Public Adherence And Compliance With Law Enforcement Essay

Every day, law enforcement officers encounter danger while carrying out their duties. The foremost duty of law enforcement officers are to serve and protect citizens. Most law enforcement agencies do this successfully. However, many people view law enforcement officers as the enemy. People need to be better informed about law enforcement and why officers take specific actions in certain circumstances. In our society, police are in a very dangerous position when it comes to the amount of force they can use when dealing with an individual. Officers use discretion when deciding the best course of action for the situation, whether it be physical force, persuasion, or coercion. They must take the correct course of action, because if they are too lenient or to forceful, even when dealing with petty things, they can be reprimanded by superiors and the public. Should police use force? Which circumstances warrant use force and what are the limits of force they can use? These questions are often asked when police are compelled to use force.

In the United States people have a lot of trust and confidence in the police as stated in a article I read: “Since the U.S. is one of the leading democratic societies in he world, a substantial body of research exists resulting from studies that have examined the dynamics of the publics satisfaction, trust, and confidence in the police” (Charles Hou, & Liqun Cao, 2001, p. 89). An American culture is surrounded by the values of freedom and individualism. Studies have found that although U.S. citizens may have suspicions about state power the public normally holds positive attitudes toward the police. Minorities appear to evaluate law enforcement less favorable than their majority White counterparts. Cite the source

The text, “Anything Can Happen With Police Around,” examines the several studies that have been constructed about the countless views and interactions with the police, also taking into account the more detailed interactions with the police in a matter of race or gender. These studies have included the importance of how school surveillance, youth perspective, the general public’s perspective, attitudes toward the police and even sexual harassment from police towards females impact the lives and experiences of those around them. Throughout the years, there has been a growing concern of the criminal justice system to secure problems, from troublesome youth to the increasing crime rate that has had an effect on urban cities throughout the nation. Statistics show, from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website, that from the year 2009 to 2014 the crime rate has steadily increased by 6%. The studies constructed, have detailed responses and experiences of both the minority and majority races that have had encounters with the police or those of higher authority. The perspective of the youth has brought an increasing amount of attention to those concerned about the matter. This survey was created to engage the youth and allow them to express how they felt towards those in higher authority, in a sense of both a safety issue and safety concern. According to the many topics discussed most viewed the adults as untrustworthy, but leaned towards their parents,

Neighborhood socioeconomic conditions and racial composition, for instance, have been found to influence residents’ attitudes and interactions with the police— people residing in disadvantaged neighborhoods tend to report more negative personal experiences, observations, and opinions of the police than do residents of middle-class neighborhoods. People who live in high-crime communities and who are frequently exposed to media reports on police abuse may be particularly prone to believe that police misconduct is rife (Weitzer, Incidents of Police Misconduct and Public Opinion,

Cooperation from members of the public is important in order for police officers to effectively fight crime within the community. In order to obtain cooperation from members of the public, police officers must gain their trust and confidence. It has been known that African Americans and Hispanics have lower levels of trust and confidence in police because of racial disparities and racial profiling. This paper will discuss the public opinion of police by different ethnic groups and how racial minorities hold lower levels of trust and confidence in police.

Without police, the safety of the community is jeopardized. Without community support, police are dispossessed of their legitimacy and robbed of their effectiveness. This three-element definition of police makes it easy to understand why abuse of force by police is of such great concern. First, there is the humanitarian concern that police are capable of inflicting serious, even lethal, harm on the public. Second, there is the philosophical dilemma that in "protecting" the whole of society, some of its constituent parts, meaning its citizens, may be injured. Third, there is the political irony that police, who stand apart from society in terms of authority, law, and responsibility, also are part of society and act on its behalf. Thus, rogue actions by a few police, if condoned by the public, may become perceived as actions of the citizenry. Recent developments in policing have elevated concerns about police use of force beyond ordinarily high levels. In particular, community policing, which is becoming widespread as a result of financial incentives by the Federal Government, and "aggressive" policing, which is becoming widely adopted as a solution to serious crime problems, have come to the fore as perspectives of choice by policing experts. Community policing emphasizes

We learned in this course that, “people’s views of police legitimacy are more strongly linked to perceptions of the fairness of the procedures used by police to make decisions, than to the actual outcome of their encounter with police, or the effectiveness of the police controlling crime. “

The constant derogatory comments and attention police departments have gotten lately can have a negative impact on their ability to perform their job and have a positive relationship with the community. According to the Procedural Justice Theory, “the legitimacy and trust are largely based on perceptions of procedural fairness—believing that the police treat citizens with fairness and respect…” (Hohl, 2011). The media does a good job at attacking the legitimacy of the police and their ability to perform their job in a fair and consistent manner. Per the Procedural Justice Theory, with the fairness of the polices actions in question, the trust towards police gets tarnished and disintegrates.

The opinions of the public are of importance to the police, as they are less likely to contact officers or ask for help if they doubt the integrity of the police force (Powell et al, 2008).

Recent incidents of police brutality have brought up critical discussions on policing and law enforcement across the country. The nation seems to have come into a consensus about police reforms, and find an alternative way to fight crimes while assuring the safety of the public . At a time where unarmed black teenagers are being gunned down by police officers who were there to protect, and police departments are more militarized than ever; one wonders about the legitimacy of the police system that is in place. The mistrust of the public on police, and the costly militarization of police are the results of “aggressive” policing approach that has been practiced for years. An alternative way of policing, community policing, has been recommended and put in place in some parts of the country. Community policing mainly focuses on preventing crimes by working first hand with communities and change the dynamic of power by having communities actively engaged to work for their safety. Community policing is not a new method, it has been discussed by scholars since the late 1980’s and is now getting more attention than ever with recent protests on police brutality. Unlike standard policing, community policing is economically efficient, and has proven to be effective in reducing crimes.

The aim of this dissertation is to assess whether residents of Cliff Terrace, Treforest are reassured by neighbourhood policing in their community. This aim will be achieved by carrying out primary research in relation to feelings of reassurance amongst the residents. Evidence collated by Tuffin et al in 2006 suggests that certain acts when carried out by the police can significantly reduce fear of crime and increase levels of reassurance amongst the public. This evidence will be applied to the residents of Cliff Terrace to examine its effectiveness. In theory those who have witnessed, or experienced evidence of reassurance policing, for instance high visibility policing or a problem solving approach from the police etc. should have higher levels of reassurance than those who have not experienced or witnessed these acts (Tuffin et al, 2006). In order to meet this objective one must explore the relevant themes and literature surrounding neighbourhood policing and reassurance policing.

The study shows, “This shift in discourse has been motivated by two factors—first, the recognition by public officials that increases in the professionalism of the police and dramatic declines in the rate of crime have not led to increases in police legitimacy, and second, greater awareness of the limits of the dominant coercive model of policing and of the benefits of an alternative and more consensual model based on public trust and confidence in the police and legal system.” Tyler, Tom R., et al. "The Impact of Psychological Science on Policing in the United States." Psychological Science in the Public Interest, vol. 16, no. 3, Dec. 2015, pp. 75-109. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1177/1529100615617791. There are also statements of how a police officer’s behavior has effects on the community and how the perceive the

Law enforcement goes as far back as to cave dwellers, if it was not for England, the United States would be at a lost for policing. The United States uses the consensus and conflict theories to help the American people have a better understanding of human behavior and its limits. There are many types of policing that were identified and it is the law enforcement officers’ job to protect and sever and to deliver criminals into the hands of the law. If it was not for law enforcement officers, the community would be a disaster.

It has been consistently shown in research that minorities are more likely to be mistreated by the police compared to other people (Dunnaville, 2000). Recent incidents have seen the police use excessive force on people and mistreat minorities. As such, the legitimacy of the police has been put under scrutiny and questioned. Many communities in the United States have demonstrated in reaction to recent incidents of police misconduct and excessive use of force. The people have lost trust in the police because of these issues. The police force has been accused of mistreating people, sexual harassment, violent and careless arrests among people particularly the minorities. As demonstrated in the movie ‘Policing the Police’ police officers are seen mistreating people for instance the scene where the police sexually harassed a teenager by touching sensitive areas. Community members are not willing to trust or work with the police to fight crime. As such, it is critical for the police agencies and department to make improving police-community relationship a top police priority. Policies should be developed that will strengthen the mutual trust between the police and the community. This relationship is critical because the police depend on information from the community to fight crime in the society.

In today’s society it seems as if all the violence that is occurring is revolved around race. Negative law enforcement involvement has been one of the major controversial topics that our generation has been faced with. Race, violence and authority is a very well-known racial disparity that will take some time to be seen otherwise. After the incidents occur, what really shakes the nation is that there is no real accountability. No one wants to admit that an injustice occurred and a small altercation lead to a casualty. Leadership within the justice system often gets challenged with such scenario. Does one discipline and makes an example out of his law enforcement officer (LEO), or does one address the public so that there is no uproar on such final decision.