Ethnicity and the Police By CJA344 The police department is leaving a bad impression in many minority communities, because of the corruption and brutality that comes from the police patrolling the areas. The police should leave a positive impression with the communities that they serve, this way the police will be able to ask the community for help when needed. There are a few people in the community that speak highly of the police because they have good experiences with the police and have positive opinions of the police and are more freely to cooperate with the police department. Lack of community support to the police force can lead to more crimes in the communities, as a result of the community the police can be less likely to work up to their full potential. “When crime rate goes up there is a further dip in the public perception of the police resulting in a greater antagonism towards the police on the part of the public “(1985).
This can sometimes lead to police brutality, and conflicts within police officers in each department. Suspicion just depends how you define it. A police officer that is overly suspicious can make many mistakes, as he has major trust issues. It can prevent him or her from making rational moves or decisions. This can also be ties into insecurity as well.
An integral component to the infrastructure of government is law enforcement. In recent years, police actions, particularly police abuse has come into view of a wide, public and critical eye. While citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been shown that they must also keep a watchful eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. This paper will discuss the types of police abuse prevalent today, including the use of firearms and recovery of private information. I will also discuss what and how citizens’ rights are taken advantage of by the police.
Methods to prevent corruption will then be explored, such as more rigorous recruitment procedures and the reinforcement of the motivation to do what is right. Lastly, it will be explored why in fact it is so hard to reduce corruption in the police force and subsequently why it will never go away. Before it can be examined why police corruption occurs, it must first be defined, what police corruption means, as there are many widely accepted definitions. Punch as cited in Palmer (1992: 103) defines corruption as, “When an officer receives or is promised significant advantage or reward…for doing something that he is under a duty to do anyway, that he is under a duty not to do, for exercising legitimate discretion for improper reasons and for employing illegal means to achieve approved goals.” Barker and Wells as cited in Palmer (1992:104) offer a similar definition, “Police corruption is any prescribed act which involves the misuse of the officer’s official position for actual or expected material reward or gain.” (For a more detailed explanation of corruption, see Ivkovic 2003:595). As a part of their job, police are given a number of rights and powers, such as the ability to exercise discretion.
Police are said to have a “we-they or us-them” worldview. This in-group, we (police) v. they (civilians). Solidarity is associated with the idea of police subculture, but in practice the more general term culture is commonly used to describe everything police share in common. Not many have an accurate understanding of what police officers go through while working in high stress and dangerous environments. Police officers are taken for granted and people rarely think of the personal, mental, and physical sacrifices that police make in order to protect our community.
Police departments’ effectiveness depends on its organization. Local police are assigned to areas, also known as beats, with the responsibility of maintaining order, ensuring that the law is upheld, and providing needed assistance to citizens. If communities are going to be safe to live in, then the police department must be well organized. As we continue to experience an increase in crime, police organization becomes more and more important, as it determines the police department’s effectiveness. One of the advantages of patrolling is that it gives potential criminals the fear of being caught in the act and citizens the peace of knowing that they are being protected against crime.
Police Ethics and Deviance CJS 210 People look at police officers everyday and usually associate them as “heroes” or “the good guys.” Usually police officers are exactly that; the good guys. But, that is not always the case. There is corruptness in the criminal justice system. It is something people have to look out for and know that it is out there. Many police officers have good ethics.
While verbal communication can be prepared and even practiced, non verbal communication is usually involuntary. Non verbal communication, also known as, body language can be very telling of what the speaker actually means to say, or how the speaker feels about what is being said no matter how hard it is tried to be concealed. Public speaking is an inevitable duty of those working in the criminal justice field. When some crimes are committed, the media can latch on to the story and not let go. The media has been known to work side by side in helping the police departments, but it has also been known to work against those in law enforcement.
Police Personnel Job Stress is the complexity of their role, the need to exercise Prudent discretion, the threat of using violence and having violence used against the. When you stress as a police officer it can lead to negative attitudes, loss of enthusiasm and commitment to their job. It can even take a toll on their personal life such as health problems, divorces, or even substance abuse problems. When becoming a police officer it can come with good or bad decisions. The good is helping your community stay safe, than there is the bad which is maintaining a social and family relationship.
Law enforcement officers need to uphold the law in order to enforce it, so police officers must have a strong sense of right and wrong and they must generally exhibit and encourage good behavior to the public. This sense of right and wrong and the desire to do good in the community is perhaps the most important trait a police officer needs to have. Police officers often find themselves in high-stress, volatile situations. At the other end of the spectrum, they deal with a lot of mundane, routine patrols. They deal with dishonest and dangerous people, and also victimized and abused people.