Browsing by Subject "Police"

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    Cops Amidst a Crisis: An Inside Look at Rochester, New York’s Approach to Responding to Mental Health Crises
    (2024) Pelish, Buddy; McGovern, Stephen J., 1959-
    Death has become too common of a result when police arrive on the scene of mental health crises, even though not all of the deaths receive national attention. Not only can these encounters result in deaths, but they may also result in an endless cycle of incarceration, and thus lack of treatment, for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis or that are likely to experience a mental health crisis. My thesis seeks to answer the question, “what role, if any, should police have in responding to mental health crises?” In attempting to answer this questions, scholars have aligned with one of three schools of thought. One school of thought, which argues that police should have a large role given that they have received mental health and de-escalation training, maintains that police officers are often the first to arrive on scene. On the other hand, some scholars contend that police should have no role in responses, and that only mental health professionals should arrive on the scene of a crisis. I align with a third school of thought, which states that police should play a complementary role when responding to mental health crises. I hypothesize that an enhanced police presence alongside other experts leads to successful outcomes during mental health crises responses. In order to evaluate this hypothesis, I look at the city of Rochester, New York. Following the death of Daniel Prude, the city of Rochester and the Rochester Police Department experienced changes in how they respond to mental health crises. My hypothesis is for the most part confirmed, in that an enhanced police presence alongside other mental health experts will lead to successful outcomes, but this is not always the case. This is to say that there is not a one-size fits all in terms of responses to mental health crises, and that there are several other factors that can determine which response is the best course of action. These findings can be generalizable for police departments and cities across the country, especially those that have experienced instances of police misconduct and ensuing political and social changes. Overall, police departments and cities should pay close attention to how they decide to implement and develop new approaches to mental health crises.
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    Providing security in the city of brotherly love : an analysis of the restructuring of policing and its consequences for the city of Philadelphia
    (2006-12-08T19:00:57Z) Burgwyn, Ted
    The most profound change that has occurred in policing over the past fifty years was characterized by Bayley and Shearing in 2001 as the "restructuring of modern policing." While this restructuring involves many dzfferent aspects, the one that could potentially have the biggest impact is the growing influence of the private security industry in the realm of policing. This paper describes the history and the socio-political factors that have contributed to the restructuring of policing and the changing roles of both the public and the private sectors as they relate to security provision. The main purpose is to evaluate the consequences restructuring has had on both the quality of security provision in general and the rights of individual citizens. Many academics believe that the lack of an effective mechanism of accountability for private security guards, as well as the liability issues that arise as private and public sectors interact within the business of policing, means that restructuring will have a negative impact on the city. Some even believe that restructuring is creating a "widening net of social control, "as increased interaction between public and private providers of security leads to invasions of privacy and individual liberties. Using Philadelphia as a case study, the argument put forth in this paper goes contrary to the received academic opinion. In my view, restructuring is having only a limited effect on both the public police and the rest of the city's population. Contrary to what is commonly found in the literature, the effects of restructuring in Philadelphia have, for the most part, been positive. The city has indeed benefitted from whatever restructuring has taken place; given the continuation and development of current policy, benefits will accrue in the near future.