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Center for Curriculum and Transfer Articulation
The Police Function
Course: AJS230

First Term: 2002 Spring
Lecture   3 Credit(s)   3 Period(s)   3 Load  
Subject Type: Occupational
Load Formula: S


Description: Theories of procedures and methods of operations of public police with emphasis on discretionary powers available to the working police officer. Career opportunities and current trends in law enforcement presented



MCCCD Official Course Competencies
1. Analyze the relationship between government structure and policing in American society. (I)
2. Identify and describe the principal roles and functions of the police in American society and describe the relationship between the police and the law. (I)
3. Identify and describe the various types of police departments and types of police officers commonly found in policing. (I)
4. Identify the agencies found at the federal, state, and local levels of policing and describe the role and function of each. (I)
5. Trace the history of policing from ancient times to the modern era. (II)
6. Identify and describe the major components of policing in modern America. (II)
7. Identify and describe the elements involved in the police selection process including AZPOST standards. (III)
8. Describe the major components of police officer training and career development programs. (III)
9. Identify and describe major organizational theories and relate their application to police administration and policing. (IV)
10. Outline and describe the major methods of police patrol and describe appropriate patrol strategies and procedures for selected situations. (V)
11. Review the history of criminal investigation and identify and describe the processes and procedures appropriate to preliminary and follow-up investigations. (V)
12. Describe the role of the police as it relates to traffic enforcement and identify and describe special problems associated with traffic enforcement. (V)
13. Outline and describe the nature of police and administrative discretion and relate criteria involved in the decision to arrest or investigate and report. (VI)
14. Identify and describe the internal and external mechanisms which influence and control police discretion. (VI)
15. Identify and describe theoretical perspectives used to analyze the culture of policing.(VII)
16. Identify and describe major components of policing as a subculture. (VII)
17. Identify and describe significant job related issues associated with policing. (VII)
18. Analyze the role and function of policing in the modern community. (VIII)
19. Describe the future of policing including the impact of technology on police work. (IX)
MCCCD Official Course Competencies must be coordinated with the content outline so that each major point in the outline serves one or more competencies. MCCCD faculty retains authority in determining the pedagogical approach, methodology, content sequencing, and assessment metrics for student work. Please see individual course syllabi for additional information, including specific course requirements.
 
MCCCD Official Course Outline
I. Police in American Society
   A. Government structure and policing
      1. Constitutional government
      2. Separation of powers
      3. Principles of Federalism
   B. Roles and functions of police in modern society
      1. Police and the law
      2. Roles performed by police
      3. Police activities
   C. Models of police officers and policing
      1. Types of departments
      2. Types of officers
   D. Diversity of the police establishment
      1. Federal law enforcement
      2. State law enforcement
      3. Local law enforcement
II. Historical Overview of Policing
   A. Policing in Ancient Times
   B. Police development in England
   C. Policing in early America
   D. Policing in modern America
      1. Police entrenchment
      2. Reform efforts
      3. Professional policing
      4. Return of public and community relations
III. Toward a Theory of Police Selection
   A. Affirmative action
      1. Policy
      2. Procedure
   B. Police selection
      1. Establishing standards
      2. AZPOST standards
      3. Recruitment
      4. Testing
      5. Review boards
   C. Police training
      1. Basic training
      2. Field training officer programs
      3. In-service training
   D. Officer career development
      1. Lateral expansion
      2. Vertical expansion
IV. Police Organization and Management
   A. Principles of organization and management
      1. Levels of organization
      2. Classical organizational principles
   B. Human relations theory
      1. Major theories
      2. Application to police administration
   C. Systems theory
      1. Application to police administration
      2. Application to policing
V. Police Operations/Allocation of Personnel
   A. Police patrol
      1. Methods of patrol
      2. Deployment of patrol personnel
      3. Police patrol strategies
      4. Crimes in progress
      5. Crowd and riot control
      6. Arrest and apprehension techniques
      7. Prisoner restraint, search, and custody
   B. Criminal investigation
      1. Historical overview
      2. Preliminary
      3. Follow-up
      4. Effectiveness
   C. Traffic function
      1. Enforcement
      2. Special enforcement problems
VI. Police and Administrative Discretion
   A. Discretionary situations
      1. Domestic violence
      2. Vice crimes
      3. Disenfranchised populations
   B. Decision to arrest or investigate and report
      1. Offender based criteria
      2. Situation based criteria
      3. System based criteria
   C. Control of police discretion
      1. Internal control mechanisms
      2. External control mechanisms
VII. Police Culture and Behavior
   A. Theoretical perspectives
      1. Psychological
      2. Sociological
      3. Anthropological
   B. Police as a subculture
      1. World view
      2. Ethos
      3. Themes
      4. Postulates
      5. Ethics
   C. Job-related concerns
      1. Stress
      2. Deviant behavior
      3. Illegal behavior
      4. Use of force
      5. Civil liability
VIII. Police in the Modern Community
   A. Public perceptions of police
      1. Public attitude
      2. Police-community relations
   B. Crime prevention
      1. Primary crime prevention programs
      2. Community oriented policing
   C. Policing the drug problem
      1. Drug enforcement techniques/programs
      2. Gang strategies
      3. Neighborhood strategies
IX. Future of Policing
   A. Changing roles and functions
   B. Changing political and legal climates
   C. Impact of technology
      1. Information management
      2. Communication management
      3. Field operations
 
MCCCD Governing Board Approval Date:  11/27/2001

All information published is subject to change without notice. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information presented, but based on the dynamic nature of the curricular process, course and program information is subject to change in order to reflect the most current information available.