...and on their chest. The idea of equipping officers with these body cameras has been a hot topic of debate in light of recent past events, such as the unarmed shooting of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson Missouri Mandatory use of body cameras should be put into place because it will protect civilians from the use of excessive force and hold officers responsible for their actions, not invade the privacy of both the public and police officers with the proper guidelines in place, and lower the rates of police use of excessive force, while lowering the rates of false claims against officers. With more and more cases of use of excessive force against civilians, people across America are becoming outraged by the actions of police officers and feel that taking the word of an officer is no longer good enough to explain their actions. Americans across the nation want answers of why an officer resorted to the use of excessive force and body cameras can provide Americans with those answers. In the 2015 article “Considering Police Body Cameras,” In the summer of 2012 Marcus Jeter was arrested and charged with eluding police, resisting arrest, and aggravated assault on an officer. Neither officer was wearing body cameras, but their police cruisers captured the incident...
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...POLICE OFFICERS Police officers are law enforcement officers who are expected to keep law and order in the society by controlling crimes, investigating crimes, making arrests, patrolling streets and controlling traffics (MacVean & Neyroud, 2012). They are expected to show high level of good ethical conduct such as honesty, integrity, courage, responsibility and good character (MacVean & Neyroud, 2012). This has not been the case in the country. Controversial behaviors have widely been reported among the police officers who are expected to enforce the low and order. The police have been accused of violating the moral ethical values by engaging in corruption (MacVean & Neyroud, 2012). Therefore this paper intends to discuss the ethical issues in regards to police officers in Opa-Locka and Miami Florida. Ethics and Corruption Ethical issues do crop up in our day to day life. In the law enforcement departments, a clear understanding of the ethics will be of greater importance since the officers are highly expected to practice good moral values in the society. Therefore, police administration and the Attorney General should ensure that officers adhere to the police code of conduct so as not to develop mistrust in the eyes of the public (MacVean & Neyroud, 2012). However, ethics is defined as the study of the specific moral conducts an individual practices while relating to the others (MacVean & Neyroud, 2012). On the hand, corruption is a form of moral misconduct...
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...Are police officers allowed to use force when arresting or restraining an individual? What is the reason behind police officers using extreme and lethal force? Why are officers not held accountable for the actions they make? Will there ever be a reasonable answer for using police brutality? How can one define police brutality and the effect it has on the African American community? Why are African Americans receiving the wrong end of the stick in many situations? Police brutality is becoming a frequent topic of discussion and the possible solution are better training and communication skills developed. Police brutality is the process of exerting excessive force, and it can be determined as the abuse from higher authority. The brutality from...
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...Police brutality is the social term for abuse of power, a common condition that affects human right across the world. According to Walker (2011), police brutality is defined as “the use of excessive physical force or verbal assault and psychological intimidation” (p. 579). In other words, the police brutality is the use of excessive force by police such as bloodshed, bruises, and sometimes even death when they deal with civilians. According to copcrisis.com - a non-profit project, police brutality has gotten worse over the past ten years due to a number of factors. There reported 1,307 people killed by police in 2015. Nationally, from April 2009 to June 2010, there has been 5,986 reports of misconduct. However, the government did not record the reporting practices. This action of government is a massive hole in date causes increasing the police brutality. People do not realize that the misuse of authority is occurring if there have not some big cases. However, in the United States, police brutality is seen as a violation of the law - the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Eighth Amendment states that “Cruel and unusual punishments” are prohibited by the State. Police brutality will be investigated by attorneys if any reports...
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...Recently, a video was released to the public of a South Carolina police officer using excessive force on a black, female high-school student. Another officer putting his career on the line by using excessive force in an incident that is really minor---a student refusing to put their cellphone away! While reading a book on police brutality and its opposing views, it referenced statements by teenagers and adults who claimed to have despair when around the police. Due to crimes happening around them, people who have had police encounters state they feel police unfairly put them under the category of being associated to crime, even when that is not the case. Teens are arguing that when they encounter police officers, they are being treated unfairly...
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...everything, must chase thugs and bombs, stake out long nights, write reports until his eyes ache to solve cases, accept low wages for salary, and must be dedicated. He is greedy, rude, has low self-esteem, unprofessional, disrespectful, dishonest, and abusive of power. Corrupt Officers are created within one’s self. They are immoral people from the start of mandate. Those worthy Police Officers that serve with good intent can be lead to corruption by power or greed, lack of community support and the lack of supervisory accountability. These three things need to be addressed in efforts to save the police force and minimize the number of corrupt officers that work in the field of police work. Police Officers that have never been in a position of authority can get carried away and abuse authority. They have aspirations of being one of the best officers in the department. They are made to believe that making the most arrest and writing the most tickets will put them above the rest of the officers and they lose focus of what real police work involves. Factors such as excessive use of force and misconduct contribute this word wide problem. With this attitude reports are surprisingly fabricated and the corruption starts. In 1991 Rodney King was stopped on a traffic stop in Los Angeles California and beaten by several Officers. These Officers used excessive force...
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...Research shows that minority groups lack confidence in law enforcement, and many believe that police are likely to use excessive force. Social scientists who have done extensive research on the relationship of racial minorities and law enforcement note that there is a deep sense of mistrust embedded in many communities. (Wihbey, Kille) Blacks and Latinos live in constant fear of being arrested for no reason by white cops. They have to be on their best behavior just to do simple activities throughout the day. Some people suggest that the reason some police officers act the way they do towards black men is fear. They are scared of black men and act in a way that helps them not be so scared. They take away their power before they can use it against them. Police officers that are afraid act in a panic and that’s when “accidents” happen. (Williams) Even though it can be scary for both parties, black men and police officers need to know that they are not always out to get each other. Due to a lack of training, some police officers don’t have the right training to handle certain situations. In John Whibey and Leighton Walter Kille’s article on “Excessive or Reasonable Force by Police”, they cover the subject of how much cops are actually trained to deal with certain situations. They note that “A 2015 report conducted for the Justice Department analyzed 394 incidents involving deadly police...
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...As African Americans and women and other minorities have fought for equal rights over time, their presence in the police force has increased, leading to more diversity among officers. As diversity within the police system increases, you would expect to see fewer cases of discrimination against the public. Also officers will be exposed to different cultures and values within the work force. The formation of police unions provides a way to prevent unfair punishments for breaking the code of silence. More officers may come forward if they feel they have the support of a union if they face repercussions. In addition, I believe modern technology has and will continue to have an effect on police subculture. In a society where the majority of citizens have the latest smart phone readily available to vide tape and record the conduct of police officers, it is harder to get away with unethical behaviors, like the use of excessive force. Even if officers believe they can engage in immoral behavior while on duty without being punished by their supervisors, they still face the possibility of civil litigation, which is often enough to influence their behaviors. According to Pollock, research shows that the majority of officers in a study did not feel they needed to commit perjury in order to convict a criminal, however, the same study showed that more than half of the officers surveyed would not come forward with information of misconduct of a fellow officer (Pollock, 2014...
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... As time has developed, the issues of old have passed, but now, new ones have arose. Currently, sitting in 2015, the United States is again being subjected to another social issue; that is police brutality and the use of body cameras as a means of holding all parties involved accountable for their actions. It is simply irresponsible not to implement this new means of technology and I believe that it’s use is a key factor in solving the social issue of police brutality, and the untrust and stigmas that stem from this abuse of power. Names like Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner have dominated headlines of many major news outlets for the past two years. The common factor between the three being the excessive use of force upon unarmed civilians. In the cases of Martin and Brown, both men were fatally shot, both were unarmed, and both had two conflicting sides of the story detailing the events leading up to and after their respective shootings. In each instance, many in the public were led to believe that racial stigmas were the determining reasons for the pulling of the trigger, and as a result mass protests and riots have occurred in towns such as but not limited to, Ferguson, Missouri and New York City. This is where body...
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...In the field of Criminal Justice, there are many topics of controversy such as Police using body cameras. This topic is becoming a bigger issue around the country due to false accusations on people and police. There are pros and cons to every controversial issue. Four cons related to Police body cameras are the following: The cameras are expensive. There is a privacy issue for both police and civilians. There may be issues with the camera. The police don’t want them. On the positive side, there are pros as well. Four pros of police using body cameras are the following: Helps provide valuable evidence in obtaining accurate victim and witness statements. Protects police officers from false accusations. The use of cameras while on duty provides hard video evidence of...
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...Crime, Corruption and Cover-ups in the Chicago Police Department Anti-Corruption Report Number 7 January 17, 2013 Authored by: John Hagedorn Bart Kmiecik Dick Simpson Thomas J. Gradel Melissa Mouritsen Zmuda David Sterrett With Ivana Savic Justin Escamilla Magdalena Waluszko Dalibor Jurisic Tricia Chebat Published by University of Illinois at Chicago Department of Political Science 1 The Chicago Police Department has a legacy of both heroism and corruption. On the one hand, the department’s officers risk their lives on a daily basis to enforce the law, protect the public and preserve the peace. On the other hand, Chicago has a checkered history of police scandals and an embarrassingly long list of police officers who have crossed the line to engage in brutality, corruption and criminal activity. An analysis of five decades of news reports reveals that since 1960, a total of 295 Chicago Police officers have been convicted of serious crimes, such as drug dealing, beatings of civilians, destroying evidence, protecting mobsters, theft and murder. Moreover, the listing of police convicted of crimes undoubtedly underestimates the problem of corruption in the Chicago Police Department (CPD). The list does not include undetected and unreported illegal activity, serious misconduct resulting in internal disciplinary action, and officers who retire rather than face charges. Our analysis of police corruption in Chicago yields four major findings. First, corruption has long persisted...
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...wear a badge they think that they have all the power in the world. The also think that they are required to protect each other no matter what. Here we look at the “Blue Wall of Silence” and “Police Culture” to distinguish what they are and their effects. There are still some good cops in this world that will stand up for what they believe in and they really do uphold the law by protecting and serving the citizens of this country. Then you have the cops that see that other cops are doing wrong and they don’t say a word, this is call the “Blue Wall of Silence”. The Blue Wall of Silence is a phrase used in law enforcement which means when an officer is observing another officer committing acts that do not uphold the law such as using excessive force towards another officer or a suspect and things of that nature. I applaud cops that believes that everyone should be treated with respect and one’s that follows the rules of being a police officer in their community because there are only so many of those types of officers. Cops that commit heinous acts while on duty should be punished and never have the ability to become an officer of any sort ever again. Misconduct amongst police officers will always be a problematic thing within a law enforcement agency and their are ways to reduce this type of behavior within the workplace of police officers. When we hear the phrase the “Blue Wall of Silence” some refer it to as “no snitching” or as...
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...Alarm Fatigue Alarm fatigue is a growing national problem within the health care industry that links medical technology as a serious hazard that poses a significant threat to patient safety within hospitals across the country. Alarm fatigue occurs when nurses encounter an overwhelming amount of alarms thus becoming desensitized to the firing alarms. Alarm desensitization is a multifaceted issue that is related to the number of alarming medical devices, a high false alarm rate, and the lack of alarm standardization in hospitals today (Cvach, 2012). Desensitization can lead to delayed response times, alarms silenced or turned off, or alarms adjusted to unsafe limits, which can create a dangerous situation for the patient. Alarm fatigue has been identified as having negative effects on patients as well as healthcare professionals. Many hospitals have reported that alarm-related injuries have occurred due to the overwhelming amount of constant sounding alarms. Critical alarms cause nurses to tune out sounds, which in turn triggers the brain to adjust to stimulation, thus causing a healthcare professional to disregard the alarms. Hospital alarms can come from an array of devices including blood pressure machines, oxygen saturation devices, sleep apnea devices, fall prevention alarms, intravenous pumps, patient-controlled analgesia pumps, patient call systems, ventilators, telephones, anti-embolism pumps, and heart monitors. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the problem...
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...This paper analyzes the protocol that determines the appropriate procedures for a safer community for the victimized minorities through use -of- force incidents. HSB4U1 December 11/12/2015 Summative Report Mrs. Kim By: Julianne Silva Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 3 Chapter one: Police Issues American CCPSA Fixing Problems…………………………………………………………Pg. 4 America’s Flawed System……………………………………………………………………Pg. 6 Controlling the Police…………………………………………………………………………Pg. 7 Chapter two: Police Solutions The Debate over Body Cameras…………………………………………………………….Pg. 9 Changing Policies and Regulations...……………………………………………………….Pg. 10 Chapter Three: Community and Behaviour Police Subculture……………………………………………………………………………….Pg.12 Impact on Minorities…………………………………………………………………………….Pg.12 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….Pg.14 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………………………Pg.15 Appendix A: Julianne Silva Survey Summary………………………………………………..Pg.17 Appendix B-1: ………………………………………………………………………………….... Appendix B-2……………………………………………………………………………………... Introduction One of the most controversial topics in police enforcement throughout history has been the issue between racial minorities and the misconduct of police officials. Throughout North America, high incidents involving police use of force has led racial minorities to mistrust the police and publicize the perception that the police are racially biased. Police brutality is the leading...
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...The Use of Police Force Police officers in today’s society are given a significant amount of discretion simply due to the nature of the job. These officers are often faced with many threatening situations forcing them to react quickly and properly. They have the power to infringe upon any citizen's rights to freedom and therefore they must use this power within the limits of the law. One major concern with the amount of discretion an officer has is their ability to decide when to or not to use lethal force while apprehending a subject. Manning (1997:295) argues that it is generally accepted that police should be allowed to use force when necessary. He also goes on to explain that there is an uncertainty amongst citizens as to what constitutes excessive force. The link between what is necessary and what is extreme is very marginal. The use of force is no doubt one widely debated aspect in policing; however, excessive force should also be used with great discretion. If officers do not use force on every suspect they encounter, then they may be creating a negative environment for the community. As defined by David Allender (2004:18-19), community policing is a philosophy of full-service, custom-made policing where the same officer patrols and works in the same area on a mandatory basis, from a decentralized place, working in a proactive partnership with citizens of that community to identify and solve problems as a team. The most important factors pertaining to community...
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