Criminal Justice System Case Study

The family has been determined indigent for services. Samkisha has received public defender services for her criminal matters and Mrs. Beale has received Medicaid since she was 16 years of age. Mrs. Beale disclosed she is court ordered to receive child support in the amount of $202 per month from Mr. Robinson for Samkisha, but stated he seldom make payments of such. She also reported she receives unemployment in the amount of $204 per week and Social Security Income (SSI) for Samkisha in the amount of $670 per month.

Officers have become heavily criticized for using lethal force in altercations that less lethal could have possibly been used. With officer involved shooting on the rise society wants us to re-examine other alternatives. There will be times that an officer must use their duty weapon, but many of the recent shootings could have been avoided with the use of less lethal tools. Lethal force often affects the department’s image negatively and brings un-wanted media attention; it can be hard to rebuild the trust with the community. When officers deploy less lethal tactics it is often overlooked by any media attention and any civil issues. In an effort to help department’s combat un-wanted lethal encounters, this research will

Police departments have use-of-force policies that specify when force may be used and the proper level of force to be used under given circumstances. Most departments use a continuum-of-force approach that allows proportional force to the suspect’s resistance. The level of force by an officer increases in direct response to escalating resistance of the suspect. Policies such as this one have been put into place following many humiliating acts of excessive force. The policies are in place in an attempt to prevent future acts of excessive force (Pollock, 2010).

Moreover, to limit officer’s discretion on unjustly use of deadly force, law enforcement agencies need to adopt new practices and techniques when dealing with the public if deadly use of force is not required. Officers should adopt new practices of using the taser as a means of force. “Tasers [are] developed to subdue suspects with non-lethal means” (DeLone, Thompson, 2009, p.416). Many law enforcement officers praise the use of tasers as a tool to “increase the safety of both officer and citizen by decreasing the use of deadly force” (DeLone, Thompson,2009, p.418). Individuals who are not complying/showing aggression with officers and or have some sort of weapon can be easily subdued and controlled with the taser rather than being shot at

There has recently been a demand for the use of less than lethal weapons in the community, and country at large. To meet this demand, the Asheville Police Department will be adopting the use of Tasers. Though Tasers are potentially lethal, they can be used more safely that a handgun, yet are more incapacitating than chemical spray. The use of Tasers will be explained with training as technology and laws progress. The most important thing is that the use of Tasers always falls within the law. Any actions taken should be proportionate to the situation, and the use of force should be no more than what is absolutely necessary. Officers must be prepared to show that they acted reasonably and justly. They must stay

Law enforcement officers are given an incredible amount of discretion solely due to the nature of their career. They are faced with potentially life threatening situations, which require an exceptional amount of judgment. Due to these situations, officers are expected to think and act quickly, consciously, and appropriately. It seems that the use of force is a very necessary aspect of policing, however, the amount of force used should be handled with great discretion. Officers who use an excessive amount of force are more than likely to cause a community to become a negative environment.

Zion first became involved in the justice system at age 14. His legal history includes two intake contacts. Zion has had an intake contact for a felony offense. None of the intake contacts was for felony offenses against another person. He has no history of escape. He has had three juvenile detention confinements. On May 18, 2017, Zion was released from detention to the custody of his guardian and was ordered on electronic monitoring.

“ The taser is a conducted-energy device which fires a cartridge with two wires and attached hooks and shoot an electric charge into the suspect (White2007).” A taser is used by trained law enforcement officers to subdue or contain an individual who isn’t cooperating or resisting. Many people think tasers are unlawful or unconstitutional and some think we need tasers in law enforcement. I will analyze/argue the advantages and disadvantages of using tasers in law enforcement.

Unlike many other weapons, officers can be trained using tasers in a safer way. They are easy to learn how to use, they don’t require a specific license that must be renewed every so often, and if an accident occurs, the chances of a severe accident occurring are diminished. Also, officers will have the ability to be tased by one another. While it would be painful, they would have the ability to be more aware of the consequences of using the taser, therefore resulting in the officers being more conscientious of their actions. Both reasons show how being trained with tasers is more effective, and why officers should be allowed to use

Excessive force is becoming more of an issue as society grows and crimes evolve. Some of the problem stems from the illegal exercises of police power due to lack of funds for adequate training, short staffing and resources. Law enforcement officers work is a very dangerous environment. Law enforcement officers need to be equipped with the necessary tools to fight the war on crime, especially when excessive force is needed. While on the other hand, there have been circumstances where law enforcement officers used extreme measures that led to question if it was excessive force, brutality, unauthorized force, wrongful force, unjustified force, misuse of force, and unnecessary force. Law enforcement job is to serve and protect their communities, but without the proper tools in their tool box, it will cause them more harm than good. Furthermore, there are known practices such as basic defensive tactics training and de-escalation of force strategies that could be utilized.

Would you risk your life every day for a paycheck? Maybe you’d be willing to sacrifice your own life to save someone else’s who you don’t even know. That’s what police officers do every time they report for duty. Police officer’s encounter some of the worst people in the world therefore; they require a resourceful method when suspects prove to be uncooperative or rebellious. Traditionally, police have used firearms, batons, oleoresin capsicum spray (O.C. spray), or physical force. Firearms are risky for everyone involved and most frequently lead to death. Batons are often seen as an excessive use of force and can lead to severe injuries. O.C. spray and physical force can compromise the officer’s safety and are not always effective. All of these issues have caused law enforcement agencies to look into the use of Tasers. Lt. James Clarke of the Smithfield police department states, “Using Tasers would be safer for both officers and suspects” (as cited by Chufo, 2008).

Liberty has certainly been placed on the back burner this election cycle. From the 3 debates between Fmr. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, to the Vice-presidential debates between Gov. Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Kaine, there was no substantive discussion of liberty-minded issues. Meanwhile, Congress is away campaigning for their November elections.

Law enforcement officers are faced with the challenges of using the appropriate amount of force during arrests or apprehensions and are criticized by the public on a daily basis. Not all excessive force is restricted to physical violence; this is where brutality fits in. The reasons for these actions might be explainable, or unacceptable. It may appear that the law enforcement officer is taking advantage of the situation, when in fact they may be following procedure, and in turn can articulate the reasons for taking the excessive actions. Additionally, the lack of proper training or experience in a specific situation may result in the decision to react improperly or against standard operating procedures. Furthermore, the amount of stress that a law enforcement officer is under during the split-second decision to use force may contribute to the actions taken. There may be several contributing factors that lead to an officer using excessive force. Regardless of the reason, the public figure of a law enforcement officer should never use their badge or power to instill fear or intimidation, or conduct themselves unprofessionally.

The taser helps the police gain control of what could be endangering situations. Tasers are a non-lethal weapon police can use without having to use too much force on an individual. Taser also help police when it comes to the public's perception. Due to the taser, police do not necessarily need to fight an individual where they are using weapons such as their fists, batons, or even flashlights to strike an individual. Tasers help reduce police using these weapons, which helps cause less tension between the police and community because the individual is not dying or being

In this day and age self-protection is always a key concern for many people. The fear of crime and even the people who commit crime, there is always a chance that you could get robbed, caught up in physical altercation, or even happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. People in general approach these situations differently and prepare for these situations in different ways. Smart people normally avoid putting themselves in situations like these by just avoiding “problem areas” thus eliminating as much trouble as they possibly can. However, police officers put their lives on the line daily, putting themselves on