"Democracy must be built through open societies that share information. When there is information, there is enlightenment. When there is debate, there are solutions. When there is no sharing of power, no rule of law, no accountability, there is abuse, corruption, subjugation and indignation.”
– Atifete Jahjaga --
They are the everyday heroes that many people often take for granted until a pivotal moment of tragedy or madness enters into their lives. While we sleep in our warm beds at night police officers work around the clock during all times of the night to ensure the safety and security of our communities and its citizens both young and old (Aveni, Thomas J.). However, what happens when our everyday heroes are found to be just a guilty as the people from whom they are obligated to protect us? Many law officers are required to take an oath of ethics or a code of honor of some type to live by on a daily basis while wearing their uniform. However, in recent years, it seems as though the basic values that were once highly honored by police officers have been put on the back burner causing an increasing gap in a lack of trust between law officers and the citizens that they serve. Particular instances of devious police officers in Los Angeles, New York and other major cities in the United States have questioned their universal code, "to protect and to serve."
The movie Crash focuses especially on the city of Los Angeles. While L.A. is nicknamed "the City of Angels," after watching the film viewers are left in deep thought as to how ironic Los Angeles" nickname really is. In the movie two white police officers are seen patrolling the streets of L.A and during an unwarranted pull over, the audience can make the perception of who is the "good cop" and who is the "bad cop". After seeing the actions of Officer Ryan when they pulled over Cameron and Elizabeth, an interracial middle class couple returning home from an awards banquet, viewers are immediately appalled at Officer Ryan"s hand placement on Elizabeth (Crash). Unfortunately, actions like those of Officer Ryan are not fictional and have become increasingly worse in recent occurrences, especially in areas like Los Angeles.
Los Angeles was the home of the infamous Watts Riots in 1965. The riots began with the arrest of a twenty-one year old African-American male, Marquette Fry...
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Consolidated with authentic research, Twilight provides an important examination of the hidden reasons for the Los Angeles riots. A more drawn out chronicled see additionally uncovers the bigger class strains and the gigantic change of ethnic structure of Los Angeles from 1970 to 1990 that added to the atmosphere that could deliver such a huge scale riot.
"A policeman’s first obligation is to be responsible to the needs of the community he serves…The problem is that the atmosphere does not yet exist in which an honest police officer can act without fear of ridicule or reprisal from fellow officers. We create an atmosphere in which the honest officer fears the dishonest officer, and not the other way around.", -Frank Serpico.
“Police throughout the United States have been caught fabricating, planting, and manipulating evidence to obtain convictions where cases would otherwise be very weak. Some authorities regard police perjury as so rampant that it can be considered a "subcultural norm rather than an individual aberration" of police officers. Large-scale investigations of police units in almost every major American city have documented massive evidence of tampering, abuse of the arresting power, and discriminatory enforcement of laws. There also appears to be widespread police perjury in the preparation of reports because police know these reports will be used in plea bargaining. Officers often justify false and embellished reports on the grounds that it metes out a rough justice to defendants who are guilty of wrongdoing but may be exonerated on technicalities.”
When analyzing and studying the criminal justice system, much attention has always been directed toward the federal court system as well as the Supreme Court; however, over the last few decades, more and more attention has been drawn toward the smaller criminal justice institutions, such as police officers. Political controversies arising from incidents such as those played out in Ferguson and Baltimore have resulted in the magnification in attention toward societies law enforcement officials, putting such institutions under the public scope. In a time littered with widespread mistrust between police officers and the communities the have sworn to protect, it is critical to understand the policeman’s
One of the most memorable and dramatic scenes of the film, Crash, occurs when Ryan, a personally racist police officer, happens upon an car accident in which a woman is trapped in her overturned vehicle. The lasting impression that this scene leaves is probably the reason that I chose it to reflect on in this paper. Ryan, when taking his daily patrol, notices a line of stopped traffic, and stops to see why they are at a stand still. Up ahead, he sees smoke coming out of the engine of one car, and another flipped upside-down. He quickly runs to the car to see if anyone is trapped inside, without a thought. He sees an African-American women caught in her seatbelt and dives through the broken window and asks if she is alright. When she responds that she cannot breathe, he slides in further to try to help her unbuckle and get out; Around them, gasoline is dripping from the tank. The woman, Christine, recognizes him from earlier as the officer her sexually assaulted her in front of her husband, and screams at him to get away from her--having been scarred by their earlier encounter. He also recalls her from earlier, and realizes in this moment, that his racist and sexist actions towards Christine earlier could cost her her life. He informs her that he is the only person th...
The Watts riots is one of the most important riots in the many important riots that have occurred in the United States. Thousands of African-Americans, fed up with the horrible police brutality at the time, reacted by battling the police in the streets along with the looting and burning of White-owned stores. The riot was unprecedented, but not unexpected, during a time of great racial tension, with the Civil Rights Movement having become an ever-increasing strain on the country. Police brutality was not the only factor in causing the riot, as there were economic problems in the Black community at the time that also contributed to the unrest. The Watts riot, also known as the Watts Rebellion, influenced riots to come in the decades following
Cincinnati riots of 2001 are some of the greatest reflections of racial discriminations resulting from ineffectiveness of security institutions sparking massive losses and stunted development. These riots pointed the great divide that undercut the American society. The case is a strong indication of unresolved personal feelings of superiority of whites over other people of color. This paper explores unresolved conflicts between blacks and whites using the conflict theory, conflicts for resources, ineffectiveness of institutions and how politics influenced the riots. In addition, the paper analyzes how the problem was resolved and the outcome of deliberations on the issue. It is the view of this paper that conflict from resources and the sense of threat to whites by blacks in the society was the underlying cause of the riots. The paper concludes by reiterating Martin Luther king Junior’s call for the coexistence of all people and their judgment to be based on their characters and not their skin color (Lan, 2009).
Police corruption is a difficult issue cities have to deal with and one of the oldest problems in the police force. Corruption can be defined as the mistreatment of public power for personal benefit or private and the use of excessive force either emotional or physical. In this essay I will explain in detail federal indictments of Los Angeles Country Sheriff officers use of mistreatment of jail inmates and visitors. Another topic I will explain is the transfer of Los Angeles Country Sheriff hired officers with questionable background. Finally I will end by analyzing the hiring of new Sheriff deputies under the “Friends of the Sheriff” program. There are several ways police departments could take to reduce police corruption. The three areas I think should change are the training officers further in how to diminish abuse, improving personal character of officers, and incentives program.
It shows the difficulties individuals face each day, whether they are authority figures or civilians. The film "Crash" is very applicable to race relations in New York City in its relevantly direct approach to everyday life in a City populated by various races and ethnicities. In "Crash", there are numerous scenes where race relations were either an issue or the basis of an action. Most incidents in the film occurred due to the race of an individual. Corresponding to the film "Crash", there are times in New York City where individuals are pulled over by police just because of their race.
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.
Abstract In today’s world there are many issues facing the criminal justice system. Some of these issues include police corruption, use of excessive and deadly force, pursuits, and deviance. The media influences public opinion and there is concern over the morality, and ethics of our public leaders. (DeShon, 2000) The criminal justice system has two neglected and important issues of integrity and truth; the oath of office and the code of ethics. (DeShon, 2000) In many agencies the impact these two issues have on our communities are not fully understood. Public distrust for many criminal justice professions is prevalent. (DeShon, 2000) Perhaps, the problem of public cynicism can be corrected if criminal justice professionals received continuing education and training regarding their oath of office and the code of ethics they are to live up to. (DeShon, 2000) Oath of Office Many members of our government and criminal justice system must take a sworn oath before they are authorized to perform the duties of the office they are about to step into. (DeShon, 2000) Not all individuals working in the criminal justice system are required to take an oath, For example; attorneys in Michigan must take an oath, (State Bar of, 2011) yet in the state of Texas all that is needed is a notarized statement of recommendation from another attorney. (United States District, 2011) Meaning of an Oath The oath taken by those working in the criminal justice field holds obligations and responsibilities the average businessperson or citizen does not have to abide by. (DeShon 2000) It is a promise in the making and on its solemn pledge stands the collateral of an individual’s reputation. (Conley, 2011) It is a solemn declaration o...
Police Officers Oath of Office and Code of Ethics, A Question of knowledge Richard W. Deshon (2000) retrieved from: www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/
Within our police system in America, there are gaps and loopholes that give leeway to police officials who either abuse the authority given to them or do not represent the ethical standards that they are expected to live up to by society. Because of the nature of police work, there is a potential for deterioration of these ethical and moral standards through deviance, misconduct, corruption, and favoritism. Although these standards are set in place, many police officers are not held accountable for their actions and can easily get by with the mistreatment of others because of their career title. While not every police abuses his or her power, the increasingly large percentage that do present a problem that must be recognized by the public as well as those in charge of police departments throughout our country. Police officials are abusing their power and authority through three types of misconduct known as malfeasance, misfeasance, and nonfeasance and these types are being overlooked by management personnel who rarely intervene even though they know what is happening. Misconduct is wrong because it violates rights and causes people to be wrongly accused of crimes or be found not guilty and set free when they are still an endangerment to other people. The public needs to be educated on what is happening in the police system in hopes that someone will speak out to protect citizens from being violated by police officers.
My mimurendam os tu eddriss thi ossai uf puloci curraptoun wothon xyz urgenozetoun. Ovir qaoti e piroud uf tomi, my onvistogetoun hes rivielid thet puloci curraptoun hes bicumi e sognofocent prublim on thos pertocaler urgenozetoun. Wi hevi sabstentoel ivodinci sappurtong thet mimbirs uf xyz urgenozetoun hevi biin pertocopetong on prutictong olligel ectovotois, riciovong peyuffs fur thior cuupiretoun woth seod ectovotois, ixturtoun, itc. Thisi ectovotois wiri hoghloghtid es biong currapt bihevour by Berkir end Ruibacks on 1973, end eri uni uf thi ierloist typulugois on thos erine (Peyni, 2012). Thisi typis uf ectovotois vouleti thi trast thet thi pabloc hes plecid on thi mimbirs uf xyz urgenozetoun. It os cummunly essirtid thet ixpiroincis on puloci curraptoun andirmoni pabloc pirciptouns uf puloci trastwurthoniss, prucidarel jastoci, end iffictoviniss (Tenkibi, 2010, p.297). Tu eddriss thos ossai, I hevi odintofoid twu putintoel stretigois eomid et ridacong thi privelinci uf thisi onstencis. I woll bi asong e blind uf twu cromonulugocel thiurois. Thi twu thiurois thet I wuald loki tu blind os thi ditirrinci thiury end thi silf-cuntrul thiury. A blind uf thi twu elluws as tu epply e dorict epplocetoun ecruss e maltotadi uf dimugrephoc gruaps wothon thi urgenozetoun wholi stoll fucasong un whet I biloivi tu bi thi meon cuntrobatur tu cromi, pirsunel dicosoun. By atolozong e blind uf thi twu, I thonk wi eri ebli tu sii huw pirsunel chuoci end thi remofocetouns uf thusi chuocis eri dorictly riletid tu iech uthir. Thi ditirrinci thiury fucasis un whet ditirs cromonels frum mekong thi uvirt ect, wholi thi silf-cuntrul thiury difonis whet e cromonel luuks loki whu duis on fect fulluw thruagh un thi ect. Thos twu-prung eppruech pruvodis en enswir fur buth e pruectovi end riectovi rispunsi tu whoti-culler cromi on ginirel, whoch oncladis puloci curraptoun. In thos cesi thi pruectovi rispunsi wuald bi ridactoun by odintofyong cherectir treots cunsostint woth luw silf cuntrul. Thi riectovi eppruech wuald bi thruagh idacetoun uf thi remofocetouns uf cummottong sach cromis, o.i. ditirrinci thruagh fier uf thi cunsiqaincis. Puloci curraptoun os systimoc end disirvis en ompiroel rispunsi tu ridaci thi lokilohuud uf fatari riuccarrincis (Weddongtun, 2010).
Police corruption is a nationwide problem that has been going on for many years. Not only is corruption a problem on our own U.S. soil, but police practices of corruption go as far east as Europe and Asia. Many studies, polls and examinations were taken to find out how exactly what the general publics’ opinions of the police are. Officers receive a lot of scrutiny over this issue, but for good reason.