Limitations on Police Force - Research Paper Example

Thesis statement: The limitations on Police Force are dangerous to police officers and citizens because the same affect the proper functioning of law enforcement. How police officers are limited in their way of handling everyday actions? To be specific, police officers are properly trained and permitted to use physical force in critical conditions. In addition, police officers are authorized to maintain peace and security in a society and their actions must be considered as an integral part of their duty.

Vincent (1990), opines that “The right to resort to the legitimate use of force and the law is a constant backup or factor that makes the police officer’s role different from all other occupations” (p.77). During internal/external insurgencies, the Police Force is fully responsible to keep law and order in the mainstream society. For example, when an internal or external insurgency occurs, it is the duty of the police officers to conduct search. In this situation, limitation on using physical force will hinder the progress of investigation.

Williams (2005), opines that “Decisive, timely, and forceful intervention, when needed to overcome the suspect’s illegal acts, can lead to less severe resistance and fewer police responses involving high levels of force” (p.17). . When the level of the force used by police officers goes beyond limitations, there exists high possibility for criticism from the public. Some of the limitations faced by the police officers while handling everyday actions include limited gun use, limited physical use and limited use of chemical agents. A. Limited gun use The police officers use guns in extremely critical conditions because they are aware of the consequences of the same.

When the usage of guns in critical conditions is limited, there exists high possibility for injury or even death. Lieberman (1999), states that “Individual police officers may be sued for DAMAGE in federal courts for violation of a person’s constitutional rights” (p.354). Besides, this limitation hinders the police officers from handling their everyday actions in an effective manner. B. Limited physical use In certain situations (say, during violent demonstrations), the police officers may be forced to use their physical power to reduce the scope of large scale calamities.

Shetreet (1988) makes clear that “Indeed, it may be the case that without the use of physical force by police officers during interrogation, occasionally persons who had committed crimes would escape conviction and punishment” (p.277). During these types of situations, limited physical use is impractical because the best possible way to control the outraging mob is to use physical force. So, limited physical use in certain situations will reduce the confidence level of the police officers. C. Limited use of chemical agents In certain situations, some chemical agents like pepper sprays are used by the police officers.

The usage of chemical agents is less