de-policing

de-policing
n.
A law enforcement strategy in which police avoid accusations of racial profiling by ignoring traffic violations and other petty crimes committed by members of visible minorities. Also: depolicing.
Example Citations:
But as new leaders were promising action, rank-and-file officers were reacting bitterly, saying if they were faulted for doing their job, they'd stop all proactive policing. It's a practice known as "de-policing."
During a February, 2001 riot in Seattle, when police were accused of taking a hands-off approach, one officer was quoted as saying: "Parking under a shady tree to work on a crossword puzzle is a great alternative to being labelled a racist and being dragged through an inquest, a review board, an FBI and U.S. attorney investigation and lawsuit."
— Michelle Shephard, "Seattle offers insights into police profiling," Toronto Star, February 9, 2003
Three out of four police departments in Massachusetts have engaged in racial profiling against nonwhite drivers, state Public Safety Secretary Edward A. Flynn is expected to report today. ...
The attorney for the state's police chiefs association predicted that many police officers will respond to Flynn's ruling by "de-policing," doing fewer traffic stops lest they give more ammunition to their critics.
— Bill Dedman, "Racial profiling is confirmed," The Boston Globe, May 4, 2004
Earliest Citation:
Bratton himself talks about "kids playing in streets that had become fearful places". ... His central point, though, is that "if you excuse people of responsibility they become irresponsible". ...
Seamlessly, Bratton picked up his train of thought about the de-policing of the streets, and how it "decriminalised a lot of formerly criminal behaviour".
— Tracy Corrigan, "The Boston cop who cleaned up New York's streets," Financial Times (London, England), September 27, 1997
Notes:
De-policing is also sometimes called selective disengagement (2001) or tactical detachment (2001). A broader term is selective enforcement (1971), which means ignoring misdemeanors to concentrate on major crimes. Thanks to Dave Doepner for providing valuable feedback on today's word.
Related Words: Categories:

New words. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Policing in the United States — is one of three major components of the criminal justice system, along with courts and corrections. Although there exists an inherent interrelatedness between the different groups that make up the criminal justice system based on their crime… …   Wikipedia

  • Policing in Mexico — is divided between federal, state, and municipal police forces. Estimates range between 1,600 and 3,000 different police forces in total. There are over 350,000 police agents in Mexico.Police forces in Mexico are normally poorly trained and paid …   Wikipedia

  • policing —    It seemed at the time that reform of the police system after the death of Franco in 1975 was agonizingly slow. It had to be transformed from the repressive instrument of an authoritarian regime into a system that would protect the… …   Encyclopedia of contemporary Spanish culture

  • policing — po|lic|ing [pəˈli:sıŋ] n [U] 1.) the way that the police are used to keep control over a particular area and to protect people and property ▪ The community is demanding a less aggressive style of policing. policing of ▪ the policing of the city 2 …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Policing in Belgium — The Belgian police is the government agency charged with upholding the law and public order in Belgium. It is an integrated police service structured on the federal and local levels. Both forces are autonomous and subordinate to different… …   Wikipedia

  • policing — po|lic|ing [ pə lisıŋ ] noun uncount the control of an area or a problem by the police: tough policing policies a policing nightmare …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • Policing — Police Po*lice , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Policed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Policing}.] 1. To keep in order by police. [1913 Webster] 2. (Mil.) To make clean; as, to police a camp. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • policing — noun Policing is used after these nouns: ↑community, ↑neighbourhood …   Collocations dictionary

  • policing — UK [pəˈliːsɪŋ] / US [pəˈlɪsɪŋ] noun [uncountable] the control of an area or a problem by police tough policing policies …   English dictionary

  • policing — po·lice || pÉ™ lɪːs n. civil service unit devoted to maintaining law and order; constables, officers of the law v. keep watch, guard, supervise; patrol, maintain law and order …   English contemporary dictionary

  • policing — noun control and maintain law and order in (an area). → police …   English new terms dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”