DSST Introduction to Law Enforcement cheat sheet

English roots: the frankpledge system required groups of ten households (a tithing) to answer for one another's conduct; the tithingman reported violations to the court.

The Norman office of constable and the later justice of the peace (14th century England) moved policing from communal obligation toward appointed local authority.

The Bow Street Runners (founded c. 1750 by Henry Fielding in London) are often cited as an early organized, paid detective force.

Sir Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 created London's professional police force, organized on a military-style rank structure but with a preventive, non-military mission.

Peel's core principles: crime prevention over detection, public approval, cooperation with the public, use of force only as a last resort, and the police are the public.

American policing followed the English model but was decentralized; Boston (1838), New York (1844), and Philadelphia (1854) established early municipal forces.

The Progressive Era brought civil service reform, professionalization, and the call for trained, politically neutral officers; the Wickersham Commission (1931) documented police misconduct and pushed reform.

The community policing era (1980s onward) emphasized problem-solving, foot patrol, and citizen partnership, drawing on Wilson and Kelling's broken windows thesis (1982).

Technology eras: the telegraph (1840s-60s), the two-way radio and motorized patrol (1930s), 911 emergency systems (late 1960s), and COMPSTAT (New York, 1994) each reshaped police operations.

Three components: law enforcement (investigate, arrest), courts (adjudicate, sentence), corrections (incarcerate, supervise, rehabilitate); each is interdependent yet separately funded and governed.

The funnel model: of reported crimes, a small fraction results in arrest, an even smaller fraction in conviction, and a smaller fraction still in prison; attrition occurs at each stage.

Felony vs. misdemeanor: felonies are generally punishable by more than one year of imprisonment; misdemeanors by one year or less; infractions are minor, usually fine-only.

Booking is the administrative process of recording an arrest; the initial appearance follows, where a magistrate informs the defendant of charges and sets bail or release conditions.

Preliminary hearing or grand jury review establishes probable cause for a felony charge; an indictment comes from a grand jury, an information from a prosecutor.

Arraignment: the defendant enters a plea (guilty, not guilty, nolo contendere); plea bargaining resolves the large majority of felony cases.

Trial rights: jury trial for serious offenses, presumption of innocence, burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt on the prosecution, and the right to confront witnesses.

Sentencing options include incarceration, probation, fines, restitution, and intermediate sanctions (house arrest, electronic monitoring); consecutive vs. concurrent terms affect total time.

Corrections continuum: jails hold pretrial detainees and short-term sentenced offenders; prisons hold sentenced felons; parole is supervised release after prison, probation is a sentence in lieu of prison.

Jurisdictional layers: federal agencies (FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, Secret Service, CBP), state police or highway patrol, county sheriffs, and municipal police; sheriffs are usually elected, chiefs usually appointed.

Federal law enforcement authority derives from federal statutes; the FBI is the principal federal investigative agency, while the U.S. Marshals Service handles fugitive apprehension and prisoner transport.

State police generally have statewide jurisdiction and often patrol highways; sheriffs typically run county jails and serve court process in addition to patrol.

Span of control: the number of subordinates one supervisor can effectively manage; narrower spans suit complex or hazardous work.

Chain of command and unity of command: each officer reports to one supervisor, and authority flows down a clear line; these reduce confusion in emergencies.

Community policing has three pillars: community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving (often via SARA: Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment).

CompStat is a data-driven management model using crime statistics, geographic mapping, and accountability meetings to deploy resources.

Use-of-force standards: Graham v. Connor (1989) requires objective reasonableness judged from the officer's perspective at the moment force was used, considering the severity of the crime, immediate threat, and active resistance.

Key issues: racial profiling and bias, body-worn cameras and transparency, officer wellness and suicide, recruitment and retention shortages, and the tension between discretion and accountability.

Fourth Amendment: protects against unreasonable searches and seizures; a warrant requires probable cause, supported by oath, and particularity describing the place and things to be seized.

Exceptions to the warrant requirement include search incident to lawful arrest (Chimel v. California, 1969), consent, exigent circumstances, plain view, automobile exception (Carroll v. United States, 1925), and stop-and-frisk (Terry v. Ohio, 1968).

Terry stop: reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity permits a brief investigative detention; a pat-down for weapons requires reasonable suspicion the person is armed and dangerous.

Exclusionary rule: evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is generally inadmissible in the prosecution's case-in-chief (Mapp v. Ohio, 1961, applied it to the states).

Fifth Amendment: no self-incrimination, no double jeopardy, due process, and grand jury indictment for federal felonies; Miranda v. Arizona (1966) requires warnings before custodial interrogation.

Sixth Amendment: right to counsel, speedy and public trial, impartial jury, and confrontation of witnesses; Massiah and Escobedo extended counsel protections to post-charge interrogation.

Eighth Amendment: prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail; Gregg v. Georgia (1976) upheld capital punishment under guided-discretion statutes.

Criminal law elements: actus reus (the prohibited act), mens rea (the guilty mental state), concurrence, causation, and resulting harm; defenses include self-defense, necessity, duress, insanity, and entrapment.

Standards of proof ladder: mere suspicion < reasonable suspicion < probable cause < preponderance of the evidence < clear and convincing evidence < beyond a reasonable doubt.

The frankpledge system organized communities into tithings of ten households responsible for one another's conduct; the tithingman reported offenses to the court.

The office of constable and the later justice of the peace shifted English policing from communal duty toward appointed local authority.

The Bow Street Runners, associated with Henry Fielding in mid-18th-century London, are often described as an early organized, paid detective force.

Sir Robert Peel's Metropolitan Police Act of 1829 established London's professional police, organized on a military-style rank structure with a preventive mission.

Peel's principles emphasized crime prevention over detection, public approval, cooperation with the public, and force as a last resort.

American policing borrowed the English model but was decentralized; Boston (1838), New York (1844), and Philadelphia (1854) formed early municipal forces.

The Progressive Era pushed civil service reform and professionalization; the Wickersham Commission (1931) documented misconduct and spurred reform.

Community policing (1980s onward) stressed problem solving, foot patrol, and citizen partnership, drawing on Wilson and Kelling's broken windows thesis (1982).

Technology eras: the telegraph, two-way radio and motorized patrol, 911 systems (late 1960s), and COMPSTAT (New York, 1994) reshaped police operations.

Three components: law enforcement (investigate, arrest), courts (adjudicate, sentence), corrections (incarcerate, supervise, rehabilitate); interdependent but separately funded and governed.

The funnel model: of reported crimes, a small fraction results in arrest, fewer in conviction, and fewer still in prison; attrition occurs at every stage.

Felonies are generally punishable by more than one year of imprisonment; misdemeanors by one year or less; infractions are minor and usually fine-only.

Booking records the arrest; the initial appearance follows, where a magistrate informs the defendant of charges and sets bail or release conditions.

Preliminary hearing or grand jury review establishes probable cause for a felony charge; an indictment comes from a grand jury, an information from a prosecutor.

Arraignment: the defendant enters a plea (guilty, not guilty, nolo contendere); plea bargaining resolves the large majority of felony cases.

Trial rights: jury trial for serious offenses, presumption of innocence, burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt on the prosecution, and the right to confront witnesses.

Sentencing options include incarceration, probation, fines, restitution, and intermediate sanctions; consecutive vs. concurrent terms affect total time served.

Corrections continuum: jails hold pretrial detainees and short-term sentenced offenders; prisons hold sentenced felons; parole is supervised release after prison, probation a sentence in lieu of prison.

Jurisdictional layers: federal agencies (FBI, DEA, ATF, USMS, Secret Service, CBP), state police or highway patrol, county sheriffs, and municipal police; sheriffs are usually elected, chiefs usually appointed.

Federal authority derives from federal statutes; the FBI is the principal federal investigative agency, while the U.S. Marshals Service handles fugitive apprehension and prisoner transport.

State police generally have statewide jurisdiction and often patrol highways; sheriffs typically run county jails and serve court process in addition to patrol.

Span of control is the number of subordinates one supervisor can effectively manage; narrower spans suit complex or hazardous work.

Chain of command and unity of command: each officer reports to one supervisor, and authority flows down a clear line, reducing confusion in emergencies.

Community policing rests on community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving, often via SARA: Scanning, Analysis, Response, Assessment.

CompStat is a data-driven management model using crime statistics, geographic mapping, and accountability meetings to deploy resources.

Use-of-force standards: Graham v. Connor (1989) requires objective reasonableness judged from the officer's perspective, considering the severity of the crime, immediate threat, and active resistance.

Key issues: racial profiling and bias, body-worn cameras and transparency, officer wellness and suicide, recruitment and retention shortages, and the tension between discretion and accountability.

Fourth Amendment: protects against unreasonable searches and seizures; a warrant requires probable cause, supported by oath, and particularity describing the place and things to be seized.

Warrant exceptions include search incident to lawful arrest (Chimel v. California, 1969), consent, exigent circumstances, plain view, the automobile exception (Carroll v. United States, 1925), and stop-and-frisk (Terry v. Ohio, 1968).

Terry stop: reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity permits a brief investigative detention; a pat-down for weapons requires reasonable suspicion the person is armed and dangerous.

Exclusionary rule: evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is generally inadmissible in the prosecution's case-in-chief; Mapp v. Ohio (1961) applied it to the states.

Fifth Amendment: no self-incrimination, no double jeopardy, due process, and grand jury indictment for federal felonies; Miranda v. Arizona (1966) requires warnings before custodial interrogation.

Sixth Amendment: right to counsel, speedy and public trial, impartial jury, and confrontation of witnesses; Massiah and Escobedo extended counsel protections to post-charge interrogation.

Eighth Amendment: prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail; Gregg v. Georgia (1976) upheld capital punishment under guided-discretion statutes.

Criminal law elements: actus reus, mens rea, concurrence, causation, and resulting harm; defenses include self-defense, necessity, duress, insanity, and entrapment.

Standards of proof ladder: mere suspicion < reasonable suspicion < probable cause < preponderance of the evidence < clear and convincing evidence < beyond a reasonable doubt.