Jail Capacity for Minnesota: 1999

In 1999, Minnesota Jails were not over capacity (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1999). I believe there are three reasons for this. One, Minnesota only had a population of 4,775,508 in 1999 (Roach, 1999), this helps because when there are less people living in a state, there are less people to put in prison, hence the not over crowded prison system in Minnesota in 1999. Two, there are few “big cities” in Minnesota, so therefore there would be less of a chance for the more common crimes, such as pick pocketing, shoplifting, ect. also having less to attract people to your state, you won’t get as many drifters and what not committing crimes in your state. Three would have to be Minnesota’s strong police presence. When there are more cops visible and around, in a state with a small population, than people are less likely to be doing criminal acts, in that state.

References

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (1999). Census of Jails NCJ 186633 [Chart]. Washington, D.C. Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t1998.pdf

Roach, K. (1999, December 29). Minnesota's population growth continues to outpace its neighbors, [Press Release]. Retrieved from http://www.demography.state.mn.us/resource.html?Id=1706

Police Misconduct & Brutality

Photo source: Police State Net

http://police-state.net/fascistswillrisetothetop.htm

Gender differences

Research questions based upon the differences in gender amongst police officers.

- Are men or women considered more likely to use excessive force when on duty?

Men are considered to use excessive force more due to their more aggressive nature. Women on the other hand have been proven to rely more on negotiation rather than physical confrontation.

-Do police stations consider gender differences for recruitment?

No it is against the law, under the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, Article VII. This law protects all from any kind of discrimination in the workplace, including gender. Prior to the 1970s, women police officers were scarce in numbers and were primarily involved in assignments of a social welfare nature, matron duties, juvenile and family problems, sexual assault investigators, and clerical assignments. As time progressed, more women joined the force, but not enough. As of right now women account for roughly 46% of the American workforce over the age of 16. In comparison women account for 12.8% of the working police force population. 18% of the LAPD is female, which mirrors exactly the percentage of women who apply to become police officers.

- Do female police officers have to fit into the masculine occupational subculture in order to be socially acceptable in the work place as a cop?

No, not necessarily, the masculine brute force cop is just a common stereotype given to police officers. There are many different types of police styles, ranging from the social worker type cop in blue, to the fearless crime fighter. Respect is earned through performance.

- Could statistics in civilian police resistance be altered if more women were in the police force?

Maybe. Maybe men who would violently resist arrest from a male officer would not violently strike a police officer if they were a female due to cultural upbringing or moral belief. Or maybe an offender, male or female, would see a female police officer as genetically weaker than a typical male police officer and use it to their advantage by resisting violently. Now that's some food for thought eh?

- Which gender is more susceptible to the largest problem in policing, corruption?

Niether. We're all human and face the same temptations. There is however a roughly 74% majority of men in the police force. The police force is still a male dominated field, and bands of corruption still exist.

SOURCES

Poteyeva, M & Sun, I. (3 September, 2009). Gender differences in police officers' attitudes: Assessing current empirical evidence. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V75-4X4XGGH-D&_user=516213&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1036591330&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000023038&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=516213&md5=623501405b8f33f831056733fa97e09f

Perham, Minnesota Community Policing

The mission statement of the city of Perham, Minnesota police department is: “to protect and serve the citizens of Perham in the most effective, responsive, and ethical manner possible. The Police Department will always be striving to improve service to the Citizens, and will be continually conscious of new and innovative community policing programs, which will allow us to meet the needs of the Citizens we serve. We understand that in order to be effective as a Police Department we must be aware of what is taking place around us, and be responsive and flexible to change with the innovation of technology. We will strive to maintain a professional image within the community. We believe that for us to be successful in accomplishing these goals, we must understand and adapt to the needs of the citizens we serve.” The city of Perham’s police department does much more than just police, they also provide services, such as: Drug Abuse Resistance and Education, or D.A.R.E. Where the officers will go in and talk to kids during their school day about the dangers of drugs and drunk driving. They also offer the MN Safe and Sober challenge, where the program is designed to heighten public awareness in the areas of seatbelts, driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol, and it is their effort to decrease the number of alcohol related driving accidents. This department has also made a crosswalk safety program, where they work with the public to bring attention to new laws in the state about crosswalks, and they have been putting “yield to pedestrian” signs at primary crosswalks in downtown Perham. Another thing the Perham police department does with the public is a “Bike Rodeo”. The clinic includes bike registration, bike safety check, obstacle course, drawing an giveaways for prizes. During the rodeo bike helmets are on sale for a nominal price. The Police Department and Lions Club, send flyers home with elementary students in the spring of the year as to when the clinic is, and the best part, the clinic registration is only $1.

One of the challenges of community policing however is reorienting recruitment. However, the city of Perham has successfully dealt with this challenge in a well thought out and organized manor. They have a reserve officer program that is made up from volunteers from the community, that has duties such as: residential checks, patrol, bike safety, traffic control and security to name a few. The rules are you must be 21 years old, with the exception if you are enrolled in criminal justice in college, than you can join younger, a good driving, be in good physical condition, and you must be at least be a high school graduate. This is just one of the examples of how the city of Perham overcomes community policing difficulties.

Sources Used:

1.http://www.cityofperham.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={6F2EA21C-DD29-4AC1-8DBE-388ADCE1D3D5}&DE=

2. http://www.cityofperham.com/index.asp?Type=B_LIST&SEC=%7BF27E64C6-2259-4707-B337-D12CFF21A3FD%7D

Police Brutality in St. Paul Minnesota at RNC

Photo by Paul Demko, Minnesota Independent



Youth beaten by police at RNC.

Source: The Minnesota Independant