Police Respect for the Community

    According to Michael Nangle, and the article he wrote for the New York Times these principles are : 

1. The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder.' 
2. The ability of the police to perform their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions.'
3. 'Police must secure the willing cooperation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public.' 
4. 'The degree of cooperation of the public that can be secured diminishes proportionately to the necessity of the use of physical force.' 
5. Police seek and preserve public favor not by catering to the public opinion but by constantly demonstrating absolute impartial service to the law.'
6. 'Police use physical force to the extent necessary to secure observance of the law or to restore order only when the exercise of persuasion, advice, and warning is found to be insufficient.' 
7. Police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence.' 
8. Police should always direct their action strictly towards their functions and never appear to usurp the powers of the judiciary.'
9. The test of police efficiency is the absence of crime and disorder, not the visible evidence of police action in dealing with it' (Nagle, A20).

Peel created these nine principles because in the time of the 1890s in the democratic society he was in, he believed that officers needed their own set of guidelines and not the same ones soldiers had. Even though he liked that the military had such thing as chain-of-command and ranks; this was not going to be as useful to us as the nine principles are. With these nine principles policing has now taken a more serious turn, because now policemen and women have these nine ethical reasons to make them more legit; that make these officers look more official to us. When policemen and women seem as if they have it together, then us as citizens feel more protected by them. And that is what these nine principles did, they have these 'rules' they must follow, so we put our trust and our hope into them.

There are a number of procedures that an offender must undergo through in his or her progression through the system. The steps are arrest, the prosecution of the defendant/ first appearance, indictment (this is the accusation that the suspect has committed the crime), arraignment (this is where the charges the criminal has been read in court), bail, plea bargaining (this is where the defendant pleads guilty to the crime whether he has committed it or not for a lesser sentence), trial (whether the defendant is determined guilty or not guilty by jury), sentencing (this is handled by the judge), appeals, and lastly punishment of the guilty defendant.

There are a few reasons why a suspect could be arrested by a police officer, the way it starts is probable cause. Probable cause can be found in the fourth amendment and what this is, is basically a good reason or beyond a reasonable doubt, the officer has to make an arrest, to seize evidence from a house or search without a search warrant. Another way a criminal can be arrested if an officer arrests someone under a valid warrant, such as if the criminal has violated probation or is the suspect to a crime. And lastly, an officer can make an arrest if he sees someone blatantly disobeying the law.

After this is when the booking process comes to place, this process takes about two hours and the criminal is not allowed to make bail unless this process is complete. This process is started by fingerprints being taken by a correctional officer and entered into AFIS. Then the photo of the criminal is taken; this is also known as their 'mugshot'. After that is done then they get their clothes swapped and bunk/cell assignment. If the criminal is able to make their bail then they are allowed to leave the jail but are still required to come forth by a judge. Even in the seriousness of murder, anyone can make bail, this is made known under the Eighth Amendment. If the defendant does not make bail they are taken into custody and held until their new court date.

This next step is called prosecution, and this is where they weigh the strength of the evidence and the seriousness of the crime that was committed. When in front of a judge, depending on whether it is a bench trial or a jury trial the judge or jury, they look over the evidence and establish whether it has a probable cause beyond a reason of doubt or not. They determine whether the suspect is guilty, innocent, or not guilty pertaining to the crime they have or have not committed. At this point, plea bargaining could take place, and what this does is if the defendant pleads guilty it is possible that some of their charges could be dropped and they receive a lesser sentence.

This is also where the pre-trial motion would come into play. A pre-trial motion is where the defense and prosecution both determine whether the testimony the defendant gives and evidence are admissible in the trial or not. It is the defendant's constitutional right to have a trial. When in a trial, the prosecutor must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant has committed that crime. Then opening and closing statements are taken and so are the cross-examinations, the witness testimonies. The jury is sent to a different room so they can count up their votes, and if the decision is not unanimous, the trial could be declared a mistrial and it could either be dropped or a new jury will be selected to determine the fate of the defendant.

Sentencing is the next step to this process, this is where they take into the account what the crime was and how severe it ultimately is. Also if the criminal has past history their sentence could be longer, the degree of the defendants' health/ any special circumstance they may have. If the defendant is unhappy with their outcome they can ask to have their case looked at by a higher standing court, and this court will review the entire case. This is called the appeal because if the higher standing court finds a problem with the defendants' case, they can appeal the case and the case can go to a re-trial or the conviction of the criminal can be reversed.

The courtroom procedures are everything that goes on inside the courtroom. This will be broken down into eight different steps; some steps are similar to the procedures an offender goes through. These procedures are choosing a jury, the opening, and closing of statements, the witness testimony, the cross-examination, jury instruction/ deliberation, and the verdict of the jury. These steps are important because without these procedures there would be no such thing as trial and we would not know if someone was guilty or innocent. Depending on the case, the defense decides whether a jury will decide the verdict of the defendant or if the judge will. The evidence will be showed and reviewed determining if the evidence is admissible and determining if it seems like the defendant has committed a crime or not.

When it comes to the prosecution of the defendant this is where the main case of the prosecutor is presented. If the defense would like to they can cross-examine the witness. If the prosecutor has not provided enough evidence then there could be a motion to dismiss the case even in the event if the jury believes there is enough evidence. In most cases, though the judge will deny the motion to dismiss the case. After the defense has finished presenting their case the prosecutor may or may not have evidence to create a rebuttal against whatever the defendant mentioned.

The jury is then given instructions by the judge that both the prosecutor and defense have agreed upon. The prosecutor then begins to give his or her closing arguments, this is when the prosecutor gives the summarization of what they had previously stated and why they should find the defendant guilty. The same thing happens with the defense, but they give their reason why the defendant should not be found guilty. If there is any rebuttal on either side they are able to say it before the jury meets and makes their decision. The jury takes the instructions they have been given, deliberate, and come up with their verdict.

A post-trial motion can be requested and most likely denied; and then the judge determines the sentence for the guilty defendant, and one of two outcomes are possible. These two outcomes would be the defendant getting sentenced right on the spot, or in some cases, their sentence is on a different date.  

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