Policing and law enforcement Cambridge IGCSE Sociology revision
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In plain words
Police forces can choose to be a familiar face on the corner or an armoured line in the street. They can watch everyone a little or a few people a lot. The style they choose changes the amount of crime, and how far the public trusts them.
8 things to know
- Targeting means concentrating police resources on particular areas, crimes or groups. It puts officers where crime is most likely.
- Stop and search is the power to stop people and search them for weapons, drugs or stolen goods. Supporters say that it prevents crime. Critics say that few searches find anything, and that it falls unfairly on young men from certain groups, which damages trust.
- Surveillance is the watching of the public, in person or by technology. Digital surveillance includes CCTV, the reading of vehicle number plates, face recognition and the monitoring of phones and online activity.
- Surveillance deters some crime and provides evidence. It can also move crime elsewhere, and it raises concerns about privacy.
- Crime prevention aims to stop crime before it happens. One approach makes crime harder to commit, with locks, alarms and street lighting. Another tackles the causes, with youth clubs, jobs and support for families.
- Community policing puts officers into neighbourhoods on a regular basis, to get to know residents and win their trust. People are then more willing to give information and report crime. It takes many officers and much time.
- Military style policing uses weapons, armour and force to control an area. It can stop disorder quickly. It can also frighten and anger the public, and lead to more violence.
- Policing depends on the cooperation of the public. A method that reduces crime in the short term can do harm if it destroys trust.
Worked example
A neighbourhood has rising street crime and poor relations with the police. Compare community policing with military style policing as a response.
- Military style policing would put heavily equipped officers on the streets and might reduce crime quickly.
- It would be likely to deepen the mistrust, so that residents stop reporting crime and giving evidence.
- Community policing would be slower, but officers who are known and trusted receive information.
- Where trust is already low, community policing is the more likely to work in the long term.
Tips and tricks
- For every strategy, give the benefit and the cost to trust. Trust is the theme that links this whole unit.
- Crime moved elsewhere by cameras or patrols is called displacement. It is a standard criticism of surveillance and targeting.
It lands in your notebook with its questions as flashcards.
Policing and law enforcement: 5 questions and answers
These are the quiz’s questions. Do the quiz first, then come back here for the ones that got you.
What is community policing?
Trust brings information.
Which is an example of digital surveillance?
Technology does the watching.
What is the aim of crime prevention?
Locks and lighting make crime harder, and youth work tackles causes.
Which is a criticism of stop and search?
People who feel unfairly targeted stop cooperating.
Cameras are installed in a city centre, and crime there falls while crime in nearby streets rises. What has happened?Stretch
Surveillance can move crime as well as reduce it.
Quiz
5 questions
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Worksheet
3 questions, 10 marks. Write your answers on paper, then check them.
Policing and law enforcement
Cambridge IGCSE Sociology 0495 · 10 marks · papermunch.org
Name ______________________________ Date ______________
What is meant by the term "surveillance"?[2]
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The monitoring or watching of people, for example by CCTV, to prevent and detect crime.
Describe two policing strategies.[4]
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Any two, each described: targeting, focusing resources on particular areas or groups; stop and search, stopping people to search for illegal items; surveillance, monitoring the public with cameras and other technology; community policing, officers working closely with local residents; military style policing, using force and heavy equipment.
Explain one strength and one limitation of stop and search.[4]
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Strength: it can remove weapons and drugs from the streets and deter people from carrying them. Limitation: it is used far more on some groups than others, which is seen as unfair and damages trust in the police (or: most searches find nothing).
Answers: Policing and law enforcement
- 1. The monitoring or watching of people, for example by CCTV, to prevent and detect crime.
- 2. Any two, each described: targeting, focusing resources on particular areas or groups; stop and search, stopping people to search for illegal items; surveillance, monitoring the public with cameras and other technology; community policing, officers working closely with local residents; military style policing, using force and heavy equipment.
- 3. Strength: it can remove weapons and drugs from the streets and deter people from carrying them. Limitation: it is used far more on some groups than others, which is seen as unfair and damages trust in the police (or: most searches find nothing).