Patrol Officer Case Study

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Patrol Officers: Issues and Solutions
With the public’s growing animosity towards patrol officers many of the issues faced by these officers are often overlooked. Not only the public, but those entering the job specifically, should be aware of these issues and solutions for dealing with them. Regarding the negativity surrounding police we must consider police ethics and discretion: As an officer how do you determine probable cause or necessary force? This leads us to the issues of officer safety and mental health. With patrol officers having such a dangerous and desensitizing jobs how do we protect ourselves while also preserving peace and justice? On a broader spectrum as a patrol officer we must also be involved in the community and cooperate …show more content…

The officer must use ethics and decision making skills to determine the level of force necessary per situation. A famous case where police ethics in use of force is visited is the Birmingham police brutality case involving Anthony Warren of Birmingham, Alabama (Faulk, 2014). After a high speed chase and attempted murder of an officer the suspect Anthony Warren was ejected from his vehicle and lay unconscious. Despite him being unconscious and unable to resist he was still beaten by five police officers before being handcuffed. Observing this situation from an officer’s point of view it is understandable the distress experienced after witnessing one of your “brothers” being nearly killed [and for all they knew actually dead] and the many other lives that were put in danger during this chase. Regardless of emotional response, officers must still uphold professional ethics and administer force only as …show more content…

This can be for various reasons including the messages we are taught growing up about police. Not only does this interfere with police safety and efficacy but it also prevents many victims from seeking help under the presumption that the police will not help or will actually harm them or their families. This is especially of concern in ethnic communities that have differing traditions they fear police will infringe upon. According to a publication by Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute (2011) community outreach and involvement of patrol officers can decrease crime and increase safety of citizens and

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