Police Brutality in America - Report Example

Police Brutality in America Police Brutality in America The need to use force in the performance of duty is a necessary aspect in police work. Few people can question the need for this force as most of the people that police officers have to deal with tend to resist arrest, attack them and on occasion there are also incidences where perpetrators attempt to try and kill them. The key issue in the debate on policy brutality is therefore not a question of whether force should be used, but a matter of just how much force should be applied in the administration of duty, and under what circumstances should this force be applied. This paper will analyze the arguments surrounding police brutality and highlight why police brutality is not necessary in the modern day, American democratic society. Introduction Police brutality has been described by Markwitz & Jones-Brown (2000), as being one of the different types of deviant police behavior. The term is used in describing activities conducted by an officer that are found to largely be quite inconsistent with the organizational and official values they are supposed to uphold. This is in addition to their being in violation of the basic standards of ethical conduct. Police brutality has been defined as the use of legitimate or illegitimate unreasonable force by officers in the accomplishment of lawful purposes resulting in emotion or physical harm on a member of the public. According to Barkan & Bryjak, (2011), the main issue with this and other similar definitions of police brutality is that they all tend to leave a key question hanging in the air: What exactly is reasonable force? The American society has for long entrusted its police force with the undisputable authority to use force in the pursuit of law, justice and order. This authority is at times wrongly glorified in television, books and movies where the police are portrayed as often responding to violent felons by using an equal or greater degree of violence. However, the reality of the use of force by the police is that the use of force by the police is much less dramatic than it is portrayed on these media and the boundaries governing the use of force are much more constrained as compared to how they are defined by popular culture. Although the police do indeed have the much needed discretion to use violence in the event that it is required, it is rather worrying that the potential and actual abuse of this authority has constantly remained as a central problem for various police agencies (Weisburd, 2001). Cases of the often extreme use of force by the police regularly spark major public protests, as was evidenced by video tapes of Rodney King being brutally beaten by the police in Los Angeles. Such incidences are seen to strongly capture public attention in addition to raising questions about the rampant abuse of force by the police in a democratic society. A key factor commonly thought to promote police brutality is that in the United States, there are currently no binding state policies, no hard national standards, or even a basic national database that can be used in accurately tracking details on where, how often and under which circumstances do police tend to use deadly force. This has arguably resulted in the creation of a free-wheeling space within American police policies and law. The country’s law enforcement officers are generally left to set and adhere to their own terms and in the event that their actions are challenged, the courts tend to provide a number of widely inconsistent rulings (Weisburd, 2001). According to a ruling made by the country’s Supreme Court in 1989, the ultimate legal test for excessive use by officers is whether the police officer in question happened to reasonably believe that the degree of force that they used was quite necessary for the successful accomplishment of a legitimate goal. This lack of clear and distinct guidelines as to what exactly is excessive force is seen to be the main barrier to ending the practice police brutality. Dokoupil (2014) cites a former military police officer as stating that excess is essentially in the eyes of the beholder. While in one town the refusal to provide a license might result in the use of soft hands by an officer, the same action might result in an individual being pulled out of the car window or even tasered in what the officer might all judge to be the most appropriate degree of reasonable force. Another factor that is thought to promote police brutality in the United States are the vast changes in tactics, philosophy and organization that are seen to have occurred in the country’s police since its inception four decades ago. The most detrimental of these changes is widely believed to be the transition from the use of the more traditional military and professional models of effective policing to the current use of a number of various creative models for community policing. In seeking to try and work closely with the community in the determination of how best to respond to the problems of disorder and crime, the use of a reasonable degree of force is largely left undefined. According to Andersen & Taylor (2008), studies conducted by sociologists indicate that most cases of police brutality generally tend to involve minority citizens that it is quite normal for the officers involved in these incidences to face no penalties. Research suggests that the police departments headed by African Americans often tend to register a decrease in incidences of police brutality. Interestingly, these departments also register a decrease in crime and an increase in the recruitment of minority officers. However, simply undertaking to increase the number of African American police officers in a department will not necessarily result in an automatic and drastic reduction in crime. Of concern to most sociologists is that of late, it has been noted that police brutality tends to have aspects of racial profiling. Racial profiling by police officers generally involves their use of race as the most vital criterion in their determination of whether they should stop or detain persons such as automobile drivers on the suspicion of committing a crime. In this instance, African Americans often tend to jokingly refer to this offence as driving while Black (DWB) (Andersen & Taylor, 2008). Conclusion and Recommendations For the issues surrounding police brutality to be effective resolved, it is important for the solution to the problem to originate from within the government. This is because when an officer happens to pin on a badge or even wear a uniform, the action results in their becoming visible government representatives. The Obama administration should develop a raft of new policies that will adequately transform the country’s police departments and the strategies they used in the prevention of police brutality. All incidences of police brutality should be regarded as a direct reflection of the government protocols and policies and it is necessary for the government to make a viable and firm stance if there are to be any substantive changes. Another measure that can possibly be used in the elimination of police brutality is advocating for a return to the former military style policing system. This system was equipped with a number of stringent safeguards and bureaucracies that helped in preventing cases of police brutality from occurring. While only a relatively small number of officers within the workforce engage in incidences of brutality, it is still very important to ensure that the vice is adequately curbed as such a practice is a violation of the constitutional rights seen to be granted to Americans under a democratic society as it is irrefutable that police brutality is not necessary in the modern day, American democratic society. References Andersen, L. M. & Taylor, F. H. (2008). Sociology: understanding a diverse society. Belmont, CA : Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Barkan, E. S. & Bryjak, J. G. (2011). Fundamentals of criminal justice : a sociological view. Sudbury, MA : Jones & Bartlett Learning. Doukoupil T. (2014). What is police brutality? Depends on where you live. Retrieved from http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2014/01/14/22293714-what-is-police-brutality -depends-on-where-you-live Markowitz, W. M. & Jones-Brown, D. D. (2000). The system in black and white : exploring the connections between race, crime, and justice. Westport, Conn. : Praeger. Weisburd D. et al. (2001). The Abuse of Police Authority. Retrieved from http://pftest1.drupalgardens.com/sites/pftest1.drupalgardens.com/files/AOAFull.pdf Read More