Police Brutality - Annotated Bibliography Example

Police Brutality Grade (April 10, Police Brutality Moore, C. (Apr. 2005). Free cup of coffee. Law Enforcement Technology 32(4), p122. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. Accepting freebies for police officers can in the long-run be very damaging to the overall reputation of the agency they serve. While there might be nothing wrong with the acceptance of freebies, the problem is what exactly the individual or business offering the freebies has as the motive behind the free offers. To the extent that there is no intention of compromising the work of the police officer in the future, then there is nothing wrong with offering or the police officers receiving the freebies. Nevertheless, the appropriateness or the inappropriateness of receiving freebies for the police officers should be well defined and stipulated in their agency’s standard operating procedures. The only major problem that is associated with the police officers from any agency receiving freebies is that; it starts small and then grows with time, where it eventually becomes a culture of the police officers to receive free items, making them unwilling to pay for commodities. The police officers can start by receiving a small free gift such as a cup of coffee or a soft drink, which then grows into wanting to be give even some free items to take to their families. When the freebies culture has grown to this level, there is no doubt that either compromising the work of the police officer or complaints from the business owners will arise, which may damage the reputation of the police agency. Thus, it is only appropriate that a police agency defines its policy for freebies in very open terms, to avoid such bad consequences. Murr, A. (21 Feb. 2005). Back on the Mean Streets; a cop shoots, a black kid falls and L.A. is on edge again. Newsweek, p32. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. Police brutality in the Los Angeles Police Department has caused yet another flare-up, after the shooting and killing of a black boy by a white police officer. The LAPD has had the bad reputation of treating the blacks with much aggression. Thus, the shooting and killing of Devin Brown, a 13-year old eight grader, who was on a car chase with two police officers after being spotted driving erratically at around 4 a.m., has caused the black community another pain. Despite the coming into place of a new police chief in the LAPD, who transferred from the New York police department to come and restore sanity in the LAPD which had not implemented the necessary reforms since 1992, the situation does not seem to be any better. William Bratton was the commissioner of police at New York, and had gained the reputation of building good social community relations between the police and the surrounding community. Even after transferring to LA, his reputation is not bad; since he has made attempts at building goodwill between the police and the LA community, more so, the black community in LA, which perceives the LAPD as racially discriminative. Therefore, the shooting and killing of Devin Brown is a major headache for the police chief, and he is trying all he can do to ensure the situation is brought under control, before another protest locks the city. Taylor, S. Jr. (21 July 2008). The Truth about Torture. Newsweek, p. 36. Criminal Justice Collection. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. The torture of the terrorist suspects at Abu Ghraib, which involved waterboarding and brutalization, is a controversial issue. While there are those who are calling for the criminal investigations and prosecution of those behind the authorization of the methods of obtaining information from suspects, a criminal investigation might even be more destructive. What is required is the pardoning of the administration officials involved in the authorization of such brutal methods of interrogating suspects is the best solution. This is because; once the administrators have been pardoned, it would then be possible to get information without being deterred by barriers such as hired lawyers, who would be defending the administrators in case of a criminal investigation. Pardoning the administrators and establishing a commission of enquiry to investigate the truths surrounding the scandal of torture of the terrorist suspects would be beneficial to the overall American society. This is because, the truth commission will be able to unearth exactly what happened, and then recommend the measures that should be taken to prevent a similar occurrence. A criminal investigation opening into this matter would see the administrators turn into their defensive, and the chances of even getting an apology would be lost. On the other hand, without a criminal investigation into this matter, it would be possible to get the administrators who were involved to issue an apology, and thus amend the already tainted image of America. Wetta, J. A. (9 Mar. 2015). Listening in Ferguson: its not all black and white. America, p. 23+. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. The riot in Ferguson over the shooting of a black by a white police officer is not all about the tussle of racism between the blacks and the whites. From whichever side one perceives the shooting incidence and the subsequent rioting, one is bound to reach a very quick conclusion on who is on the wrong. However, when such an approach is applied, there is nothing close to getting a permanent solution that can be achieved. The secret to getting permanent solution to such a problem is careful listening without taking side and with an open mind, and may be after a period of careful listening; the real answer to the problem can be discerned. The fact that the blacks have been mistreated by the white police officers, especially if such blacks are found on a wealthy neighborhood dominated by the whites, or if such blacks are found in certain business premises like a jewelry store where they are not expected. However, even then, there are more external forces that push the police to such actions. True, there are bad police and good police. On the broader spectrum, there are blacks who do not want to be embroiled in chaos, and there are white police officers who do not want to be caught in the midst of such chaos. Therefore, the solution to the problem causing the riots in Ferguson can only be found, if every party to the problem sits back and listens carefully what the true cause of the problem is. Otherwise, the problem itself is not plainly as black and white. Matthews, O. (Jan. 2015). Putin Cracks Down on Critics, But Winds up Looking Vulnerable; As the Kremlin cracks down on critics, the Russian leaders aura of invincibility is fading. Newsweek, p.16. Web. 13 Apr. 2015. Police brutality is well mastered by the Russian police, who are very well trained with angry protesters and disperse them through creating the fear of arrests and criminal charges. The brutality of the Russian police has not only been directed and the angry protesters who congregate to protest over different incidences of injustice and corruption of the Putin’s regime, but also to the opposition leaders. The Russian government has devised strategies that are applied to indict and charge opposition leaders of different offences, which are tactically orchestrated to have them either jailed or place under house arrest. There is no doubt that these strategies have largely succeeded in the past, but there currently seems to be something that has gone wrong with the Putin’s administration. The value of the Russian currency has consistently declined over the past period when compared to the USA currency, while the interest rates have been increasing. The fall in the prices of oil coupled with the international sanctions over Russia do not seem to be doing any good to the Putin’s regime. With increasing economic uneasiness and the accompanying political unrest, one can only ask what is likely to be the fate of the Putin’s regime. His era can end peacefully or it can end in chaos, as has been characterized by the so often riots and protests in Russia. Read More