The Legality of the Use of Force by the Police

The current social and economic conditions in many States are changing. Every year it is possible to get news about rallies, discontent, and even revolutions related to peoples disagreement with the initiatives of the authorities. A deterrent role should be played by the executive branch, represented by the police. In this case, the police often use physical force to suppress criminal acts. A vital issue in this study is the ethics and legality of such measures by the police.

The main tasks of the police, as one of the law enforcement agencies, are to ensure the personal safety of citizens by combating crime. However, the functions of the police are not limited to this. Service in law enforcement agencies is primarily about serving people and helping citizens to protect their rights. Often, the protection of the rights of the majority is carried out through the use of physical force against a perpetrator.

Indeed, under U.S. law, the police may use violence to apprehend and suppress an offender when circumstances so require. I am convinced that this mechanism has a generally positive effect on society. It is essential to understand that todays world is far from a utopia in which every citizen is aware of the responsibility for the actions they take. To suppress evil intentions, the police have a psychological effect on the population by creating an associative links of resistance to the police = physical force. In other words, a responsible citizen will not offer resistance and, consequently, will receive damage.

On a completely different plane is the problem of the legality of physical force. More and more people are questioning the responsibility of a police officer for the deliberate use of force outside the code. Unfortunately, American society is familiar with the tradition of law enforcement officers using power against the public, especially if they are of a different race or ethnicity (Rodriguez 1). In the case of Joe Torres, the police had used violence against a man who had been making noise at a bar and had then taken him to a detention cell instead of a hospital, as required. The man died, and his death caused a public outcry. For this reason, the current policy should be revised towards increasing the responsibility of an officer for the use of force where it is not necessary.

Work Cited

Rodriguez, Melanie Rodriguez. Racial Injustice in Houston, Texas: The Mexican American Mobilization Against the Police Killing of Joe Campos Torres. 2017. Web.

The Issues of Police Violence Analysis

For the purposes of this paper, I have watched multiple videos on childhood development from the Through Your Childs Eyes website. The page is specifically designed to address problems faced by children of different ages in regard to their reading and writing comprehension, attention span, and organizational skills. I have fully inspected the videos on children from the 2nd. 5th and 8th grade. As highlighted by the Davies & Troy book on child development, children aged 5 to 12 learn much through their interactions with their peers. Social skills and the norms of society are learned in this process, allowing children to better develop in the future. This trend is problematic when one understands that kids that have developmental issues are more likely to be ostracized. Because of their inability to concentrate or catch up with others in terms of basic skills, as demonstrated by the videos, such children are often excluded from communities and face harassment. Such treatment can often stunt their development further.

The issues of police violence are becoming more apparent with each passing day. With the rise of the BLM movement in recent months, many are starting to consider either defunding the police in favor of a more beneficial organization or reforming it to better suit the needs of the public. This discussion, however, concerns not only the well-being of black people but also the fates of juvenile delinquents. The Decker article on the ideal Juvenile Justice system talks about the need to promote accountability and prevent instances of reoffending while treating the youth fairy. These goals can be achieved with rehabilitation work instead of imprisonment and policing. A shift towards a system of social workers that can respond to juvenile crime may be more effective as a method of deterrence and rehabilitation. Jensen & Frasers work on juvenile justice also supports change in the current police and justice systems. Historic evidence presented shows that taking concepts of risk, resilience, and developmental science into account is more effective than the tough treatment of juvenile crime.

Quarantine, Its Legal Process and Police Power

The issue of issuing quarantine in a country where personal freedoms are highly regarded puts additional pressure on both state and local medical organizations. The CDC is allowed to detain and examine persons who are under suspicion of carrying dangerous communicable disease according to the laws of the Federal government, namely Title 42 Code of Federal Regulations (Barbisch, Koenig, & Shih, 2015). Furthermore, state authorities also have similar rights to quarantine individuals living in some regions. New York is one of the states, where quarantine can be imposed by the local department of health (Drazen et al., 2014). The authority of the CDC to quarantine people is given to it by the federal law.

Steps to Quarantine

To quarantine Brice, the officials working at the CDC can start by collecting information about the possible contagion of the individual. Then, they can issue a federal order that can be used even if the states laws do not feature similar guidelines. This step allows the CDC to officially protect the individual and other citizens from spreading the infection. The case is brought to the magistrate that determines the necessity of quarantine (Rothstein, 2015). If the magistrate agrees that the individuals situation can endanger the health of others, this person may be forced to stay separated from society for a period no longer than 21 or 30 days. Brice has a right to seek legal counsel to represent his rights in the court. Moreover, he can insist on presenting contradictory evidence. However, he should prove that actions leading to quarantine were unjust.

Public health officials should present a solid case to the court, revealing the reasons of quarantine. Therefore, the contact of the individual in question and the person infected with or carrying the virus should be determined (Barbisch et al., 2015). The time, location, and onset of the situation should be discussed in the court to eliminate any possibility of misunderstanding. If the court finds gathered evidence sufficient, the individual is sent to his apartment or another place for easy patient monitoring. Moreover, a public health necessity should be identified for the issue  if the person does not pose any threat to the population. He or she does not have to be entirely restrained by the quarantine. Thus, the public health agency should also prove that quarantine is the best way and the least restrictive measure to help the patient and the community (Drazen et al., 2014). If the intervention proposed by the officials is too narrow or too broad, the court may not issue an order.

Staying at Home

By asking Brice to stay in his apartment, the CDC is following the general social distancing measures (Rothstein, 2015). A shelter in place can be established in a facility or house, where the individual has a limited level of exposure to other persons. Thus, as Brice lives alone in his apartment, it is reasonable to ask him to stay in his apartment without additional traveling and accommodation services necessary. Moreover, asking an individual to remain at home instead of using other facilities for better monitoring is in adherence to the humane services provided by the center (Rothstein, 2015). Additionally, placing Brice in jail would expose him to other traveling dangers and also greatly undermine his freedoms.

Benefits

Quarantine may have some societal benefits. First of all, people who are potentially infectious may spread the disease if they are not controlled. Therefore, quarantines may help reduce the rate of infected people and deal with an outbreak sooner than before. Second, quarantine may help medical professionals to study the condition during its possible incubation period and learn more about its treatment and management. Containing the infection and stopping the potential spreading of the disease is a significant benefit on its own. While some believe that these benefits may not be substantial, unregulated outbreaks may significantly damage the health of the population (Drazen et al., 2014).

Police Power

Police power is the capacity of the state to regulate some actions and behaviors of citizens in order to protect and maintain safety and health of the community (Rothstein, 2015). The purpose of these powers is to resolve significant problems that may endanger entire populations. In the US, this right of the state to create such policies comes from the Tenth Amendment of the Constitution which specifies that the states can use powers and rights not delegated to other governmental bodies (FindLaw, 2018). The protection of peoples welfare affects all citizens and also adheres to peoples right to safety and security. Other police powers can be justified in a similar way because they cover peoples behaviors that affect others and their well-being. For example, smoking does not impact one person but usually has adverse consequences for people who did not agree to inhale toxins. Therefore, a governmental policy power gives one an opportunity to protect the communitys health.

Compliance

The necessity for Brice to comply with the quarantines rules comes from his social nature as a human being. His ability to protect others and allow them to make their health choices is also a realization of his own personal freedoms and limitations. While it may be true that his personal independence may be restricted for a short period of time, he will be able to participate in the lives of his friends and family soon without the risk of exposing them to something potentially dangerous. One can appeal to the mans empathy and understanding of the shared responsibility that Brice has as a citizen of the US.

References

Barbisch, D., Koenig, K. L., & Shih, F. Y. (2015). Is there a case for quarantine? Perspectives from SARS to Ebola. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 9(5), 547-553.

Drazen, J. M., Kanapathipillai, R., Campion, E. W., Rubin, E. J., Hammer, S. M., Morrissey, S., & Baden, L. R. (2014). Ebola and quarantine. The New England Journal of Medicine 2014(371), 2029-2030.

FindLaw. (2018). . Web.

Rothstein, M. A. (2015). From SARS to Ebola: Legal and ethical considerations for modern quarantine. Indiana Health Law Review, 12, 227-280.

Media Impact on the Police Public Image

Introduction

The perception of the public about police has always been negative. Various factors determine this perception. Even though the studies indicate mixed results about police use and the application of its powers, how the public perceives the police is primarily influenced by the media (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007). Dowler and Zawilskis 2007 study indicated that the media have a strong influence on how the public perceives the police force.

According to them, the public largely borrows the crime and justice knowledge from the media. Besides, the media have continuously depicted the police as a brutal force that ineffectively and inappropriately utilizes its powers. As a result, the negative image of the police has been perpetuated in the public mind (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007). The negative portrayal of the police was witnessed in the recent coverage of Kevin Spratt Taser Affair in which the police brutality on the minority group contributed to the negative perception.

The powers of the police have also been portrayed as being invariably used (Brown & Evans, 2009; Prenzler et al., 2010). The police have been seen overstepping their authority and breaking the law to make arrests in indigenous communities, on the contrary, it has been acting fairly in the white communities (Prenzler et al., 2010). Such forms of discrimination in the application of powers have greatly contributed to the negative perception of the police in the indigenous communities.

This reason also gives an explanation why the majority of people do not approve of the addition of police powers. In fact, the recent amendments on the arrest laws to increase the police powers and expand the purpose of the arrests sparked mixed reactions. Most of the practitioners and professionals argued that such amendments would result in increased chances of police breaking the rules to make arrests (Santas & McMahon, 2014; Smith, 2010; Weitzer & Tuch, 2005).

Moreover, the possibilities of directing these new powers towards the minority groups are considerably high, given their current statistics of crime rates (Santas & McMahon, 2014; Smith, 2010). Consequently, the poor relationship between the police and the public, particularly the minority groups, would go from bad to worse.

Even though the police powers have been inappropriately applied, the positive relationship between the police and the public can be enhanced (Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). Through appropriate strategies for community policing, improved open communications, professional conduct, and meeting the public expectations can be applied to improve the relationship between the communities and the police.

Police, community, and media

The media primarily influences how the public perceives the police. Studies indicate that reports related to police misconduct significantly affect the public perception of the police (Bartsch & Cheurprakobkit, 2004). The indication is that the media play a significant role in shaping public opinion concerning the use and misuse of the police force. The reason is that the media seldom report the better conducts and good actions that the police force renders to the communities. Instead, the media concentrates on the police excesses and brutality, which creates a negative perception of the police by the public.

While the professionals and practitioners agree that media play a critical role in influencing the public opinion concerning the police force, researches indicate that the quality of the contact between the police force and the citizens also shapes the perception and attitudes of the communities towards the police service. Bartsch and Cheurprakobkit 2004; Brown & Benedict 2002; Edwards 2005; Rosenbaum et al., 2005; Weitzer and Tuch 2005 have argued that the communities will be satisfied with the policing services only when the police have a good relationship with the communities.

Good relationships are often enhanced through close contacts, which are normally initiated by the police and perpetuated by their proper conduct (Bartsch & Cheurprakobkit, 2004). Various studies indicate that the majority of citizens come into contact with the police only during crime situations or traffic accidents particularly when they are part of the investigations (Edwards, 2005; Rosenbaum et al., 2005; Weitzer and Tuch, 2005).

Skogan 2006 and Edwards 2005 have argued that such situations do not result in a favourable view of the police by the public. Besides, it gives room for the media to perpetuate their analytical viewpoint into the public about the police (Edwards, 2005; Skogan, 2006). Further, these contacts are initiated by the police. In fact, studies indicate that most of the police-initiated communications result in public dissatisfaction compared with community-initiated encounters (Edwards 2005; Rosenbaum et al. 2005; Miller & Davis 2008).

Recent studies also indicate that the negative perception of the communities about the police result from the reported experiences of other people (Rosenbaum et al., 2005; Miller & Davis, 2008; Skogan, 2006; Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). While most people are not aware of the behaviour of the police force in other states, the media reports on various incidents have a strong influence in changing the viewpoint of the local communities.

However, sharing experiences among the community members play a significant role in shaping the public opinion of the police. Weitzer and Tuch 2005; Roberts and Hough 2005 indicated that shared experiences influence the perceptions of the police. Miller and Davis 2008; Rosenbaum et al., 2005 and Weitzer Tuch 2005 have termed these experiences vicarious experiences. Generally, how the public perceives the police depends on many factors. However, such perceptions are greatly influenced by the media.

The Police Powers

Recent studies indicate that the public perceives the police as having significant authority and powers, which are generally being abused. Davids 2008 and Edwards 2005 argued that these policing attributes could result in a series of situations where police misconduct and corruption could occur. Davids 2008 further argued that in severe situations, the attributes can subdue an individuals rights, resulting in torture and discrimination.

Such actions of the police have devastating effects on the public. For instance, the reports about torture during detention have eroded the public confidence and cooperation with the police. The reported police brutalities have an adverse effect on crime prevention efforts as well as the overall effectiveness of the police (Brown & Benedict 2002; Frank, Smith & Novak, 2005; Rosenbaum et al., 2005).

A recent survey conducted on the public about police powers indicated that the police have significant powers to do their job (Brown & Evans, 2009; Jang, Joo & Zhao, 2010; Prenzleret al., 2010). When asked whether the police should be given additional powers, most of the respondents disagreed significantly (Prenzleret al., 2010; Jang, Joo & Zhao, 2010). The indication is that most people perceive the police force as having enough powers to perform their duties (Davids, 2008).

Besides, the majority of the respondents argue that the police are invariably using their powers (Brown & Evans, 2009). The police have been seen to be lenient towards the white communities while they are brutal to indigenous communities (Brown & Evans, 2009; Prenzleret al., 2010). The variability in the exercise of powers has also caused the differences in which societies perceive the police (Prenzleret al., 2010). While the whites perceive the police as fair in their actions, the indigenous communities have a negative attitude and unpleasant relationship with the police (Miller & Davis, 2008).

Using these studies, the powers given to the police should be curtailed. Contrary to the common opinion, the police have been given additional powers by the New South Wales parliament. The amendment to the arrest laws in New South Wales provided significant powers of arrest and the reasons for which the arrest have to be made (Santas & McMahon, 2014). Such additional powers would adversely affect the police relationship with the public, particularly the indigenous communities (Santas & McMahon, 2014).

Most importantly, such powers could easily be abused and even non-offenders can be arrested (Smith, 2010; Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). Santas and McMahon 2014 argued that there is a paradigm shift in the purpose of arrest as the only remaining option of bringing charges against the criminal offender to the first option to increase the rate of arrests. The possibilities of directing these new powers towards the minority groups are considerably high given their current statistics of crime rates. Besides, such powers would also increase the chances of police breaking the rules to make arrests (Santas & McMahon, 2014; Smith, 2010; Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). Consequently, the relationship between the police and the public particularly the indigenous communities would be eroded (Santas & McMahon, 2014).

The concept  the Marxist Theory

The Marxist approach to crime can be used to argue that the law that allows the police excesses is produced by the powerful in society at the expense of the poor and powerless. The general argument is that individuals with increased control and share of the capital often have greater access to physical compulsion (Benard, Snipes & Gerould, 2010; Petrocelli, Piquero & Smith, 2003). The amendment to the arrest laws in New South Wales is one of the direct circumstances in which the people with the means control the poor and the vulnerable. In fact, the amendments were made to the laws without wider consultations.

Santas and McMahon 2014 argued that the amendments were flawed and were passed without the formal public consultation process within the shortest time possible. The range of circumstances in which the arrests could be made was extended in the act making the majority among the vulnerable communities be more perceptible to arrests and detention. The intent and the haste in which the amendments were passed are clear indications of how easily could the powerful perpetuate the police brutality on the vulnerable communities, which result in increased negative perception of the police.

From the actions of the NSW parliament, it could easily be argued that misdemeanours and deviance is a designation of the ruling class as a means of controlling the poor or the subjects. Non-compliance to the set rules would result in punishment. The institution of the police is simply used to enforce the set rules and ensure compliance (Burke, 2009; Benard, Snipes & Gerould, 2010; Brown & Benedict, 2002). According to the Marxist approach, white collar crimes are normally not covered in most of the laws. In fact, Santas and McMahon 2014 observed that the amendments made to the arrest laws expanded on the petty crimes, which are normally committed by the poor in the communities.

The arrests are expanded to include arrests made on serious and violent offences. Marxists argue that the actions of the police are controlled by differences in the social classes. In other words, the social classes are monitored differently, wherein the lower class is closely monitored due to the perception that the possibility of criminal activities is prominent (Burke, 2009; Benard, Snipes & Gerould, 2010; Brown & Benedict, 2002). According to this approach, numerous laws are enacted to protect the ruling class in capitalist societies.

The criminal legislation in several western societies and countries that follow their ideologies give prominence to the laws that protect the political class and the rich (Brown & Benedict, 2002). The legislations that give powers to the police in NSW are not an exception to these rules. These attributes are not only noticeable in this new legislation but also in the police conduct and how the indigenous communities have been treated over the past years.

According to Santas and McMahon 2014, the new legislation will negatively impact the indigenous and vulnerable people within the larger society. The intention of the NSW parliament to enlarge arrest powers to prevent crime may have no deliberate effects on the policy of the criminal justice system. The key policy areas were not taken into consideration during the reform process. As such, the implementation process should be monitored closely to identify the potential impacts of the new legislation. Santas and McMahon 2014 argued that the new arrest laws would have a significant effect on the indigenous people and the vulnerable members of the society such as the mentally challenged.

Even though it is recommended that the arrests should be the last resort as a means of reducing the appalling number of aboriginal people in the criminal justice system, the number of indigenous people being arrested disproportionately is increasingly high concerning adults and children (Santas & McMahon, 2014). The police have not used any alternatives in dealing with petty offences and have resorted to arrests. The consequence is increased police assaults, resistance arrests and use of offensive language by the indigenous people (Santas & McMahon, 2014). The new legislation is likely to continue widening this gap and perhaps spreading to include other groups of people particularly the mentally ill (Santas & McMahon 2014).

Media influences

Media play a significant role in shaping the public attitude towards the police and the wider criminal justice system (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007). Studies that have been conducted indicate mixed results concerning the public perception of the police (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007). The indifference is largely explained by the invariable treatment of the police to different classes of society (Patrocelli, Piquero & Smith, 2003).

In New South Wales, for instance, how the police treat the white majority differs from the way the police is dealing with the aboriginals. Cross-sectional studies indicated that the white majority gives positive responses to the police conduct while negative responses would be from the indigenous people. Similar results are likely to be indicated when the study is conducted across the social classes. However, the overall results indicate sparing approval of the police conduct.

While these studies simply focus on the general perception of the public towards the police, few studies have been conducted in the manner in which the media influences this perception. Dowler and Zawilski 2007 indicated that the media have a strong influence on how the public perceives the police. The reason is that the media provide increased information concerning crime and justice (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007). In fact, how the media portray the police has a greater impact on the public. However, few pieces of research have focused on the attitudes of the public on police misconduct and discrimination as portrayed by any form of media.

The social image of the police

Generally, the media portrayal of the police plays a significant role in shaping how they are viewed or perceived by the larger audience (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007). However, studies indicate conflicting results on the manner in which the public perceives the police due to media coverage. The conflicting results are closely associated with the media depiction of the police. In other words, the favourable results are positively associated with the positive depiction of the media (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007).

Similarly, the negative depiction is closely associated with the negative depiction of the police by the media. Considering the frequency at which the police have been depicted as ineffective and incompetent, the number in both the print and broadcast media is overwhelming (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007). The media rarely portray the police as a competent institution even in situations where the police are performing. The negative portrayal of the police is also reflected in the public perception of the police (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007).

The new social media have not been left behind in depicting the police negatively (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007). In fact, the police have been portrayed in social media as evil heroes who chase innocent souls. Studies indicate that negative attributes of the police including rogue and corrupt cops normally go viral on social media (Brown & Benedict 2002; Frank, Smith & Novak, 2005; Rosenbaum et al., 2005). Some researchers indicate that police misconduct becomes prominent in the media simply because they make news. Generally, the social perception of the police is negative and the media pay close attention to the negative attributes of the police force (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007).

However, the police have attempted to improve their public image through reality shows and current social media networking (Patrocelli, Piquero & Smith, 2003). In fact, reality shows have proved to be successful in increasing public confidence in the police. Nevertheless, factors such as race and social class still downplay these efforts. Studies indicate that race and social class feature prominently in reality shows and have greater influence in the manner the public perceives the police (Brown & Benedict 2002; Frank, Smith & Novak, 2005; Rosenbaum et al., 2005).

The contrary opinions on police conduct are often displayed between the white viewers and the indigenous people. While the white opinions would be positive, the indigenous would still have negative attitudes towards the police (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007). The studies indicate that the perception of the police is not only influenced by the media, but also by other factors. Generally, the continued negative portrayals of the police by the media have a spurious effect on the public attitude on the police (Dowler & Zawilski, 2007).

Case study: Kevin Spratt Taser Affair

The negative media portrayal of the police could be observed in Kevin Spratt Taser Affair. In fact, the case rekindled the long debate on police brutality, misuse of its powers and violations of the rights of the indigenous people. In addition to that, the case also resulted in intense hatred towards police by the aboriginal community. The case also portrayed the impact of highly published events on the public attitude towards the police.

Hence, the case presented an example of the manner in which negative portrayal of the police by the media has resulted in public mistrust. The media coverage on police brutality or corrupt dealings increased the negative attitude of the public towards the police. The constant exposure and revelations of what transpired during the incident increased the public belief in the frequency of police brutality particularly among the indigenous Australians. Even though the white majority was affected, the aboriginal groups were greatly influenced. In addition, the continued coverage of the incident increased the perception of police biased treatment towards the minority Australians.

Concept: Labeling theory

While looking at the incident from a different perspective, the police misconduct could be explained through the labelling theory. The theory postulates that the behaviour and actions of an individual can be determined by the way they are generally perceived (Burke, 2009; Benard, Snipes & Gerould, 2010; Brown & Benedict, 2002). The labelling theory argues that the behaviours are deviant because they are labelled in such a way by society. Hence, the people who are responsible for the conformity of conduct within society construe these behaviours as deviant and then append them to individuals (Burke, 2009; Benard, Snipes & Gerould, 2010; Brown & Benedict, 2002).

Powerful individuals in society including the politicians and police are known to impose the most significant characteristics on minorities or less fortunate individuals in the society (Burke, 2009; Benard, Snipes & Gerould, 2010; Brown & Benedict, 2002). The labelling processes have occurred not only among the Australian indigenous groups but also in minority groups around the globe. In fact, minority groups have been labelled delinquent and criminal offenders.

The actions in the case of Kevin Spratt Taser Affair found its roots in the prior labelling process where the police have labelled the indigenous Australians as criminals even in situations where there are no criminal activities. The perception of the police on the aboriginal group has always been negative. As a result, Spratt could have been tortured on the pretext that he showed criminal intent behaviour. In fact, without investigating whether Spratt committed the crime, the police made conclusions based on the general perception of the indigenous groups.

Similarly, the indigenous groups have also labelled the police as brutal and demeaning. As a result, the individuals react with a similar force whenever attacked by the police. The reason explains why Spratt could have resisted the police arrests and aggression towards the police. The incidence in the case is due to the prior demonstration of behaviour without determining the actual occurrence of the incidence. The police behaviour indicated in the incident emanates from the prior judgment of the individual even if the individual was not escaping the police arrest or committed the crime.

The fact that Spratt had in mind that the encounter would result in police brutality, his reactions as indicated in the incident was normal. The incident indicates a case where many innocent people end up being brutalized by the police simply because they belong to a certain group of people. Besides, the concept indicates how the police perceive a certain group of individuals, which have resulted in a long-term negative relationship with the individuals.

Creating public confidence in the police in future

Even though most studies indicate a continued negative relationship between the police and the police, creating public confidence in the concept of policing can still be attained (Santas & McMahon, 2014; Smith, 2010; Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). In fact, studies indicate models that have proved to be effective in increasing the public confidence in the police (Burke, 2009; Benard, Snipes & Gerould, 2010; Brown & Benedict, 2002).

Community policing is one of the models that have been applied by various police departments to enhance the relationship between the police and the public. Community policing is a situation where the communities are allowed to monitor the criminal activities and trends among the members and report to the police (Bartsch & Cheurprakobkit 2004; Edwards 2005; Rosenbaum et al. 2005).

In certain circumstances, the police appoint one of the community members to act as a point man who reports all the criminal intents (Santas & McMahon, 2014; Smith, 2010; Weitzer & Tuch, 2005). Even though the model has proved to be effective, it still has various shortcomings. In fact, the model has been observed to be effective in the circumstances where there is open communication between the police and the community (Bartsch & Cheurprakobkit 2004; Edwards 2005; Rosenbaum et al. 2005). Besides, the model can only work where there is trust between the community and the police.

From the shortcomings of the model, it could easily be deduced that communication between the public and the police play a significant role in improving the confidence and good relationship between the public and the police (Burke, 2009; Benard, Snipes & Gerould, 2010; Brown & Benedict, 2002). Open communication must be initiated by the police first. In addition to open communication, the police must be seen to be acting professionally and to the expectations of the public. The police must understand the expectations of the society they are serving and act to fulfil those expectations (Santas & McMahon, 2014; Smith, 2010; Weitzer & Tuch, 2005).

Community policing can be very effective with open communications combined with the professional conduct of the police force (Burke, 2009; Benard, Snipes & Gerould, 2010; Brown & Benedict, 2002). To improve the effectiveness of community policing, the police must reduce the conflicting interests, misconduct, and negative perceptions they have on certain groups or individuals (Santas & McMahon, 2014; Smith, 2010; Weitzer & Tuch, 2005).

Conclusion

As indicated in various studies, the public perception of the police has always been negative. Besides the media, various factors have also been found to have a greater influence on the public attitude towards the police. However, the media primarily influences the manner in which the public perceives the police. In fact, the media have a strong influence because of the fact that the public largely borrows the crime and justice knowledge from the media. Further, the media have continuously depicted the police as ineffective and incompetent, creating a negative image of the police. It is, therefore, true that the public will always perceive the police in the same manner in which they are portrayed by the media. As a result, the public will have a negative attitude toward the police.

The contact attributes between the police and the public have also been found to be significant. In fact, the quality of the contact between the police force and the citizen also shape the perception and attitudes of the communities towards the police service. In addition, the satisfaction of the communities on the services the police offer depend on the nature of the relationship the police have with the communities. Studies also indicate that the negative perception the communities have of the police result from the reported experiences of others.

To improve the relationship, there is a need on the part of the police to improve communications and professional conduct. Communication between the public and the public play a significant role in improving the confidence and good relationship between the public and the police. The police must first initiate the communication. Also, the police must be seen to be acting professionally and to the expectations of the public.

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Police Brutality and Impunity for Police Violence

Abstract

The overall purpose of this paper is to explore the topic of police brutality and police impunity as it is discussed in modern studies. The author of the paper reviews and summarizes ten articles that cover different aspects of the topic, ranging from the demographic characteristics of police brutality survivors/victims to the contributions of policies to police impunity. Regarding the key findings, police brutality remains a serious concern in the United States in terms of health, racial equality, and citizens preparedness to report crimes. Despite their known harmful effects and substantial legal expenses on police misconduct cases, the use of excessive force and deaths after the violation of police protocols produce felony convictions very rarely. Internal issues, such as unjust promotion practices and the limitations of the use of force policies, can be related to the impunity crisis.

Introduction

Police violence is a phenomenon that demonstrates the incongruity of the key goals of police forces, such as ensuring safer communities, and the actual behaviors of some police officers. The purpose of this paper is to explore current knowledge about police brutality. The goals and objectives include reviewing current scholarly studies to single out the key trends and findings in police brutality research. Despite large expenditures and tremendous consequences for crime prevention, health, and racial equality, police brutality incidents usually remain unpunished, which is probably due to poor use of force policies.

Literature Review

Topic Overview

The paper reviews research focused on the topic of police brutality with special attention to the discussions of impunity for unjustified violence against suspects. The topic is multidimensional and involves questions regarding the existence and extent of police impunity. Due to commonly reported links between police violence and race-based prejudice, the demographic characteristics of police violence survivors should also be explored (Nascimento, 2018). Other elements of the topic are the roots of the culture of police impunity (Bleakley, 2019; Losier, 2017). The effects of unpunished police brutality on local communities and the entire criminal justice system are also emphasized in the modern research literature (Lumsden, 2017). Common citizens perceptions of the prevalence of unpunished police violence can be costly for crime prevention due to discouraging people from reporting crimes (Gingerich & Oliveros, 2018).

The definitions of police brutality and impunity are critical for understanding the topic. Modern authors regard impunity as a pattern of police torture and the absence of investigation and prosecution of those committing human rights abuses (Losier, 2017, p. 1056). The terms police brutality and police violence are commonly used interchangeably. However, according to some researchers, the second option emphasizes the systemic nature of inappropriate treatment (Obasogie & Newman, 2017). Sometimes, it is broadly understood as any situation where public officials use the power invested in them by law to unlawfully kill others and cause non-lethal injuries (Lumsden, 2017, p. 142). Some authors use the detailed definition of violence formulated by the World Health Organization to define actions that may be considered as police violence. It explains violence as the intentional use of physical force/power& that results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation (Obasogie & Newman, 2017, p. 279). In general, there are no meaningful inconsistencies between the definitions of the terms in the selected sources.

Police Brutality in Current Research

Multiple areas, including economics and public health, are discussed within the topic since police brutality and impunity are regarded as prominent and multidimensional issues. According to estimates, about one in one thousand killings by police produce felony convictions (Zimring, 2020). Police violence incurs enormous financial and moral costs for survivors, victims, and their families. It may include the risks of developing disabling post-traumatic stress disorder, especially in minorities, which makes police brutality a public health concern (Lumsden, 2017). Other costs commonly cited by scholars include families suffering, community fragmentation, and the destruction of family networks (Lumsden, 2017). Moreover, U.S. states spend millions of dollars on the processing of police violence claims. For instance, between 2004 and 2014, Chicago spent $521 million on investigations and improvement measures (Lumsden, 2017). Despite large expenditures, as per Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the cases of subsequent investigations following the incidents of violence are relatively rare, and many of the accused officers are acquitted (Nascimento, 2018). Therefore, police brutality cases often go unpunished and result in financial losses and long-term mental health effects.

The use of excessive force and impunity are often explored with attention to their large-scale psychological effects and social relationships. There are statements that victims public image and peoples tendency to evaluate cases based on personal preferences may contribute to the culture of impunity. Thus, it is suggested that law enforcement professionals are sure that they will receive public support if using excessive force against suspects that pose little threat in becoming attractive plaintiffs (Lumsden, 2017, p. 181). Instead of punishment, one police officer even received a raise after using excessive force against Eric Garner and killing the man (Lumsden, 2017). Also, the fear of unpunished police brutality may create a climate of distrust and lawlessness among citizens. In their survey of more than 4.000 individuals, Gingerich and Oliveros (2018) report a negative correlation between witnessing police violence and the willingness to report crimes. Using the data on police-related 911 calls, Desmond et al. (2016) demonstrate that crime reporting by citizens, especially racial minorities, decreases due to exposure to news about police violence. In summary, the effects of police misconduct and impunity on society present a promising research area.

One common issue that scholars report is the role of race as a risk factor for experiencing police violence. According to the United Nations, the analysis of all killings committed by U.S. police officers in 2015 shows that Black males represent a grossly disproportionate number of these victims (Nascimento, 2018, p. 64). Other studies demonstrate that young black men are between two and twenty-one times more likely to become police brutality victims compared to their White peers (Gilbert & Ray, 2016; Hogue, 2020). However, not all published statistical reports support this popular truth. Thus, the study by Harvard University based on the data from The Stop, Question, and Frisk program in New York reports no detectable racial differences in the use of lethal force (Nascimento, 2018, p. 68). At the same time, there is consensus regarding Black suspects elevated risks of encountering non-lethal police violence (Nascimento, 2018). Therefore, there are differences in the estimates of the risks of police violence for racial minorities, but the majority of modern studies report being a Black man as a risk factor.

The role of policy use in promoting impunity is another prominent issue. For example, Losier (2017) mentions unfair promotional policies at Chicago Police Department among the potential contributors to impunity culture. Even well-developed policies do not always promote proportionate punishment; for instance, the officer who killed Robert Russ in 1999 as a result of protocol violations only received a two-week suspension from work (Bleakley, 2019). The so-called use of force policies offer valuable information about the potential roots of impunity. Based on a thematic analysis of such policies in twenty U.S. cities, only 50% of them include thorough discussions of protective approaches, including de-escalation efforts and the use of force continuum (Obasogie & Newman, 2017). Notably, only 25-30% of the analyzed policies emphasize proportionality to resistance and require police officers to intervene when their colleagues use excessive force (Obasogie & Newman, 2017). Worse still, only 35% of the policies contain provisions to focus on police officers obligation to report the use of excessive force by others in the profession (Obasogie & Newman, 2017). Therefore, the effectiveness of current police department practices for the prevention of police brutality is questionable.

Methodologies Used in Academic Articles

The articles vary in terms of the methodological approaches to studying police brutality and the lack of punishment for the abuse of power. Many articles, including those by Gilbert and Ray (2016), Hogue (2020), Lumsden (2017), and Zimring (2020), use non-systematic literature reviews based on scholarly sources and legal documents. In two studies, non-systematic reviews are combined with other qualitative approaches. This includes the case study method in Nascimento (2018) and a thematic analysis of policies regarding the use of force in Obasogie and Newman (2017). Losier (2017) and Bleakley (2019) make use of the case study method. The remaining two studies demonstrate the use of the quasi-experimental time-series analysis (Desmond et al., 2016) and the survey method (Gingerich & Oliveros, 2018). The majority of the authors, except for Gingerich and Oliveros (2018), use unobtrusive measures. Their conclusions are based on the analysis of data retrieved from previously published studies, well-known legal cases, and datasets that feature crime reporting patterns and statistics.

The geographic locations and the properties of research samples also shed light on popular approaches to studying police brutality. In nine articles, the authors explore police brutality in the United States, and six of them mainly discuss country-wide tendencies, whereas three articles focus on particular states. Thus, Desmond et al. (2016) use data from Milwaukee, WI, whereas Bleakley (2019) and Losier (2017) explore controversies in Chicago, IL. The only article with obtrusive methods provides little information on the participants and only reports their age (older than eighteen) (Gingerich & Oliveros, 2018). In the articles exploring specific police brutality victims, the victims (Michael Brown, Robert Russ, Fredrick Hampton, Mark Clark, Eric Garner, Frank Jude Jr., etc.) are African-American men younger than thirty (Bleakley, 2019; Nascimento, 2018). Desmond et al. (2016) explore the effect of police brutality cases on crime reporting by analyzing 911 calls from predominantly White and predominantly Black communities. The remaining studies mainly review the sources that focus on police violence against Black men.

Literature Search Methodology

The information comes from ten articles found with the help of easily accessible database search tools, such as JSTOR and Google Scholar. Both databases were equally helpful and provided very similar search results. However, the JSTOR tool was easier to navigate due to advanced search settings, including the opportunity to select the subjects of interest. In the absence of advanced search settings, I sorted Google Scholar search results by relevance to the key terms and manually checked the most relevant findings to ensure the literatures scholarly nature. To conduct a search, I applied a series of key terms aside from activating settings related to subjects, publication date (not older than five years), and source type (journal). Among them were the following terms: police brutality, police violence, police killings, police impunity, police violence statistics, abuse of police power, and unpunished police brutality.

The articles were published in different international and local scientific journals by scholars from dissimilar fields. Not all of these journals focus solely on criminology issues, and the sources covering topics at the intersection of politics, law, sociology, history, and medicine are present. One problem that I ran into was that the discussions of police impunity were more common in non-scholarly sources, including opinionated newspaper articles. As for the scholars demographics, the authors of the selected studies are university lecturers and associate professors working for educational institutions in the United States and the United Kingdom. The authors of the included articles have degrees in Criminal Justice, Political Sciences, Sociology, and Public Health. Their research interests include police brutality and adjacent topics, for instance, urban criminology, police corruption, race and racial prejudice, poverty, clientelism, and similar problems.

Discussion

Regarding its state, the topic has been researched from multiple viewpoints. The state of knowledge supports the development of new approaches to increasing police officers accountability for violent actions. It might include public health engagement, the reforms of current use of force policies, and civilian oversight of law enforcement (Losier, 2017; Obasogie & Newman, 2017). Based on the available knowledge about impunity, its influences, and potential contributing factors, many authors support the implementation of intersectionality frameworks to fill in the remaining research gaps and promote reductions in unpunished police brutality. Additionally, research findings that establish ethnicity/race-based prejudice as important elements of unpunished police violence are pervasive. These conclusions may find practical use in newer, more effective police department workforce diversification programs (Bleakly, 2019; Losier, 2017). Current research offers multiple suggestions regarding the roots of unpunished use of excessive force, which is likely to make the process of strategy development time-consuming.

The key limitations include the lack of unity in approaches to research and the approximate nature of statistics on police violence incidents that do not cause consequences. The estimates of risks of encountering police brutality among different races vary depending on the source (Gilbert & Ray, 2016; Hogue, 2020; Nascimento, 2018). The difference probably points to the need for the unification of statistical research methodologies applied in such studies. The limited opportunity to confirm and replicate some conclusions is another prominent limitation. For instance, it is not perfectly clear whether the survey method and the thin-slicing technique advance criminology research and lead to credible conclusions about police brutality (Bleakley, 2019; Gingerich & Oliveros, 2018). Also, the inability to accurately assess the number of police violence incidents with non-serious health consequences that remain unreported might limit societys understanding of the police impunity problem. Hopefully, new attempts to unify approaches to data collection and analysis will pave the way towards practical improvement.

Conclusion

Police violence and the lack of accountability remain critical issues today. Despite the effects of using excessive force against citizens, including interracial mistrust, the killings of suspects rarely result in felony charges against police officers. The exact causes of low persecution rates are yet to be studied, but modern authors see the limitations of the use of force policies and unfair promotion practices as potential contributors to the culture of impunity.

References

Bleakley, P. (2019). A thin-slice of institutionalised police brutality: A tradition of excessive force in the Chicago Police Department. Criminal Law Forum, 30(4), 425-449.

Desmond, M., Papachristos, A. V., & Kirk, D. S. (2016). Police violence and citizen crime reporting in the black community. American Sociological Review, 81(5), 857-876.

Gilbert, K. L., & Ray, R. (2016). Why police kill black males with impunity: Applying public health critical race praxis (PHCRP) to address the determinants of policing behaviors and justifiable homicides in the USA. Journal of Urban Health, 93(1), 122-140.

Gingerich, D. W., & Oliveros, V. (2018). Police violence and the underreporting of crime. Economics & Politics, 30(1), 78-105.

Hogue, K. M. (2020). When an officer kills: Turning legal police conduct into illegal police misconduct. Texas Law Review, 98(3), 601-624.

Losier, T. (2017). The public does not believe the police can police themselves: The Mayoral Administration of Harold Washington and the problem of police impunity. Journal of Urban History, 46(5), 1050-1065.

Lumsden, E. (2017). How much is police brutality costing America. University of Hawaii Law Review, 40, 142-201.

Nascimento, I. (2018). Hands up, dont shoot: The use of deadly force by police against racial minorities in the United States. U.C. Davis Journal of International Law & Policy, 24, 63-97.

Obasogie, O. K., & Newman, Z. (2017). Police violence, use of force policies, and public health. American Journal of Law & Medicine, 43(2-3), 279-295.

Zimring, F. E. (2020). Police killings as a problem of governance. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 687(1), 114123.

Racist Actions of the American Police Force in The Black and the Blue by Matthew Horace

In the history of American legal proceedings, there are many cases where the police force has been used against minorities. Unfortunately, this keeps occurring to this day, although in many respects, it contradicts the legislation of the state. Many shreds of evidence are supporting this claim; in particular, they can be found in the literature. A striking example is a book The Black and the Blue, where Matthew Horace gives testimony from behind the blue wall of secrecy and paints a society where police molest citizens (Horace 4). Thus, modern American society is facing a severe problem of racism among authorities.

Reading this book, people can see many disadvantages and the racist actions of the American police: they use their power to oppress individuals and can even affect their family life. For instance, in the story, the father, Bobby, acting under the pressure of the authorities, brutalizes his family to the point of pushing his wife and son to walk away. Later on, the son misses his father and has to live with him. The family is dismantled, and everyone lives in regret. It should be avoided, and reconciliation requires truthful and fair treatment of all citizens. Such an image of the situation in the country reflects the real state of affairs. Indeed, the modern American police system can be overly violent, which can lead to disastrous consequences such as the destruction of families.

Individuals often claim to be mistreated by the police just because of their skin color, as in the mentioned novel. This is especially noted in states containing a high number of immigrants. They are also treated with malice in America because some native-born people believe that foreigners have come to steal their opportunities. However, this contradicts the claimed American human rights: according to the Constitution, each citizen of the U.S. has the right to live freely, express themselves, and feel protected. In reality, often people come to the U.S. without any evil or harmful intent. However, Horace states that racism is often considered by police officers as something usual. Moreover, it can be not only in law enforcement but also in education, work, medicine, and other areas (Holmes et al. 786). Thus, in many situations, there are notable immeasurable xenophobic issues.

Police officers sometimes act beyond their jurisdiction when handling minorities. According to Horace, the police force has been accused of applying double standards in more than one situation. Police brutality emanates from rogue officers who have allowed themselves to be used by the system to advance its ill-treatment of the less privileged minorities. Hence, there are many racism issues in the U.S. police system that must be eradicated. Brutality and victimization of immigrants are something that should be condemned by all means possible.

Undoubtedly, the whole American society should overcome racism and similar problems through joint efforts. Each citizen of the U.S. should feel safe and protected, and the police play a critical role in this. They have to be an example for others and should act accordingly, without taking racist or other harmful actions. However, even small steps towards the goal, a fruitful and united society, can be useful. Therefore, police officers should be mindful of their actions and be patient and reasonable. This requires much effort and time but is worth it.

Annotated Bibliography

Armenta, Amanda. Protect, Serve, and Deport: The Rise of Policing as Immigration Enforcement. University of California Press, 2017.

Armenta has written a lot about the ethnography of immigration policing in Nashville. The book provides a template on how immigration policies can be reframed. It is high time that immigration systems accepted to open up their doors. Using this book, the United States government can make significant states towards building a friendly and unite society consisting of various people.

Barlow, Fiona Kate, and Chris G. Sibley, editors. The Cambridge Handbook of the Psychology of Prejudice: Concise Student Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2018.

This chapter exposes the pain and suffering meted on immigrants. They are discriminated against and prejudiced. Unfortunately, it can also be met among various groups of immigrants trying to build a better life in America. Therefore, natives should be more patient and supportive of these people.

Evans, Mariah D. R., and Jonathan Kelley. Prejudice Against Immigrants Symptomizes a Larger Syndrome, is Strongly Diminished by Socioeconomic Development, and the UK is not an Outlier: Insights From the WVS, EVS, and EQLS Surveys. Frontiers in Sociology, vol. 4, no. 12, 2019, pp. 1-12.

This article focuses on negative attitude toward the immigrant, religious minority, and ethnic groups. The evils done to immigrants have brought about enmity and mistrust towards police officers. However, the state agencies such as police should be beneficial for the society and trusted. Therefore, the whole system should be restructured to become beneficial for the society.

Horace, Matthew. The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in Americas Law Enforcement. Hachtette Books, 2018.

This book helps readers understand the inner state of things in the police system better. The author discusses various cases related to racism and other problems which at present are often considered normal. However, his main point is that this situation is not suitable for a healthy society. Thus, both citizens and police workers should be mindful and try to deal with racism and other severe problems.

Kalpanik, Sankhya. Welcome to the USA: True Story of an Indian Student from IIT in America Kindle Edition. Center of Artificial Imagination, Inc., 2012.

This book talks about the fate of an Indian student who is working in America as an IT expert. Despite his qualification, he is treated with malice in most working stations. However, notably, there are multiple successful immigrant workers in any technical or scientific area. Thus, this story can be useful in showing such people the possible obstacles which can occur on the career path.

Linnemann, Travis, and Corina Medley. Black Sites, Dark Sides: War Power, Police Power, and the Violence of the (Un)known. Crime, Media, Culture, vol. 15, no. 2, 2019, pp. 341-358.

With the current state of immigration in America, the non-white population will be high. The number of non-native uniformed force will also increase. Human rights organizations shall be strong in fighting for the rights of non-Americans. White Christians have seen the atrocities done on non-natives. The church now represents the Dark Side of America. This is another proof of the fact that not all the government systems are working correctly, and the nation should unite to improve the situation.

Taylor, Clarence. Fight the Power: African Americans and the Long History of Police Brutality in New York City. NYU Press, 2018.

In this book, Clarence Taylor is telling readers about the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, which was direct proof of police brutality. The events that followed his death stirred up a national debate on the use of excessive force. Michael was indeed suspected of robbery, and during an attempt to detain him, a quarrel ensued between him and the policeman. However, the policeman had no reason to kill Michael, so this act amounts to extrajudicial killing. Death acted as a catalyst for numerous further events that attracted the media.

Williams, Kristian. Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America. AK Press, 2015.

In this book, Kristian Williams calls upon uniformed men to act diligently in some instances, the police have acted negligently towards immigrants. He advocates for the full understanding; nevertheless, he advises citizens to follow the rules because no one can fight with law. Therefore, the authors main point is that only joint efforts of the police and citizens can contribute to prosperity.

Works Cited

Armenta, Amada. Protect, Serve, and Deport: The Rise of Policing as Immigration Enforcement. University of California Press, 2017.

Barlow, Fiona Kate, and Chris G. Sibley, editors. The Cambridge Handbook of the Psychology of Prejudice: Concise Student Edition. Cambridge University Press, 2018.

Evans, Mariah D. R., and Jonathan Kelley. Prejudice Against Immigrants Symptomizes a Larger Syndrome, is Strongly Diminished by Socioeconomic Development, and the UK is not an Outlier: Insights From the WVS, EVS, and EQLS Surveys. Frontiers in Sociology, vol. 4, no. 12, 2019, pp. 1-12.

Holmes, Malcolm D., et al. Race, Place, and Police-Caused Homicide in US Municipalities. Justice Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 5, 2019, pp. 751-786.

Horace, Matthew. The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in Americas Law Enforcement. Hachtette Books, 2018.

Kalpanik, Sankhya. Welcome to the USA: True Story of an Indian Student from IIT in America Kindle Edition. Center of Artificial Imagination, Inc., 2012.

Linnemann, Travis, and Corina Medley. Black Sites, Dark Sides: War Power, Police Power, and the Violence of the (Un)known. Crime, Media, Culture, vol. 15, no. 2, 2019, pp. 341-358.

Taylor, Clarence. Fight the Power: African Americans and the Long History of Police Brutality in New York City. NYU Press, 2018.

Williams, Kristian. Our Enemies in Blue: Police and Power in America. AK Press, 2015.

How to Fix Americas Police by Stoughton

The problem for discussion is established in a rectilinear way. In the first paragraph, Stoughton et al. indicate that brutal encounters between the police and the people they are supposed to serve continue for a long time and people of every race and class (par. 1). This way, it becomes apparent that the papers core topic is related to the issue of American police. Since the problem is expressed clearly, it could be inferred that the authors were successful in identifying it in the text. Still, it could be suggested that Stoughton et al. could add some statistical data on police abuse to impress the audience from the first lines.

The authors suggest that the US polices current situation could be fixed in two ways: either through state intervention or through local one. The reformation at the state level seems to be more convincing. This view is based on the belief that the administration could create such laws and regulations that would eradicate the possibility of police abuse all over the country. Besides, the central government could conduct a reform at a time. In contrast, reformation driven by the local governments would mean that in all American states will be different and unequal regulations and laws.

It seems fair to conclude that the proposal regarding the reformation of American police is not that persuasive. The problem is that Stoughton et al. do not suggest any groundbreaking ideas on how to change the current situation. It is evident that a coordinated effort from federal, state, and local government is needed (Stoughton et al. par. 26). In addition, the idea of transparency, common culture, specialized training of police officers as well as the creation of specific laws and certificates are nothing new and widely discussed for a long time. It would be better for the authors to indicate a precise strategy on how to implement their recommendations.

Work Cited

Stoughton, Seth W. et al. How to Actually Fix Americas Police. The Atlantic, 2020. Web.

Ending Racial Bias and Bureaucracy Within Police

The problem of racial bias within the police department has been an issue of concern both for the general public and policymakers. One of the recent and notorious deaths of an African American citizen George Floyd that was perpetrated by officer Derek Chauvin has reinvigorated public debates regarding racism and brutality within the police. Black Lives Matter protests have begun pressuring politicians and police departments to engage in reform in law enforcement tactics, defund departments, or even abolish them. Corruption and misconduct represent another police problem that takes forms of petty bribery and criminal infiltration or political corruption. Police officials may engage in bureaucratic or administrative corruption for private gain, which facilitates distrust in the efforts of law enforcement. Therefore, the problems of racism, police misconduct, and bureaucracy within law enforcement are chaotic in detail and may not be solved until policymakers implement effective and consistent efforts aimed at establishing an environment of equality and fair treatment.

Police officers tend to identify themselves as warriors who are supposed to serve the community; however, there is a need to recognize the persistent problem of racial bias that limits the capacity of officers to deliver justice in their communities. The first recommendation to the Mayor of Boston associated with managing racism within police departments is to establish a racial diversity secretariat body that would report directly to the Mayor regarding critical problems, such as the issues of racism, the progress of implementation of previous recommendations on racial profiling, the impact and support of government policy development activities to make sure that racial diversity and equity are promoted and respected in all government initiatives, as well as the outcomes of the dialogue between those concerned about racism in the police department and police officers. The second recommendation is concerned with the need for all organizations and institutions dealing with establishing public safety, security, and protection to take appropriate steps to monitor and prevent racial bias and profiling. This can be achieved with the help of modifying their policies, practices, and training.

It is important that the Mayor initiates an educational program targeting police departments in order to train police officers on how to recognize racial bias at their departments and implement measures for their mitigation. The training programs should adopt a zero-tolerance policy associated with racial profiling and communicate it clearly to all officers. The need for training initiatives on racism and racial profiling in law enforcement is a repeatedly emerging problem. While some organizations may provide such training, there still room for improvement and strengthening of educational efforts. However, it is notable that current training programs can be extremely effective in the short-term; however, the issue is that it does not have lasting effects (Mahbubani, 2020, para. 10). In addition, as suggested by Kaste (2020), implicit bias training has the potential of changing officers minds but not necessarily their behaviors, which points to the complexity of training and its impact on police officers. Therefore, training should be long-term and consistent, based on the issues that emerge on a continuing basis. This is necessary for ensuring that individuals in positions of power accept and acknowledge the existence of racial profiling and racial bias and demonstrate the willingness to undertake action to eliminate it. The role of the Mayor, in this case, is to oversee the training and gather data on its implementation at Boston police departments to track progress and identify issues of concern that arise during training.

The issue of corruption and misconduct within police departments goes hand-in-hand with addressing the problem of racial bias due to the need to establish an environment of transparency and consistent reporting of significant issues. Efforts aimed at curbing police misconduct and corruption have been implemented in multiple cities in the United States, with some being more successful than others. Therefore, there is no single strategy that would be effective in eliminating the issues of corruption and misconduct in law enforcement, which calls for a systematic approach on the part of the Mayor of Boston. It is recommended for the Mayor of Boston look at the issue of corruption and other forms of inappropriate behavior from the perspective of political will, which entails a long-term approach toward managing the issue. While short-term solutions are sometimes appropriate for certain forms of police misconduct, a successful strategy requires an ongoing strategy of vigilance and socialization. The strong political will exhibited by the Mayor is expected to develop a strong sense of understanding of police reforms within the political economy context. The Mayor is expected to gain support from citizens, which may be challenging in a deeply polarized society.

The recommendations intended for the Mayor are associated with implementing an anti-corruption strategy that relies on the logic of controlling corruption that perceives misconduct as being prompted by both opportunities and available incentives to be corrupt. For example, the successful example of Singapore has been linked to the attempts to eliminate corruption as designed to decrease and completely eliminate any conditions or incentives that enable the opportunities for individuals to exhibit corruptive behaviors. The Mayor of Boston is expected to analyze the salaries of police officers at different levels of leadership as well as the existence of unfavorable working conditions of local officers that could enable them to engage in bribery and misconduct. In addition, low salaries and poor work conditions at Boston police departments may only attract unsuitably qualified candidates to join law enforcement. Besides, low payments can allow criminals to buy of police divisions or individual officers within the force.

Before raising salaries in order to motivate law enforcement officers to not engage in acts of bribery, the Mayor should consider whether such an approach aligns with consistent economic growth. While increasing the salaries of police officers has the potential of negating the corruption at petty levels among junior officials, it may not always address large instances corruption among senior police officers. In addition, solely raising wages is insufficient in solving the issue of corruption within Boston police if the government does not have the political will to do so, as suggested in the previous recommendation concerning the political will.

To conclude, the consistency of actions aimed at reducing or eliminating racial bias, corruption, and the associated misconduct is the key recommendation for the Mayor of Boston. It is essential that city leadership is directly involved with police departments and oversees the training as well as other efforts aimed at reducing the identified issues. The collaboration of the Mayor and his citizens as well as leading the efforts of the community law enforcement is expected to respond to the needs of the general public. Through political will, the Mayor can enable an environment of transparency and leadership intended to better the lives of the community.

References

Kaste, M. (2020). NYPD study: Implicit bias training changes minds, not necessarily behavior. NPR. Web.

Mahbubani, R. (2020). Officers already get training to deal with biases they may not know they have, but theres no evidence it actually works. Insider. Web.

Policing From Above: Drone Use by the Police

Abstract

The dependence and utilization of drones are continuously increasing in several domains, besides the law enforcement departments. The basis for this is the drones capability to provide live-stream, real-time, and image capture; of course, drones can fly and carry goods from one place to another. Such drones ability to patrol and do surveillance gives it an advantage over helicopters in terms of costs and budgets. Furthermore, technological development makes it easy to manipulate or control drones using smartphones as an alternative to remote controllers. Drones have proved helpful in the law enforcement and border control surveillance domains.

Police patrols in crime-prone regions in major cities have been expensive and risky. With this, it can be quickly understood why unmanned drones are being embraced as a new way of demonstrating a police presence in an area. Technology comes with excellent capabilities that law enforcement agencies can leverage to be certain of safer and secure neighborhoods (Horowitz & Fuhrmann, 2015). Drones are among the few technologies that law enforcement agencies could use to alleviate many of the challenges they face in their ordinary duties. Enhanced drones could help ease law enforcement agencies work while ensuring improved effectiveness (Fennelly & Perry, 2020; Karim, Zhang, Laghari, & Asif, 2017). These drones will facilitate a prior assessment of distress calls and ensure those police officers are adequately prepared for the situation before moving to a scene. The paper aims at justifying the necessity of police patrol drones for providing the security of the U.S. society and determining the type and characteristics of drones needed for such tasks. In addition, the paper will discuss the autonomy level of drones and their main requirements and equipment.

The Background of the Project

Law enforcement agencies encounter many problems that need speedy response to ensure the security of the U.S. society. Citizens have a long history of making distress calls on police out of anxiety, only for them to realize that there was no real or genuine cause of alarm. Majorly, these incidents involve residents calling the police on suspicious individuals spotted in neighborhoods. The police are on record for aggressive responses to superfluous distress calls, some of which arouse public anxiety because they are considered add-ons on biased policing against blacks (Mendis, Dharmarathne, & Wanasinghe, 2016). Drones are among the most convenient devices that enhance the agencies efficiency in offering operational reactions to arising concerns with precision. The patrol drones are critical as they help law enforcement agencies have holistic informational images of challenging public incidents or regions. By utilizing drones, the police officers will recognize distress calls and avoid aggressive behavior as they handle the public.

Professional crime-fighting presently depends on three approaches: motorized patrol, quick response to calls to duty, and conservative probe of criminal activities. In the past, police response has been improved through community policing to link their telephones and radios to the public and law enforcement officers having patrol schedules to projected crime-prone areas. Otto, Agatz, Campbell, Golden, and Pesch (2018) elaborate that law enforcement officers have concentrated on worse criminal activities, which has been improved by focusing on patrol and exploiting forensic technology. Even though such strategies have recorded significant success, they have been challenged within and beyond policing to be reactive instead of proactive (Feeney, 2016). Most critics do not find such tactics effective in preventing crime (Desmond, Papachristos, & Kirk, 2016). Reactive tactics make their law enforcement officers distanced from the communitys actual affairs and thus continue with their impartiality.

Perceived Need

Distress Calls

Distress calls are widespread and frequent cases in the US, the relevance and necessity of which can be recognized only by police officers who move to the scene operatively. Individual citizens have alerted police officers of events that have turned out to be unserious crimes. Law enforcement departments in the entire nation are overburdened with calls that required minor responses. The department has a social and administrative requirement to determine the relative intensity of the offenses that have been reported to them (Mendis et al., 2016; Singh, Patil, & Omkar, 2018)). The aspects of violence, substantial losses to victims that also lead to murder or permanent injuries, and offenses because of predatory strangers define what constitutes a serious crime and would not be categorized under distress calls. An alternative perspective of a serious crime that warrants the police officers immediate response would be that it recognizes violence as a crucial aspect of a serious crime but considers safety components within relationships. The police department ought to have the capacity to seize potential crime or authenticate calls by using drones to check those places (Ramisetty et al., 2020). The patrol drones can be in the right place at the expected time so that crime is thwarted at the onset. Reactive responses can be encouraged by appropriate police patrols and investigations, so that much attention is also drawn to an event that warrants it.

Aggressive Police Behavior

A law enforcement officers expression of aggression could, sometimes, be beyond the expected in managing a citizens behavior. The police officer can express aggression verbally or exercise force against citizens physically. Sometimes police officers express hostile aggression whenever they are not being watched on cameras, and they become impulsive, thoughtless, motivated by anger, and ultimately intending to harm the victims (He, Chan, & Guizani, 2016). The only aggression expected of a police officer is one that is premeditated to achieve some goal without intending to harm. It is worth indicating that the officers were also noticed in exaggerating official authority, especially towards the blacks while performing their ordinary duties, which raises substantial public concern. For example, Milwaukees most notorious case in 2004, when officer Andrew Spengler and other off-duty police officers beat Frank Jude, a black man, acutely, breaking his many facial bones (Desmond et al., 2016). The distinction of whether aggression was hostile or instrumental is specifically significant in the police department. The use of drones comes in handy to ascertain the police forces legitimacy, whether it is necessary or in excess.

Observation studies indicate that the police officers scarcely exercise physical force. For instance, Otto et al. (2018) explored 1564 police-citizen experiences and established that 44 (2.8 percent) instances involved physical force, and 2.3 percent used excessive force. Mendis et al. (2016) also established similar results that police utilize reasonable force 2.5 percent of their time and excess force 1.6 percent of their time. Fennelly and Perry (2020) determined through arrest reports that some type of physical force was used in about 2 percent of 123,500 arrests that were explored. Some citizens have also complained about the extent of police officers using excessive force on them or victims. Thus, such instances of police brutality or use of excessive police force would be made clear through using patrol drones.

Enhanced drones with the capability to respond to distress calls will take pictures, record videos, and transmit the information to law enforcement agencies. This will go a long way in improving the police patrol experience and effectiveness. Police officers will only need to respond based on these enhanced drones feedback once the proposal is actualized. The new technology will help improve policing and create a positive public image of law enforcement agencies (Fennelly & Perry, 2020). The police officers main goal should be to preserve justice and order within the structures of society and not to brutalize the public. Hence, these devices can significantly contribute to the preliminary assessment of distress signals and guarantee police officers appropriate preparation for the situation before intervening in a scene.

Design Overview

Type of Drone

The technology utilized to make the drone flying describes the type of drone. There are drones with fixed-wing sky controller and multirotor, some with ornithopters, and those with turbofans. In terms of law enforcement activity, drones fitted with multirotor systems are the best since they possess the characteristics that fulfill civilian locations requirements and conditions (Horowitz & Fuhrmann, 2015). Specifically, the Phantom drone created by the Chinese Corporation DJI is the best for surveillance and monitoring activities in crime-prone areas.

A drone in the military sense is referred to as an unmanned aircraft system (UAS). The term unmanned is used because it is an aircraft that does not need to be piloted or a person to be onboard (Horowitz & Fuhrmann, 2015). The drone is automated and can be driven by a person remotely without a police officer directly being in combat zones and exposing their lives. The police patrol drones will have the capability to relay data from distress call scenes and prompt necessary actions, which renders them unique from the ordinary UAVs (Vergouw, Nagel, Bondt, & Custers, 2016). For a start, these crewless systems will not exhibit combat capabilities because that could be disastrous. Rather, they will only aid police patrols and responses. The proposed UAVs will require incorporating current drone technology, GPS systems, and communication links with police officers on patrol into a single design.

Characteristics

Multirotor systems are a subdivision of rotorcraft. Rotorcraft is a term in the aviation sector that describe aircraft that utilize rotary wings to produce lift. Rotorcraft can constitute one or more rotors, for example, the conventional helicopter (Kuzmin & Znak, 2018). Drones that utilize rotary mechanisms have a similar structure of a craft fitted with many small rotors. The many small routes are needed for the drones stability, which gives it the name multirotor systems (Araújo, Mendonça, Fontinele, & Oliveira, 2019). Generally, the drones such as the DJI Phantom drone utilize at least two double rotors to keep it off the ground, making it a four-rotor drone. The figure below shows a diagram of a DJI Phantom with four rotors.

A diagram showing a DJI Phantom drone.
Fig. 1: A diagram showing a DJI Phantom drone.

A landing strip is not necessary while utilizing multirotor drones. Specifically, although their flight speed and distance are insignificant, these drones make a low noise compared to the other fixed-wing drones. DJI Phantom drones can hang in the air for a long time, which suits its surveillance function (Vergouw et al., 2016). The drone has a movable camera fitted on it that takes pictures or records video and can fly faster at the speed of about 54 km/h, with a chance of staying on air for about quarter an hour (Vergouw et al., 2016). Even though DJI Phantom is originally intended for recreational purposes, it is best for surveillance that police officers do (Araújo Jr et al., 2019). It is possible to control the drone through a smartphone or a Wi-Fi device. Using the smartphone, the operator can determine how the camera moves and captures photos or records videos. The drone can be programmed to fly to a certain altitude and take a specific course, with even the possibility of automatically taking-off, landing, recording videos, or going back to the station.

Design Decisions

Autonomy Level

A drones autonomy is its ability to be independent of external interference and govern itself, which implies that various drones can be autonomous but on a unique position in the autonomy spectrum. According to the US Department of Defense, there are four autonomy levels of unmanned systems, including a human-operated system, human delegated system, human supervised system, and fully autonomous system (Vergouw et al., 2016). The first level of automation is a human-operated system whereby there is no automation. The person piloting the drone fully determines every movement or what would be controlled 100 percent manually (Kuzmin & Znak, 2018). The second level of automation is a human delegated system where the pilot controls the entire operation and guarantees the drones safety. He et al. (2016) elaborates that the drone can still perform one crucial function for a short time. It has no continuous vehicle control so that the flights speed and direction cannot be concurrently managed. The drone can show the pilot when it is close to obstacles, but he must change its direction manually. In this level, inspection and sustenance can be maintained, localization and recognition, protection and security, and assessments.

The third level is a human supervised system where the drone can fly by itself, but a person must still monitor it and be ready to take charge at any moment. According to Karim et al. (2017), the drone will alert the person controlling it if intervention is required, but the pilot is a fallback plan. The last category is a fully autonomous system with room to be controlled by a pilot; however, it is never a must. The drone can fly full time without the intervention of a pilot (Feeney, 2016). However, backup systems must be there so that a pilot can come in if there is a failure. Concerning the autonomy level, the drones can have automatic (completely preprogrammed system) and autonomous systems (the full control from a user). The drone will assess the crime-prone areas and take pictures of suspected activities that are in the flight path that can be evaluated by the law enforcement team.

Human Supervised System

A human supervised system should be implemented in the given case since it can initiate actions within the scope of the current task directions and permissions set by a human. For instance, take-off, recording making, landing, and returning can be among drones automatic functions. The idea should be to have a fully automated drone on-site that can survey and record or even have landing abilities, but with someone monitoring (Ramisetty et al., 2020). The law enforcement team can respond to any alarm of an illegal activity spotted using the drone. Also, with a pilot monitoring and controlling the drone, they can stop it and capture details of an activity so that the law enforcement team determines if there is a necessity of responding or otherwise.

Design Limitations

Main Requirements

The main requirements for drones primarily are its capabilities to perform the set tasks and work in the frequency spectrum permitted by legislation. Other drones are illegal and not registered and could be posing a great risk to the environment. The law enforcement department should properly train its officers to handle drones responsibly (Araújo Jr et al., 2019). Operators that are not licensed may carry an illegal operation that compromise the security of a region. The drone should be within sight, particularly if it is not fully automated.

Parameters

For law enforcement purposes, the drones should have a small size and weight, within several kilograms, operate for a specific period of at least 15 minutes and be noiseless or quiet not to disturb citizens. The drones size matters since one could have a better aerial view, unlike using a bigger drone. A smaller drone can be flexibly transported and may not be easily noticed by possible offenders. The drone should also last for at least 15 minutes so that a police officer will have sufficient time to monitor activities and execute effective operations (Fennelly & Perry, 2020). Several multirotor drones, as the recommended type, are moderately quiet and flies at the expected height. If they do not fly beyond a specific height off the ground, they could cause noise pollution because of the buzzing rotors. If a drone is louder, it is not recommended to the law enforcement department since it announces its presence. Whenever criminals notice that they are being monitored using a drone, they can hide or refrain from performing an illegal act as per that time.

Allowed Frequency Band

According to the European recommendations in ERC Rec 70-03, the legalized operating frequency band for drones ranges from 5.4705.725 MHz (Vergouw et al., 2016). This spectrum allows for providing an uninterrupted connection between the drone and the officer on long distances. The operating frequency band is critical since they allow the C2 link or the data payload link so that the operator can be keen on what regulations exist in a region. The drone links should maximize the available frequency bands with no room for further limitations (Araújo Jr et al., 2019). The basis for complying with the regulations of the frequency band is so that an operation may not be aborted prematurely because of noncompliance.

Equipment

The drones cameras should be equipped with sensors having night vision, heat sensing, chemical detection, and facial surveillance systems. Thermal drones could have vision imaging cameras that are useful for indicating materials and systems that are overheated. With such detection abilities, the operator can manually shut down the drones to not to be damaged (Vergouw et al., 2016). Other sensors have night vision so that police officers can identify perpetrators of criminal activities executing their acts in the night. For the drone to pick images during the night, the sensors must have such night vision capabilities. Thermal drones could have vision imaging cameras that are useful for indicating materials and systems that are overheated. With such detection abilities, the operator can manually shut down the drones to not be damaged (Fennelly & Perry, 2020). Other sensors have night vision so that police officers can identify perpetrators of criminal activities happening in the night. For the drone to pick images during the night, the sensors must have such night vision capabilities. Chemical detection is also necessary since chemicals may damage the system to stop functioning (Engberts & Gillissen, 2016). Sensors that have facial surveillance systems can capture real-time face recognition that helps in identifying the perpetrators clearly. The sensors are more effective when the drones have a 1080p camera and GSP location framework that takes highly defined images.

Conclusion

Summary

The drones can be a useful tool that gathers necessary information from the scenes for the police preparation and the prevention of aggressive police behavior cases. The police officers should apply drones with multirotor systems since they can make a low noise, hang in the air for a long time, and do not require a landing strip. The law force department can map out a crime-prone area using drones, which is critical for possible future events or criminal situations. The drones are useful in chasing down suspects as they can apply their critical intelligence to recognize suspects and how armed they could be easily. Drones can easily be used for investigating crime scenes and offer three-dimensional images for a shorter time. They would be useful even in highly populated regions since they give finer details and monitor people in real-time. Drones that are highly autonomous and are regulated by a pilot could detect risky activities before they worsen. Law enforcement officers that are in pursuit can communicate with each other very fast.

The Future Research

The future research developments should be directed at three main aspects, namely, miniaturization, autonomy, and swarms. Miniaturization of drones is instrumental, especially with the rise of technology so that it is fitted with tinier sensors and cameras that have the highest capabilities. In the future, drones can possess a great level of streaming data from cameras and sensors and decode the data while on the flight. Miniaturization is put into perspective through drones autonomy so that they can automatically determine a drones pitch, velocity, and trajectory. Autonomy is the perfect attribute of the drone that could be utilized to penetrate striking targets or highly sensitive areas (Rodday, Schmidt, & Pras, 2016). The drones should be fitted in a way that it has many sensors such as optical, heat, and infrared cameras that cannot be spotted from long distances. A highly autonomous drone can help identify criminals, especially militant leaders, and strike as soon as they are spotted. The drone should also quickly adjust to changing weather circumstances and adapt defensive reactions in cases of attacks.

Another major development that can be exploited is using drones in swarms. The rising autonomy of drones makes the coordination among drones as swarms be possible. The utilization of swarms would expand the range, flight duration, and highest payload for specific applications. For example, utilizing drones in swarms may need one drone to complement the other or take over a task from another that fails to operate. Drones can be damaged when it is being flown, or some go beyond the limit of control signals. Such a situation could be sorted out by replacing them with other drones. Heavy payloads could sometimes be dispersed over many drones, beyond the payload of only a single drone (Rodday et al., 2016). Swarms of drones could be useful as sensor systems, especially by using them to trace different persons that can take different directions. Through swarms, each drone can be dedicated to each individual. However, scholars should work on more communication channels so that the drones are coordinated well that they do not collide.

References

Araújo Jr, P., Mendonça, M., Fontinele, J., & Oliveira, L. (2019). Towards Autonomous Investigation of Crime Scene by Using Drones. Sensors & Transducers, 234(6), 30-36.

Desmond, M., Papachristos, A. V., & Kirk, D. S. (2016). Police violence and citizen crime reporting in the black community. American Sociological Review, 81(5), 857-876.

Engberts, B., & Gillissen, E. (2016). Policing from above: Drone use by the police. In The future of drone use (pp. 93-113). The Hague: TMC Asser Press.

Feeney, M. (2016). Surveillance takes wing: Privacy in the age of police drones.

Fennelly, L. J., & Perry, M. A. (2020). Unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) usage in the 21st century. In The Professional Protection Officer (pp. 183-189). Butterworth-Heinemann.

He, D., Chan, S., & Guizani, M. (2016). Communication security of unmanned aerial vehicles. IEEE Wireless Communications, 24(4), 134-139.

Horowitz, M. C., & Fuhrmann, M. (2015). Droning on: Explaining the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Karim, S., Zhang, Y., Laghari, A. A., & Asif, M. R. (2017). Image processing based proposed drone for detecting and controlling street crimes. In 2017 IEEE 17th International Conference on Communication Technology (ICCT) (pp. 1725-1730). Chengdu: IEEE.

Kuzmin, A., & Znak, E. (2018). Blockchain-base structures for a secure and operate network of semi-autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Service Operations and Logistics, and Informatics (SOLI) (pp. 32-37). Chengdu: IEEE.

Mendis, N. D. N. A., Dharmarathne, T. S. S., & Wanasinghe, N. C. (2016). Use of unmanned aerial vehicles in crime scene investigations-novel concept of crime scene investigations. Forensic Res Criminol Int J, 4(1), 00094.

Otto, A., Agatz, N., Campbell, J., Golden, B., & Pesch, E. (2018). Optimization approaches for civil applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or aerial drones: A survey. Networks, 72(4), 411-458.

Ramisetty, R. R., Qu, C., Aktar, R., Wang, S., Calyam, P., & Palaniappan, K. (2020). Dynamic computation off-loading and control based on occlusion detection in drone video analytics. Proceedings of the 21st International Conference on Distributed Computing and Networking, (28), 1-10.

Rodday, N. M., Schmidt, R. D. O., & Pras, A. (2016). Exploring security vulnerabilities of unmanned aerial vehicles. In NOMS 2016-2016 IEEE/IFIP Network Operations and Management Symposium (pp. 993-994). IEEE.

Singh, A., Patil, D., & Omkar, S. N. (2018). Eye in the sky: Real-time Drone Surveillance System (DSS) for violent individuals identification using ScatterNet Hybrid Deep Learning network. In Proceedings of the IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Workshops (pp. 1629-1637). Salt Lake City: UT.

Vergouw, B., Nagel, H., Bondt, G., & Custers, B. (2016). Drone technology: Types, payloads, applications, frequency spectrum issues and future developments. In B. Custers (Ed.), The future of drone use (pp. 21-45). The Hague: TMC Asser Press.

How Police Supervisory Styles Influence Patrol Officer Behavior

The field supervisor, also identified as the patrol sergeant, directly oversees officers conduct, performance, appearance, and tactical operations assigned under their command. The management style of police officers field supervisors determines, to some extent, their performance when handling an ongoing issue or community problem. In his report, Robin Engel investigates how police administrative approaches affect the behavior of patrol officers within society.

Specifically, the report highlights the prominent supervisory models in the field, their impact on patrol officers deportment, and the subsequent implications for departmental practice and policy (Engel, 2003). This essay provides an analysis of Robin Shepard Engels DOJ report; it presents an overview of the adopted methodology and limitations, target audience, policing styles, and the most effective supervisory type.

Methodology and Limitations

The study data was retrieved from a 2-year research task titled The Project on Policing Neighborhoods (POPN), which investigated an array of policing issues within the community. The researchs primary methodology involved interviews and the systemic social observations of lieutenants and sergeants who directly controlled patrol officers in the St. Petersburg, Florida, and Indianapolis, Indiana Police Departments (Engel, 2003).

One limitation of the research is that it did not point out how supervisors pass on their priorities or estimate the long-term supervision patterns in police units. Moreover, the study did not stipulate mixed supervisory styles or determine if sergeants adjusted their managerial techniques depending on the officers they supervise. Another disadvantage of the investigation is that the data was obtained from urban police departments that implemented community policing or problem-solving strategies. Therefore, the analyzed informations findings may not be relevant to small, rural departments or those still utilizing long-standing approaches.

Target Audience

The target audience for this particular article, as outlined by Engel (2003) are:

  • Police administrators;
  • Patrol sergeants;
  • Researchers, especially those who focus on police management and organizations;
  • Midlevel managers.

How Police Supervisory Styles Influence Patrol Officers Behavior

The most significant finding from the research is that the patrol officers quality or style of leadership greatly affected behaviors, such as issuing citations, using force, participating in community policing, and making arrests. However, this impact varied depending on the adopted supervision style. According to Engel (2003), these officers managerial models did not affect the probability of an officer issuing citations or making arrests. Nevertheless, the presence of a sergeant in non-traffic situations impacted officer behavior. Active supervisors influenced officers to use more force against suspects than other administrators.

Moreover, according to the report, active sergeants employed the use of force when handling defendants. With regard to undertaking self-initiated activities, proactive supervisors prompted officers to spend more time in a shift performing important events. Those managed by active supervisors spent more time participating in community policing and problem-solving activities than other officers. The finding proposes that having an innovative supervisor does not translate to undertaking more creative tasks for subordinates. Contrarily, these officers spent less time executing administrative duties; the report established that leadership style had a minimal effect on how associates attend to personal business.

The findings further indicated that leadership affected behaviors, including proactivity, use of force, and problem-solving, which are difficult to quantify and monitor. Conversely, supervisory model did not influence relatively easy-to-observe actions, such as issuing citations and making arrests (Engel, 2003).

This outcome could be attributed to the notion that supervisors influence occurrences whereby officers have most discretion or easy-to-measure subordinate behaviors are most impacted by policy dispositions from higher-ranking executives. Collectively, the sergeants supervisory mode affected the deportment of some officers. Therefore, administrators are advised to consider their management model when establishing departmental training approaches and goals. The results also suggest that aligning supervisory practice with leaders administrative styles and encouraging them to get in the game is more likely to improve the achievement of departmental objectives.

Styles of Policing

The author identified four styles of police administration: traditional, supportive, innovative, and active supervisors. Conventional administrators expect subordinates to employ aggressive enforcement when dealing with the community or minor disorders. They are highly task-oriented and anticipate measurable outcomes from officers, including citations and arrests accompanied with relevant documentation and paperwork.

Secondly, supportive leaders protect their juniors from unfair punishment by giving them inspirational motivation. They often act as a buffer between the management and police officers, shielding them against criticism and discipline, which offers subordinates space to work without worrying about being disciplined for honest mistakes (Telep & Somers, 2019). On the other hand, innovative leaders tend to form friendly relationships with officers, are less task-oriented, and possess positive views concerning subordinates. They encourage officers to embrace new policing methods and philosophies. Lastly, active supervisors lead by example; they are heavily involved in the field while executing their supervisory duties.

Conclusion

According to the article, all four supervisory styles have drawbacks; therefore, none is ideal. However, to influence officers behavior in the best manner, police supervisors must lead by example; this is a trademark of the active leadership method. Active supervision has the most influence over officers actions, including engagement in self-initiated activities, the use of force, and community policing. The technique fosters the attainment of the established organizational goals. However, administrators should be careful when leading by example and exhibit positive acts.

References

Engel, R. (2003). How police supervisory styles influence patrol officer behavior. U.S Department of Justice.

Telep, W., & Somers, L. (2019). Examining police officer definitions of evidence-based policing: Are we speaking the same language? Policing and Society, 29(2), 171187.