The Changes in Law Enforcement All together law enforcement has changed, but few see the drastic changes that have happened. Everyday, police and sheriffs are working to keep the people in their community safe. With improved technological advances and social changes, police and sheriffs are
The contemporary social problem I would like to conduct sociological research on is the use of excessive force used by members of the police department in recent unconscionable shootings of unarmed civilians. With all the recent attention that the people of Ferguson Missouri and New York City have been able to rise on this issue, making it a media sensation, it seemed like a good topic to discuss. Police brutality is an egregious, ongoing problem in our society that, until just recently, has been accepted as a sad fact of life by the people it affects and is largely ignored by the rest of society, including politicians and the mass media. Police brutality affects the people that society has come to stigmatize such as minorities, the mentally ill and impoverished people, more so than the well off or middle to upper class white people.
On August 5, 2014, five days prior to Michael Brown’s death, John Crawford III was fatally shot by police officers in an Ohio Walmart aisle. At the site of Crawford’s shooting, there were two hundred surveillance cameras, many showing him holding a toy gun, him on his cell phone, and other details of his death. After receiving a call from Ronald Richie, another patron, police officers responded to the scene with loaded guns and without any de-escalation fatally shot Crawford. Likewise with many other African American shootings by the police, the grand jury also failed to indict the officers who shot Crawford. Crawford’s outcome demonstrates one reason to be skeptical about the Police CAMERA Act because although there are high-quality camera footages police officers are still not getting indicted and these violent acts are still ongoing. However, as stated previously, body-worn cameras creates a sense of “self-awareness” in police officers than any other video capturing device can. According to the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Criminology, though Crawford’s death is a “miscarriage of justice, the filming itself by bystander or any form would not generate the self-awareness and consequent behavior modification during the incident.” Dr. Barak Ariel, a member of the Rialto Study from the Cambridge Institution of Criminology, explained that the body-worn camera present a ‘preventative treatment’ that carry a straightforward, pragmatic message that everyone is being watched, videotaped, and are expected to follow the
Video Footage has the potential to expose officer misconduct and exonerate civilians whose actions have been falsely accused by officers. In the case of John Crawford III, going into his local Walmart, just wanting to spend quality time with his family roasting s’mores. Officers had over 200 video cameras showing he wasn’t doing anything wrong, but they refused to look at them. Even though he had an unloaded pellet gun that he picked up off the shelf. Why shoot, instead of tasering him. (Harvard Law Review N.A., 2015). Even with some witnesses around that still didn’t stop New York Police officers from using excessive force on Eric Garner. His death was recorded, and the officers were indicted. There are many cases where officers are accused of excessive force such as PEOPLE vs ATKINSON. In cases such as this, there are officers stating force was necessary and defendants saying that unnecessary force had been used. The use of cameras helps to determine without prejudice and protect all
Police Brutality Cases “When you have police officers who abuse citizens, you erode public confidence in law enforcement. That makes the job of good police officers unsafe.” (Berry) Recently police brutality has become an alarming issue in society. At the end of 2015, thousands of deaths resulted in accusing victims dying in police custody. Individuals in communities across the state are beginning to lose faith in law enforcement in their ability to properly do their jobs. Providing police officers with extensive and innovative training to give them the adequate length of experience and training will decrease police brutality.
-By definition the term police brutality is “applied in the context of causing physical harm, it may also involve psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedure.” In today’s society we have police known as riot police, who are known throughout the world to use extreme force. Statistics show almost every time the riot police are involved in crowd control, there is at least one fatality and multiple injured. This is why I believe this is one of the most important issues in the World today. Police are there to protect us but from April 2009 to June 2010 in the United States there were 5986 reports of misconduct from police officers. Police brutality has today’s citizens doubting the police department, and how they go about their arrest. Police brutality is an everyday occurrence, especially in cities where there are large communities of Blacks, Latinos and Asians.
Tinker-Martin6 Police Brutality, Have Times Really Changed The history of Police Brutality for minorities; especially people of color has left America wondering have times changed. Police brutality has deemed the opportunity for socioeconomic advancement or access to good and services for many Black/African Americans dating back as far as 1955. The system of Police brutality has affected many realms of society for minorities’ employment and family life. After some scholarly research, police brutality is still prevalent in the Black/African American community; moreover, it comes in many different forms and fashions. Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. Excessive use
Do They Gun You Down If You’re White? 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.
Police brutality is becoming a trend in America. Tensions among the public and especially the African American community are rising due to the latest cases of police brutality. Many people believe that we have come far in this society but to be honest Racism is still a factor. The use of brutal and lethal force by some police officers leading to unnecessary deaths have African American parents on edge to send their children outside for anything. Law enforcement and people whom we trust with our lives are the very same to take it. Some people may want to argue that these cases such as the shooting of Michael brown and choking of Eric Garner are isolated incidents. Others would argue that the work of a police officer is too difficult and that sometimes an officer needs to use such force in order to enforce the law and protect him/herself while on duty. Law enforcement proclaims to feel threatened however what about the civilians who feel threatened of becoming the next target or victim of prey. The society is well aware that not all police commit these crimes and that we do still have law abiding officers. However, with the effort from everyone we can eradicate the bad apples and create a safer road for the officers and civilians.
Walter Scott’s shooting by a police officer in April 2015 defines the racism in the American policing from a new perspective. In the incident, 33-year-old American police officer Michael Slager shot Walter Scott eight times in the back when Scott tried to run away from him. Slager had asked Scott to pull over because of some issues in the taillight of the car. Slager claimed before the court that he had to take this action because Scott had taken away his taser, and he was afraid that Scott might be a threat to his own life. However, later evidence from Feidin Santana, a passerby, revealed to the media a video that Santana had shot at the time of this incident. In this video, it was evident that Slager and Scott indulged in a little brawl before Scott tried to run away. Slager had his taser intact because the video clarifies that while tackling the dead body of Scott, Slager was seen handling his taser - it was not in the victim 's hands. Slager was dismissed with immediate effect from his post, and he was accused of murder (Infobase). The injustice of Walter Scott 's death clearly demonstrates that it is crucial for all police officers to wear body cameras. Police officers in body cameras will prevent violence between officers and civilians, hold officers accountable for inappropriate behavior, and serve as on-hand evidence for future judicial actions.
C. Today I will discuss how police brutality is a major problem throughout the United States, as well as two of its main causes and how this problem requires us
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.
I’m interested in this topic because it’s a topic we talk about but ignore., watching young Hispanic black and other racial minorities kid being gunned down because an officer "thought" he was armed is an absolute disgrace to this country. I like it because I sometimes ask myself will I a victim of not only racial profiling but encounter racial injustice. Will my brother get gunned down by an officer while walking to school? Or Be a static of racial disparity? I also liked because the majority of our population is ethnic or racial minority. informing the audience about racial disparities in our justice system will be an eye-opening topic. Research by Swaine, Jon. Black Americans killed by police twice as likely to be unarmed as white.. I’m
I feel that the use of dash-cams, body-cams, and cell phone video can have both a positive and a negative effect on the control of police use of force. A problem encountered when attempting to investigate most use of force complaints is the “code of silence” commonly found in
The problem that I will be addressing is the lack of data available related to excessive force and police brutality incidents. They have become so popular over the recent years that in 2014, there were numerous cases involving police brutality and the use of excessive force that resulted in deaths mainly deaths of color people. Since then the numbers have been rising. If the result doesn’t end in death then