Sample Annotated Bibliography: Ferguson Police Department
Publication Date:
Chanin, J., & Espinosa, S. (2016). Examining the determinants of police department transparency: The view of police executives. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 27(5), 498-519.
One of the strategies used by the Ferguson Police Department is “publicly facing behavior”. According to Chanin and Espinosa (2016), the organizations that engage in public-facing behavior like the Ferguson Police Department are very likely to share their information with the public. It is evident that when the members of the police department share information with the public, they can encourage collaboration with the community in fighting crime in the area.
Ferguson Police Department applied this strategy in a bid to enhance a good relationship between the police officers and the community members. A close relationship between these two stakeholder groups of the criminal justice system can have a significant impact on security processes, and they work well in reducing crime. Chanin and Espinosa (2016) further reiterated that data sharing with community members do not only offer strategic gains in community trust and familiarity, but it can also aid in enhancing organizational legitimacy.
Donner, C., Maskaly, J., Fridell, L., & Jennings, W. G. (2015). Policing and procedural justice: a state-of-the-art review. Policing: an international journal of police strategies & management, 38(1), 153-172.
In the discussion conducted by Donner, Maskaly, Fridell, and Jennings (2015), zero tolerance was one of their recommended strategies that police departments can implement as a way of enhancing community policing. Zero tolerance can be effective in preventing crime. The Ferguson police department and the famous “Ferguson effect” may have focused on the zero-tolerance strategy for a long time. The shooting of Michael Brown may be because of the too much reliance on zero-tolerance strategies.
Regarding community policing, zero tolerance can be effective in enhancing collaboration between police officers and community members. Everyone wants to be honest and transparent in his or her actions in the community to avoid becoming a target for the police officers. As a result, most people would prefer collaborating with the police officers in preventing crime. The community members can identify potential criminals, and they can help the police to make accurate investigations to avert crimes in the areas involved.
Haas, N. E., Van Craen, M., Skogan, W. G., & Fleitas, D. M. (2015). Explaining officer compliance: The importance of procedural justice and trust inside a police organization. Criminology & criminal justice, 15(4), 442-463.
According to Haas et al. (2015), the supervisors and police managers can enhance community policing by enhancing the ability of all police officers to endorse top-down strategies. The police officers can improve their devotion towards the services they provide to the community members if they can contribute to every decision that their managers propose. The involvement of police officers in decision-making processes can improve their willingness to develop good relations with community members, such that they can become friends with community members.
The ability of police officers to develop a culture of orchestrating decision-making can also create an avenue through which the individual community members can affect decisions made by the police departments. The Ferguson police department offered an opportunity for all members of the police department to participate in decision-making processes. As a result, any policies or work formulas developed to be used by individual police officers would succeed because everyone understands the process of their implementation.
Nix, J., & Wolfe, S. E. (2016). Sensitivity to the Ferguson Effect: The role of managerial, organizational justice. Journal of Criminal Justice, 47, 12-20.
Nix and Wolfe (2016) covered the allegations of police reluctance from implementing proactive strategies because of the heightened scrutiny of the police officers when they shoot unarmed individuals. It is evident that while the shooting of Michael Brown at Ferguson increased criticism of the police officers in engaging in the brutal killing of innocent people, there is an upsurge in the ability of the police officers to be cautious. The “Ferguson effect” triggered a culture of de-policing in society, which many people perceived that it would increase the rate of crime in the region.
The effect of the “Ferguson effect” now is that it enhances police legitimacy and the fact that police officers can be cautious when executing their roles. The members of the community can also be keen to monitor the way police officers address various crimes. The “Ferguson effect” exposed the possible weakness of the police department, and they now serve as a lesson to the rest of the police officers and departments, which must be cautious when implementing any proactive actions to prevent crime.
Oliver, W. M. (2017). Depolicing: Rhetoric or reality?. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 28(5), 437-461.
Oliver (2017) also proved that there is more to learn about the de-policing rhetoric associated with the Ferguson effect. Regardless of political rhetoric, the media reporting, and reports concerning the behavior of police officers, there is no empirical evidence concerning any actions taken against any individual police officer based on his or her actions in the Ferguson police department. It shows that the police officers learned that any mistakes they make might affect their cohesion and their ability to execute their roles properly. As a result, they would remain secretive about the actions of their colleagues.
It is evident that the Ferguson Police Department never exposed any names of individuals to carry their burdens when they make mistakes. The law, however, defines the process of holding the police officers to account for their illegitimate actions. The exposure of any information to the media seems to be limited after a mistake caused by police officers during their law enforcement roles. The de-policing effect will, therefore, not increase violence as expected by some people.
Pyrooz, D. C., Decker, S. H., Wolfe, S. E., & Shjarback, J. A. (2016). Was there a Ferguson Effect on crime rates in large US cities?. Journal of criminal justice, 46, 1-8.
Pyrooz, Decker, Wolfe, and Shjarback (2016) covered the tragic events involving police officers in areas like Ferguson, North Charlestown, and Baltimore. It is evident that the “Ferguson effect” spurred controversial discussions concerning police legitimacy and community relations with police officers. Although the “Ferguson effect” would spur a reduction in community and police relations, all stakeholders could learn much about crime and the impact of police actions on the reduction of crime in the society.
The perceived upsurge in police brutality would prompt the community members to seek effective dialogue strategies with police officers and prevent unnecessary killing to individual community members through enhancing community collaboration in weeding out criminals. It is apparent that although the “Ferguson effect” portrays a weak action and illegitimacy of police officers, it can prompt the collaboration of all stakeholders to prevent the unnecessary shooting. As a result, it can also reduce the participation of community members in crime within the community.
Rosenfeld, R. (2016). Documenting and explaining the 2015 homicide rise: Research directions. National Institute of Justice at https://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/249895. pdf.
Rosenfeld (2016) also supported the fact that police officers should always maintain proactive strategies. The proactive strategies seem to be effective in preventing crime and developing a good culture in the community setting, compared to the tendency of police officers to act after an incident. However, it is undeniable that the proactive strategy of police officers can threaten peace because the police officers can end up killing several innocent people while trying to prevent crime.
It is necessary, however, for the police departments to develop strategies through which police officers can avoid threatening peace and community relations while they conduct their duties. The community and the police department can collaborate more effectively if the police officers can act accurately to prevent crime without threatening the lives of innocent people. According to Rosenfeld (2016), the practice policing strategies can increase fears of de-policing due to an increase in police scrutiny and a possible upsurge in crime rate. These strategies cannot result because police scrutiny will not interfere with the ability of police officers to maintain law and order.
Shjarback, J. A., Pyrooz, D. C., Wolfe, S. E., & Decker, S. H. (2017). De-policing and crime in the wake of Ferguson: Racialized changes in the quantity and quality of policing among Missouri police departments. Journal of criminal justice, 50, 42-52.
Shjarback, Pyrooz, Wolfe, and Decker (2017) also assessed the de-policing rhetoric in a way that exposed an essential strategy, which is a proactive strategy. The members of the Ferguson police department were more proactive than reactive. They were swift to act in prevention rather than stopping crime. As a result, the community members were keen to collaborate with the police officers to ensure that crime ends in their region. Ideally, the mistakes that the police officers make when they focus more on becoming proactive can tarnish their security-oriented goals.
The killing of Michael Brown occurred because the police officers were swift to act against a suspicious person. Unfortunately, they ended up developing poor relations with community members due to the killing of innocent people (Shjarback, Pyrooz, Wolfe, and Decker, 2017). This proactive strategy would always lead to such hitches, and the community in collaboration with the police department should develop preventative measures for the killing of innocent people.
Tankebe, J., & Meško, G. (2015). Police self-legitimacy, use of force, and pro-organizational behavior in Slovenia. In Trust and legitimacy in criminal justice (pp. 261-277). Springer, Cham.
Tankebe and Meško (2015) focused on the possibility of promoting external procedural justice. The process entails the implementation of reforms in the police departments as a way of ensuring that the police officers can gain skills to serve in different capacities within the police department. The ability of police officers to serve in different positions also enhances their ability to deal with different people in different situations. The consistent reforms of the police department and the assignment of varied tasks to different police officers enhance effectiveness of the police department in responding to threats.
The process of police reforms can enable community members to relate to different police officers instead of knowing only selected people. The reform of the police department is a suitable strategy because it can prevent avenues for corruption within the police department. As a result, the reform in the Ferguson police department is a suitable strategy adopted by the department to ensure the effectiveness of the police force in maintaining law and order.
Wolfe, S. E., & Nix, J. (2016). The alleged “Ferguson Effect” and police willingness to engage in community partnership. Law and human behavior, 40(1), 1.
Wolfe and Nix (2016) discussed operationalizing the “Ferguson effect”. In particular, this means that the police departments must consider examining and exploring trends in the rates of crime before and after incidences happen. The process of exploring the trends in the rate of crime within the community can enhance the knowledge not only among police officers involved but also among the community members. As a result, everyone within the community can understand much about the time crime is at its peak in the community and the people involved.
Rosenfeld used the “Ferguson effect” during the death of Michael Brown. The strategy of exploring the trends in changes in the crime rate can be effective in enabling the stakeholders involved in crime control to explore the aggregate level changes in crime rate over a particular duration. As a result, law enforcement agencies can monitor the rate of change of crime in the region, and they can develop suitable strategies to address an upsurge in crime rate. The Ferguson Police Department used this strategy to understand the extent to which crime rate can change, and the factors that can lead to changes in the crime rate.
References
Chanin, J., & Espinosa, S. (2016). Examining the determinants of police department transparency: The view of police executives. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 27(5), 498-519.
Donner, C., Maskaly, J., Fridell, L., & Jennings, W. G. (2015). Policing and procedural justice: a state-of-the-art review. Policing: an international journal of police strategies & management, 38(1), 153-172.
Haas, N. E., Van Craen, M., Skogan, W. G., & Fleitas, D. M. (2015). Explaining officer compliance: The importance of procedural justice and trust inside a police organization. Criminology & criminal justice, 15(4), 442-463.
Nix, J., & Wolfe, S. E. (2016). Sensitivity to the Ferguson Effect: The role of managerial organizational justice. Journal of Criminal Justice, 47, 12-20.
Oliver, W. M. (2017). Depolicing: Rhetoric or reality?. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 28(5), 437-461.
Pyrooz, D. C., Decker, S. H., Wolfe, S. E., & Shjarback, J. A. (2016). Was there a Ferguson Effect on crime rates in large US cities?. Journal of criminal justice, 46, 1-8.
Rosenfeld, R. (2016). Documenting and explaining the 2015 homicide rise: Research directions. National Institute of Justice at https://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/249895. pdf.
Shjarback, J. A., Pyrooz, D. C., Wolfe, S. E., & Decker, S. H. (2017). De-policing and crime in the wake of Ferguson: Racialized changes in the quantity and quality of policing among Missouri police departments. Journal of criminal justice, 50, 42-52.
Tankebe, J., & Meško, G. (2015). Police self-legitimacy, use of force, and pro-organizational behavior in Slovenia. In Trust and legitimacy in criminal justice (pp. 261-277). Springer, Cham.
Wolfe, S. E., & Nix, J. (2016). The alleged “Ferguson Effect” and police willingness to engage in community partnership. Law and human behavior, 40(1), 1.