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).
Police Corruption and Misconduct All over the world many police officers abuse the power they are given. In general the job of police is to protect and serve its citizens, to keep them from harm. But instead there are many officers who do the opposite. According to Pollock (2010), “police corruption does not occur just in the United States” (p. 175). In general, the police comes into contact more often with citizens then any other government official.
To start off the Sean Bell case was an example of Police brutality. Police Brutality is one of the most serious issues of human violation that is unaddressed because of the cover up by fellow police officers during internal investigations. There are many instances when police officers engage in the activities of rough physical behaviors such as shooting, beating, torture and other unnecessary brutal acts among citizens which often result in injury or sometimes even death. Suspects of a crime, the victims, as well as their families, who are seeking justice, are usually disregarded. Usually if not always the people who deserve to be held accountable by the brutal violation of human rights getaway from the due punishment and continue to do their foul crimes (Collins 1).
They deal with dishonest and dangerous people, and also victimized and abused people. It takes a strong person to deal with all those situations, day in and day out, while keeping the traits that make them a good police officer. As long as the officer has integrity, courage, and a strong set of moral values, there is no reason he will not have a successful
I will also discuss what and how citizens’ rights are taken advantage of by the police. Some measures necessary to protect ourselves from police taking advantage of their positions as law enforcement officers with greater permissive rights than private citizens. All citizens must take affirmative actions from physical brutality, rights violations, and information abuse. Police brutality is one of the most serious and divisive human rights violations in Kenya and it occurs in every community. The job of a police officer is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crime.
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 officers are more or less nameless and faceless people separated from the rest of society. They are the enforcers of the laws our society deems as appropriate behavior, even if it contradicts what an individual officer believes. If it's hard for some to see that police endure great amounts of stress, think about the fact that police have to deal with getting hurt or killed, being held liable, having alternating shifts, having less free time, and never escaping the police mentality; all are reasons that police officers face impossible stress and pressure over their career. Problems also come to police officers from other directions that cause even higher levels of stress: family, public, department, internally, and environmentally.
Do Your Job, Enforce The Law In this day and age, it is common to witness law enforcement officers break the law to do their job. How do citizens trust law enforcement agencies to enforce the law when the officers themselves cannot follow the law? A significant amount of citizens hear of law enforcement agencies breaking the law and abusing their power in the line of duty. This strategy is unprofessional and in fact discredits the watchmen of the United States of America. Any form of law enforcement is supposed to set and lead by example for the people.
However, this is not what happens. There are officers out there that break the law just as much as some criminals. They are paid to enforce the laws but how is it fair if they are not enforcing the laws themselves? It is not. The first step to corruption is using the wrong factors when they make decisions.
“A formal justice system is one in which laws are set and enforced and punishments are administered by state institutions such as courts, police, judges and prisons” (Ask.) A justice system can possibly encourage deviance and crime because there are some people who do not like to follow the law. An example of this behavior can simply be driving under the influence of alcohol. In our society everyone knows that it is against the law to operate a motor vehicle in this condition but yet there are so many people still doing it. Crime will always be committed as police are not always looking over people’s shoulders to ensure people will not break the law.
Police corruption is a problem that can be traced back to the early days of policing. It is a serious problem within most police forces today, as it is widely know that is it something that is not only hard to calculate, but also hard to reduce and near impossible to eradicate. The following will explore what corruption is defined as and reasons for why police corruption occurs. Reasons that will be covered that can be deemed as the cause of corruption are, the police cultures’ solidarity and loyalty, that a high level of discretion is used, which cannot be monitored, and that there is a corrupt hierarchy within the police force that is difficult to control. 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.