Thesis Statement: police discretion is the framework for promoting justice in police-citizen interactions in the traffic sector. Police officers face a myriad of challenges in their line of duty. Most cases necessitate sound decisions to settle disputes amicably. When they apply discretion in an incoherent manner, they may end up abusing human rights. Therefore, they apply it when dealing with legal sanctions such as making arrests, giving out a ticket and stopping the offending party.
Numerous approaches can be offered for this process, but profiling is a common tactic that has aided law enforcement in seeking justice for both suspects and victims. Although viewed negatively at times, law enforcement profiling is an effective tool for police officers that should not be abandoned due to infrequent and negligible invasions into an innocent person’s personal privacy. Suspect profiling has diverse backgrounds, intentions, and classifications that are demonstrated in various forms and allows law enforcement to evaluate and distinguish any probable evidence. With the following paragraphs I will provide detailed information on what ‘profiling suspects’ means in a law enforcement setting, the pros and cons of profiling, and the reasons why profiling should be used in law enforcement. Profiling Possible Suspects Although there have been many proposals offered to the logic behind criminals and how they act, the significance of profiling possible suspects are stressed upon by law enforcement in order to achieve and maintain a way to justify the means.
Although the use of force continuum is used chiefly as a training tool for law officers, it is also valuable with citizens, such as in criminal court cases by police review boards. Specifically, a graphical illustration of a use of force continuum is useful to a jury when deciding whether an officer's use of force was sensible. While the precise progression of force varies significantly (especially the extensive gap between soft control and deadly force) among different agencie... ... middle of paper ... ...enforcement officer must respond to resistance offered by another. In order to determine what actions officers find reasonable in similar situations, some experts utilize surveys with law enforcement officers, who are provided with certain scenarios to determine what actions they would take if placed in certain situations. Knowing what other officers and citizens deem reasonable helps to craft a solid response to opposition continuum.
Retrieved from http://books.google.com.jm/books?id=HrZiIrj1Cp4C&pg=PA147&dq=security+cameras+and+privacy&hl=en&sa=X&ei=UNPLU_nELenesASS9YHYBw&ved=0CDEQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=security%20cameras%20and%20privacy&f=false TechTarget. (2012, April). Retrieved from http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/CCTV-closed-circuit-television Waller, I. (2006). Less Law, More Order: The Truth about Reducing Crime.
In recent years, police actions, particularly police abuse, has come into view of a wide, public and critical eye. While citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been shown that they must also keep a watchful eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. This paper will discuss the types of police abuse prevalent today, including the use of firearms and receipt of private information. I will also discuss what and how citizens' rights are taken advantage of by police. For these problems, solutions will be discussed, focusing on political reform, education, and citizen review boards.
To further prove their point Crank & Caldero (2004) use works of many authors, who wrote about police ethics and corruption and about how the noble cause is interpreted by police officers. Each of the authors discusses a dilemma with which polices officers have to deal when deciding what action they need to take in order to deal with criminals. Cumulatively, it seems that police conduct themselves towards criminals and citizens with hostility and with actions that maybe constituted as unlawful and corruptive in nature. But to the police officers, who are seeking justice and are driven by a noble cause, all means are good to get the bad guys. There is also a philosophical twist that puts a poli...
Different crimes will be reported and handled in a different fashion, even among the different major crimes that are committed. No matter what type of crime an investigator is working on solving, they should all be knowledgeable, patient and persistent in doing their duties. Once an alleged perpetrator has been identified by the investigator, it is important to balance their rights against the rights of the community that is being served by the law enforcement agency. Following policy will help prevent problems and mistakes from occurring. References Cornwell, N. C. (2004).
The results of the me... ... middle of paper ... ...tional Institute of Justice, Retrieved from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/171676.PDF Sherman, L., & Weisburd, D. (1995) General deterrent effects of police patrol in crime “Hot spots”: A randomized, controlled trial. Justice Quarterly,12(4),625-648. Weisburd, D., & Eck, J. E. (2004). What can police to reduce crime, disorder, and fear? The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 593(1), 42-65. doi: 10.1177/0002716203262548 Welsh, B. C., & Farrington, D. P. (2005).
“The predictive vision moves law enforcement from focusing on what happened to focusing on what will happen and how to effectively deploy resources in front of crime, thereby changing outcomes," writes Charlie Beck, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.” 1 Random rounds and beats travelled by police personnel in districts and zones created from geographical boundaries have dominated law enforcement techniques for the last forty years. Although in more recent times, agencies have moved toward a more community based approach of officers using their best problem solving methods to limit problems and aid the public, most budgets require a more efficient leaner force to protect and enforce. Systems like COMPSTAT can take advantage of volumes of data collected by law enforcement to uncover previously unknown patterns and associations to aid officers in their efforts in enforcement and prevention. “The strategic foundation for predictive policing is clear enough. A smaller, more agile force can effectively counter larger numbers by leveraging intelligence, including the element of surprise.
Cases involving excessive police brutality are a constant source of contention between American citizens and law enforcement of state and local governments. The harsher the transgression committed by an officer, the more likely they are to avoid consequences. The lack of accountability for a wrongdoing committed by law enforcement is much more common than it should be. Not to mention the lengths police departments will go to cover-up and justify the actions taken. If there was a way to ensure no detail would be left to chance, it would make sense to implement nationwide.