Police misconduct is illegal or unethical actions that violates an individual constitutional rights. This includes police brutality, sexual harassment, dishonesty, fraud, coercion, torture, abuse of authority. Sometimes police misconduct can be even systematic. Former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge was arrested on federal obstruction of justice and perjury charges for allegedly lying about whether he and other officers under his command participated in torture and physical abuse of suspects in police custody dating back to the 1980s. There were several occasions when Burge tortured and physically abused people in custody in to order make them confess. One top of that he was also aware that all the detectives he supervised also participated
Police has the power to put anyone in Prison especially if they are not committing anything seriously. One of the reason is because Colored citizens don’t have higher class, meaning on poverty, no wealthy jobs etc. meaning that they would do crime. War on drugs is a significant factor in the High incarceration rates for African-American.
Since their has been policing entities, it is understood by most that law enforcement officers have been performing a public service that is not easy to carry out. To assist law enforcement officers in diffusing situations, apprehending alleged criminals, and protecting themselves and others, officers are legally entitled to use appropriate means, including force. In discussing police misconduct, this report acknowledges not only the legal grant of such authority,
After reading all the material regarding Jeffery Bell, Darryl Forrest and Dustin Sillings all 3 whom were members of the Kansas City Police special unit known as (SCORE) Selective, Crime, Occurrence, Reduction Enforcement unit. I came up with several unethical behaviors throughout the course of the year from January 2010 to January 2011. One, all 3 officers violated the victims constitutional rights. Rights that were taken away were the freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures and not to have their property taken without due process under the law. (The Criminal Indictment: United States of America v. Jeffrey M. Bell, Darryl M. Forrest, and Dustin Sillings) Each officer took it upon themselves to steal various items including money from
Police misconduct is currently on the rise in many cities. Police misconduct can be define as false confession, false arrest, falsified of evidence and lying under the oath. For many years police crimes have went unreported and punishments are never given. We now have to put an end to these wrongful duties taken by police officers around the world.
Police corruption and misconduct come apparent in many different forms. A basic definition for police corruption is, when an officer gets involved in offenses where the officer uses his or her position, by act or omission, to obtain improper financial benefit. The main reason for such corruption is typically for personal gain, such as bribery. Police abuse of authority occurs in three different general areas such as physical abuse, psychological abuse, and legal abuse. Physical abuse is such abuse where one uses excessive force or physical harassment. The psychological abuse occurs through disrespect, harassment, ridicule, excessive stops, or intimidation. Finally, legal abuse is abuse that occurs during unlawful search and seizure
In order for a Police agency to prevent and deter Police misconduct, there must be a definition to what actions and behaviors that the term will encompass. The term ‘police corruption’ has been used to describe many activities: bribery; violence and brutality; fabrication and destruction of evidence; racism; favoritism or nepotism. Many different scholars differ in their own examples of the definition. Before attempting to the question of whether a precise definition is possible, it is worth examining the range of activities that might be included within a broad discussion of corruption. In (Bayley and Perito, 2011), it is defined as police corruption is a contested phrase with narrow and broad meanings. Narrowly
We hear about police misconduct case and wonder, Why don’t they do anything to stop this? Many say that we should keep the police officers’ perspective in mind. Others say that these actions are due to racism or post 9/11 paranoia. Whatever the excuse may be for these cases, there should be no need for violence anywhere. Police brutality videos go viral and reveal to the world that it actually happens and that it may happen to you too. This pervades people with fear and anger because their civil right are being violated. Riots are the outcome making the streets unsafe and chaotic. Statistics show percentage of the movements taken upon these criminal acts performed by police officers. We can put a stop to this and we will put a
What is police misconduct? It can be defined as any action performed by a law enforcement officer that is unethical by established employment guidelines, unconstitutional, or a crime with in itself. When people hear the term “police misconduct” they automatically think of a police officer using unnecessary force against a civilian. While that is a form of police misconduct it is not only form. Throughout this paper I will bring light to the many types of police misconduct that can happen in the law enforcement industry.
Police officers are generally well-respected in American society. They should be, since officers protect the public from drunk drivers, gunmen and other threats to the commonwealth. However, in light of uncovered events involving the misconduct of police officers, these events call into question the ability of police officers to successfully protect and serve the American people. However, in 2010, 6,613 law enforcement officers were reported for involvement in misconduct which varied from excessive force, sexual misconduct et cetera (Packman). Having 6,613 reported cases of police misconduct in America is ridiculous, especially since it is hard validating the claims against officers and it is difficult to punish officers because of this lack of evidence. While the purpose of police officers in society is to protect the commonwealth of the people, the amount of police misconduct in the United States of America involving excessive force and sexual misconduct is detrimental to the credibility of all police officers. This in turn causes rifts and distrust among the American people concerning officers. Police misconduct can be reduced in American society by requiring police officers to wear cameras while on duty, having a clear definition on what excessive force is and defining how much force is legal for an officer to utilize, and better training geared to improve overall conduct with citizens, especially mentally ill citizens.
The summer of 2015, on June 15th, my cousins, brothers and I were stopped by Montgomery county police officers. A robbery was reported and we “supposedly” fitted the descriptions. It was five African Americans, four males, and one female. We eventually found out the description they had told us was completely false. The women who reported the robbery came to our location to identify us and angrily told the cops that she said there were only three African-American males and they all had dreads, which none of us fitted that description. This experience of mine may sound surprising or uncommon to others, but this exact situation happens to many other African Americans. It has become a common way African Americans live in America.
There are many things that police officers have done wrong. Police deviance caused by a few people who should not have become police officers and whose feelings toward corruption was not recognized during the recruitment and hiring phases. Police corruption is a major problem in the United States. Some police officers turn bad by ripping off drug dealers and even dealing drugs themselves. Later some also result to try and cover up their own acts of brutality, murder, and even torture Deviance in terms of isolated behavior of individual officers, while the other attributes deviance to the influence the of environmental factors that can affect all police officers. Jon Burge was a Chicago police detective who tortured hundreds of African American
Police executives have always had different issues within the police department. Most police executives try to find a quick fix in order to solve the issue of police misconduct. Police misconduct is defined as inappropriate action taken by police officers in relation with their official duties (Police Misconduct Law & Legal Definition, n.d.). In order to solve this issue, one must acknowledge their different challenges, overcome the “code of silence”, and find out the role of organizational culture.
In the United States of America, law enforcement has the ability to make their own judgement, while encountering criminals. Although discretion is at all levels of the police department, law enforcement agencies can easily make unlawful decision. Researchers determined that police officers are prohibited from using offensive language or speaking discourteously, abusing their authority, and using unnecessary force (Carroll, Kovath, & Pereira, 2004). Law enforcement officers are expected to respect their community and ensure that all citizens are kept safe. Some police activity can occur in a private view without supervision from the public, which allow police officers to make a reasonable decision. Police often make quick reaction when it comes
The threat of civil litigation can be an effective deterrent of police misconduct because it holds law enforcement officers accountable for their actions and improve views held by public towards law enforcement. Law enforcement officers as well as official are held at a higher standard compared to most civilian occupations. Considering this in addition to the fact that law enforcement officers are provided with sufficient training, unethical behavior and conduct is inexcusable. Civil litigation is dependent on the agency which an officer is employed, if an officer is trailed in a community which does not hold their local law enforcement agency in high regards the sentencing would be subject to bias. Comprehensive training program are already
The criminal justice system is made up of many fundamentals. Officers need to go through a variety of procedures in the hiring process, and once completed they need to go through a training academy. Many U.S. citizens have witnessed a broken criminal justice system throughout the years. Citizens observe officers causing a huge attempt of corruption. Corruption is occurring worldwide and is making our law enforcement system look unprofessional. Our criminal justice system is not all fully corrupted; only certain individuals are. Police get engaged with certain individuals and get brained wash with the mentality of doing the wrong choices and not getting caught because they know how the system works. The majority of law enforcement officers are competent, honest, professional, but there are some that use their license to steal and/or kill. Some police officers are involved with drug trafficking, involving innocent people with crimes, and causing harm to our society.