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Law Enforcement Is Not The Public Safe

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Law enforcement is meant to keep the public safe and ensure that everyone is abiding by the regulations set in place in the United States of America. However, with such responsibility comes power and this often goes to one’s head. Some officers take advantage of the authority that they have over the public. People are becoming more and more aware of the police brutality that occurs in this country as more cases are brought to the attention of the media. It is becoming increasingly common for people to film interactions with the police, especially the cases where there is misconduct. A large amount of the cases that are brought to the media’s attention are that of Black people being killed or assaulted by the police; that is most likely…show more content…
Of course, not everyone believes that police officers are doing the wrong thing, many feel as though they are doing their job just as they should. The United States has an issue with their police forces and the way that they are taught to do their jobs. With all the police brutality cases that have been on a steady up rise, the time for change is soon and it is needed, especially when it comes to the treatment of the Black community of America in the hands of the law. The problem begins with what is taught the officers in the police academy. The cadets are taught to be quite militaristic with their actions. This is the traditional way of teaching in the academies and for the most part it has been carried out until this day. Their organization is also a bureaucracy and so while officers are in control of the public, their higher officials are in control of them; they do not really get a say in the changes that are put into place in their work environment (Chappell). Not only are they controlling as a unit, they are also a work force that it based on masculinity because traditionally only men were police officers. “The way many men felt about women becoming police officers with them [was that] women simply did not belong” (Prokos and Padavic). Because of the teachings that suggest that masculinity is a key part of becoming an officer and the mindset of fellow male officers, women are highly underrepresented in
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