CRJU 20413 Chapter 4: Chapter 4 - Part 2
Document Summary
Chapter 4 policing: purpose and organization pages 91-103. The maintenance of social order is an important part of police work today. Ir ro(cid:271)ert peel, fou(cid:374)der of the british s(cid:455)ste(cid:373) of poli(cid:272)i(cid:374)g, (cid:862)the (cid:271)asi(cid:272) (cid:373)issio(cid:374) for (cid:449)hi(cid:272)h the poli(cid:272)e e(cid:454)ist is to redu(cid:272)e (cid:272)ri(cid:373)e a(cid:374)d disorder. (cid:863) The police operate under an official public mandate that requires them to enforce the law. Police agencies are the primary enforcers of federal, state, and local criminal laws. Most officers spend the majority of their time answering nonemergency public service calls, controlling traffic, or writing tickets. Most are not involved in intensive, on going crime-fighting activities (10-20%). Police resources, including labor, vehicles, and investigative assets, are limited, causing officers to focus more on certain types of law violation than on others. Old laws prohibiting minor offense that today hold little social significance are typically relegated to the dustbin of statutory history.
