Managing the use of Force in Policing - Research Paper Example

Many of the police managers are aware that the police officers who are amongst the most motivated and generate most arrests are those who apply maximum use of force. This seems to generate conflict between the managers who find it hard to discipline those said to be on the lead in combating crime. As managers are aware that their core responsibility is to discourage abuse of force and ensure that the police force apply the principle of minimum force, it is not unusual not to believe that the police can be effective by application of these principles.

The managers, secretly believe that police obtain respect from those who challenge their authority through dominating physically. This paper aims address this issue by looking at the features of the use of force, which are relevant in understanding the risks related to attempts to manage the use of force by the police. Most use of force by police takes place where managers are never present, and normally involve decisions by a police officer that force is justified in such circumstance. This decision normally fall on the members of the lowest level of the organizational structure, and it reflects the routine character of uniformed and plain clothed police officers who are dispersed, and has low visibility from the watch of police management and other regulatory bodies.

Police encounters with individuals who have the potential for the use of force mostly in public settings or in places where the problems with their clientele have come to light (Fyfe, 1986). Other people may be present in addition to suspects, which increases pressure on police to handle the situation in a manner that demonstrate humanity or they risk adverse reaction from the public. In contrast, these encounters with situations by the police force normally take place, though they are public, in settings by virtue of late hours where non-police third party witnesses are not present.

This situation minimizes the pressure and restrains possible influence of adverse reactions from the public. In most cases, the situation could increase possibility of using excessive force and enhance fabrication of the facts of the events by the involved police. In addition, it might deprive the person of the confidence that presence of third party may be a restraint on the police. Police may require the use of force in some situations, when they do occur, tend to give a sense of urgency (Fyfe, 1986).

Such like cases gives the police limited degree of choices as to whether they can get involved in the situation. The situation is said to be involuntary and require the police to use force in terms of ‘split-second decisions’ made on the inducement of the moment. Some of these situations encountered by the police are unanticipated and call for a quick response from the police force. On the same, trainers and analysts have shown concerns over the recent years on the myth of split-second decision by focusing on the decisions made by an officer prior to arrival to the immediate vicinity of the subject (William & Dae-Hoon, 2008).

These decisions can be characterized into five phases: anticipation, initial confrontation on entry, exchange of information and dialogue, final frame decision and then the aftermath. Responses to situations that require the police to use force reflect a series subjective judgment that regards the unfolding situation. The work of police