In regard to police abuse, there will be many officers who feel that their job of fighting escalating street crime, gangs, narcotics violations, and other violent crimes is difficult already, and that worrying about excessive policy for abusive behavior will only further decrease their ability to fight crime effectively, efficiently, and safely. Citizens, however, have been caught up in this gung-ho attitude, and police are more and more often crossing the line of investigation and interrogation with abusive behavior. This abuse must be monitored so that police do not forget who they are serving--not themselves, but the public. This means that even the criminals, who are a part of the public, have certain rights, particularly, civil rights. All citizens must be aware of these rights to protect themselves against over-aggressive officers who take advantage of their position as badge and gun holders to intimidate and abuse civilians for personal or departmental goals.
Discretion can be very dangerous when ridiculed or judged in the eyes of the public. A police chief representing a community and acting on behalf of a police department must use extreme caution and thoughtfulness in the deliberate choices he makes at his own preference. Failure for the leader of such a department to make sound, sensitive, moral, consistent decisions can cause public uproar and negative media attention. The concept of discretion via two situations will be examined and how it affects the very unique role of the police chief. Police chiefs’ use many types of administrative and operational discretion and the manner that they may use that discretion can affect the officers who work in the department and in the field under them as well.
How can police officials solve the issue of fellow officers abusing their power and at times taking the law into their own hands? In the field of law enforcement, it can be difficult to balance what is the right course of action to use based on the criminals and their intentions while being placed under arrest. It is important that officers make all the appropriate precautions so that their decision to implement use of force cannot be miscued as abuse of power. Police officers are on the force to protect and serve that is why it is detrimental for the department, community, and themselves to make the most responsible decision even when they are faced with the worst of circumstances. It seems to be displayed in the media, that officers are abusing their power far too often and crossing the line in using excessive force to handle situations.
In most cases the police officers are legally allowed to use of force when necessary. The police officers and the public expect these officers to do what is required within the means of the law due to the nature of their duties. In order to deal with the misconducts of the society in which we live, people who work in the law enforcement agencies may gradually develop the attitude or the sense that they are above society, this is very clear in the traditional reaction-based policing models; in most cases the police hold the belief that they are supposed to be above the law and can sometimes allow themselves to break a few rules. Often through internal sources the police are often the cause of misconduct as result of the systematic factors that originates from within the police force. These factors are as follows; the officers are pressured to conform to the aspects of the police duties which are designed to sustain a substantial resistance to the criminal subculture while protecting the members within the police force, this goes to the extent of violating the law while at the same time the criminals are viewed in a suspicious perspective and with a lot of distrust.
Also protect us from harm and that includes violence from the police. There are different cases of police brutality where some are racially motivated even if they do not admit to it; and there 's also cases where the officer goes into a situation with little to no information and so they are on edge. Police officers have very stressful jobs so it is understandable if they just could not handle the situation they are put in and used an unorthodox method. Many men and women who join the force are supposed to be trained to de-escalate the situation and reassure people of their safety, so what happens when the opposite happens? Unfortunately, civilians and officers have and will lose their lives simply because of the lack of education and lack of
Police officers need the correct discipline when it comes to controlling how much power they are giving. Power would go to any persons head, whether they intend for it to or not, simply because of our humanity. The purpose of MPPR is to help people come to the authorities. It helps them gain the confidence they need to report what has happened to them. A lot of the time, victims of any abuse are afraid to go to the authorities from fear of their attacker coming for them again, fear of angering the entire police
With that kind of power comes responsibility, that’s one major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is when to use force or when to use lethal force. The use of excessive force may or not be a large predicament but should be viewed by both the police and the community. Police brutality is hypocrisy;
The division may be further entrenched by a perception on the part of some officers of public animosity towards the police (Will, G. F., 1998). Every instance of corruption is further reinforces the distance between society and the police by increasing public hostility and distrust towards the police. Policing is an extremely emotional occupation and it is difficult for officers not to involve personally in their work. They are not merely human forms of robots, firing their guns arbitrarily with a complete lack of sense or emotion. No matter what type of activities police officers are involved in, they are often required to use force to rectify certain situations, thus this primary discrepancy is difficult to distinguish between what is required and what is excessive force.
Use of Excessive Force by Police Introduction: Police officers are given a significant amount of discretion simply due to the nature of the 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 they must use this power effectively. One major concern with the amount of discretion officers have is their power to decide when to use force or when to use lethal force. Manning (1997:295) argues that it is generally accepted that police should be allowed to use force.
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.