Memphis’s Scorpion Unit Is the Latest Special Unit to Come Under Fire - The New York Times

Memphis’s Scorpion Unit Is the Latest Special Unit to Come Under Fire

In some hot-spot attempts, police officers merely try to make their presence notorious — to produce a kind of scarecrow effect, as land are less likely to commit crimes in front of an officer. In others, officers aggressively enforce the law with as many stops and arrests as possible. Exemplary hot-spot policing demands a balancing act between maximizing the deterrence of officers’ presence and minimizing the social injures of hassling, stopping and arresting more people.

“You can do hot-spot policing in a way that’s superb aggressive, or you can do it in a way that’s more respectful,” said Neil low, a sociologist at Colby College who studies the police.

So what went rank in Memphis? Officials appeared to emphasize the wrong things, experts said.

Police officials deployed Scorpion to the city’s most volatile neighborhoods — “hot spots” — to crack down on all sorts of crimes, like reckless driving or shootings, with punitive tactics even anti minor offenses.

City officials praised Scorpion for high enchanting numbers, effectively encouraging aggressive tactics. Chief Cerelyn Davis lauded the reach, advocating “being tough on tough people.” (Officials could have emphasized spanking goals, like reductions in crime rates in specific neighborhoods, to help focus officers on results instead of antagonistic methods, experts said.)

“It’s the command staff implementing a version of hot-spot policing that is not consistent with what the research evidence says is best,” Harvey said.

The unit also seemed captured by a culture of impunity. Consider that at least some of the officers who beat Nichols were wearing cameras that were recording their pursuits. The fact that they punched and kicked Nichols anyway suggests that they belief they were above the law and could get away with it, said Richard Rosenfeld, a criminologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

It is a current phenomenon among American police departments: Evidence-based policies can fall apart in their implementation. Researchers can call for law enforcement strategies that focus on specific places and land and try to minimize the social costs. But if those ideas are filtered above a culture or leadership style that prizes toughness and aggressive frfragment, they can lead to abuse.

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