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Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System
Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System
Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System
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The use of excessive force by police officers is common in instances where supervisory personnel fail to inculcate appropriate attitudes toward minority groups and suspects (Jeffries, 2002). The excessive use of force is often overlooked, as it was in the Rampart case, when the specialized unit is otherwise making so-called good collars and reducing crime on the streets. There is a tacit sense among many policy supervisors that excessive force is a fraudulent claim that is made by offenders who try to damage the police department (Jeffries, 2002).
In the case of charges against the Rampart CRASH unit accused of stealing narcotics from an LAPD evidence locker, it is possible that a combination of opportunity and the unit's culture influenced
Police corruption is a practice of illegal and unprofessional behavior for improper reason to achieve approved goals by their officers. “The Seven Five,” documentary looks at police misconduct at Brooklyn’s 75th Precinct during the 1980s. The documentary turns into a narrative feature combined of interviews with key investigators, Michael Dowd, and Adam Diaz a deported Dominican drug dealer. Police Officer Michael Dowd explained his rogue activities during his assignment at rid the City of narcotics traffickers. Instead, he enlisted the services of other officers who began robbing drug dealers of their money, drugs or guns, or going into business with them to distribute narcotic and weapons. Dowd identified his formative years at the Department as laying the groundwork for his corrupt
We will examine the case of NYPD Narcotics Detective Frank Serpico, who was regarded as a snitch and a rat by fellow officers who were on the take, and complete a what would you do dilemma. Serpico's original intent was not to be a "whistleblower" within the Department, but rather all he wanted to do initially was to be a Police Officer and not accept any bribes, payoffs, or favors as a result of his professional position within the community (Petit, 2011). As a consequence of his testimony before the Knapp Commission in 1971, Serpico was ostracized by his peers as a deviant for being conscientious; ergo, although it cannot be proven, it is believed that he was ultimately set up to be shot during a drug raid in which he was seriously wounded. To this day, Frank Serpico questions why fellow cops never called in a code 10-13 officer down after he took a bullet in the face on Feb. 3, 1971 (McShane, 2012).
Not only does sub-culture play a big role in police corruption, but also so does
Police brutality is becoming more and more apparent in the news today because it seems to be occurring more than before. In 2012, the NYPD killed 21 people that year which was an increase by 7 from the previous year (W.A.T.E.R, 1). The numbers are rising in the big cities where more crimes are likely to happen. Toronto isn’t as big as New York City, but it comes to show that police officers are killing more individuals each year. In 2009, in the little city of Cabbagetown near Toronto, two Toronto officers severely beat a man who was allegedly drunk in public. The two police officers were later found guilty of assault causing bodily harm, which shocked much of the public because rarely do police officers get charged after incidents like this. This case ended up bringing up the ethical issue of whether police officers use excessive force on people because they are law enforcements. Police officers seem to usually get away with the actions they do, which sometimes result in death, because they are law enforcements and they’re just looking out for their own safety and of others. I believe that police officers do sometimes use excessive force on people and that they get away with the consequences because they have a free pass because of their job title. To defend this judgment, the arguments that I will use are the statements of both police officers, the test results that proved that the police officers attacked a man who didn’t deserve it, and the decision of the SIU.
Research Paper Rough Draft: Police Brutality Police misconduct is as rampant as ever in America, and it has become a fixture of the news cycle. Police brutality is the use of any force exceeding that reasonably necessary to accomplish a lawful police purpose. The media is inevitably drawn toward tales of conflict, hence why there are so many crime and police stories on the news. Despite the increasing frequency of misbehaving cops, many Americans still maintain a high respect for the man in uniform. Still, police misconduct is a systemic problem, not just an anecdotal one.
There has always been times where police officers and other authority figures have been accused of abusing their power. In the past three or four years, it seems that it has become more common that police have been at fault for killing or injuring people of various ages when attempting to detain them. Police brutality has a negative affect on all lives directly or indirectly through racial profiling, protests, and media.
As stated in The Pillar of Democracy”, by Haberfeld M.R. (MAKI), Charles Lieberman and Amber Horning (pg.201), the way culture evolves depends on the individual persons. Police cultural is a set behavioral patterns passed on by the members of the teams to the new members and such patterns of behavioral pattern stay long after the retirement or departure of the one who originated the behaviors.
Over the years, this country has witnessed many cases of police brutality. It has become a controversial topic among communities that have seen police brutality take place in front of their homes. Officers are faced with many threatening situations everyday forcing them to make split second decisions and to expect the worst and hope for the best. Police officers are given the power to take any citizens rights away and even their lives. 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.
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
For years police corruption has been a major problem in American society but where is the line between moral and unethical police corruption, many modern movies address this vary issue. Some films portray how types of police corruption can have a positive influence on society, while others show the dark side of police corruption. Many law enforcement agents join the criminal justice with the basic idea of “justice for all,” however, most of them do not realize that the nice guy doesn’t always win. Even though there are vast amounts of movies which specifically address police corruption we will use three main movies for our argument today, mostly LA Confidential, however, also Training Day.
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
Ethics play a huge role in a police officers line of work. Since police are given such a high degree of trust and authority, it can unfortunately be very easy for an officer to fall into some unethical behavior. This can range from just minor acts that are frowned upon, to actual downright illegal activity. Even though there are a countless number of acts and behaviors that can be considered unethical, in the following paper I will focus primarily on those incidents involving police officers who steal for their own personal gain, and discuss my position on the issue.
The first idea, people get when they hear the word law enforcement is power, security, fear, and respect. What is the appropriate amount of force, law enforcement officer should use? Society judges the actions of law enforcement, without taking into account the side of the officer. There are many types of force a police officer may use when the situation calls for it. Law enforcement officers use discretion to decide on the right force to use. Force cannot be defined by individuals or by laws, instead force is exercised by individuals that upheld our criminal’s justice system. The types of force that officer can use are soft hand, hard hand, Taser, baton, presence, and deadly force. Presence is were suspects see law enforcement and turn themselves in. Soft hands is a tactic used by calm officers. Soft hand police officers like to discuss the situation out and try to use less lethal force. Hard hands is used by more experienced police officers. The force is key for many police officers because it can determine the lives of many individuals. Society sees the force of the law enforcement officers in the media, community, and
Gul, Zakir, Hakan Hekim, and Ramazan Terkesil. “Controlling Police (Excessive) Force: The American Case.” International Journal of Human Sciences 10.2 (2013): 285-303. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.
Vicchio, Stephen. “Ethics and Police Integrity.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. July 1997: 8-12. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov 2013