“A widely recognized bane of the job among good cops is other cops’ inability or unwillingness to do their jobs.” – Dean Scoville –
Lazy. Power hungry. Corrupt. Overweight. These are the words most people think of when asked to describe a police officer. But who really are these people behind the uniform? First of all, that is exactly what they are; people. Police officers are people. They have families, friends, and lives. They get up every morning, drink some coffee, read the newspaper, and go to work, just the same as any other person.
What I do not understand is why people attach a negative stereotype with police officers. People verbally attack these men and women on a daily basis, when all they are trying to do is their job. I, for one, know from personal experience what it is like to have a father as a law enforcement official. On a weekly basis, I would go to school to have my friends or acquaintances inform me that "Sadie, your dad is an asshole. He busted up our party last night." Eventually, I became tired of hearing people degrade my father and his job. I would ask them, "So you are saying my father is an asshole because he is doing his job?" Quickly the smart remarks ended.
The point I am trying to make is this, people do not understand that these men and women put their life on the line everyday for the good of humanity. Police officers stand up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. But who stands up for police officers? I will. I'm sure this paper will not stop anyone considering robbing a bank, nor make a wanted murderer hand himself in. However, I do hope to open reader's minds, and give them a change of heart.
To help counteract these common stereotypes I listed above. I interviewed two local police officers who have over fifteen years of experience in the field. The first officer I interviewed was Ben Rand. Officer Rand has a total of twenty five years of experience. He first served at Johnson Police department for a total of two years, and then he was at the Trumbull County Sheriff's Office for a year. The next thirteen years he served at Bazetta Police Department, and he now currently works at Howland Police Department. The second officer I interviewed was Jeff Lane. Sergeant Lane has served almost sixteen years at our local Bazetta Police Department where he held the position of detective, and is now the Sergeant.
I asked Mr. Cayette to tell me what he feel are the positive factors related to being a criminal justice person. He said, “The positives about being in the criminal justice system is that there is a thin line between order and chaos. As of the last few years, criminal justice professionals have been under a lot of scrutiny. The majority of guys that are "called to do the job" have been profiled by the few guys that feel they can do the job by being a law enforcement officer. A cop provides a feeling of security to most people. When most people see a law enforcement officer, they feel safe no matter what the situation may be. Even with the negative publicity the police has been receiving, some cops are still seen as the good guys and keep order in the community. Being a police officer is still at the...
They are influenced by the same things that we are, and they see things the same as we do. How these law enforcement officials are raised is how they are going to carry out their duties. If they are raised without morals or with racial influence they will most likely use that influence and bad judgment during work. Additionally, terrorism and hate crimes instills great fear in today 's society. With all the recent violence against law enforcement, I can understand why they profile or may come off defensive to the general public. At the same time, I can also understand why the public may fear police officials. Also I can see why they may not trust the police with all the recent police involved shootings that have
This is very true in today's police work. A police department has to be able to stand the test of time. By this I mean must be capable of enduring changes in government, and be able to react to any situation they may encounter. The department must also be efficient when handling a case or investigation, any wrong step and everything goes the wrong way. Also must be like in the military, follow chains of command and promote in rank
While on the job, police must put all their personal opinions aside. They must provide everyone with an equal and fair chance. It is important in a democratic society for police to not know too much about the community they are policing. It allows them to ...
In today’s society, there are many ways that people perceive law enforcement officers. It is believed that all police officers like donuts. Some people picture all officers as being masculine or sporting a flattop haircut. Many believe that all cops must meet a ticket quota each month. And lately, police officers are perceived to violently arrest based on racial profiling and discrimination. All of these views are stereotypes of a law enforcement officer. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines stereotype as “to believe unfairly that all people or things with a particular characteristic are the same”. A stereotype is a broad generalization that many times is only true for a small minority. Stereotypes can be hurtful and incorrect. They
"Relations between the police and minority groups are a continuing problem in many multiracial societies. Surveys consistently document racial differences in perceptions of the police, with minorities more likely than whites to harbor negative views." (Weitzer and Tuch, Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct, 2004)
Many of the citizens never had a one on one altercation with the law they only base their opinions on experiences with the police influence from other citizens, and that where they get their general image of the police. Many study indicates that police courteousness/friendliness in the direction of the citizen in a recent contact with police exerts the most powerful influence on the citizen’s general assessment of the police. However more studies have indicated that people’s previous overall views of police have sturdier influence on their evaluation of a succeeding specific contact than their evaluation of a specific contact has on subsequent overall views of police. The majority of the American public has not had face-to-face contact with a police officer. Most people respect the mass media as their primary source of information about the many crimes that go on around them, and crime news is the background for most mass media interpretations of police work. The implied message of much crime news is the lack of ability to catch offenders. A trend that is rising in a major way is in the news media. They are using it to focus their attention on a few
The negative views of everyday people often make work hard for officers, adding more stress to their careers. The general public regularly criticizes officers for using excessive force and brutality, especially when a police officer ends up killing a suspect or criminal. Oftentimes, especially when a white police officer shoots a citizen of a minority race, the general public is quick to find faults in the officer, blaming the officer for being racist. However, cold, hard statistics show that the majority of police officers are, in fact, white, and the neighborhoods in which these officers are placed in tend to be high-crime areas with many minority citizens living there (Miller “When Cops Kill”). In addition, people might say that a citizen who was shot was not armed; however, almost anything close to the shot individual could have been turned into a deadly weapon that he or she could have used to wound or kill the officer involved. Whenever officers are in this position, the natural reaction is to defend themselves. Everyday, police officers confront the most aggressive, immoral, and sick-minded individuals of society. Officers jeopardize their own lives every time they report for work. Officers witness things that no person should ever have to encounter. They see the most horrific and gruesome scenes that the general public turns away from and
Undoubtedly race and ethnicity plays a key role in whether perceptions of law enforcement is positive or negative. Most of the research presented finds that police contact with white’s vs blacks shapes their attitudes. Although contact with police plays a role, it is not the only component. Perceptions of police not only come from contact with police officers but from hearsay and media portrayal. As stated by (Callanan & Rosenberger, 2011) “most citizens are probably not likely to establish their opinions of law enforcement solely based on an occasional encounter, but also from other sources of information about the police, which for most members of the public is chiefly derived from the media.” Also, minorities are more likely than whites to believe that minorities are treated worse by police, and minority communities receive inferior police services (Graziano, Schuck & Martin 2010).
Police are sometimes stereotyped to be rugged, single minded enforcers who are insensitive to families in their most vulnerable state (Cross, Finkelhor, Ormrod, 2005). This would be an ideal approach to implement; however there seem to be difficult relationships between the two systems as they both hold different values and beliefs.
Myths are defined as stories that are made up by society that symbolizes values, ideologies and beliefs (Phillips, 2016). Myths are used by all cultures; myths are stories that are told to support social customs in societies. Crime myths are also created by telling stories (Victor Kappeler & Gary Potter, 2005). Myths about police officers have created false imageries of officers and their day-to-day jobs. Myths about the police have played an important role for decades now (Phillips, 2016). Majority of police myths are created by both the media and the police themselves. This paper will review Victor Kappeler and Gary Potters summary of police myths and outside sources will be used to support the myths listed by the authors.
Bibliography Why Good Cops Go Bad. Newsweek, p.18. Carter, David L. (1986). Deviance & Police. Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co. Castaneda, Ruben (1993, Jan. 18). Bearing the Badge of Mistrust. The Washington Post, p.11. Dantzer, Mark L. (1995). Understanding Today's Police. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. James, George (1993, Mar. 29). Confessions of Corruption. The New York Times, P.8, James, George (1993, Nov. 17). Officials Say Police Corruption is Hard To Stop. The New York times, p.3. Sherman, Lawrence W(1978). Commission Findings. New York Post, P. 28 Walker, J.T. (1992). The police in America, p.243-263, chp. 10, Walker, Samuel (1999).
In our times, the police have become the criminals. Some police are using their power to do bad things, and society has come to fear police. The law enforcement system needs change. The courts have failed the police, and the police have turn to other means of justice. We must stop the corruption in the police force.
They think that once they put on the uniform and once they have the badge, they own everyone. Yes, police officers do rule a lot of things, but they are humans just like us. They are trying their best to help citizens and to keep everyone safe and out of danger. Police do give respect to others, even though they should give more respect to blacks, but numerous people do not give police the respect that they deserve. They do a lot of good things that get unrecognized but every little bad thing they do gets blown out of proportion. Yes they do, do some bad things that they should get big punishments for that they do not, but they do deserve the respect and they are just doing their
Being a police officer requires high level of ethics and standards. Corruption within an agency can affect a community, state, and even a nation. Corruption may seem inevitable but using proper screening, extensive and continuous training and holding officers responsible can deter officers from becoming corrupt.