Police Officers Overstep Their Rights When Searching People Essay

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,

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

Law enforcement officers are given much power and authority over one’s civil liberties. Not only do they have a duty but also a responsibility to enforce laws and ordinances in their jurisdiction, maintain order and protect its people. In some cases, the only way to accomplish this is through legitimized use of force. Use of force can best be described as "the amount of effort required by a law enforcement officer to induce compliance of an unwilling subject" (nij.gov, 2012). With that said, law enforcement officers have been given the right to apply only enough force necessary to control a situation, while defending others, preventing escape, during self-defense and while a subject is resisting arrest (Pollock, pp. 234). It is not until that force becomes excessive that it becomes say an issue.

follow for “Stop and Frisk” happened as a result of the “Terry v. Ohio “case (162). The

Stop and Frisk is the practice by which a police initiates a stop of an individual on the street based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. The Stop and Frisk policy was adopted from laws in a number of different courts in America. Under Stop and Frisk, a police officer has the power to stop, question, and frisk suspects with reason. These questions may determine whether the suspected person should be detained and investigated.

The judicial system in America has always endured much skepticism as to whether or not there is racial profiling amongst arrests. The stop and frisk policy of the NYPD has caused much controversy and publicity since being applied because of the clear racial disparity in stops. Now the question remains; Are cops being racially biased when choosing whom to stop or are they just targeting “high crime” neighborhoods, thus choosing minorities by default? This paper will examine the history behind stop and frisk policies. Along with referenced facts about the Stop and Frisk Policy, this paper will include and discuss methods and findings of my own personal field research.

Police officers are individuals who enforce the law upon their community to ensure that their citizens remain safe. In the past couple of years, officers of the law have been involved in acts of brutality that seem to go beyond the proper measurements of protection for their citizens. Policemen are supposed to protect their citizens from danger and from harm, not impose a threat on them. The fact that officers have a history of abusing their power indicates that their trust amongst the community has been corrupted. Those who have been affected of police brutality feel as though they have been deceived. They no longer feel that police officers will protect them, but rather abuse them, and that is a problem. We have began to live in a community in which an individual feels frightened when seeing a cop, rather than feeling protected. Some individuals may argue that police brutality is not a problem due to the fact that it is not consistent enough to catch the attention of needing a solution. However, that idea means little when the level of brutality has led to the death of several innocent victims in some cases. We must not wait for there to be a pattern of death at the hands of police officials to consider this a problem. One death indicates that preventive measures must be taken to ensure that these officers are no longer put in the position to abuse their power to begin with.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the pros and cons of the Stop and Frisk policy in New York. This paper covers a short history of Stop and Frisk. It also will address the progression of the policy throughout the years. Furthermore, it will relate the topic to the management, gender, and race class focusing in on how the unconscious bias plays a role in how the police choose who to stop. The paper also includes some statistics of Stop and Frisk encounters. It will conclude with the group opinion of the Stop and Frisk policy.

A pretextual stop is generally the use of a power given to the police for one reason (e.g. to guarantee secure driving conditions) for a completely irrelevant goal. Pretext traffic stops permit police officers ample discretion for them to choose who to stop, and the motives they use to validate the traffic stop. More specifically, it is the use of a traffic stop to carry out additional police work that is not acceptable by feasible cause or sensible skepticism. These traffic stops are about as commonly upsetting because they vilely violate the normally limits of police action. However, law enforcement has become targeted from those who allege police officer pretext stops of their vehicles are based on racial profiling than any said traffic violation.

According to theguardian.com, 634 people have been killed so far in 2015 by police officers or while in custody (theguardian.com, 2015). Years of good policing practices and community trust can be jeopardized by a single act of, or perception of, the excessive use of force (EUF) by police (www.justice.gov, 2015 ). Police deal with difficult people and situations on a daily basis, one of the biggest complaints from citizens is that excessive and sometimes unnecessary force is used by police officers during arrests. In the wake of past claims of police brutality such as Rodney King and more recently publicized victims like Freddy Gray, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown, I will use the functionalist perspective to determine if giving police the liberty to exercise the force they deem necessary per arrest situation is effective or if stricter guidelines for the use of force and training is needed to deal with citizens. I believe most citizens exert some type of resistive behavior when they feel they are being unlawfully arrested. I will investigate separate claims of excessive force use by police against citizens in America. I will also look at other countries’ police brutality complaints to determine if the issue lies mainly in America or if it is a global issue. I will use the inductive research method as well as qualitative research such as present and historical data, past journals, court cases, news publications, and statistical data to conclude my findings.

Police officers pull drivers over for a number of reasons, ranging from driving recklessly to suspicion of possessing illegal substances. Traffic stops pose stress onto police officers because of its hazards. First, police officers risk the chance of getting hit by incoming traffic. According to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, over 150 U.S. Law enforcement officers were killed since 1999 by getting struck by vehicles along America's highways (National Safety Commission, 2012). When a police officer pulls over a driver, he or she is focused on documenting information on the incident report, leaving him or her open to the risk of getting hit by incoming vehicles.

The use of excessive force by police officers is a topic that continues to make headlines and a study that needs to be done. Although much research has gone into this topic there still is no consensus on why the use of excessive force occurs. Some studies suggest lack of training and/or problems with organization policy/procedures. Law enforcement officers are authorized to use force when necessary, but when the level of force is excessive, however, the actions of the police come under scrutiny. The resulting effects can include; public outrage, scandal, negative reputation for not only the officer but the law enforcement community, and criminal considerations. Although there’s is no concrete definition of excessive force, police

An integral component to the infrastructure of government is law enforcement. In recent years, police abuse has come to the attention of the general public. While citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been shown that they must also keep a watchful eye on those who have been given the responsibility to protect and serve. This paper will discuss the types of police abuse prevalent today, including the use of firearms and recovery of private information. I will also discuss what and how citizens’ rights are violated by the police. We will also explore the measures necessary to protect ourselves from police taking advantage of their positions as law enforcement officers with greater permissive rights than

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

A growing concern in America is the unnecessary use of force police officers use on the innocent or those in their custody. The role of the police officer carries both power and authority and the abuse of that power and authority raises issues society must face. This paper discusses the problem of officers who use unnecessary force, what managers and executives are doing to deal with this problem and the ethical dilemmas associated with the use of excessive or unjustified force on the police department.