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Role of police officers
Role of police officers
Role of police officers
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Protecting Police Officers
Would you risk your life for a million bucks? A police officer or deputy does it for a lot less! Those words were displayed on a huge billboard sign located along a Maryland roadway. Law enforcement officers (LEOs) all across the United States do this on a daily basis. However, in the State of Maryland, the penalties for assaulting a police dog are tougher than for assaulting a police dog’s handler (Abruzzese, 2005). In Maryland, assaulting LEOs is considered the equivalent to a citizen assaulting another citizen. An assault not involving serious injury or the use of a weapon is classified as a misdemeanor, which is a second-degree assault. A second-degree assault carries a lesser penalty than a felony assault, which is a first-degree assault. According to the Anne Arundel County Fraternal Order of Police Web site, approximately 34 States, including all of Maryland’s neighboring States, have laws that make it a felony to assault a law enforcement officer (http://www.aacofop70.org). Those laws have reduced the number of assaults on officers working in those states. Increasing the penalties for assaulting Maryland law enforcement officers in the line of duty will erase the embarrassing quirk in the current laws, reduce the number of attacks on police, and return the respect that officers deserve.
Proponents argue that police officers are responsible for maintaining order and peace within a society, act as protectors of the weak and defenseless, and do so at the risk of injury to themselves or even the loss of their own life. In addition, proponents argue that in the execution of an officer’s job it is necessary to come into physical contact with subjects to effect an arrest of violators, which increases the odds of a physical confrontation and raises the chances of the officer’s being assaulted. More than likely, police officers choose their profession because of their desire to help others, to protect members of society who cannot protect themselves, and to stop those who violate the law. It is unlikely that police officers become police thinking that being assaulted is a requirement or criteria of their profession. Moreover, it is apparent that police officers realize and readily accept the fact that they may be put in harm’s way, and may risk serious injury or even death to protect people they do not even know.
One may ask how increasing the penalties for attacking law enforcement officers will protect them.
Law enforcement officers are in constant dangerous situations while out doing their responsibilities. When in these threatening situations, police officers typically have little to no time to determine the right precaution. These precautions may lead to the death of a suspect or even the officer themselves. The media has recently shed light on police brutality with use of force. Use of force could be defined as the amount of effort an officer must use in order to make an unwilling subject compel. Police officers are usually trained to enable the proper responsible to a dangerous situation they may be put in. In this paper I will go through the guidelines that a police officer must obey when considering a certain degree of use of force. Within each guideline there will be the pro and cons with that situation and also a recent case that happened. This paper will also talk about how this topic can be addressed more properly. These guidelines that officer are taught during their training are called Use of Force Continuum.
Freddie Grey, Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, John Crawford, Eric Gardner, Jordan Baker.These are just some of the many, many African American people that were killed by the police, all unarmed, all mistreated by the police, all shot and killed, without a crime.. Every twenty-eight hours a life is lost. There are hundreds of innocent lives that are being taken away from their families. Police officers, who are meant to protect and serve, are instead killing and abusing civilians. These outrageous crimes would be avoided through accountability of the police, use of body cameras at all times, and the use of social media.
For many individuals, police brutality is a non-existent matter because it does not directly affect them or the community in which they live. Yet for others, this is an everyday occurrence and few limitations have been set as to what is unjust and malicious behavior of an officer towards the public, therefore, several officers are rarel...
By teaching police officers alternatives to shooting to kill, they experience higher risks with their lives. Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly, said, “It would be "very difficult" to train officers to shoot to wound” (Jacobo, 2016). Police officers are viewed as “predators” and “an occupying army” rather than allies (Valey, 2016). This is a perception that needs to change because it counteracts the mission of police officers
With the current environment of law enforcement and the struggle with trust and legitimacy within communities; police departments are exploring programs that seek to increase police legitimacy. The You Have Options program is such an example of a program that can build trust and legitimacy with a vulnerable population within communities. Research by Mazerolle et al. (2013) noted that “police legitimacy is thought to be a sure pathway for police to elicit cooperation, obtain compliance and gain satisfaction from the public.” The pathway to promoting legitimacy is through procedural justice where police provide a high quality of treatment, are fair, and make good decisions. The 20 elements of the You Have Options program
Police brutality is a very real problem that many Americans face today. The police carry an enormous burden each day. Police work is very stressful and involves many violent and dangerous situations. In many confrontations the police are put in a position in which they may have to use force to control the situation. There are different levels of force and the situation dictates the level use most of the time. The police have very strict rules about police use force and the manner in which they use it. In this paper I will try to explain the many different reason the police cross the line, and the many different people that this type of behavior effects. There are thousands of reports each year of assaults and ill treatment against officers who use excessive force and violate the human rights of their victims. In some cases the police have injured and even killed people through the use of excessive force and brutal treatment. The use of excessive force is a criminal act and I will try and explore the many different factors involved in these situations.
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
The US Department of Justice reported 6,842,590 violent crime incidents in the year 2012 or 26.1 per 1,000 incidents. (Jennifer Truman) With such high rates of violence, we need some sort of protection. The police provide safety, yes, but on average, their response time is several minutes. If you’re not lucky enough to have a crime committed against you next to a police officer, you will need a more immediate solution. I propose a firearm. A survey of felons revealed the following: Seventy-four percent of felons agreed that, “one reason burglars avoid houses when people are at home is that they fear being shot during the crime.” Also, fifty-seven percent of felons polled agreed, “criminals are more worried about meeting an armed victim than they are about running into the police.” (James D.
Since the police officers have a lot of say in dealing with calls and crimes, they all vary in their approaches to doing so. For instance, one officer may think a call is not as important as another, while a separate officer may decide the first call was more serious and he/she may respond to that one first. This is the same problem with whether or not to use force. There are many factors that affect not only the officer’s decision to use force, but also the criminal’s choice of actions. If an officer is being rude or discriminating against a suspect, then that suspect may act in a more vicious manner. This could result in the officer deciding to use force. All officers may see a threat differently, resulting in different disciplinary actions. The use of force rules vary in different police departments. This is concerning to some because the citizens may feel that they are not being treated as equal as others. Other issues include illegitimate investigations, spying, which could result in an unfair judgement of individuals that result in the officer’s use of force (Walker 1993, 24). Some officers will report an unfounding crime, which affects the true data of lowering the official crime rate (Walker 1993, 24). These issues are occurring in society today and are common topics in the news. Citizens want to know how we can better our systems to create a safer environment for
Why does the government make it harder for average citizens to protect themselves? Police cannot always protect everyone in the community. There are only about 500,000 police officers throughout the country, which means there is around 125,000 police officers on duty at any given time. Other than a bodyguard or a law enforcement officer at everyone’s side twenty-four hours a day, the most effective deterrent to a criminal attack is the criminal’s fear that the potential victim is armed and prepared to defend themselves.
Use of Force In this research paper, I will present a better understanding of what law enforcement officers encounter and when they need to utilize the use of force continuum. I will also present case studies where use of force has been used to protect an officer, the public in which they serve, or even be used in the extent as excessive use of force. This paper will give a in-depth detailed understanding how many people who are not in the law enforcement industry, may feel that someone has been excusive while using force within a service they provide to their community. I will give an insight to when force should be used and when force should not be used.
In order to have effective policing I believe integrity and ethics play a huge part in helping build trust within communities. Sound conduct by police improves community interactions, enhances communication, and promotes shared responsibility for addressing crime and disorder. There are three ways that police departments can strengthen community relationships just by training officers about procedural justice, bias reduction, and racial reconciliation. If we implement these concepts, we can create an environment in which effective partnerships between the police and citizens can flourish.
Sadly enough, police brutality has become normalized in today’s America. According to The Washington Post, less than two months into 2018, 146 people have been shot and killed by the police. The irony of the police brutality crisis is the idea that innocent lives are being taken every day at, what is supposed to be, the hands of our nation’s protectors. Because of the power included in a policeman’s title, misuse of such authority has caused an impending crisis in our nation. Resolving police brutality is crucial to rebuilding the structure of our communities as well as the trust between citizens and policemen.
Police brutality is an act that often goes unnoticed by the vast majority of white Americans. This is the intentional use of “excessive force by an authority figure, which oftentimes ends with bruises, broken bones, bloodshed, and sometimes even death” (Harmon). While law-abiding citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been revealed that they must also keep an eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. According to the National Police Academy, in the past year, there have been over 7,000 reports of police misconduct; fatalities have been linked to more than 400 of these cases (Gul). Police brutality is often triggered by disrespect towards the police officer.
Understanding the issue is just part of what’s needed. The purpose of the section is to identify a solution, or as may be the case, solutions. So, the question here is what can we do to improve the relationship between the police and the citizens. Over the years there has been many books written and studies conducted, all in an effort to find the best way to improve police and citizen relationships. To do this we must look at all available information. According to The Study Circles Resource Center’s Protecting Communities, Serving the Public: Police and residents building relationships to work together (2000), “Bring police and community together. We need to meet not just when there is a crisis or a big crime. We should do things to build relationships that are not so full of conflict. Then it would be easier to work together. We can build respect and trust for one another when we make time to meet with and learn about each other. This is the only way to do it.