The Politics of Police Reporting in Indianapolis, 1948-1978

The Politics of Police Reporting in Indianapolis, 1948-1978

Crime statistics from the Indianapolis Police Department are interpreted in light of news reports and interviews. A shift from proactive enforcement (vice, traffic, and juvenile arrests) to reactive enforcement (taking citizen crime reports) begins in the mid-1950s, If they do report offenses, polic...

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Veröffentlicht in:Law and human behavior 1982-09, Vol.6 (3-4), p.327-342
Hauptverfasser: Selke, William L, Pepinsky, Harold E
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Communications Media
Crime
Crime control
Crime rates
Crime reporting
Criminal arrests
Criminal justice
Criminal offenses
Human
Larceny
Police
Police Personnel
Politics
Street crime
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Crime statistics from the Indianapolis Police Department are interpreted in light of news reports and interviews. A shift from proactive enforcement (vice, traffic, and juvenile arrests) to reactive enforcement (taking citizen crime reports) begins in the mid-1950s, If they do report offenses, police are blamed for failing to control crime. Eventually, if they fail to report offenses, they are chided for being unresponsive to citizens. Even homicide statistics get manipulated as police are caught in political cross-pressures. It is concluded that police would be better off if relieved of responsibility for defining the size and shape of the crime problem.
ISSN:0147-7307
1573-661X
DOI:10.1007/BF01044301