Police Violence as a Mutual Problem

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Suitability of Police Violence
Police Violence is Wrong and Unacceptable
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Institutions and public officers should ensure that citizens get high-quality services from the government. The relationship between citizens and police officers has always been unhealthy due to some controversial issues. Citizens and police officers clash on simple issues, and the results of this conflict are always devastating. Deliberate efforts of police officers and the public to promote healthy relationships among them do not seem to work properly; instead, the enmity between these groups seems to escalate. Police officers are justified to use maximum and reasonable force to contain individuals who break the law.

The Suitability of Police Violence

Police are human beings just like other people, and they are supposed to protect their lives at all costs. The United States Constitution supports the use of all available alternatives to protect ones life in case it is at risk. There is no known level of influence that can prevent an armed criminal from shooting a police officer when the individual is confronted. For instance, many instances of police shootings occur after armed criminals threaten their lives.

Police officers are also trained to understand the psychology of criminals and predict their outcomes alongside ensuring that their lives are not at risk. Police officers may be compelled to use violence to protect themselves. In fact, using violence is part of policing. According to Gottschalk, policing, therefore, has at its heart the notion of service to the community in which it operates, even if at times force may be a legally allowed option& (222).

The United States Department of Justice argues that officers who promote law enforcement face danger in their daily responsibilities, especially when dealing with dangerous or unpredictable situations. They hardly have time to assess and determine an appropriate response; therefore, they use their professional skills to respond to the appropriate action that may include some level of force (Fyfe 409).

Second, police violence enables criminals to comply and work with offices thus preventing risky situations from happening. The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights argues that police officers are legally entitled to use force to protect the public, apprehend criminals and avoid risking their lives. The International Association of Police Chiefs supported the use of physical, chemical, electronic impacts and firearms as necessary and acceptable force that may be used to bring unwilling suspects into compliance. For instance, protecting crowd marching towards government buildings and road blockades cannot be contained by using dialog. These crowds are usually charged and cannot rescind their quests unless police officers use violence to disperse them.

Last, most police officers use violence because of the negative experience from members of the public (Gottschalk 222). The recent Baltimore protests that were sparked by the death of Freddie Gray led to 15 police officers being injured, and six of them were hospitalized in critical condition. Baltimore Police Commissioner claimed that the demonstrators enjoyed throwing cinder blocks, stones, bricks and other objects at police officers to provoke them to lob teargas canisters at them.

The last two decades have recorded the worst atrocities committed on police officers resulting in the death of 2, 417 law enforcers. Protestors provoke and corner police officers with the intention of injuring or killing them to teach their colleagues a lesson. Law enforcement officers act on provocation and are compelled to use excess force that is proportional to the provocation from protestors side.

Police Violence is Wrong and Unacceptable

Blakeley asserts that the assumption that torture is effective for gathering intelligence underpins arguments to legalize torture (379). The author adds that while it is plausible that torture may yield credible intelligence, we cannot conclude with any confidence that this is the usual outcome when torture is used to secure intelligence (379). Most police officers view violent torture of suspects as the easiest and the best approach of managing crowds and criminals. The case of Minnesota children whose dogs were killed by police officers shows that few of them understand the suitability of using excess force in non-violent situations. America has witnessed police shooting unarmed citizens at close range, and this means that law enforcers have limited knowledge on how to manage non-violent situations.

The absence of a proper definition of violence, reason and force make it difficult for police officers to draw a line between enforcing the law and respecting the rights of civilians. In most instances, they do it the wrong way (Gottschalk, Dean and Glomseth 7).

Inmates are also victims of police brutality. In some cases, excess force may involve pulling over a motorist and confiscating his or her driving license while in other instances, a police officer may be justified to pull offenders through their car windows. There is a glaring conflict between the freedom of movement and expression and what police officers consider to be public nuisance and disturbance of law and order. The Supreme Court and other legal institutions should define these terms and give guidelines on how they can be used. Courts throw out cases where civilians press charges against violent police officers because of absence of a proper definition of the concepts involved in defining terms such as necessary and force.

The consequences of misconduct cannot deter police officers from violating the rights and freedoms of citizens. Corruption is stereotypical in New Jersey, and that explains why a third of police officers are convicted, while the number of civilians facing similar charges is more than double. The judicial system believes that police officers are justified to use force and that is why it causes protests in modern societies. It is not easy for police officers to conduct proper investigations knowing that this may put jobs of their colleagues at risk. They work hard to protect the evils of their colleagues because tomorrow they may be the ones under investigations. Gottschalk, Dean and Glomseth observe that indiscriminate and careless use of powers delegated to police officers is a major factor in alienating the public (13).

The government seems to justify police brutality by shifting settlements to taxpayers. City coffers finance settlements to victims of police brutality and this encourages the vice. It is wrong for the government to transfer the responsibility of settlement to taxpayers yet an individual committed the crime. Police violence is a sensitive issue that the government has swept under the carpet to avoid ugly confrontations with relevant stakeholders.

It is illogical to settle victims using money from taxpayers pockets. The fact that police officers do not pay these settlements and the government pays for them means that the latter condones the vice. Therefore, it seems like the government is passing the blame of police brutality to the public and accuses it of failing to educate its members to respect the law and avoid clashes with police officers. This perception is wrong because it paints an ugly picture regarding the role of government in regulating the conduct of its officers.

Lamboo asserts that police officers have the constitutional mandate to protect citizens owing to the powers vested in them (614). Hence, they should be fair enough across all races. The definition of a criminal has sometimes been any young man who is black or Latino and seems to come from a poor or struggling background. It is right for police officers to stop and frisk individuals who are suspected to harbor illegal motives or carry drugs and arms.

However, the statistics collected over the years reveal a striking trend that seems to target African-Americans and Latinos. There has never been an African American woman or an old man arrested of posing threats to the publics security. However, research reveals that most victims of police brutality are African Americans and Latinos who are aged below 35 years. For instance, Florida consists of about 110,000 people and 99, 980 were stopped and frisked between 2008 and 2013 yet none of them was arrested. Police find minority groups as soft target for abuse because they are underrepresented in politics and the judicial system perceives them to be perennial offenders.

The police are to blame for promoting the us versus them mentality that makes people perceive law enforces as enemies and vice-versa. Law enforcement officers are supposed to work with the public through community policing initiatives to ensure there is order. Civilians and police officers are supposed to be friends to ensure criminal activities are thwarted and eliminated within a short time. However, the mentality propagated by police officers makes them perceive civilians as enemies even though they abuse the public in several dimensions. According to Lamboo, police misconduct entails financial, abuse of office, use of force, abuse of legal powers, harassment, neglect of duty, alcohol and drugs (623).

Law enforcement officers are trained to believe that criminals are their greatest enemies and thus they should not take chances with them because it may compromise their responsibilities. The mentality promoted by police officers makes civilians develop a negative attitude towards them. A person stopped by a police officer will start thinking of the mistake he may have committed. Police officers and civilians develop response mechanisms that involve perceiving each other as enemies and whoever gets an opportunity strikes the other especially when victims are tortured (Blakeley 392).

Police violence does not necessarily mean that there should be injuries, shootings or death. Police personnel should demonstrate the highest standards of professionalism when handling offenders. In any case, police reform in many jurisdictions has been effective. Fyfe observes that external pressures from members of the public and civil society groups have gradually brought about a shift towards developing a new police professionalism characterized by three key elements: increased accountability, a greater focus on legitimacy, and moves towards evidence-based practice (411). Such ideals should be practiced in the police force.

Public display of sophisticated arms to intimidate criminals and the heavy presence of armed police officers are also forms of violence. People associate police officers with criminal activities, shootings, injuries, and arrests. There is no adequate amount of intimidation that can foster publics trust to law enforcers.

Conclusion

Police violence may be suitable in cases where lives of officers or the public are at risk. In addition, it can be tolerated if it aims at seeking the cooperation of suspects and influence criminals to comply. However, this practice is wrong because it violates the rights of civilians, promotes racial discrimination and stereotyping. In addition, it encourages corruption and weakens judicial systems abilities to perform their roles properly. It also erodes publics trust on law enforcers and promotes enmity between civilians and law enforcers. Police brutality is wrong and it should be stopped before the matter gets out of hand. Therefore, police officers should stop violating the rights of innocent citizens.

Works Cited

Blakeley, Ruth. Why Torture? Review of International Studies 33.3 (2007): 373-394. Print.

Fyfe, Nicholas. Complex Transition and Uncertain Trajectories. Journal of Workplace Learning 25.6 (2013): 407-420. Print.

Gottschalk, Petter. Conceptual Framework for Police Deviance Applied to Police Crime Court Cases. International Journal of Law and Management 54.3 (2012): 222- 233.Print.

Gottschalk, Petter, Geoff Dean, and Rune Glomseth. Police Misconduct and Crime: Bad Apples or Systems Failure? Journal of Money Laundering Control 15.1 (2012): 6-24.Print.

Lamboo, Terry. Police Misconduct: Accountability of Internal Investigations. The International Journal of Public Sector Management 23.7 (2010): 613-631.Print.

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