One of the issues facing police throughout time is the issue of police accountability. When the police are doing a “good job” in the public’s eye, no one has complaints or questions how things are done but the minute a situation arises that is out of the ordinary or one that is manipulated by the media there is public outcry and the allegations start challenging the integrity of the police department involved. As I have referenced in other papers that I have done on various topics in policing and criminal justice classes, I am a firm believer that the police will never be given a “break” no matter what they try to keep the public happy and am a strong supporter of working collaboratively to get the best possible results. With this in mind, I believe that a community collaborative board would be the best way to monitor police activity and insure the highest integrity of the police department. Additionally, I feel that there needs to be a detailed manual that outlines consequences and plans of action for incidents that occur, so there is a set standard.
In the article it states that police officers didn’t like the idea of foot patrol too much but because they did it relationships with the community was formed and people were less afraid to go outside. This ties into the main idea of the “Broken Window” theory because once the community saw that there was less disorder outside, they’re social behavior began to change. The article did a good job of mentioning a subculture within the communities that had more foot patrol police officers. This explained that even though there was still crime in the area the crime was controlled and
(n.d.) Retrieved from http://definitions.uslegal.com/p/police-brutality/) Police brutality has been an issue in the past and it continues today. Police brutality is not only physical harm but it’s also psychological harm. We need to analyze how much police brutality really goes on out there. We also need to be aware of how often police brutality goes on, and how we as citizens can minimize it by reporting it when we see it or if it happens to us. We know that police officers use excessive force, and they also use their authority to verbally abuse people.
Controlling Police Brutality The police have served an integral part in society as out protectors. Throughout the years, however, scholars as well as we citizens have begun to question the use of force, racism and internal corruption as well as other forms of misconduct by our officers of the law. The excessive use of force by police officers persists because of overwhelming barriers to their accountability. For instance, when police do get in trouble, it is normally a slap on the wrist, a lecture or loss of a vacation day as it stated in the article “Good Cop Bad Cop.” This fact makes it possible for officers who commit these violations to escape punishment and then often repeat their offenses. Every report of abuse is often met with denial or explanation of why the abuse was necessary instead of taking any real action like a suspension or removal of their badge in most cases.
Is it ethical or unethical…that is the question. First off, what is “professional courtesy?” In law enforcement professional courtesy is when an on-duty officer pulls over an off-duty or retired officer for some traffic violation and lets him go, by not issuing a ticket or arresting him. The central ideal behind this behavior is that cops have to stick together, to look out for each other. In a profession that yields little respect from the general public officers should support other officers, not try to bring them down. This subject has many perspectives however, and each officer, depending on his life experiences and personal values, feels differently about this ethical dilemma.
Citizens get to know officers as human beings, not just “robo-cops” in blue. Officers get to know citizens as well, forging closer relationships between the police department and the community. To be effective in the COP model, officers need to be open and people-oriented, comfortable with being known as a person. They need to show individual initiative. They must be flexible and versatile, and at ease with the messiness of a multi-disciplinary, inclusive approach to solving problems.
Police Brutality Role of a Police Officer The role of a police officer is to keep law in human society. They make sure that they keep criminals off the streets and they make sure that the people keep the speed limits everywhere they go. They have the rights to write tickets, citations, and even arrest people that are taking drastic measures. They are to report to calls such as 911 when criminal activity occurs in neighborhoods and other public areas. They have a few more rights than regular citizens, but they also have laws and rights they have to follow, there only job is to enforce laws in a well mannered civil way unless they feel harmed or in danger.
1 Police Brutality Police brutality is still one of the most serious human violations in the United States. The intentional use of excessive force, usually physical, but potentially also in the form of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation by police officers persists because of overwhelming barriers to accountability. Police brutality can be from calling a citizen by his or her name to a death by a policeman’s bullet. What the average citizen thinks of when he hears the term, however, it is something midway between these two occurrences which can be more common to what the police profession knows as alley court. These facts make it possible for officers who commit human rights violations to escape due punishment and often repeat their offenses.
Since that time U.S citizens became wary of the police. There seemed to be no trust and many people began to accuse the police of corruption. Community Policing can be defined as “a collaborative effort between law enforcement and the community to identify problems of crime and disorder and involve all elements of the community in the search for solutions to these problems” (Santa Cruz Seeds of Change, 2009). Community policing has several benefits such as: a better acknowledgment of police functions, a better understanding of the interrelationships within police functions, knowing of the limited capacity of each police department to accomplish their own assigned task, new problem solving techniques that uses less time of the criminal justice system, greater knowledge or assigned areas, better use of police personal, and higher knowledge of community problems to supply better police
Disparity and Discrimination Robin Lynn Sonnier CJA/423 September 11, 2010 Keith Bailly Disparity and Discrimination Disparity and discrimination are similar, but yet different. Disparity is focused on rank, age, being unequal in society. Discrimination is focused on gender, age, or race. There are times when law officials will arrest someone based on his or her race. Crime will always be around, and law officials have the duty to catch criminals based on facts, not the color of the skin.