System for Investigating Law Enforcement - Essay Example

Police Conduct Police Conduct Police misconduct entails a wide range of abuses that have occurred over a significant amountof time. The allegations include police brutality such as assaulting suspects during interviews and sexual abuse on suspects. Racial profiling when hunting down suspects, and verbal abuse by police especially to people of African descent are widely reported complaints. The use of excessive force by the police and taking of bribes was reported (Gounev & Ruggiero, 2012). All this abuses are breaches of human rights.

It is imperative to design a system that ensures that proper investigations take place to so that there are compensation and rehabilitation to the victims and criminal prosecution to the offenders. The system of investigations should be independent to ensure public confidence of the process and to avoid a scenerio police investigating themselves does not arise.The first step is the police officers should be required by law to provide a name and place of duty. This will help in the investigations by being able to confirm that the officer was at the site where the alleged misconduct took place and determine whether the officer exercised certain powers such as arrest or searching of suspects (Ruggiero, 2013).

The suspected police officers and the witnesses should be separated and interviewed within 24 hours after the details of the misconduct are reported. The evidence collected should be used for criminal or administrative purposes (van Dongen, Selleslaghs, & Gehem, 2013). To ensure police officers cooperate fully with the investigations officers who fail to participate should be discharged from the police force. To ensure justice is not delayed there should be enforceable deadlines for carrying out investigations (Gounev & Ruggiero, 2012).

To avoid delays the concerned police departments should provide the necessary information, and the investigators should be able to obtain warrants to get the required information and be able to search private property for any evidence needed.Secondly, my system entails the setting up of an independent agency to deal with cases of serious police misconduct. The agency should be a separate institution from the police force and should be free from political interference. The agency should be dominated by civilian investigates and a minimal number of retired police offices.

The civilians should represent the community by having people of different cultural and economic backgrounds. The retired officers should be there only for consolations purposes as the risk of police bias is real. The civilians should be highly trained to be effective in their investigations. It is very important for the civilian investigators to be distinguished from the police officers in terms of attitude and attire for public confidence of the investigations (Hak & Prosecutor, 2005). The involved police agency should not be used by an independent agency to avoid conflict of interest.

There should be proper legislations and regulations that govern the agency to ensure that it is free from police and political interference (Ruggiero, 2013). The agency should report directly to parliament to ensure the right reports are given. In terms of funding, the agency should be properly funded to ensure its does not depend on the police force for its funding. In the case of the police resistance to cooperate with an independent agency should be empowered to work in the face of obstruction of justice by the police.

Lastly, to ensure public scrutiny daily reports of complaints against the police should be published in the local newspapers. The outcome of the investigation should be published in the agency websites, and an annual report should be published in the local newspapers. Complainants need to be protected by being put in a witness protection program; they should also be given a state lawyer who is paid a similar amount as the lawyers representing the police. In conclusions, the creation of an independent agency to deal with complaints would serve to eradicate the current challenges (Gounev & Ruggiero, 2012).

This entails the conducting of proper investigations, having the police officers and victims being represented by state lawyers and ensuring that compensation is awarded to the victims, and criminal proceeding opened against the perpetrators. It is important for a fair hearing to be conducted for justice to prevail. The police officers involved should be informed of their rights and charges against them to ensure that have confidence in the process.ReferencesGounev, P., & Ruggiero, V. (Eds.). (2012). Corruption and organized crime in Europe: illegal partnerships.

Routledge.Ruggiero, V. (2013). The crimes of the economy: a criminological analysis of economic thought. Routledge.van Dongen, T., Selleslaghs, J., & Gehem, M. (2013). Detecting Elusive Criminals. The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies.Hak, J. W., & Prosecutor, C. (2005). The admissibility of digital evidence in criminal prosecutions. Retrieved September, 22, 2010.