The Power of Police Essay - 1541 Words

The Power of Police In the past decade, many police departments have adopted a new theory that says serious crime can be reduced by controlling minor disorders and fixing up obvious signs of decay or litter. The theory is called broken windows, after a 1982 Atlantic Monthly magazine article by James Q. Wilson and George Kelling. The article argued that when low-level quality-of-life offenses were tolerated in a community, more serious crime would follow. According to this view, broken windows, abandoned buildings, public drinking, litter and loitering cause good people to stay in their houses or move out of the neighborhood entirely, leave criminals free to roam and send a message that law violations are not taken seriously. The†¦show more content†¦And that is precisely what has happened. To justify a stop under the Supreme Courts Terry decision, a police officer must have a reasonable suspicion of some wrongdoing. In determining reasonableness, an officer must be able to point to specific and articulable facts that warrant the governmental intrusion; reliance on inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or [a] hunch is not permissible. Furthermore, the scope of any resulting police search must be narrowly tailored to match the original reason for the stop. The Court emphasized that a search must always be strictly circumscribed by the exigencies which justif[ied] its initiation. In Terry, the Court identified the police officers safety as the primary purpose for the search, and concluded that a frisk is permissible if a reasonably prudent man in the circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his safety or that of others was in danger (Cornell Law 3) However, this case established the legal precedent that police officers could draw conclusions based on their e xperiences to ascertain if an alleged suspects conduct is an indication of criminal activity. If a police officer surmises that an individuals conduct is ambiguous, then the officer can briefly detain the person and conduct a limited search for the safety ofShow MoreRelatedPolice Powers1914 Words   |  8 Pagesfree from police custody until the next stage of the process of the case (trial). The custody officer has the power to either decide if bail is granted or not. If the officer refuses to grant bail they must present the case to magistrate court soon as possible. Bail Bail means that after someone has been charged they are free from police custody until the next stage of the process of the case (trial). 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