The Changes in Law Enforcement

Over the years, the nature of policing has changed and developed drastically. Their role not only entails crime fighting and emergency response, but also social enforcement and social peacekeeping. Bound by a code of ethics, this highly demanding role asks police to remain professional in their dealings with society, and ensure they uphold the law impartially and fairly. When it comes to enforcing the law, it is important to look at the methods and approaches taken by police in order to combat crime, and whether or not they meet current ethical standards. Although this may be the case, it is also important to acknowledge that aspects of police culture such as loyalty, deception and protection of colleagues will ultimately shape the nature of approach to resolving crime, gaining helpful information and protecting fellow officers. Police officers are granted large amounts of discretion within their roles, however, when officers deliberately abuse this amount of discretion and become display misconduct, it becomes challenging to limit discretionary authority of police officers because of the frequent circumstances they encounter where deception may provide highly constructive outcomes. Throughout this essay, methods used by police officers including entrapment, wiretapping and planting of evidence will be assessed for their strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, the ethical standards of these methods and approaches will be assessed as to whether or not they prove as ethically

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

Going back to 1658 policing as a whole has changed drastically. One aspect that has changed is community policing. Since the 9/11 attacks, community policing has changed in many ways. They are also always finding ways to better themselves and become stronger. Without community policing the community and the United States would not be as stable as it and there would be a lot of violence.

From the night watch in Boston, to the present day policing, law enforcement has behind in the world of technology. As time rolled through the political era, professional era, and community-oriented era, police patrols would use the rapidly advancing technology in their favor. "Those were desperate times for policemen in a hostile country with unpaved streets and uneven sidewalks, sometimes miles from the police station, with little prospects of assistance in case of need.... It took nerve to be a policeman in those days," this was reported by Chief Francis O 'Neill of the Chicago Police Department in 1903. With only having a printing press and a multiple-shot revolver over a hundred years ago, the advancement in technology today has helped improve the policing methods in patrol quite significantly. However, technology would eventually out-run the police.

Body cameras in policing are still new, but more and more agencies are beginning to implement this technology into their line of work. At first police officers were very hesitant to wear these body cameras because they were afraid they would infringe themselves and give away their own privacy. Later, as body cameras were beginning to see more use in the work place, officers began to realize that these very own body cameras that they once thought would only cause themselves harm would actual prove to be useful in a variety of situations. Some of these situations can be citizen complaints, to even backing up an officers use of force. Body cameras can be the one sole thing that can give

Los Angeles witnessed a high amount of drug incidents and violence, which arose from the increasing drug problem. Unfortunately as the same time the nation witnessed a rise in the drug problem, it also saw a rise in police brutality. Throughout Los Angles and America there were many cases of police beatings, but there wasn’t any case that received as much attention and media coverage as the Rodney King incident. On the night of the Rodney King beating, “amateur video camera enthusiast, George Holliday, shot footage of LAPD officers beating a twenty-five year old African-American man following a traffic stop” (Alpert p.131). The question raised is why did something like this incident happen? In order to answer the question, a review of the police department is necessary. At the time of the Rodney King beating Daryl Gates had been the police chief of Los Angles for thirteen years. Chief Gates had power over the departments’ policies and personnel, and “his position was well insulated by unique civil service protections” (Alpert p.134). Chief Gates was recognized as someone who was professional and innovative on new ideas to enforce the law. He adopted militaristic technology as equipment to use in the streets. One example of the new technology was the motorized police battering rams, which were essentially tanks

Body cameras are proven to make policemen act better while they’re are on duty. “Police officers "tend to behave a little better"(Kon, Body Cameras for Police Officers). if they know their behavior is being recorded on camera” stated author Tsin Yen Kon. Police will act better cause they know they are being “watched”. Just like when a student has a parent to sit in their class, they act very well, police do the same. Police will also act right, because they don’t want to lose their jobs or get fired because some careless mistake that they made while on camera. “When police officers are acutely aware that their behavior is being monitored (because they turn on the cameras), and when officers tell citizens that the cameras are recording their behavior, everyone behaves better” (Knickerbocker). Brad Knickerbocker, the author, explains how both sides of the camera, police, and criminal will have an effect on their behavior because they know that they are being watched, and recorded. When people know they are being watched, it is like they get scared, because they don't want anything to be used against them. Although cameras will make police act better, people will still think that police brutality will still happen.

Historically speaking, authorities of the law were never in a position where their professional duties and their character as a public servant of the law were demeaned in a way that there needs to be constant surveillance of them and the people whom they come into contact with. There was never a need of documenting every encounter you had with a civilian before. In this day in age, things have certainly changed, and the past has always been something society likes to change and make better even if it raises concerns. Due to all the violent police stories that has surfaced in the past decade, the idea of having police officers wear video cameras as a part of their uniform while on duty has resulted in a radically divergent account of society’s future. The law may uphold cops to wear cameras while working, but is this really the best decision? This topic is very controversial and may create issues with cops and the civilians they try and protect in the future.

The Criminal Justice System has undergone numerous, yet significant, changes within the last century. In fact, current research reflects the progressive movement from one of rehabilitation to that of punishment and retribution. Such transition reflects issues pertaining to the management and supervision and treatment of offenders. This study will, therefore, consider and evaluate dilemmas within the Criminal Justice System, as well as, issues that have transpired while trying to reduce crime through punishment. Furthermore, the Criminal Justice System will be discussed through a law perspective regarding supervision and management in order to understand the current challenges and issues involving crime.

According to police, officers nobody has the right to record. Whether it is publicly, or an investigation being done outside on the street. Now a days we do not have the right to do anything outside in the public. My question is why? If we all have the right to do whatever we want. Many city journalists’ even people have been arrested for not even committing a crime but simply filming. You would ask me is this right? Well I would say no it is not right. According to the law which truly states (“Know Your Rights: Photographers.” American Civil Union. ACLU, July 2014. Web. 3 Sep 2014). That we all have the right to photograph, and film while being in public being anywhere and at any time. The video I selected talks about how a civilian is having a discussion with a police officer and how the police officer says he is not allowed to “film.” Watching the video made me see how police officers don’t respect at all. They tend to lie a lot and change everything around when another police officer comes to help them out. They harass and detain people with unnecessary reasons.

1. Identify and discuss the eight (8) recurring reasons that change occurs in law enforcement agencies.

Since the founding of this country, to the wild west, and up to the present, the agenda of the policing bodies have been clear: to uphold and enforce the laws of our society. Of course the way they do this today had undergone changes from the first police forces of early America, law enforcement has seen trends come and go.

Police departments, at times, refuse to release the police cam footage to the public. In 2014, Laquan McDonald was shot and killed by police for the possession of a knife. This was captured on dash cam footage, however, the Chicago Police Department refused to release the tape to the public. Therefore, protests emitted and hate was thrown at the CPD for accusations that they were trying to hide something from the public. After a long battle with the public, first and foremost, the CPD finally gave in and released the footage. Issues concerning the police cam being turned off have also risen in the news. Recently, a St. Louis officer shut off the dash cam and choked a civilian after reports of a fight at a local bar. Afterwards, the civilian was led to a hospital and the officer on a brief criminal investigation. The officer was put back on duty, though. Based off of my opinion, the police officer should not be a police officer. We need to know what is going on and what this officer did was unethical and wrong to shut down a cam, showing that the government is trying to hide to avoid community backlash. Aren’t police officers supposed to keep us safe? Adding on to all this controversy, it is almost impossible to tell if a footage has been altered by police. Sarah Bland, who was stopped, was a victim for an allegedly fake dash cam video of her arrest released by police in 2015. The big problem with the footage

Once new technology stepped in it changed policing dramatically, police officers were removed from foot patrol and placed in patrol cars and given two-way radios and citizens were told to call police anytime they had a problem, according to Police: History-Policing Twentieth Century America^ C” the Reform Era, (n.d.) This new wave also isolated police officers from the citizens on the street and brought police officers into their homes to handle more personal problems. These changes would have a huge impact on how citizens looked at police officers who patrolled their neighborhood, police officers were no longer considered visitors but outsiders within their community. This was the beginning of a new era of policing which gave direction and is similar on how policing is today within the communities.

The use of smartphone cameras changed the way that police were perceived as well. Accusations of police brutality could now be supported with video evidence instead of just a victim’s word against an officer. While filming police during stops and quality-of-life policing can hold the officer accountable in incidents of police brutality, cell phone video footage doesn’t always tell the whole story. In August, two Kansas police officers came under scrutiny after a 36 second video was posted on social media of them roughly restraining a suspect on the ground (Hunter). However, the police’s body cam and dash cam footage told a different story: after the suspect, John Harrison was pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt, the police discovered the smell of marijuana coming from his car, that he was driving with a suspended license and had more than 20 warrants out for his arrest (Kiesling and Smith). The dash cam video shows Harrison resisting arrest, attempting to flee (Hunter) and punching one of the police officers (Kiesling and Smith). The police were found innocent and Harrison was put in jail for outstanding warrants and is facing charges for driving with a suspended license, battery on a police officer, and obstruction of justice (Hunter).