CECsst.212


TITLE:  The Police, Part I & II

AUTHORS:  Cecelia Cameron and Ted Foster
          Sequoyah High School; Claremore, OK

GRADE LEVEL:  6-12

OVERVIEW:  The man or woman in uniform may not represent the
same thing to all students.  Some may see the police as
something to fear while others may look to the police as an
authority figure to be helpful and to be respected.

OBJECTIVE(s):  Students will be able to:
1.  Understand the origins of the police.
2.  Know the evolution of the police from the early
    beginnings to the present.
3.  Understand the complexities of being a policeman or
    policewoman and the skills required.
4.  Understand the demands made by society on our police
    forces.

PURPOSE:  To promote respect for the law and those who serve
and protect.

                    The Police -- Part I

ACTIVITIES:

1.   Discuss with students how they feel about the
     police. An attitude survey such as the following may
     be handed out:


               AN ATTITUDE SURVEY--THE POLICE


Read the statements below.  Place a star next to the one
which most closely resembles your feelings.  Next consider
the statements above and below your mark.  Even though they
do not represent your feelings as accurately as the starred
statement, are there any of them that you could accept?  If
so, mark the other acceptable statements with a check.

     1.  All police officers are always stupid, brutal
         and corrupt.
     2.  Most police officers are usually stupid, brutal
         and corrupt.
     3.  Some police officers are usually stupid, brutal
         and corrupt.
     4.  A few police officers are usually stupid, brutal
         and corrupt.
     5.  Police officers are no better or worse than most
         people.
     6.  A few police officers sometimes have better
         judgement, more compassion, and integrity than
         is average.
     7.  Some police officers usually have better
         judgement, more compassion, and integrity than
         is average.
     8.  Most police officers have better judgement, more
         compassion, and integrity than is average.
     9.  All police officers always have better
         judgement, more compassion, and integrity than
         is average.


2.   Discuss with students the early origins of the
     police.
     A.  As watchmen in colonial times to listen, to cry
         out conditions, and to light the lamps.
     B.  Early colonists were opposed to a formal police
         force because of their early experiences in
         England.
     C.  First police force established by New York
         legislature. (They were appointed by the mayor.)
     D.  Early duties of police:
         1. night watchmen
         2. protecting the polls.
         3. lighting lamps
         4. sounding alarm bells
         5. suppressing riots
         6. preserving order at fires

3.   Early qualifications:
     1. Size
     2. Ability to prevail in a bar room brawl or in
        a gunfight in the early West.

4.   Ask a member of your local police department to
     visit your class.

5.   Plan a field trip to the county jail.

6.   Let the students inspect a police patrol car.

7.   See Police Part 2 for the role of police today,
     police recruitment and training, the power base of
     the police and discretionary powers of the police.



                   The Police -- Part II


ACTIVITIES:

1.   Have students write a description of a policeman or
     policewoman.

2.   Discuss the powerbase of the police.
     A.  Society asks the police to enforce more and more
         laws, while at the same time placing greater
         constraints on police behavior.
     B.  Police authority is based primarily upon
         statutory law that gives the police the power to
         arrest.

3.   Ask the students when they think a policeman or
     policewoman has the right to use force.
     A.  Force is most often used when making arrests.
     B.  Force may be necessary to suppress civil
         disorders or subduing mentally ill persons.

4.   Assign students to look up the Miranda Law.

5.   Discuss Probable Cause with the students.

6.   The discretion of the police. (very important)
     Police do not arrest all the offenders they
     encounter.
     A.  warnings to speeders
     B.  curfew laws
     C.  deals between police and informers

7.   Conclusions:  Drive home the point that the police
     is not the worst institution in society.
     A.  Minorities may get more fair treatment from
         police than from realtors.
     B.  Police assign their best to the ghetto while
         schools assign their worst.
     C.  A young intelligent black may enter the police
         force but yet have no chance to become a union
         carpenter.