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Citizens Police Academy: First day of class
By Krista Goerte
Published October 29, 2009
“There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t know about,” said Paris Police Chief Bob Hundley during the first class of the Citizens Police Academy.
The CPA has been formed in an effort to promote understanding between the citizens of Paris and the police department, and is the first in what Hundley said he hopes will become a bi-annual class.
The class of 25 CPA members learned Tuesday that law enforcement is indeed a complex process.
After being introduced to some of the department administration staff, the group sat down for an introduction of the class, a history of the American justice system, an overview of the police department and a crash course in the criminal justice system. A tour of the Paris Police Department followed.
The Paris Police Department is organized into four divisions: administration, uniform patrol, criminal investigation and services. The majority of the police force works in the uniform patrol division, Hundley said.
The hiring process includes eligibility requirements for a peace officer certification by Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (TCLEOSE), multiple examinations including a written examination, a psychological evaluation and a physical agility test.
Once hired, officers must go through a field officer training program, a test period of sorts complete with regular observation reports and monthly evaluations. Officers also are required to go through 40 hours of training every four years to satisfy state and local requirements.
TCLEOSE offers different certifications and different levels of training, and salary for a police officer will increase accordingly, Hundley said.
In a brief version of the criminal justice system, Hundley explained the different levels of punishments involved, from a Class “C” Misdemeanor to a Capital Felony. What the police department deals with are primarily penal codes, which is the portion of law defining crimes and specifying punishment.
The chief explained how different levels of offenses receive different levels of punishments, but also said the punishment ultimately depends upon the judge who administers it, a challenge within the criminal justice system.
The hierarchy of the court system was also explained, from the lowest level of Justice courts to the Court of Criminal Appeals, the highest level in the Texas criminal justice system.
Justice courts include municipal courts dealing with Class “C” misdemeanors and justice of the peace courts. The next level is County Court, where Class “A” and “B” misdemeanors are handled. District Court handles felony cases. The Court of Appeals deals with misdemeanor appeal cases where no question of constitutionality is involved as well as felony appeals. The Court of Criminal Appeals is the Texas version of the Supreme Court.
Cases are split into two categories, civil cases or criminal cases. The level of proof that must be proven in order to convict or make a finding is different. Civil cases must be proved based upon the “preponderance of the evidence.” Criminal cases must be proved “beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The complaint process is a many-layered process, but one of the key points is that an officer must be able to prove probable cause — a finding that leads an officer to believe something happened, but there could possibly be more to the situation.
Hundley explained probable cause in his own words as “facts that indicate more than mere suspicion, but on their own will not convict.” Probable cause is based on the facts of the case, he stressed.
In concluding Tuesday’s presentation, Hundley gave a brief history of policing, starting with its English roots.
New York developed the first organized American policing system in 1845. As the system grew to other states, corruption became a normal occurrence. Into and throughout much of the 1900s, policing grew from a more personalized, community-system to a more impersonal system as technology and a faster-paced system took root.
Police professionalism became an issue particularly during the Civil Rights period, which sparked a push for increased standards in all aspects of police work. The later decades in the 1900s led to development of specialization within departments, incident-driven approaches and the radio as the primary means of communication, which led to officers covering a larger area.
The radio system, especially, was a catalyst in the communication breakdown between the police department and citizens.
“Ironically, the more professional we try to become, the more we head back to more of the older, more traditional police-citizen interaction in positive situations,” Hundley said.
Today, police departments are focusing on research and problem-oriented policing.
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