POLICE AND THE COMMUNITY / RESPECT FOR EACH OTHER

e [Music] a member of the minority group can live work play and seldom come in contact with other ethnic groups what little contact there is is usually in a situation of authority Merchant customer employer employee policeman citizen since the policeman is the most easily identifiable Authority in society to the minority citizen he often becomes the symbol of that established Authority the question occurs to many is he in my neighborhood to serve and to protect or is he here to enforce and harass over the years this situation has built up a feeling of tension between the police and members of minority communities as a result of this tension some policemen expect all minority citizens to offer resistance and many minority people expect to be treated roughly by the police much too often what each expects becomes a [Music] reality most citizens will agree that there is a need for a law enforcement agency but there's little agreement as to what the objectives and functions of such an agency should be what then are the obligations and standards of conduct for a police officer perhaps the most damaging attitude that can be adopted by a police officer is a feeling of I am the law rather than I represent the law police departments are aware of this tendency and attempt to prevent its officers from developing such attitudes [Music] the term police brutality is often used to cover a wide range of complaints against the police in affecting a quick and efficient arrest the officer may be overly aggressive in his manner or speech this may result in a situation where the suspect feels he's being [Music] harassed a police officer sometimes finds it difficult to distinguish between the potential law breaker and the law-abiding minority citizen the old saying they all look alike can have damaging consequences to police Community relationships the police officer is frequently faced with the decision which is more important the detection of crime or the protection of the liberty of the individual [Music] verbal abuse can sometimes inflame a citizen More Than Physical Force officers are cautioned against the use of words that may be offensive to of [Music] citizens nearly every Police Department in the country offers a course in public relations and encourages its officers to dis playay patience and understanding for they've learned that the main strength of the police comes from public cooperation and support the burden of improving police Community relationships does not rest with the police alone the community must also share in this responsibility [Music] [Music] many citizens fail to realize the difficulty a policeman has in going into a hostile area to make an arrest some citizens resist when they should go quietly naturally this conflict with the police will attract the attention of a crowd someone the crowd may attempt to interfere the officer retaliates what started out to be a simple arrest is now developed into something that could be [Music] disastrous the group becomes a crowd the crowd becomes a mob and and the mob begins to commit acts of violence that are contrary to their basic values beliefs and personal [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] welfare accepting and spreading rumors of incident without full knowledge of what occurred may result in mob violence and destruction several major civil disturbances in our nation's history were in part the result of distorted rumors another problem that confronts the police is the Public's misunderstanding of what the policeman is allowed to do by law although the officer has to make a number of on thepot decisions as he exercises his daily duties there are certain decisions he's not empowered to make one such decision is the distribution of property during a domestic quarrel often in a domestic quarrel the participants expect the officers to determine the rightful owner of household items this decision has to be made by the courts [Music] perhaps the most sensitive area in police work is with the juvenile conflicts between the police and juvenal usually result from the desire of Youth to have fun and attempts of the police to enforce curfew and loitering laws what is loitering very simply loitering is hanging around any number of young people hang around with no intent or desire to do anything unlawful but remember that being part of a group encourages you to do things that you would never do alone it's very difficult to resist the pressures of the group The thought of doing something unlawful Just for kicks could easily be rejected by an individual but this thought can become fascinating to a group when the group acts you act the results a stolen car breaking and entering vandalism are you loitering when you're sitting or riding in a car you could be if you cruise up and down a street aimlessly or sit in a car lingering you are loitering there are a number of juvenile activities that would be of concern to a policeman even though the juvenal are not doing anything wrong the loitering and curfew laws are designed to protect you from those innocent activities that might develop into a problem as an example parking in lonely places at night is inviting the criminal who prays on lovers [Music] riding around in a car when you don't know the owner could lead to difficulties the car could be stolen articles in the car could have been stolen narcotics may be found no one will admit to ownership this can only result in the arrest of all occupants the police department can only enforce those laws that have been enacted by your community [Music] the right to stop in search a pedestrian or vehicle at the discretion of the police officer presents a major problem in a free Society it's not the intent of this film to argue the legality of this practice that falls within the jurisdiction of the courts the police officers desire to make stops and searches in an attempt to be on top of the situation must always be weighed against the question which is more important the detection of crime or the protection of the liberty of the [Music] individual if you are stopped searched or arrested don't resist if you feel that the conduct of the officer was unwarranted record the time and place of the incident and the badge number of the officer call the police department and Report the incident if there are grounds for a complaint you'll be assisted be sure to inquire when and how you'll be advised to the outcome one policeman is not the entire force and the entire force should not be judged on that basis there's a growing demand for the recruitment of minority Young men into law enforcement to help reduce tensions special efforts are being made to encourage young men to consider the excellent opportunities which exist in a law enforcement career the professional approach to law enforcement today gives the position Prestige such a career offers hundreds of interesting [Music] assignments Berkeley California prideful of a police department with a long history of pioneering and modern techniques of law enforcement and community relations offers young people the career concept program in law enforcement the career concept program permits a young man an association with the police department from age 12 to retirement [Music] beginning as a crossing guard on a voluntary basis he can become a traffic Patrol Aid when he reaches High School traffic Patrol AIDS assist with traffic control and servicing patrol cars traffic Patrol AIDS are paid an hourly rate [Music] at the age of 17 the traffic Patrol Aid May apply for admission into the police aid program after completion of Basic School Aids are assigned to the patrol and service divisions where they perform such tasks as traffic direction and control for special events [Music] serving as attendance on emergency [Music] vehicles equipment servicing maintenance and control checking patrol cars before they're placed in service [Music] police AIDS are also instructed in operating the teletype photo copy and duplicating [Music] machines the police Aid as a prospective officer Works under the direct supervision of a career officer while developing proficiency and basic [Music] tasks at the age of 18 a young man May file application for the position of police trainee trainee applicants must pass a written test personal interview and Physical Agility Test a police trainee who is 21 years of age may be appointed as a patrolman [Music] although the career concept program permits an early association with the Berkeley Police Department entry into the department may be at any level investigate the recruitment programs offered by your local police department you may find one of interest to you opportunity ities in law enforcement are available for a variety of interests there are positions as a uniformed officer or as a civilian working with a law enforcement agency the traffic policeman Works to keep vehicle and pedestrian traffic moving steadily and safely a major portion of the time of a law enforcement agency is devoted to criminal investigation detectives go through extensive training on techniques of crime [Music] detection modern law enforcement relies heavily upon the services of the crime laboratory skilled criminalists who may be police officers or civilian employees apply the methods of Natural Science to analyze and interpret physical [Music] evidence with the aid of a spectro photometer organic materials can be analyzed in various physical States films solids liquids and gases the identification of drugs through chemical analysis is a major responsibility of the crime lab chemist preliminary screening of drugs can be accomplished with the spot plate color tests because drugs and narcotics can be identified through color [Laughter] changes the color separation here identifies this drug as marijuana the microcrystalline test is used as a specific test for heroin the formation of crystals identifies the drug as heroin the deputy uses chromatography to analyze drugs and poisons in the body fluids identification is possible through the location and color of the dots laboratory technicians receive special training in making castings of footprints and are alert for unusual markings on [Music] [Applause] [Music] shoes dusting for latent fingerprints is an important phase of identification no two people in the world have identical fingerprints the skin on the inside of the hand is composed of ridges that form unique patterns analysis of the number and sequence of lines in different patterns is the basis of fingerprint classification the technician turns to ballistics in matching a bullet with the gun from which it was fired the method involves the use of the comparison microscope to detect scratches on the bullet Small Arms have grooves in the Boors these grooves have certain individual characteristics that are transferred to the bullet as it passes through the [Music] boore all bullets fired from the same gun will have the same markings another technique used by the laboratory Deputy is the technical Aid in obtaining a suspect's lightness called the identic kit this mechanical Aid operated by a trained person will establish a physical likeness of a suspect far better than any verbal description [Music] the polygraph or lie detector operates on the principle that emotional stress creates physical changes in the body operated by specially trained technicians it has proven invaluable and has saved many hours of Investigation [Music] [Music] we have attempted to investigate some of the problems confronting both the community and the police department during this social crisis old attitudes often conflict with new social ideas if our social structure is to survive there must come about a change in attitudes on the part of both the community and the police modification of attitudes can better come about with a better understanding of roles several key issues pertinent to a harmonious relationship between the police and the community have been presented we are not offering solutions to all problems but hopefully you have been stimulated to consider these key issues what are the roles of the police and the citizen when does police protection become police harass [Music] M how can a citizen assist in suppressing rumors at what point does crime detection infringe upon individual [Music] rights what are the responsibilities of the juvenile in police community [Music] relations what recourse does the citizen have against unjustifiable police action what constitutes and justifies a forceful arrest what are the responsibilities of the citizen in assisting police how important is minority participation in easing tensions between the police and the community if we agree that there is a need for law enforcement but there's confusion as to how that agency should function in a minority Community perhaps greater minority participation in law enforcement might reduce the tensions that do exist as a citizen or as a law enforcement officer what are you going to do to make the police officer's job what it should be to protect and to serve [Music] [Applause]