Persuasive Essay On Police And Crime

Police brutality is a very widespread topic through all religions, all kinds of different cultures and all races. People believe that police officers use their powers and their badge to hold them to a higher standard then the average civilian. I belief that its all up to interpretation and the many experiences we go through that define a bad cop from a good one. If we judge all police officers from one bad cop how do we expect to change? Its a never ending cycle that has to change and heres some examples on how we can do so.

The American Criminal Justice System are sets of agencies and process made by the government to control crime and to penalize those who commit it. The justice system is different based one’s jurisdiction, meaning city, state, federal or tribal government or military installation. The Criminal System is divided into two main parts, the state and the federal. The state portion handles crimes within its state boundaries. The federal portion handles crime committed on Federal property or in two or more states (“Criminal Justice” 1). The American Criminal Justice System needs reform because of its emphasizes on incarceration punishment rather than Rehabilitation. Our justice system especially enforces punishment on blacks and Latinos resulting of overpopulation of prisons like Rikers Island for petty crimes. Also, another reform needed the juvenile cases. For example, juveniles who commit petty crimes shouldn’t be sent to adult prison and shouldn’t be near more dangerous and serious inmates.

Police brutality is a controversial issue that has recently been in the news, but seems to have always been an issue in America. Police brutality refers to the intentional use of verbal or physical attacks directed towards individuals by the police force that result in false arrests, sexual abuse, or death. (Dudley, William 13.) Most of these actions are linked to racial profiling: the targeting of individuals for suspicion of crime based solely on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. (Dudley, William 13.) Statistics about how often racial profiling and police brutality occurs, movements such as Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter, and police reform efforts are just a few points as to why this topic is so controversial today.

Have you ever been pulled over by a police officer? It is a nerve-wracking incident where you question what you were doing. Why were you pulled over? Was it due to speeding, or failing to obey basic laws of the road? Or, is it something else, like your race, appearance, or other reasons that should not result in a traffic stop? On average, an individual of color is thirty-one percent more likely to be pulled over by a police officer compared to a white individual. Black individuals are also about twenty-three percent more likely to pulled over than a Hispanic individual (Ingraham). By these statistics from 2011, it is reasonable not only to conclude but also infer that police specifically target black individuals. Think about it, many police-related incidents broadcasted on a news channel involves a police officer pulling over a black individual for a traffic violation, and the incident escalating from there. Even though different people drive differently, police target black individuals when it comes to traffic violations. Police are more likely to pull over a black individual and search their vehicle than any other race. Racial profiling being performed by police is an easy subject to have a viewpoint on but is not discussed enough.

Criminal justice has garnered massive national attention in the past few years in America. Multiple police shootings, the Black Lives Matter movement, and other hot-button issues have occupied the media on a daily basis. This attention has led many Americans to question the integrity and efficacy of the government institution that was designed to uphold the law and seek justice for its people. However, this system is severely damaged and its definition of justice has been perverted and contorted beyond recognition, resulting in unfair and discriminatory treatment of the people it has been sworn to protect.

One would be hard pressed to argue that the criminal justice system in America is perfect. Everyday, countless headlines can be seen nationwide about some perceived injustice within the courts. Our criminal justice system is no different than our society wherein special people get special consideration, men and women are held to different standards, and so forth and so on. As an American, I have accepted these facts of life. I am a father of two boys, a varsity baseball coach and a police veteran of 17 years. In my experience as a father, coach and police veteran, I have seen and heard it all.

Millions of American citizens are engulfed with the fear of getting pulled over, being searched and experiencing one of the simplest

How can we trust the ones that’s killing us? Law enforcement and police officers play a major role in our community. They help those in need & keep us safe. Nationwide they also kill an average of 3 people every day. I thought whenever you become an officer, you have sworn to protect us. Police brutality is a major issue in our society today. Police work is dangerous. In the past, police officers were considered peacekeepers. Police have been occupied in shootings, severe beatings, and unnecessarily rough treatments to our people instead of focusing on protecting us. Racism has always been the main cause of police brutality. Black men are constantly harassed by the police and routinely brutalized even when they have done nothing wrong.

The United States was founded in 1776 and founded on the fact is was a free nation that welcomed all to come and join the democracy. We know this not to be true. The free nation was more of an idea than a fact. Freedom was for white men who owned land, does not sound very free to me. Slavery was still legal until 1865 with the 13th amendment. Even then it was still legal if it is “a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted” (“13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution”). This mean prisoners can be used as “slaves”. This was famously seen in the film “Shawshank Redemption”. Another example is the mistreatment of minorities by police officers. Whether it is harassment or even murder, minorities are treated much worse by them. “An analysis of public records, local news reports and Guardian reporting found that 32% of black people killed by police in 2015 were unarmed, as were 25% of Hispanic and Latino people, compared with 15% of white people killed.” (Swaine, Jon, Oliver Laughland, and Jamiles Lartey, “Black Americans killed by police twice as likely to be unarmed as white people”). Although the U.S. government is supposed provide freedom, it does oppress certain groups of its citizens.

Police brutality is the intentional use of verbal attacks or excessive force directed towards citizens by the police force. It can be physical or psychological intimidation. Police brutality is in many countries all over the world and especially in the news. It is a form of police misconduct which involves sexual abuse, police corruption, false arrests, racial profiling, and political repression.These forms of police brutality are mainly directed towards the groups such as the poor, the weak and the elderly. Most of these police brutality actions are always linked to racism. Police brutality violates the suspect's constitutional rights and it should be stopped.

There have been many debates about police brutality. One argument suggests that the police use appropriate force since they are dealing with criminals, while minorities believe that the police abuse their power. African Americans are portrayed as violent criminals and their criminal backgrounds are used against them, while the police use their position to go around the criminal justice system. We're a nation that heavily believes in the ideals of equality, and by not addressing the issue of police brutality in our government, our government will become disorderly. The 14th Amendment states “...nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This means that states must apply the law equally to everyone and cannot discriminate against anyone because of their race. The idea of equality, equal protection under the law and equal opportunity, is an ideal solely found in America. However, by having the contradiction of a police force that uses underhanded tactics to suppress another race we don’t live up to our country’s promise.

Police officers nowadas are being portrayed as the opposite of their job description and it has been in the media’s attention that police officers in general have been abusing their power in non-violent situations whether it be in a small town or a big city, but today the news is now covering incidents of police brutality within the elementary through high school levels. Nowadays, there are children growing up that are becoming exceptionally defiant and difficult to control in the learning environments. This lead to the point that not even their parents could do anything about. Are Student Resource Officers, “SRO’s”,abusing their power and using them incorrectly? The SRO’s should be used to control any violence and drug use, not to intervene with a situation that a teacher is capable of handling.

Police officer's primary responsibility is to protect and serve citizens and communities, not to abuse the power that they were given to hurt innocent people. For personal enjoyment or a personal vendetta. Some states have the “Stand-Your-Ground” laws, which allows innocent citizens the right to use deadly force to defend and protect themselves. But what if they were protecting themselves from police brutality. Police brutality can be has been going on for many years. But recently has become a bigger topic for discussion. On whether the police officers are the ones at fault or not. However, there are many things that factor into police brutality. Police brutality can be caused by certain things such as a psychological problem, hatred

Many people believe police officers do not have the right to use force when apprehending an individual. Therefore, it is critical that officers make sure that they are performing their duty per the departments policy, before using lethal or non-lethal force to apprehend an individual, which may be classified as police brutality by society. An officer makes a pledge to protect and serve the community for which they are employed. Every time an officer is dispatched to a call there is a sense of uncertainty of what they will encounter. With technology at our fingers tips videos surface which may or may not capture the onset of an officers contact with a suspect. Which results in the media portraying police brutality happening more than it actually does. Many people are quick to judge an officers use of force to apprehend an individual who is not complying with the officers orders, as abusing their powers and police brutality. However, there are laws and regulations that grant officers the right to use the amount of force necessary to apprehend an individual. California Penal Code 835(a) states, “Any peace officer who has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a public offense may use reasonable force to effect the arrest, to prevent escape or to overcome resistance. A peace officer who makes or attempts to make an arrest need not retreat or desist from his efforts by reason of the resistance or threatened resistance of the person being arrested; nor shall such officer be deemed an aggressor or lose his right to self defense by the use of reasonable force to effect the arrest or to prevent escape or to overcome resistance.” (penal code book). Police officers are judged and criticized for using deadly force, because it is believed that officers are meant to serve and protect, not cause harm to others. Getting an exact number of individuals who die as a result of deadly force employed by police officers, is difficult. However there are genuine and authentic sources that can help provide an estimate of deaths caused by law enforcement officers. For example, The CDC Mortality Report and The FBI Uniform Crime Report are responsible for keeping a record of the number of individuals

Everyone has an opinion of police officers; whether it’s positive, negative or indifferent. Regardless of the city, as soon as a person encounters an officer, that person will come away with a lasting impression, hopefully it’s a favorable one. Gone are the days of having extra time to meet people and engage in “community policing”. How often have you heard “I was pulled over by the nicest officer today and got 2 tickets that I totally deserved”, or “The police stopped and frisked me today because I matched the description of a suspect, but I understand they were just doing their jobs”? No, they were “harassed”, the tickets were “unfair”, or “those officers had nothing better to do”. Fewer still are people that truly understand the purpose, importance and the cause and effect of even “simple” traffic stops. (In the police academy instructors stress that there is no such thing as a “routine” traffic stop).