Police misconduct - Term Paper Example

Biases and prejudices motivate police officers to take inappropriate actions on certain occasions. These inappropriate actions are usually labelled under police misconduct. This paper analyses different types of police misconduct. “Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck is under fire from his civilian bosses, who increasingly are troubled by his reluctance to punish officers they found had killed or wounded people unjustifiably "(Rubin). The major objective of any criminal justice system is not to punish any innocent person even if thousands of criminals escaped from punishment.

In other words, criminal justice system should make sure that enough evidences are there to punish a person. Police officers are responsible for the collection of evidences against the culprits. In certain cases, investigating officers may face lot of pressure from different corners to speed up the investigation process. In such cases, police complete the investigation process in a hurry to satisfy the public demand. Imagine a situation in which a famous celebrity is killed. The killer could be an influential person in the society.

Even if police gets enough evidences against the killer, it is not evidently that he may be arrested. The killer may offer bribes and the police may investigate the case as directed by the actual killer. The demand for the speedy arrest of the killer from the public may force the investigating officer to arrest somebody in connection with that murder. The actual killer or the police may present another person (a rented person) as the killer in front of the public. In such cases, police fabricate evidence against the rented person and arrest him to satisfy the public.

This person may escape from punishment since it is difficult for the police to prove the crime against him in the courts. In short, the nexus between the police and criminals often result in police misconducts. “A 37-man force that patrols a gritty square-mile city south of downtown Los Angeles -- has become a haven for misfit cops who have been pushed out of other law enforcement agencies for crimes or serious misconduct” (Lait and Glover) BBC (3 April 2013) reported that “Kent Police officer Eileen Arthurs jailed for misconduct.

Kent Police said she carried out unauthorised checks using the force's computers. The force said Arthurs had accessed the records of her friend, who was known to police, on several occasions with no professional reason to do so” (Kent Police officer Eileen Arthurs jailed for misconduct). On many occasions, police use its power to intrude into the personal details of the people. It is a fact that police officers can gather any information about a person if they have enough reasons to do so. However, it is illegal to intrude into the personal records of a person without a legitimate reason.

“Responding to police misconduct is an essential step towards protecting yourself and your community from future police abuse” (How do I report police misconduct?). Staying away from reporting police misconduct will encourage the police officers to repeat the crime again. When people show more readiness to report police misconduct, police officers may think twice before doing an illegal activity. “