Order Maintenance, the Quality of Urban Life, and Police - A Different Line of Arguement (From Police Leadership in America, P 309-321, 1985, William A Geller, ed. - See NCJ-98325)

• NCJ Number: 99254
• Author(s): C B Klockars
• Date Published: 1985
• Length: 13 pages
• Sale Source: Praeger Publishers
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This critique of George Kelling's proposal to prioritize order maintenance activities in police policy and procedures focuses on the challenge to the heritage of contemporary policing without adding to current police functions or increasing police effectiveness.

Abstract

Police order maintenance involves the suppression of a range of public behaviors reputable citizens find disruptive, annoying, or offensive, even though the behaviors may not violate a law. Police already perform such functions, but Kelling advises police agencies to elevate their importance by using foot patrols in heavily populated areas, deemphasizing police response to telephone requests for service, and abandoning law enforcement as the primary basis for police action. This would challenge four features of the policing heritage: the crimefighting mandate and self-image, the quasi-military administrative structure, the focus on law as the basis for police action, and the rationale for police political influence in obtaining resources. Prioritizing the order-maintenance function does not have the appeal to challenge these historic features of policing, nor does it ensure the benefits to make the challenge worthwhile.