Coercive Use Of Force
Wedny Francois
CJE 1000 – Introduction To Law Enforcement
Dr. Anthony Berrios
The use of coercive authority by members of law enforcement is a widely debated issue both here in the United States and in countries around the world. Growing up in Haiti, I witnessed many instances of coercive, or excessive, tactics by authority figures. When a child would commit a crime, many times all of the kids in the neighborhood were punished, even if they had no part in or knowledge of the wrongdoing. Police officers and other government agents sometime exceed the appropriate level of authority they are authorized to use. As a future member of law enforcement, I believe that in order for civilians to be able
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Police departments are better armed, are being trained in advanced tactics, and have more authority. While this is obviously a necessity in order to prevent further attacks, it is often misunderstood by the public and used by the police to their advantage, sometimes unfairly. Recent events such as the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, illustrate this. Without any video evidence of the incident, it is difficult to comprehend what actually happened. Many members of the Ferguson community are convinced the officer used excessive force and may have committed first-degree murder, while the police department firmly believes it was a just and legal …show more content…
When the Constitution and the Bill of Rights were written and enacted, laws were created to ensure citizens certain rights, from freedom of religion to having a speedy trial and due process. The Fifth Amendment also enables suspected criminals the right to not incriminate themselves, which became the basis of Miranda rights. The founding fathers made sure that as America grew and generations passed, these basic human rights were almost eternal. They understood that the world today would be much different than the world they lived in, and laid down our laws with that in mind. America 's law enforcement is much more complex than anyone could have imagined, but the Constitution will always be the 'supreme law of the land '. Government agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were introduced when a need for them arose. These agencies, along with many others, are tasked with upholding the law, investigating crimes, and ensuring the freedom of our
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.
When we think of the police, we normally think of the brave men and women out on the street, enforcing the law, catching criminals, helping out the public in cases of emergency and making us feel safe in general. Most of the Police in most of the world is like that which is a good thing, However in the United States of America the police here are a bit more ruthless. Most of the police officers are very nice people and they really do want to help out in their community, but unfortunately there are some bad and corrupt cops in the system that will break the law and do some bad things. In the Modern world most bad cops are seen as racist and trigger happy. They don’t kill for fun of course but whenever they feel threatened they are trained to
By teaching police officers alternatives to shooting to kill, they experience higher risks with their lives. Police Commissioner, Ray Kelly, said, “It would be "very difficult" to train officers to shoot to wound” (Jacobo, 2016). Police officers are viewed as “predators” and “an occupying army” rather than allies (Valey, 2016). This is a perception that needs to change because it counteracts the mission of police officers
One of the main powers law enforcement officers carry is the authority to make citizens involuntarily give up their rights. Most people when confronted by police get mild to moderate panic reaction, can become nervous or anxious, and do as much as possible to limit the time spent with the officer. Due to the difference in power between a citizen and a police officer, citizens often unknowingly, give up their constitutional rights when an officer acts tough or bullies them (Guidelines?1).
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.
Coercion can be defined as forcing someone to do something they do not want to do. In order to determine if coercion will be successful or not one has to look at four key principles: communication, capability, credibility and compliance or “target will.” While the peace settlements after World War I could have been considered coercive, they probably had very little chance of success based on these four stated principles. France communicated that it wanted unreasonable demands including unlimited reparations for the war. Without Great Britain and the United States, France had little capability in enforcing the settlements. In addition, it had little to no past reputation of being able to support its decision in upholding the settlements. Finally,
Visualize a mother of two kids and a wife of a police officer waking up everyday thinking that her husband has a possibility of being killed. With that being said, I firmly believe that police officers should protect themselves with any means necessary. Recently there have been many scenarios of people claiming police brutality and also shootings taking place in regards to police officers and members of the community. Aside from the great pride that comes along with being an officer, I believe that it is the duty of an officer to protect the community around him, but that can only be done if the police officer has the full support of the community around him. The shootings and assaults that have been taking place are all in all the result of the police trying to defend themselves by making quick, rational decisions to be vigilant and better protect the community, as well as taming the increasingly
Everyday law enforcement personal have the possibility to face dangerous events in their daily duties. In performing such duties a police officer could come by a seemingly ordinary task, and in a blink of an eye the event can turn threatening and possible deadly. When or if this happens to an officer they won’t have
Attention Getter: Are all the officers who are intended to "Protect and Serve" really following through with that?
According to The Global Research News, in the last decade alone the number of people murdered by police has reached 5,000. This humanitarian crisis in the United States has become an alarming reality. Police officers have the capability to arrest, confiscate property, and use deadly force. Yet, many have abused their powers. Police brutality is on the rise whether society believes it or not because of the advancement in technology, low education and experience, racial profiling, and people’s refusal to obey.
Common sense is an ability to receive, interpret, and judge a situation reasonably. Common sense has a direct correlation to the discretion a law enforcement officer will utilize throughout their career. This paper will discuss a few aspects of the law enforcement profession that relates to mechanisms emplaced to deal with discretion: internal control mechanisms, external control mechanisms, citizen control m...
Since the police officers have a lot of say in dealing with calls and crimes, they all vary in their approaches to doing so. For instance, one officer may think a call is not as important as another, while a separate officer may decide the first call was more serious and he/she may respond to that one first. This is the same problem with whether or not to use force. There are many factors that affect not only the officer’s decision to use force, but also the criminal’s choice of actions. If an officer is being rude or discriminating against a suspect, then that suspect may act in a more vicious manner. This could result in the officer deciding to use force. All officers may see a threat differently, resulting in different disciplinary actions. The use of force rules vary in different police departments. This is concerning to some because the citizens may feel that they are not being treated as equal as others. Other issues include illegitimate investigations, spying, which could result in an unfair judgement of individuals that result in the officer’s use of force (Walker 1993, 24). Some officers will report an unfounding crime, which affects the true data of lowering the official crime rate (Walker 1993, 24). These issues are occurring in society today and are common topics in the news. Citizens want to know how we can better our systems to create a safer environment for
The Use of Force, written by William Carlos Williams is a story about a conflicted unnamed doctor using physical force to determine a diagnosis. The question that is brought up is whether or not the doctor’s use of force was one of ethical duty or infuriating violence. The doctor makes it his duty to save the patient, Mathilda as she does not cooperate he makes a choice to go on and use force to open her mouth to determine her diagnosis. The choice of using force isn’t necessarily the questionable part, the motive on using physical force is debatable. The ultimate question that the short story, the Use of Force asks is whether or not the doctor’s motives become one of dutiful compassion or desirable violence.
Firstly, it is important to consider that policing is wholly dependent on public consent. More recently, there can be seen to be a breakdown in the relationship between police and the public, which has ultimately led to the belief that the police are illegitimate due to a disproportionate use of force. Some researchers maintain a belief that brutality is used by the police to control a population considered undesirable, whilst they go beyond the law, it is a method used to achieve social order (Skolnick and Fyfe, 1993). Thus, whilst it may seem like the police are supported in their duties, the idea of allowing all police rights to carry guns on duty could be something problematic (Squirres and Kennison, 2010). If police abuse their basic powers, then they can easily abuse the powers to use extreme force which can become dangerou...
The media depicts officers in many different ways, most of which are not always positive. Officers face discrimination as a result and may not be able to perform their duties properly. The media is constantly talking about how all law enforcement officials are racist, violent, and ultimately criminals themselves. It can be very hard for a police officer to be taken seriously. People may even fear police officers, which makes it difficult to conduct an investigation of any sort. Officers are also in danger of violence, because people assume the worst about them, they may take extraordinary measures to prevent the police from doing their jobs. Of course, there are some bad police out there, but there are also a lot of police who are keeping us all safe. The media is definitely the biggest danger law enforcement officials currently