Citizen Oversight Research Paper

As history has provided us facts showing that with great power also comes great responsibility. The great power part has not been as considerable of a problem as the great responsibility has because as police officers start off at the academy, they quickly recognize the authority they will shortly have. The past and known data has revealed to us that a lot of these officers do demonstrate great control and responsibility, but there is a fraction of officers who are corrupt in many sorts of ways that have conveyed inspection and absence of faith in law enforcement all over America. Thankfully, these actions have consequences and the law makes sure that these corrupt public servants get the punishment they deserve.

Lack of training and policing standards are closely linked to the myriad problems bedeviling police work, especially in small departments (Brodeur, 2010). All over the country, police departments report cases of officers being caught in uncompromising and unprofessional situations, resulting in disciplinary actions such as redeployment, suspension or sacking. These cases of unprofessionalism have led to questions being asked about policing, occasioned by recurring series of questionable and controversial encounters with police officers (Brodeur, 2010). The consequence of such encounters is increasing public distrust in law enforcement agencies.

_ An independent review board in the executive branch. This proposal envisions a review board composed of nonpolice personnel to review allegations of violations of constitutional rights by the police. The problem with this alternative is that police oppose it because it singles them out among public officials for differential treatment. Moreover, outsiders are viewed by the police as unlikely to be able to understand the difficulties and dangers inherent in police work.

The justice department today is spending millions of dollars to better train the police department against bias and examine law enforcement procedures, known as community policing. Community policing has been slowing evolving over the years. The civil rights movement exposed how weak the system was in the 1960’s. The development of the model has been inspired by

Police officers are given a lot of power because it is needed to help protect citizens and the community. However, police often abuse their power by the over use of force, corruption, sexual misconduct, bias based policing, and failure to maintain police ethics. (Peak, 2011)

For all the people of the US we can easily identify the justice system with our police force. Were currently facing a crisis of widespread police brutality and misconduct, leading us to question where the absence of proper policing practices and morality was lost. Over the course of history we have continually faced this whether it be driven by religion, race, or visual perception. But it leads me to say, in what way is this reflecting our hope of insuring domestic tranquility when we can’t trust the people that we are supposed to depend on for help. Now this doesn’t go to say that every police officer or sheriff is guilty of wrong doing, but it does clearly show a developing problem. With this dilemma becoming more evident in social media and how easily it is for someone to record something and report wrong doings, it forces our federal government to act on the inadequacies. The federal government should play a stronger role in the oversight of each state, while the states oversee the counties within it.

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.

Police officers are generally well-respected in American society. They should be, since officers protect the public from drunk drivers, gunmen and other threats to the commonwealth. However, in light of uncovered events involving the misconduct of police officers, these events call into question the ability of police officers to successfully protect and serve the American people. However, in 2010, 6,613 law enforcement officers were reported for involvement in misconduct which varied from excessive force, sexual misconduct et cetera (Packman). Having 6,613 reported cases of police misconduct in America is ridiculous, especially since it is hard validating the claims against officers and it is difficult to punish officers because of this lack of evidence. While the purpose of police officers in society is to protect the commonwealth of the people, the amount of police misconduct in the United States of America involving excessive force and sexual misconduct is detrimental to the credibility of all police officers. This in turn causes rifts and distrust among the American people concerning officers. Police misconduct can be reduced in American society by requiring police officers to wear cameras while on duty, having a clear definition on what excessive force is and defining how much force is legal for an officer to utilize, and better training geared to improve overall conduct with citizens, especially mentally ill citizens.

A concern that has plagued contemporary society lately is the use of police force and the sometimes racial injustices seemingly perpetrated by police forces. This issue has caused many citizens to become distrustful of law enforcement and to develop a disdain for police officers. Numerous test, survey, and data have been collected on the subject to gain a better understanding of the growing problem between the police and a weary public. With a increasingly socialized world connecting citizens through different mediums such as the internet, television, and radio comes the newfound problems of old issues coming to a head.

The results of this study suggest several important policy recommendations. First, law-enforcement agencies must monitor the policing

The third solution is increasing the scope of common-unity oversight programs. Considering the important role that police officers have in the community, the people should be involved in the decision-making processes that they undertake. By partnering with the local common-unities, police officers will receive better treatment from local common-unities, resulting in the use of less force while they are undertaking their roles. Additionally, civilian review boards should be developed to allow common-unities and law enforcement officers to work together, enhancing transparency in law enforcement activities.

Police brutality and the use of force is a big problem in American today, so police departments are taking a few steps to prevent this from happening. There are multiple cases where some police officers’ actions are questioned, leading to an untrusting public. No matter if it was racial, hate, a mentally unstable police officer, or the police officer was just doing their job, there’s an easy way to find out now. Body cameras are being used in various cities and states and have proved to keep the level of police brutality and injustice down.

Since a very young age we have been taught to put our trust into police officers. If we are in distress, they are always there to help since it is their job to protect and serve the common citizen. So what happens when the individuals we are supposed to trust to bring justice are the ones causing the injustice we see in the news? Recently, several police officers have been under fire for their excessive use of force. The number of casualties caused by police officers in the recent years have citizens demanding a reform in the system that officers work under.

The study revealed a fifty-eight percent reduction in incidents where officers had to use force and an eighty-eight percent reduction in citizen complaints (Ariel et al., 2014). This information shows that people act very differently when they know that their behavior is being observed. Individuals become conscious of the fact that their reactions will be captured therefore there is more consideration of their responses. I am an advocate for body-worn cameras and in-car cameras for officers because it is hard to deny your behavior when it is caught on video. My feelings about citizen review boards is that they can be beneficial when it comes to transparency and recommendations. However, I do think that there should limited exposure when it comes to police corruption cases. If there a situation regarding police corruption some material can be reviewed maybe in regards the department's procedure for handling the incident. As it pertains to the facts, decisions, and punishment that should be addressed in court of law and not the court of opinion. Great Work, see you in the next

When you hear the words ‘police officer’, what is the first thing that comes to mind? The people that protect us from the bad guys, right? Well, that might be the stereotypical answer, but is that really what we all think? Most would agree that in today 's society, the words do not have the same positive correlation anymore. It is actually almost the complete opposite. Police officers and others in the criminal justice system have created a poor reputation for themselves from the actions they have taken. Crooked cops seem to be the headliners of countless news stories. Now, that is not to say there are not any stories of people of the law doing their jobs to the best of their abilities, but lately, those stories are like finding a needle in a haystack, abnormal. It is not hard to search for a story on a legal personalities questionable conduct. Now, here 's something to think of: if these are the people that know the ins and outs of the law and are put in their positions to help protect us, why does it seem like us citizens are the victims of their actions in a greater part of these stories? How are we supposed to put our trust in these so-called notable people if they are the ones putting us in danger? The people within our criminal justice system are corrupt by brutality, drugs, money, and just overall abusing their powers.