Should Law Enforcement Officers Be Monitored More?
I. Introduction
In the past and recently, people have been either directly or indirectly affected by police brutality. This societal issue is apparent in many democratic societies around the globe to include the United States. The increased knowledge and awareness of police brutality have raised many concerns for people and advocates from various areas. On one side, law enforcement supporters have advocated the legality of officer’s actions while the opposition identifies police racial profiling, corruption, and excessive force. Additionally, police brutality has raised serious concerns for human rights violations; however, guiltiness has only been proven against a few individual officers rather than agencies as a whole.
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Definitions
For the purpose of this paper, the title of law enforcement officers means, any officer authorized and accredited by a government. In America, for example, this includes federal, state, and local authorities that have been authorized and accredited by an agency with the authority of the American government. Some individuals will refer to law enforcement officers as cops, officers, and police, and occasional slang terms like, “po-po’s.” In the United Kingdom, for example, some of the official titles include, Civil Enforcement Officer and Traffic Officer and occasional slang terms like, “peelers.”
When discussing to monitor officers, this would mean to oversee individual officers' actions in order to assure his/her compliance with the law set forth by a government. Some of the efforts set for police conduct oversight are the use of body cameras. This is a small device that attaches to a police officer’s uniform with the purpose to record live footage from the perspective of the officer for the benefit of all parties involved. The ultimate rationale was to provide full protection of an officer’s testimony as well as that of a potential police brutality victim.
IV. Scope and Secondary
Gaines, L. K., & Kappeler, V. E. (2014). Policing in america (8th ed.). (S. Decker-Lucke, Ed.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America: Anderson Publishing. Retrieved January 2017
For many individuals, police brutality is a non-existent matter because it does not directly affect them or the community in which they live. Yet for others, this is an everyday occurrence and few limitations have been set as to what is unjust and malicious behavior of an officer towards the public, therefore, several officers are rarely prosecuted for this type of
Police officers are individuals who enforce the law upon their community to ensure that their citizens remain safe. In the past couple of years, officers of the law have been involved in acts of brutality that seem to go beyond the proper measurements of protection for their citizens. Policemen are supposed to protect their citizens from danger and from harm, not impose a threat on them. The fact that officers have a history of abusing their power indicates that their trust amongst the community has been corrupted. Those who have been affected of police brutality feel as though they have been deceived. They no longer feel that police officers will protect them, but rather abuse them, and that is a problem. We have began to live in a community in which an individual feels frightened when seeing a cop, rather than feeling protected. Some individuals may argue that police brutality is not a problem due to the fact that it is not consistent enough to catch the attention of needing a solution. However, that idea means little when the level of brutality has led to the death of several innocent victims in some cases. We must not wait for there to be a pattern of death at the hands of police officials to consider this a problem. One death indicates that preventive measures must be taken to ensure that these officers are no longer put in the position to abuse their power to begin with.
Police brutality is a controversial issue that has recently been in the news, but seems to have always been an issue in America. Police brutality refers to the intentional use of verbal or physical attacks directed towards individuals by the police force that result in false arrests, sexual abuse, or death. (Dudley, William 13.) Most of these actions are linked to racial profiling: the targeting of individuals for suspicion of crime based solely on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. (Dudley, William 13.) Statistics about how often racial profiling and police brutality occurs, movements such as Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, and police reform efforts are just a few points as to why this topic is so controversial today.
When one thinks of police misconduct many not too distant stories might go through our heads. Most adults will remember how they felt when they saw the brutal beating of Rodney King on their local news station; or the outrage they experienced when they heard that the evidence in the OJ Simpson trial had been tampered with. But thanks to new guidelines, procedures and even civilian groups who now “police” the police, instances of police misconduct may soon start seeing a decline.
The media has portrayed Officers in a new light. Rather than protective guardians, they are now unstable, power-fueled workers of the law. It is their choice what they will do with the duty of enforcing the law. Anyone can fall victim to Police Brutality. However, America’s social and economic society is improving at an alarming rate. America is at a time now where peaceful protests and the like are promoted, while aggressive out lashes, unlawful activities, and excessive force is frowned upon. The economy today is a result of the hard work of ancestors who protested and ensured a better future. In the future, it is possible that Officers will no longer be stereotyped as abusive, or unlawful. A united front is required for this future, where there are no more sides, violence, or
a few years now, police brutality has become an extremely controversial topic and has raised many debates and questions about law enforcement and civilians. Police brutality has been common for decades. However after the death of African Americans such as Michael Brown, Alton Sterling, and Philando Castile, many other African Americans have rose up in protest and anger. The anger stems from these men dying at the hands of police which the civilians believe they died from situation that should have been handled differently. Cases like these have caused a major divide with African Americans and law enforcement. Many people wonder where the relationship between the two went wrong and how police brutality became such a big issue that seems impossible
For the past couple years there has been so many incidents involving some sort of police brutality. The mainstream media has shown police misconduct, case after case it has become a routine and making people wonder if our officers of the law really doing their jobs? Unjustified shooting, and fatal choking’s have all contributed to the problem of police brutality in America and also has become very controversial. The police carry an enormous burden each day, which makes their job really hard. Police work is very stressful and involves violent, and split second decision. Nevertheless, cases like the shooting of Samuel DuBose, and Walter Scott and the choking of Eric Garner has raised questions regarding our police system. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they have to use force to control the situation, but there are different levels of force and most of the time the situation dictates the level of force that’s necessary. In addition, I will explain different cases of police brutality, the use of excessive force, and the consequences the officers have faced.
Over the recent years, police have been one of the organizations to be associated with the largest cases of misconduct. Police brutality can be termed as the process of misuse and abuse of authority by the police. The rising cases of police brutality are causing more harm to the public, compared to the actions perpetrated by real criminals. Although police claim that it’s sometimes necessary to curb crime, the process is illegal and police officers should be charged just like any other criminal offender. It should be the responsibility of the justice system to establish effective strategies to deal with the rising illegal activities in order to restore public trust in the law
Police brutality is one of the most severe human rights violations in the United States, and it occurs in many communities. Police officers have one of the hardest jobs out there. They have to maintain public order, prevent, and identify crime. Throughout history, the police community has been exposed by brutality in one way or another. Violence by law enforcement officers in the United States is one of the most serious human rights violations in the country. Police officers have engaged in unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment. The history of police brutality is repeated, going through stages of violence, corruption, and improvement. Many people think of corrupt when they hear the word
The public impression of police use of force, as brutality, in modern day policing continues to be a sensitive issue for law enforcement agencies across the nation. Police agencies across the United States deal with accusations of misuse of force on
This paper will discuss the need for stricter rules and regulations for police officers. The author will apply proper policing to the paper.
Police brutality is an old problem that has been around in this country for many years. Unfortunately, civilians have experienced it in their thousands, suffering varying degrees of damages, ranging from injuries or even loss of their lives at the hands of the brutal police. Even more disheartening is the fact that numerous officers in the American police force believe that their brutal and hostile tactics are contributing and giving justice to society, which is their basic role in the world (Vila and Morris 29). However, the
In today's society the police, play may roles. They are the peacekeepers, law enforcement and many other jobs. However, recently they have become the subject of a very heated and large debate. Many believe that the police should give up their brute type tactics for a more civilized and humanized approach, while others feel that the police should crack down on the most insignificant of offences to type and disparage crimes that are more serious. In this paper, we will be analyzing both sides of this issue, from the look of the police administration to the public's view of it. When we mention today's police force we will be using the New York City police force as are basis of comparison, because they seem to
A common issue presented in today’s national media is police brutality. Police brutality is the use of unnecessary force on civilians by police. The concept of having police officers is to ensure safety and protection of citizens. Police should only use force necessary to accomplish their lawful purpose. The common occurrence of police brutality has sparked responses nationwide in the form of protests, riots, and movements to end the excessive and sometimes fatal force of police officers. The public rallies are also in response to lack of conviction or repercussions of many of the cops who demonstrate unjust police brutality. These incidents are also commonly associated with racial disparity. The headline news stories of the shooting and killing of unarmed African Americans, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and twelve year old Tamir Rice, all in the same year, prompted citizens nationwide that change in the law enforcement system is necessary. While a majority of police abide to their oaths and stand for justice, a noticeable amount have historically misused their power. If a community cannot trust police officers, it will be detrimental for society as a whole.