...Police officers killed over 346 people in 2016 alone, and less than one-third of those people were suspected to have a weapon or be accused with an alleged crime. Police use what is called abuse of power, which is an action where an officer will use violence or intimidation to charge others with a crime. Law enforcement states that this technique is used to restore order in police, however, violence with police to just “restore order” is causing many issues with racial discrimination, violence, and fear for safety. There is an abundant amount of issues with abuse of power, many examples that have been seen, and a few hopeful people trying to end the violence. First, there is a big problem with the American law enforcement, which is abuse of...
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...April 4 April 4 CRITICAL READING CRITICAL READING Police Authority Abused or Misused Giovanni Russo Section 155.Betty Anne.Word Count: 2184 Police Authority Abused or Misused Giovanni Russo Section 155.Betty Anne.Word Count: 2184 08 Fall 08 Fall Table of Contents Introduction 3 New York City 4 Police Dash Cams 5 Reported Abuse 6 Power Hungry Positions 7 Edward Krawetz 8 The Extent They Can Abuse Their Power With Out Any Consequences 8 References 9 Introduction Every year there are numerous occurrences of police brutality. Many, if not all of these occurrences have been noted and in some instances videotaped by innocent bystanders or the cameras placed on police vehicles. In many of these cases a settlement is agreed upon and the officers involved are let free and put back to work. In April of 2012 a man was brutally attacked because police had figured he was spray painting (Defranco, 2012). The innocent man, Dan Halsted, was only walking home. The lawyer involved tried to use Halsted’s house collection of kung-fu movies against him. The courts realized this was a ridiculous claim which led to a $250,000 settlement between the two parties This is great, however the police officers involved where immediately put back on duty. The duties of a police officer are to “serve and protect”, not attack and abuse. How many times has a police car pulled up behind you? What are your feelings? Are you nervous? Do you care? Do you feel protected? Personally...
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...system (judges, parliament and law enforcement) has its own discretion. Police discretion is the ability granted by the legal system to police offices, in certain situations, to act in a manner that allows authorities to make responsible decisions and individual choices or judgments, within certain legal bounds. In law enforcement, discretion is left up to each individual officer to make reasonable and responsible decisions out in the field everyday (Beech, 2008). Discretion is used in many situations, such as when an officer chooses to stop a vehicle for a small traffic violation. There are also times when the officer has no choice but to use specific discretion in certain situations and make a decision on what type of force is necessary for certain situations (Elicker, 2007). Society believes that an officer can make any choice he or she chooses at anytime while on the job, which is highly incorrect as there are many situations when an officer has no choice but to follow the law. For the most part every officer has a choice when to use or not to use discretion, and enforce the law, but allowing this choice to be made by individuals, who may seem like an average member of society, can pose a real threat regarding the misuse of such power (Delattre, 2006). Police discretion though it relates to decisions about whether or not a chargeof the police officer in that situation where force may be required. Police officers are given a wide range of options when confronted by a potentially...
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...of police brutality is to have incidents of police wrongdoing tried by independent prosecutors, as opposed to District Attorneys who have often already have regular working relationships with police officers. This could be done through each state developing an organisation to scrutinise police officers on their actions. Another way to prevent brutality is by banning local police from getting specialised military grade equipment. A federal program called 1033 allows for states to request items such...
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...Police Corruption Police corruption is an issue that has been around ever since the police force was introduced. Corruption is defined as the abuse of public power for a personal benefit. It is an issue that affects the entire society and has always been very hard to control. Police corruption is continuing to increase in the United States. Newspaper and other public publications will have stories about police officers abusing their power and committing crimes like drug smuggling, prostitution, money laundering and accepting bribes on any given day. Police officers are just as likely to commit a crime as any other citizen in the United States but when the corruption occurs people often act surprised. When committing police corruption the officer will misuse their authority, abuse their power to ultimately receive a personal gain. Police corruption can be broken down into two separate categories. The first is internal corruption which involves police officers working together to commit a crime. The second is external corruption which is when police officers accept pay offs from people who the book rules or city laws. The police force is very aware that this corruption is going on and are constantly looking for ways to decrease it. The first thing the police force needs to do is strengthen the police leadership. The chief of the force along with other people in power have to make sure they are showing their concern for police corruption in a public and private matter. They also...
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...Ethics in Policing Darlene Freeman CRIJ 5322 Introduction This paper explains issues that shape the role of ethics in policing. Police ethics involves hard choices as well as avoiding violations of basic moral standards. Police officers inevitably face ethical issues when it comes to what’s right or wrong. The authority that police officer are given to protect the public presents the temptation to abuse the power that’s given to them. This paper will explain the rule- of-law and how it represents societal standards that define police duties and responsibilities. Police officers are given a significant amount of discretion simply due to the nature of their job. Officers are faced with many threatening situations forcing them to react quickly yet appropriately. They have the power to infringe upon any citizen’s rights to freedom and therefore must use their power effectively. One major concern with a number of discretion officers have is their power to decide when to use force or when to use lethal force (Lee, Lim, Moore, & Kim, 2013) Additionally, public perception of policing will be discussed, police brutality and due process within the criminal justice system. Accountability is one of the most important components when it comes to public perception of police officers. When officers begin to use force to control the community, citizens began to review officers as authority figures instead of protecting and serving the community. This results in a breakdown...
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...communities’ response to police brutality particularly in the black communities and also their encounters with police officers. Police brutality is physical violence and great cruelty demonstrated by a police officer. Police brutality and misconduct have existed for many decades and it even has been broadcasted in news stories over America, but nothing has changed. It has happened predominantly to African Americans in lower-income states. Police officers are given slaps on the wrist for taking a life or injuring an innocent person. This will show how police brutality has affected black communities and how African American communities’ have responded to it with movements and protest, and how they try to overcome...
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...Unit Four Seminar Make-Up The Bill of Rights is intended to protect the citizens of abuse from police power. (Seminar.) This is a formal declaration of legal and civil rights in any state. This would be our amendments. The fourth amendment is the right for people to be secure in their homes against unreasonable searches and seizures which shouldn’t be violated under any circumstances. There are a few things needed for a warrant: probable cause is one of them along with neutral or detached magistrate meaning a state chief investigator or a state general attorney issued by him or her is invalid. The magistrate must approve the warrant before it can be issued. And particularity requirement meaning that the warrants must describe the particular...
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...much discretional power to police and others in the justice system without enforcing the limits, we are asking for trouble. Everyone makes mistakes in their lifetime, it’s just a natural part of being a human and sometimes because of those human errors innocent people fall victim to wrongful accusations and end up in prison over a crime that they didn’t commit. Most officers and prosecutors don’t want to put innocent people in jail and there are relatively few officials out there that abuse their discretional power and spoil everything for us all. I agree with the statement that was made but only to an extent. I argue that discretion is more good than bad and is a necessary evil that we need even though there is a chance that it could be abused by the people that control power. Furthermore, I argue that the theories and laws to limit the discretion officers and prosecutors have are useless because they are usually not enforced strictly enough. One of the reasons that we need police discretion is because of how narrow most laws are when they are created. The nature of our laws prevents them from fitting every situation that comes up which is why we have trials to test a man’s innocence. Not every person who commits a crime deserves the full force of the punishment that they might receive. Some criminals deserve more while others deserve less because of the circumstances of the situation. Some proponents of police discretion argue that, without it, many police officers wouldn’t...
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...Corruption Comes Home: Domestic Violence and Abuse by Law Enforcement Taren A. Lalli IFS2075 Professor Maier-Katkin March 6, 2015 Corruption Comes Home: Domestic Violence and Abuse by Law Enforcement At the beginning of my research and initial framing of this paper, I proposed to write about the drug system within American prisons across the scope of the nation. It wasn’t until a, somewhat recent, article came across my computer screen about a Honolulu officer being investigated after allegedly beating up his girlfriend that changed my mind completely (Blaine, 2014). Many of the qualities valued in on-duty, or even off-duty, police officers can make them dangerous domestic violence offenders. Domestic violence is a multifaceted complex phenomenon. It includes abusive acts towards children, intimate partners regardless of gender, and the elderly. All abusers use similar methods to control and abuse their intimate partners. Officers however, have skills and tactics not generally possessed by civilians. Professional training in combat, intimidation, interrogation, weapons and surveillance become a dangerous and potentially lethal combination in an intimate partner or domestic situation. Victims face the bias of law enforcement agencies and the legal system, psychological fear, and a high lethality risk. This is because victims of domestic violence by police officers are in a very different situation than that of other victims of domestic violence. Domestic violence is...
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...individuals nevertheless also sets to endeavour in the detection and deterrence of crime. By utilizing these powers invested within the police constables in a fair and unprejudiced demeanour can result in positive response and impact on individuals’ freedoms. If fundamental principles are breached the use of these powers may impeach individual freedom. Furthermore, various laws are established which have regulated police power such as Police and Evidence Act 1984, the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 and the Terrorism Act 2000. Case law also implies in exercising these arbitrary powers, the primary concern of the courts is whether it infringes...
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...for things you haven’t done and giving in to someone who seems to be on a power trip and is taking advantage of their superiority over you? Whether it be a manager taking advantage of his power in the work place or a police man or woman doing unnecessary and over the top things to you. Abuse of power seems to be a common thing in some police officers every day life and this is not okay. It is very apparent what a police officers job is and that is to protect and serve the community and make sure that real criminals are being served justice, however; some may come across police officers that use the fact that they have badges and weapons to their advantage in order to basically become a bully instead of a hero. Of course not all police officers are corrupt, most are actually doing their job and are concerned with the safety of all people and not just their own but those few that are corrupt need to be stopped and be punished for their police brutality and/or abuse of power. So the question is, are police men and women being evaluated thoroughly enough so as not to hire corrupt officers? Are police officers being punished and or brought to justice because of their wrong doings? In this paper I will bring some cases of police brutality and or abuse of police powers to your attention as well as if and how police are being punished because of their illegal or down right cruel behavior. Becoming a police officer is far from an easy task as it should be, but why is it that after...
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...Law enforcement profession especially the police is a profession like no other when it comes to the use of discretion on daily basis. Discretion means is the authority of someone to make decision between two or more choices (Pollock, 2014 p. 2). In policing, discretion is a privilege given to police officers to use their individual judgement when performing their duties. The special privilege is given to every police officer because most of the time a police officer is working alone when situation arise where the use of discretion is required. The use of police officer’s discretion while doing his/her job depends on different reasons like factors involving the offender, the situation and the system. Although police officer has a privilege of using individualized judgement, it is not absolute because he/she still must follow the ethical standard of his/her police department but some police officer does bend the rules and use an unethical behavior when using discretion. In police, police discretion can mean two things: enforcing the law or letting an offender off the hook. There are various factors where a police officer uses his/her discretion. One of the reason will depend on an offender variable. An example is, John while patrolling the community one night, he saw a car swerving on the road and an obvious DUI. He...
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...reader to expect any positive changes among the gender variant and transgender community and how it is seen by society as a whole. In many scenes throughout the novel, Feinberg presents the static derision that the general public feels toward the non-heterosexual people through slanderous remarks and traumatic abuse. In many instances, Feinberg creates scenes in which Jess and the other LGBTQ characters are imperiled with malicious libel as well as assault by strangers. What makes for an even more pessimistic display of society are the innocent bystanders that fail to intervene, even in cases where they believe the mistreatment is wrong. During one scene, Feinberg places Jess in a situation where she is confronted by a group of strangers at a pizzeria who assault her and destroy her motorcycle. “One of the guys blocked the only exit. I pushed past him real hard and ran outside to the parking lot. I jumped on my bike, but it was too late. They were almost on top of me…there wasn’t much on the bike that wasn’t smashed or twisted…” (Feinberg 56-57). While all of this was happening, the man who stood behind the counter did not say a word, not to mention call the police. Here, Feinberg shows that the hateful society in which the characters live either breeds people that...
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...345 Columbia College 19 December 2014 Table of Contents 1. Police Role – (Chapter 5 – The Police Role in Society) Article: Richard Goerling, “The Role of Mindfulness Training in Policing a Democratic Society,” Officer Safety Corner, The Police Chief 81 (April 2014): 10–11 Web Sites: Community Policing: A Model for Today's Society. (2004, May 4). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.policeone.com/community-policing/articles/86020-Community-Policing-A-Model-for-Todays-Society/ Role of police in society. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.activistrights.org.au/handbook/ch01s06.php BENZIGER, J. (2010, November 1). The Role of Police in Democracy. Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.dynamicyouth.org/index.php?option=com_content&id=1583:the-role-of-police-in-democracy&Itemid=85 2. Corruption – (Chapter 7 – Police Corruption and Responses) Article: Griffith, D. (2003, October 1). Corruption: Cracking Down on Bad Cops. Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/articles/2003/10/corruption-cracking-down-on-bad-cops.aspx Web Sites: Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.policemisconduct.net/statistics/ Police Corruption and Misconduct. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/PoliceCorruptionandMisconduct White, S. (1999, July 4). Controlling Police Corruption. Retrieved December 10, 2014, from https://web.stanford...
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