The amount of “reasonable force” that Law enforcement is allowed to use nowadays has decreased substantially to try to avoid injuries to those who are both being detained and are already detained. However, there are a few methods that sneak through the cracks and make their way into unnecessary and unsanctioned police behavior. This is evident in the case of Freddie Gray, a young man of 25 years that was given a “rough ride”. A “rough ride” is when an offender has been arrested and handcuffed with their hands behind their back and placed in the back of a police van without being properly secured by a seat belt while being bound. As such, the offender is incapable of keeping their balance in the back of the vehicle as the police officer up front drives erratically to throw the offender around. It’s a scare tactic that doubles as a means to roughen up the defenseless passenger. There have been incidents that date back as far as the 1980’s; most of the time the …show more content…
It is a means for law enforcement to teach offenders a lesson even though it isn’t an ethical practice. Police may be power focused and seek the adrenalin of injuring someone without being caught and prosecuted. It may also be part of the “blue wall of science” where cops cover each other’s back and do not report unethical procedure even though they don’t agree with the procedure.
The social disorganization theory may apply in these situations because the cases coming to light appear with police applying “rough rides” or “nickel rides” to low income and racially stereotyped poor community neighborhood residents. Top commanders say it is hard to pin blame for van or wagon injuries because there are rarely independent witnesses and the driver can blame a swerve or sudden stop on city
When hearing the phrase “police brutality,” many people imagine batons cracking skulls, tasers electrocuting bodies and bullets penetrating innocent teens. While police officers have been known to use violence, police brutality does not occur as often as many believe. In many situations, officers have to act on impulse and curiosity, despite the backlash the media may create.
A great deal of society views law enforcement officers as heroic and honorable individuals, whose main purpose is to protect and serve the community. For many officers, this description is accurate, however for others; violence and brutality against innocent citizens is part of getting the job done. For years, minorities have fallen victim to police brutality based on racial profiling, stereotypes and other unjustifiable reasons that has cost innocent lives. The involvement of officers in police brutality against minority groups causes tainted and negative views on policing. This reduces their ability to protect and serve the community. Police brutality is a violent incident involving an officer and a victim, usually including excessive force, unnecessary violence and sometimes resulting in a senseless fatality. Minority groups such as African Americans and Hispanics have often been the victims of this form of abuse by officers, however little justice has been done in order to protect these individuals from this form of cruelty by the hands of those with the most power.
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.
“But they didn't have to beat me this bad. I don't know what I did to be beat up." Rodney King, March 3, 1991. Police Brutality has been a long lasting problem in the United States since at least 1903 when police Captain Williams of the New York Police Department said the phrase, "There is more law at the end of a policeman's nightstick than in a decision of the Supreme Court." In the 1920's the Wichersham Commission had a number of instances of police brutality. Many of these included the use of the "third degree" (beating to obtain a confession). This is a very effective way to get a confession out of somebody. However, beating the accused could easily elicit a confession from a scared and innocent person. Also, this puts the accused person's life in danger. Police officers must make snap life and death decisions daily. Officers' work in an environment where death (theirs, their partners, and an innocent or guilty person) is one decision away. How does that constant fear effect an officer's perception? Unfortunately, many that are attracted to law enforcement are aggressive and prone towards violence as a solution. Police officers have a lot of power. With this power comes responsibility. Police brutality can be defined as the excessive or unreasonable use of force in dealing with citizens, suspects and offenders.
Police brutality against unarmed black men is currently a very highly overlooked issue in the United States of America. The men and women that vow to protect and serve for our nation have been murdering innocent unarmed African Americans and not getting any type of punishment for their wrongful actions.
On July 17, 2014, Eric Garner was seen in Staten Island selling loose cigarettes in the streets. Police officers over intensified the situation when in attempt to arrest Garner, they placed him in a chokehold. “Police escalated the situation as they were more accustomed to kicking ass than to deescalating conflict, and force was used, as it is disproportionately against blacks(Passsavant 335)”. The officers in this case had a different ways they could have handled the case more appropriately. For example, they could have frisked the suspect to immediately ensure that he was unarmed to further handle the situation more appropriately. As Garner was in a chokehold, he whispered “I can’t breathe…”, the three last words he uttered before his sudden death. This case presents clearly exemplifies officers using too much force in cases where it is not
Police brutality against minorities has been a problem over the years. Police brutality is the use of excessive physical force including beating citizens with hands or batons stun guns, teargas and even lethal weapons (Walter, 2014) Police brutality has caused severe physical harm over the year but it may also involve psychological harm through the use of intimidation tactics beyond the scope of officially sanctioned police procedures. Police brutality has been a major problem in many areas among law enforcement officers through the mistreatment of unarmed citizens. Although police brutality is illegal in many areas, many incidents of police brutality go unreported and prosecuted. The Police Misconduct Provision
Race and crime is a major topic in today’s world because it is a highly debated subject and has a major impact on how society is today. Race and crime go hand in hand. No matter who commits a crime, there is always a race involved. With race and crime there are many stereotypes that come with the subject. Race and crime are both active matters in everyday life. It is everywhere. Social Media involves race and crime in practically anything. If one is active on say for example twitter, the point of twitter is to keep your followers interested by what you are showing them. There is a reason why the news opens up with the most violent crimes and twitter is no different. As a matter of fact any form of media grasps onto it. Another example would
Chaney and Robertson, (2013) stated that “The Department of Justice office of Civil Rights has investigated more than a dozen police departments in major cities across the country on allegations of racial discrimination or police brutality”. Police brutality is defined as the use of excessive physical force or verbal assault and psychological intimidation. White police officers who grew up in the south and were raised to see African Americans in a negative way have a lower opinion of them. However, not all white police officers are from the south, some say that police officers are just abusing their power. When we look at what is going on around the country, it appears racism plays a part in police brutality. Even during this new digital age, there are video cameras in police cars facing the front of the vehicle, but that still does not hinder police using excessive
This paper is intended to examine ethical issues in Criminological research and criminal justice. This paper will analyze the multitude of ethical concerns, as well as discuss the confidentiality requirements as it pertains to criminological research.
The world will always be full of crime, thus it is necessary for scientist to grow along with the gruesome and increasing amount of violations. Due to this it sparked scientist to develop crime theories in which emerged to explain why crime is caused by individuals. Some of the few theories that have advanced over the past century and provided many answers to why crimes are committed are biological theories, psychological theories and learning theories. These theories provide an insight to its first use and change in order to provide answers.
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.
“I am convinced that imprisonment is a way of pretending to solve the problem of crime. It does nothing for the victims of crime, but perpetuates the idea of retribution, thus maintaining the endless cycle of violence in our culture. It is a cruel and useless substitute for the elimination of those conditions--poverty, unemployment, homelessness, desperation, racism, greed--which are at the root of most punished crime. The crimes of the rich and powerful go mostly unpunished.”
We are all affected by crime, whether we are a direct victim, a family member or a friend of a victim. It can interfere with your daily life, your personal sense of safety and your ability to trust others.
The Classical School of Criminology generally refers to the work of social contract and utilitarian philosophers Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham during the enlightenment in the 18th century. The contributions of these philosophers regarding punishment still influence modern corrections today. The Classical School of Criminology advocated for better methods of punishment and the reform of criminal behaviour. The belief was that for a criminal justice system to be effective, punishment must be certain, swift and in proportion to the crime committed. The focus was on the crime itself and not the individual criminal (Cullen & Wilcox, 2010). This essay will look at the key principles of the Classical School of Criminology, in particular