The Role of Media in Reporting Cases of Police Brutality - Essay Example

Police brutality Police brutality is a very difficult crime to persecute because of the fact that it is the law enforcement officers’ duty to enforce the law. The public bestows upon them trust, and further gives them the charge to dispel their duties. Any abuse committed by any officer reflects poorly on the entire institution, and in turn the government. Many are quick to discredit the government in the event of such occurrences, as they call into question the institution’s service delivery. It is for this reason that most police officers will first take a defensive stance when an officer or group of officers is accused of police brutality. Media coverage of alleged police brutality is very damaging to the police force, as it dents its public image even when it later turns out to that the accusations were false. On the other hand, without media coverage and exposure of alleged police brutality there might be no sufficient pressure on government institutions to prosecute their own for their misconduct (Walker, Spohn and Delone 12). The activists, victims, victims’ families and communities where police brutality has been witnessed agree that the media has a tendency of only reporting sensational reports of police brutality and ignoring everyday reports of police brutality. Many activists accuse the media and the police of racial profiling of victims where whites are portrayed, as sympathetic victims and non-whites as aggressors who provoke the police into violence. Most activists and victims accuse the media of relying on police records for their investigative media coverages of victims of police brutality, which undermines the media’s function as an agent of information transparency (Walker, Spohn and Delone 123). Politicians use salient negative events such as police brutality cases to further their political agendas. They do this through staged media events, which are used to manipulate public opinion so that they are perceived as genial, community conscious and ethical. The lack of continual coverage by the media encourages the negative culture of police brutality because there is no pressure to the relevant stakeholders to ensure prosecution and, therefore, many cases are left unresolved. The other problem of police brutality is also very difficult to monitor, as most databases are state specific and not centralized, which makes it more difficult to monitor trends of persecutions and convictions in the whole country. Police Brutality Cases The data for police brutality is hard to come by according to FBI Director James B. Comey in a February speech he gave in 2015 because the reporting of incidents is voluntary, which makes it hard to decipher trends (FBI). He went on to promise that he would start pushing his own department and those of other departments to become more proactive in reporting on brutality cases and officer misconduct. This he says will help remove public mistrust of the police and the growing feelings of anger towards the police. However, stage-managed speeches only served to confirm to the public that the police and indeed the FBI were not taking the matter of police brutality all too seriously. Non–white communities still feel more targeted by the police and this shows in their response to surveys. The activity of policing is a very societal-based activity of the government, and in its function of governance. The police force has policies and regulations in place that dictate procedures and actions of officers (Spark 3). However, sometimes unacceptable actions of the police using unacceptable force, inhumane treatment and violence have been witnessed. There are many social factors that influence it such as population concentrations, police infrastructure, economic levels of a police jurisdiction, capacity, cultural demographic, media, politics, federal legislation and the constitution. Spark argues that although the American Police have the reputation of being one of the most patriotic forces globally, they have also been charged with several accusations of brutality and impartiality based on economic and racial lines (Spark 45). The media plays an important role of reporting and communicating events to the public on any issue that is of interest. This role of reporting of events makes it incumbent on the media to investigate into events and issues of public concern such as police brutality. Though the media may engage in such investigations in order to sensationalize the content for their stations, which in turn raises their viewer polls, reporting serves as a deterrent to negative social behavior. Negative media coverage exerts pressure on all relevant stakeholders who are on the wrong side of the society and the laid down legal regulations. Police brutality is one such subject that has captured the negative attention of the media due to due to public protests occasioned by rapidly rising racial tensions brought on by perceived racial targeting of blacks by police. These protests have taken place in New York, Ferguson, Staten Island and Missouri in, which predominantly black communities have taken to the streets to protest the killing of young black men. According to Gallup, the percentage of whites who perceive racism as a problem has risen to an all-time high of 9 % since 1992 while that of blacks is at 22% (McCarthy 75). The non-whites faith in the police and their capacity to protect them has also dropped in the same proportions. The ratings of the police in terms of ethics and honesty have also taken a downward turn that has seen some of the lowest levels in the nation over the last twenty decades (McCarthy 89). Fox News is encountering condemnation form non-white communities for what is perceived as partial reporting by one of its reporters Howard Kurtz on a police arrest of a black college student In Virginia. The fact that America is deeply polarized where attitudes that concern crime, justice and race is brought out in the book “The Color of Justice” using quantifiable data (Walker, Spohn and Delone 34). Response to Media Coverage There are different views as to why there is a rise in reported police brutality in the mass media. Most police departments attribute this rise to more media coverage, which creates an illusion of a rise in police brutality. Lobbyist support the coverage of such cases by mass media, as they believe the act has the effect of stimulating political and government transparency through creating negative pressure. The government is directly accountable for actions of the police, as it is a part of it as an institution (Walker, Spohn and Delone 75). Politicians run the government and must therefore take responsibility for ensuring that citizens are protected against all forms of internal and external arm through the exercise of political power. The media is a great tool for keeping civil servants and politicians in check through ensuring that public opinion is expressed concerning issues such as police brutality. Media coverage exposes crimes such as police brutality, which would have otherwise gone unaddressed and therefore acting as a force for openness and accountability. The lobbying against police brutality by different interest groups has raised awareness of the problem in the public domain through mass media. This raised interest by the public puts pressure on law the police force to release statements and file investigations into incidents, which have to be released to the public. Legal action against police brutality generates a lot of public interest when covered by the media especially where there is racial profiling of both parties. This is because profiling plays on existing racial tensions generating public interest, which translates into higher ratings for the media. Political personalities, affiliations and groups have a lot of interest in media coverage, as it can either adversely or positively be used in quest for political power (McCarthy 90). Media houses are more apt to cover police brutality cases in areas that are more volatile due to more divided racial politics. The heat generated form these areas make for good ratings caused by a more aroused public interest. The problem with media coverage of most police brutality incidents is that it antagonizes the police, as it is seen as pitting them against the public and creating mistrust. Bad news sells and this is not lost on the media who will mostly go to great lengths to dig out the dirt of a story, which may end up painting the police in very bad light whether or not the allegations were truly supported by facts or not. This can have the effect of making officers not reporting other officers who engage in undesirable behavior such brutality for the simple reason that they wish to avoid negative publicity. Patterns in Police Brutality Coverage The media needs to drum up public interest in order to maintain high ratings, which translate into more money for the media house. This makes it incumbent on media houses to cover stories that generate and maintain public interest through heightened emotional, psychological, ideological contrasts in an effort to entertain. However, simultaneously, the media acts as a deterrent to police brutality by acting as an agent of information transparency. Through media coverage, interviews and investigative features of police brutality incidents. The media uses public opinion to hold government servants and politicians accountable to their actions by providing information through media coverage (Spark 45). The media informs the public of police brutality cases, legal restrictions against such actions, constitutional restrictions and legal actions taken by the government. Most media houses will call in experts from all relevant fields in order to better analyze the situation on a particular incident and interview all stakeholders who help in making the public more informed and better able to put the government and the politicians to account. The amount of time spent on airing an incident will generally depend on the amount of attention the media is able to generate. The need for media to get higher ratings can be used negatively by politicians through stage managed simulations of transparency while all the while covering up cases of police brutality in to save the face of the particular police force in question. They can do this through stage managed press conferences and briefs that condemn police brutality, apologies to the victims and their families/communities while still not taking concrete and decisive action to identify and prosecute perpetrators of police brutality within the force (McCarthy 12). Conclusion The media has helped to highlight many cases of police brutality. Despite this fact that it has been accused of neglecting its duty as an agent of communication transparency in politics and good governance in the government by not reporting more on non-sensational cases of police brutality (McCarthy 87). Cases of police brutality are hard to quantify as many go unreported while many others remain unprosecuted in courts of law. Mass media has been used by activists to drum up public support for reform in the police forces by its coverage of protests, campaigns and press conferences. According to activists, politicians have manipulated the media through planned media coverage, which portrays them as good corporate citizen by identifying with the victims and affected communities. Media houses deny covering only those cases of police brutality that are sensational citing limited resources and airtime. The media holds the government and police force accountable by drumming up public interest which pressures the two bodies acting as check and balance. Politics is greatly influenced by the media as most of the politics seen by the public is that which is created by the media (Spark 53). Media therefore has great power to make or break an institution whether it is the police or the political class through public participation. Works Cited FBI. "FBI." 12 Feburaury 2015. Speeches. 27 April 2015. McCarthy, Justin. Gallup. 31 Dec 2014. 23 April 2015 . Spark, Joseph. Police Vs. The Public : Brutality or Justice. Conceptual Kings, 2014. Walker, Samuel, Cassia Spohn and Miriam Delone. The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity and Crime In America. California: Wadsworth, 2012. Read More