Importance Of Police Mistrust The Police

To gain the willing cooperation of the public, the law enforcement must first achieve respect and trust. Respect is earned over a long period of time from doing heroic and fair acts of justice. Most Americans have a tremendous amount of respect for police officer, however, racial biased events in the past have skewed that respect. America needs its officers to be viewed with respect, but they must earn it first. That may sound very selfish and naive but it is crucial for trust between citizens and officers. The Rand Corporation writes an article that explains the importance of the trust. "Events in recent months have focused national attention on profound fractures in trust between some police departments and the communities they are charged with protecting"(Jackson 2015). The current role of police officers has a potential to create the fractures between police departments and their communities. Ultimately, the health of the American democracy is the most important thing. If the trust between the police departments and the communities is fractured then the American democracy will be fractured. The article goes on to talk about how our culture lives in an era where technology is a major key in being able to increase transparency of police activities in many different ways. To make this happen it requires steps taken by both police and citizens that helps them both understand each others relationship. Completing this will help sustain trust when tragic events take place in

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.

Many of the problems and conflicts between the community and the police are based on situations involving police misconduct and race. Other issues occur because of an experience one has had with the police because he or she is minority. Early resentments from White officers cause a different outcome when handling a police situation that involves a different race as oppose to his or her own. This begins to shape the perception of the residents that witness these actions. It has been shown that an officer’s attitude and behaviors when dealing with a minority is harsher and unfair. Several situations like the Rodney King story and police brutality where a minority was the victim is viewed by the public and discriminatory behavior solely caused by a person’s race or ethnicity. This creates distrusts and suspicion with regard to the way a police department handles these issues. The public is disappointed and reluctant to construct a relationship with his or her fellow officer.

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.

Neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and racial composition, for instance, have been found to influence residents’ attitudes and interactions with the police— people residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods tend to report more negative personal experiences, observations, and opinions of the police than do residents of middle-class neighborhoods. People who live in high-crime communities and who are frequently exposed to media reports on police abuse may be particularly prone to believe that police misconduct is rife (Weitzer, Incidents of Police Misconduct and Public Opinion,

Cooperation from members of the public is important in order for police officers to effectively fight crime within the community. In order to obtain cooperation from members of the public, police officers must gain their trust and confidence. It has been known that African Americans and Hispanics have lower levels of trust and confidence in police because of racial disparities and racial profiling. This paper will discuss the public opinion of police by different ethnic groups and how racial minorities hold lower levels of trust and confidence in police.

An article in the Washington Post revealed that across the nation 963 people were shot and killed by police in 2016. This puts police in a losing situation. Not only have they lost the trust of many, but they are now portrayed as the enemy. A police officer’s duty is to protect the people and enforce the law. After the shootings, people don’t see them as protecting anyone, but instead harming the population. More than often now the perception is that they are the bad guys who take advantage of their power.

In order to bridge the gap between police officers and the community, trust needs to be established. The community needs to feel secure that the officers are there to serve and protect them from harm. Ozkan, Worrall, and Piqueri (2016) article called " Does Minority Representation in Police Agencies Reduce Assaults on the Police?" analyzed the hypothesis that minority representation in the police departments is inversely associated with assaults against the police (p. 402). For this study, data was collected from several official databases such as 2007-2009 Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA), 2000 Census, 2007 Uniform Crime Reports Offenses Known as Clearances by Arrest (UCR), and the 2007 Law Enforcement Management and Administrative

Most people do not personally interact with law enforcement. Without personal experiences, opinions tend to form based off of what is heard and seen. The media also plays a role in what stories get acknowledgement from citizens. Misconceptions about law enforcement are more likely to be formed when someone is not aware of went on in a confrontation from start to finish. Relationships between police and citizens could be improved with the help of media. If less biased and more factual information was released, the public may come to a more thought out conclusion of how they feel about police. Citizens should take it upon themselves to get all of the facts so that they can make an educated decision on their personal views. That way, they can be sure they know the entire story, rather than relying on information they got from media, should it be incorrect. If relationships with police are fixed, the divide between law enforcement and citizens would shrink and a more trusting relationship could

When police use force against a subject, they are often belittled and reprimanded by the media and public. “Police Brutality” and “Excessive Force” seem to be a daily headline in the news these days. This paper shall present research conducted on how to improve police-community relations. The goal, is the show the lack of understanding that exists between police and the community on what the job of police officer can and cannot lawfully do. By presenting this lack of understanding between police and community, we can work on improving relationships by educating the public on what is constitutionally permitted. By better educating the public, we can hopefully prevent rioting in future incidents and better remove the tensions that are present in encounters with law enforcement and minority communities.

These days, police are often stereotyped as aggressive, corrupt beings. The growing hatred for police officers widens the divide between citizens and law enforcement, causing tension and intensely aggressive feelings on both ends. The recent shootings of young African-American men have also added to the societal hatred of law enforcement. Through media exposure, these shootings have been portrayed as cruel, often times revealing the victim to be an unarmed man.

It has been consistently shown in research that minorities are more likely to be mistreated by the police compared to other people (Dunnaville, 2000). Recent incidents have seen the police use excessive force on people and mistreat minorities. As such, the legitimacy of the police has been put under scrutiny and questioned. Many communities in the United States have demonstrated in reaction to recent incidents of police misconduct and excessive use of force. The people have lost trust in the police because of these issues. The police force has been accused of mistreating people, sexual harassment, violent and careless arrests among people particularly the minorities. As demonstrated in the movie ‘Policing the Police’ police officers are seen mistreating people for instance the scene where the police sexually harassed a teenager by touching sensitive areas. Community members are not willing to trust or work with the police to fight crime. As such, it is critical for the police agencies and department to make improving police-community relationship a top police priority. Policies should be developed that will strengthen the mutual trust between the police and the community. This relationship is critical because the police depend on information from the community to fight crime in the society.

In recent years, society has heard cases of police brutality at an increasingly shocking rate, thus creating a sense of distrust among communities towards police officers and other authority figures. As the first line of defense against crimes such as home invasions or crimes against persons, police officers are expected to be an ally towards victims; however, it seems that society is now viewing officers as the perpetrators of crimes as opposed to the protectors. This has already posed an issue because community members are choosing not to seek police help when needed, and when they do decide to seek help, forgoing police assistance results in being uncertain of where else to go.

The findings also support the contention that experience may shape or alter one’s perceptions about civilian review. Although there may be a tendency for police officers to mistrust a completely civilian review, it appears that such mistrust may be overcome by the board’s exercise of fairness, objectivity, and thoroughness in its processes. Indeed, experiences with the board seem to make a difference in one’s perceptions. As regards the tendency for police officers in such phenomenon may be borne by the natural tendency of police officers to be wary and suspicious of the unknown (Skolnick, 1966). This reaction by the latter group may be a natural response when they are confronted with circumstances that bring about uncertainties in their job

There is a perception of distrust between law enforcement and the community. This distrust stems directly from the dangerous words police use when communicating with the community. (Willis, 2015, p.) Simply choosing better words can help build relationships between law enforcement and the community. It is necessary for law enforcement to have trust with their community. There are many things that hinge on the police-community relationships, the ability of law enforcement to perform their duties, are the most important. Law enforcement must be willing to rely on the public to observe the law. They must always demonstrate absolute impartiality to the law.