant in the study will be mailed an informationpacket, including a cover letter explaining the purpose of the project. (1999). (2 1). South African society remains highlystratified and economic instability is also associated with increasedcrime. Morna, C.L. Sociology. Roane (2 1) believes that efforts to "police the police" in theUnited States are increasingly successful as municipalities come to termswith the necessity of eliminating corruption and racism from lawenforcement activities. Congress, for example, takes a hard or soft line on policeempowerment depending upon its membership. Traditional and highlyconservative political systems tend to reduce citizen input and tostructure conservative and at times repressive police agencies (Morna,1995). Policing the police is a dicey business. Objectives The objectives of the proposed research are: 1) to identify via areview of literature the major issues of policing in the United States andSouth Africa; 2) to assess the impact of politics and political ideology onpolice policy formulation in each country; and 3) to determine theattitudes of registered voters in both countries toward police policy withrespect to the important variables of gender and race/ethnicity. (1998). (2 1). Limitations The study is limited in that it will include a relatively smallconvenience sample of registered voters in only two cities - New York Cityand Johannesburg. Corruption isfar more widespread in South Africa than in the United States. Forbes, 162(6), 176-177. The goal of the survey is to: 1) identify beliefs and attitudes ofrespondents regarding the interaction between politics or politicalideology and policing; 2) determine which, if any, demographic variablesare likely to be associated with specific attitudes regarding thisinteraction; and 3) compare perceptions of Americans and South Africansregarding the interaction of politics and policing. Gleick, E. Sociologists also differentiate between external social control andinternal social control mechanisms (Perrucci & Knudsen, 1993). Theresearch problem explored in this perspective study is therefore stated asfollows: To what extent do politics, political ideology, or electedpolitical officials shape and inform the policies, attitudes, and behaviorsof police officers? Byrd, D. The lower number indicates a high level of agreement whilethe higher number indicates a low level of agreement. According to Dupraz (2 2), the South African Constitution empowersthe national government to operate and organize the police force.Corruption is endemic even at the highest levels, the prison system fallsshort of its responsibilities, and racial injustice continues to touch allportions of South African society. 7. Journal of the American Planning Association, 67(1), 78-85+. (2 ). Time, 146(11), 38-43. Reforming the police. Police departments should be independent of politics. In the case of both the United States and South Africa, these typesof charges have become endemic (Gastrow & Shaw, 2 1; Roane, 2 1). Data will be analyzed using basic descriptive statistics (Means,Medians, Modes, and Percentages). Stewart-Brown (2 2) pointed out, for example, that more conservativegovernments or Congressional groups tend to emphasize the social controlfunctions of police departments in the United States whereas more liberaladministrators and officials focus on social welfare programming as a meansof reducing deviance. Repairing broken windows. Beer baron turns top cop. Can South Africa win the war against crime?African Business, May, 1 -13. Kroll, L. U.S.News & World Report, 13 (17), 28. 1 . Police are drawn from thecommunities they serve and often live in those communities. One of the initiatives undertaken in recent years in the UnitedStates to improve the relationship between police departments and thecommunities they serve is community policing (Rohe, et al, 2 1).Community policing is seen by criminologists as capable of improving thequality of life in low income and moderate income neighborhoods.
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