U.S. Police Law, Policy and Practices

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This course studies how the police and other government agencies “police” society and investigate crimes. It deals with fundamental issues concerning the relationship between the state and the individual, and raises critical concerns about surveillance, force, racial justice, and basic civil liberties. Topics include police stops, frisks, uses of force, predictive policing, and police informants and undercover operations. Much of the relevant law has been constitutionalized; thus, the primary focus of the course is on the Fourth and Fifth Amendments. This course is starting ground for anyone interested in learning more about the U.S. criminal justice space, be it direct services or law reform, but will be of interest to anyone concerned about some of the paramount issues of the day: community policing, the policing culture, police strategy and tactics, and excessive force cases.

COURSE INSTRUCTOR: Professor Melanie Reid

• Email: melanie.reid@lmunet.edu

COURSE PLAN

No. Topic Planned amount in hours

1. The Concept of Policing 2 hours

2. The Evolution of Modern Policing and Community Policing 2 hours

3. Policing Culture: Defining Culture, Cultural Values 2 hours

4. Policing & Crime: Police Strategy and Tactics 2 hours

5. Stop and Frisk Policies and Racial Profiling 2 hours

6. Informants and Undercover Operations 2 hours

7. Police Use of Force and Constitutional Constraints 2 hours

8. Predictive Policing and The Impact of Big Data 1 hour

COURSE CONTENT

Monday – June 6th : read pages 1-36

• The Concept of Policing: Read Hamilton, Federalist No. 17 (pgs. 1-2); Marx, Police & Democracy (pgs. 3-10), Goldstein, Policing a Free Society (pgs. 11-23); Bittner, Florence Nightingale in Pursuit of Willie Sutton: A Theory of the Police (pgs. 24-36)

• The Evolution of Modern Policing and Community Policing

Tuesday – June 7th : read pages 110-179

• Policing Culture: Defining Culture, Cultural Values: Read Paoline, Taking Stock: Toward a Richer Understanding of Police Culture (pgs. 110-125); Meares, Rightful Policing (pgs. 126-136); Stoughton, Principled Policing (pgs. 137-179)

• Policing & Crime: Police Strategy and Tactics

Wednesday – June 8th : read pages 273-295

• Informants and Undercover Operations: Read Natapoff, To Catch a Thief (pgs. 273-295)

• Predictive Policing and The Impact of Big Data

Thursday – June 9th: read pages 354-371

• Racial Profiling and Identifying Disproportionality & Racialized Over-Policing: Read Harris, Why “Driving While Black” Matters; Cassidy, The Statistical Debate Behind the Stop-and-Frisk Verdict; MacDonald, The Myth of Racial Profiling

• Stop and frisk seizures: Police must have a reasonable suspicion supported by articulable facts of criminal activity or involvement in a completed crime. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968). If the police also have reasonable suspicion to believe that the detainee is armed and dangerous, they may also conduct a frisk to ensure that the detainee has no weapons. Hiibel v. Sixth Judicial District Court of Nevada, 542 U.S. 177 (2004).

• Reasonable suspicion for stop and frisk seizures: Reasonable suspicion requires something more than a vague suspicion but full probable cause is not required. United States v. Arvizu, 534 U.S. 266 (2002); United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1 (1989); Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325 (1990); Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266 (2000); Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (2000).

Friday – June 10th: read pages 1-18

• Police Use of Force: Constitutional and Statutory Standards and Federal Law, 42 U.S.C. § 1983; Read: Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985); Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989).

Wednesday – June 15th at noon – email your recommendations for the Civilian Review Committee to melanie.reid@lmunet.edu

The reading materials consist of law review articles and case law that will be provided to the class as coursepack materials.

In this course, we will study the interesting and important topic of police law and policy. Upon successful completion of this course, students should:

(1) Be aware of the theoretical and practical implications of policing in contemporary society;

(2) Be familiar with different legal and administrative regulations that shape police agency policy and officer behavior; and

(3) Be conversant with the aspects of policing that have been identified as problematic, the causes of those problems, and the different solutions that have been proposed to resolve them.

Your grade in this class will be determined as follows:

• 40% of your grade will be based upon in-class participation, and

• 60% of your grade will be based upon your memo which will lay out your recommendations as part of the Civilian Review Committee to provide feedback about the officers’ actions that were at issue in Johnson.