Before we talk about police brutality we must understand the history, definition and benefits of policing in the civilized world in which we live in. Wikipedia’s definition is, Wikipedia [1] a police force is a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder. Their powers include the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a sovereignty state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, …show more content…
http://www.aphf.org/hist.html [2] In 1636 the city of Boston established Night Watch, which idea worked reasonably well as long as the area remained a rural and agrarian one. New York City established the Shout and Rattle Watch in 1651 however, in 1705, Philadelphia found it necessary to divide the city into ten patrol areas. As the United States of America was born and the population increased as did the urgency of keeping order and civil rest. Beginning with Sheriff’s in the counties, policing was then instituted in all forms of government agencies, utilizing the gendarmerie principle and paid with taxes by the citizens of the land. As our country developed and became more populated and civil, so did the number of officers in the police agencies across our country. Each individual community differs on issues ranging from drug abuses, theft and now more prevalent, police brutality. In order to understand the reasons behind the widespread use of force by police officers, we have to understand contributing factors. Robert E. Worden connects theories of police brutality with new evidence on the use of force by police. Researched: (Lundman, 1974; South and Visher, 1981) concluded that the demeanor of suspect influences arrest. Arrest is more likely if you are disrespectful to police officers. Decisions are based on situational
-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.
Police brutality is defined as “excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians,” and this has become more prominent within the United States throughout the years (Danilina). There has many cases where police brutality has been seen via news channels, and it has dismantled the unity of trust between the civilians of the United States and the law enforcement who are supposed to protect the everyday people from harm. The issue is if the law enforcement is actually right within their means of protection, or have they gone too far with using excessive force in any situation that may or may not be harmful to them. There is, also, the question of whether racial profiling is the biggest contributor to police brutality.
For many individuals, police brutality is a non-existent matter because it does not directly affect them or the community in which they live. Yet for others, this is an everyday occurrence and few limitations have been set as to what is unjust and malicious behavior of an officer towards the public, therefore, several officers are rarely prosecuted for this type of
Police brutality is the lavish physical assault or verbal assault during police procedures which can involve interrogating or apprehending a suspect. Police brutality originated from the labor worker strikes in the 1800’s through the 1900’s. The violent brutal act of these officers usually formed around the lower socioeconomic class. Since then police brutality has hit an all-time high in the 21st century. In New York alone there has been reportedly over 72 police brutality reports some reports even ended in the deaf of a citizen. There’s been claim of police officers violently choking citizens at traffics stops and beating citizen up in public. There’s been new technology such as body cameras which are used by most police but not all.
There is no question that police brutality, when it occurs, is one of the most egregious violations of public trust that a public servant can commit. Police officers, those individuals taxed with protecting the public from danger, should never be in a situation where they pose a threat to the public. Furthermore, there is no question that police brutality occurs. Moreover, generally when there are allegations of police brutality, there has been some type of underlying violent incident. In addition, while issues of brutality may seem clear-cut to a disinterested observer, it is critical to keep in mind that law enforcement officers are not presented with textbook examples of the appropriate or inappropriate use of force, but real-life scenarios involving quick decisions. There are many arrest and non-arrest scenarios where officers need to use force to protect self or others; and the degree of force required may be greater than what a disinterested observer would assume. Another recurrent issue in debates about police brutality is that racial bias appears to be a motive behind police brutality. When one considers that minorities are disproportionately likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes, one would expect to find a disproportionate number of minorities among those alleging police brutality. Therefore, while acknowledging that police brutality, when it occurs, is a serious problem, the reality is that most
Although I should know by now, I cannot help but think that there has been an overwhelming amount of police brutality in recent years. Police brutality can be defined as, when a police officer uses more force than necessary. This issue has spread throughout the United States of America, and is putting the lives of our citizens in great danger. Police brutality is not only physical, but it can also be verbal attacks; and, in most cases, it is caused by false arrest and racial profiling due to police corruption. Police brutality has been and continues to be a major concern in society and it is used very loosely to any and all forms of police misconduct. Whereas, in reality, excessive force of police misconduct is what defines police brutality. The jobs of a police officer are too calmly resolve public disturbance and disputes. Police officers are supposed to protect citizens; instead they are hurting and using excessive force. It is not right and it is unjust for a police officer to hurt a citizen due to an assumption without any actual proof of criminal activity.
Police brutality is one of the most serious and divisive human rights violations in the United States and it occurs in every community. The job of a police officer is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crime. They are engaged in a dangerous and stressful occupation that can involve violent situations that must be controlled. In many of these confrontations with the public it may become necessary for the police to administer force to take control of a situation. Sometimes this force takes the form of hand to hand combat with a suspect who resists being arrested. Not all police officers in communities are good cops. At least once a year the news is covering a story about a person
Police brutality is seen as a real problem in America today. What people do not seem to realize is that the police carry a massive burden each day. The work that officers do has the potential to be very demanding and sometimes involves dangerous situations. In these situations the officers are in the position where they may be required to use force to gain control. The continuum of force dictates the level that is most appropriate for the situation. Most people do not realize that is not the officers job the meet the force. However, it is their job to overcome the force. Police departments have very strict standard operating procedures about officer use force and how force is applied. With this paper, I will attempt to explain the continuum of force, police discretion, and why the police can do some of the things they do.
Police brutality can be defined as a cruel or inhuman treatment by a police officer. Police brutality situations can happen in different ways, for example a person can be stopped by the police for what appears to be a routine traffic stop, for not using a turn signal and the situation can get out of control. The driver can become defensive to the police officer and does not understand why they
What is police brutality? Police brutality is an act of misconduct done by a member of law enforcement with an extreme amount of force to physically, mentally, or emotionally attack a member of society.Some may view police brutality as something that doesn’t need any attention, but that shouldn’t be the thought of police brutalty in today society. Law enforcement brutality is becoming more common and is often going unnoticed because the courts have not brought the policemen to justice for the misconduct they have shown to people. Officers are sworn in to protect and serve their community. However, some law enforcement officers have abused their rights and authority. These same decisions made by officers have caused severe, if not fatal, outcomes during confrontations with citizens around the world. According to Smithsonian Mag , in 2016 233 African-Americans were shot and killed by police officers.
Over the recent years, police have been one of the organizations to be associated with the largest cases of misconduct. Police brutality can be termed as the process of misuse and abuse of authority by the police. The rising cases of police brutality are causing more harm to the public, compared to the actions perpetrated by real criminals. Although police claim that it’s sometimes necessary to curb crime, the process is illegal and police officers should be charged just like any other criminal offender. It should be the responsibility of the justice system to establish effective strategies to deal with the rising illegal activities in order to restore public trust in the law
Throughout history, efforts to police society have been flawed by brutality in one way or another. Police Brutality exists in many countries and is only one of several forms of police misconduct. Abuse by law enforcement officers in the United States is one of the most serious human rights violations in the country. Police officers have engaged in unjustified shootings, severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unnecessarily rough treatment. The history of police brutality is cyclical, going through phases of violence, corruption, and reform.
What is police brutality? Police brutality is an act of misconduct done by a member law enforcement through the use of an extreme amount of force to physically, mentally, or emotionally attack a member of society. Many law enforcement officers, those sworn to protect and serve, have abused their rights and authority to ferociously assault and manipulate citizens, even if they were innocent. Citizens who have been attacked have been left with physical and emotional scars that can never go away; in some cases, it has even caused death. In a report by David Packman, prepared for the Cato Institute in 2011, states that 247 deaths were linked to police misconduct cases.(Packman 2011)
Police brutality is still very much a problem in the United States, in 2015 alone there have been numerous uprisings, riots, and protests, many of which result in more violence. In 2002 alone, there were 26,556 citizen complaints about police use
Al Sharpton, civil rights activist, once said “We are not anti-police, we are anti-police brutality.” The definition of police brutality is any practice that lowers the civilian’s status and limits civilians’ liberty, irritates or pesters them or employs pointless and unjustified physical force. According to NY: Delmar Cengage Learning, “These actions can be the civilians’ view and conclusion that the police have not treated them based on their rights and self-worth as anticipated in a democratic world” (Dempsey, & Forst, 2011). The law Gives law enforcement officers an opportunity to apply non-negotiable coercive force, but it hasn’t been used as an effort to regulate civilians’ conduct and guarantee communal order it’s been used as way of brutality in some cases. We must address Police brutality because it is enduring and it is an existing concern in our country. The challenges resulting from the unlawful application of police power is a continuing reality to people from the various disfavored races, sexual orientations, or classes.