SOC 3710 Chapter Notes - Chapter 7: New York City Police Department, Compstat, Misdemeanor

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 3710
• Professor: Michelle Dumas

Document Summary

The primary reason for establishing policing in society is to maintain order or social control. Studies of how most police officers (wilson, 1968) actually use their time indicate that crime fighting is not their major activity: most are involved in order maintenance. The police problem of maintaining order takes priority over law enforcement: police officers encounter more order maintenance problems than law, order maintenance exposes the police officer to physical danger. The police officer"s focus on danger an important aspect of the police enforcement problems officer"s working. Several scholars consider order maintenance or peacekeeping the primary role. Disorderly people are one factor that causes annoyance and fear: may not necessarily be violent- they are panhandlers, rowdy teenagers, the mentally disturbed, prostitutes, vagrants, and drug addicts. In 1994, the newly elected mayor of new york city implemented an order maintenance policing strategy that emphasized aggressive and proactive enforcing of misdemeanor violations, quality-of-life offenses such as graffiti, loitering, etc.