As defined in policing in a Democratic Society: police are to protect society, enforce the law, and social contract (lecture). We also care about life, liberty, and property of each individual member of society. A democratic police force is concerned with the preservation of a safe community and the application of the criminal law equally to all people, without the fear of favour. Police officers are the gatekeepers to the criminal justice system. They are individuals, given the general right to use coerced force by the state with the states territory. Coercion is used as a states function. Democratic Policing means that police derive their authority from the people, which implies that they are accountable to the people (Nalla and Mamayek, …show more content…
This mainly focuses on the behavior of police themselves towards society. Police legitimacy is a major key to democratic policing, it impacts citizen’s willingness to defer to police authority and obey the laws. Although our main topic is democratic policing, we can’t forget the corrections and courts. They all work together to keep the peace. Although law enforcement can be traced back to the earliest of 1600 BCE of Ancient Egypt, it is evident how much has changed for the good. All the mistakes that have been made in the past have helped guide society today. One must think about what law enforcement and policing used to be and recognize the improvements made with time. Since we now know about democratic policing; it’s interesting to see how police officers engage within the agency. According to Dr. Gardiner’s lecture, “officers should behave in a manner that is unbiased, fair, and respectful toward everyone they …show more content…
We learned that accountability restrains officers and political authorities from using excessive powers. Most importantly, it strengthens public confidence. Through democratic policing, officers are seen as accountable policing; accept being questioned about their decisions, actions, and if found guilty of misconduct, they comply with the consequences (lecture). Through accountability, police legitimacy can improve and increase public confidence. Therefore it will reinforce integrity to the criminal justice system. According to (Dossett and Osse, 2011); Internal mechanisms provide a better understanding of police misconduct and the ways in which such misconduct is covered up (including police culture) . External mechanisms have more credibility in the eyes of the public. Procedures and findings are more accessible to the public with external mechanisms and can strengthen police in upholding their integrity. There are four common steps; guidance for the police on what to do and how to do it; before the act (Dossett and Osse, 2011). The second step is supervision of the police and awareness of the need for accountability: during the act (Dossett and Osse, 2011). Thirdly is remedying improper police actions and omission, after the act and lastly, feedback and
Crank & Caldero (2004) discuss the notion of the noble cause that is widely used by police officers to justify their actions. Police officers feel that there are many obstacles that prevent them to do their job efficiently. They claim that courts only hinder the process of putting criminals behind bars. They also believe that they are true patriots with a noble cause of getting rid of bad guys. 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...
Although accountability has always been an issue, the injustices that are currently occurring make it priority. Police officers are getting “special treatment” and are not facing charges for crimes they have committed. Police officers are not held accountable for their a...
Crime is a part of society encompases the news and the public. A variety of studies of media content have estimated that as much as 25 percent of the daily news is devoted to crime (Surette 1992) and that crime is the largest major category of stories in the print and electronic media (Chermak 1994, 103). (Lawrence 18). With crime at an all time high, police are constantly having to deal with more and more issues. This can lead to stressed out and fed up officers, which can lead to poor decisions by an officer. The use of force by police is a highly controversial topic as it raises questions about a government’s ability to use force against its citizens (Lawrence 19). Today’s society is caught up on the ideals of civility and equality before the law, making police use of force a touchy
Police officers are faced each day with a vast array of situations with which they must deal. No two situations they encounter are ever the same, even when examines a large number of situations over an extended period of time. The officers are usually in the position of having to make decisions on how to handle a specific matter alone, or with little additional advice and without immediate supervision. This is the heart of police discretion. As we shall find, the exercise of discretion by police has benefits and problems associated with such exercise. The unfettered use of discretion can lead to the denial of citizen rights. Strategies that control the use of discretion are, therefore, very important. The benefits and problems of police discretion and controlling strategies are the focus of this essay.
While on the job, police must put all their personal opinions aside. They must provide everyone with an equal and fair chance. It is important in a democratic society for police to not know too much about the community they are policing. It allows them to ...
When one thinks of police misconduct many not too distant stories might go through our heads. Most adults will remember how they felt when they saw the brutal beating of Rodney King on their local news station; or the outrage they experienced when they heard that the evidence in the OJ Simpson trial had been tampered with. But thanks to new guidelines, procedures and even civilian groups who now “police” the police, instances of police misconduct may soon start seeing a decline.
Wilson, J. (1978). Varieties of Police Behavior: The Management of Law and Order in Eight American Communities. American Journal of Sociology, 75(1), 160-162
Bibliography Why Good Cops Go Bad. Newsweek, p.18. Carter, David L. (1986). Deviance & Police. Ohio: Anderson Publishing Co. Castaneda, Ruben (1993, Jan. 18). Bearing the Badge of Mistrust. The Washington Post, p.11. Dantzer, Mark L. (1995). Understanding Today's Police. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. James, George (1993, Mar. 29). Confessions of Corruption. The New York Times, P.8, James, George (1993, Nov. 17). Officials Say Police Corruption is Hard To Stop. The New York times, p.3. Sherman, Lawrence W(1978). Commission Findings. New York Post, P. 28 Walker, J.T. (1992). The police in America, p.243-263, chp. 10, Walker, Samuel (1999).
Schmalleger, F. (2013). Policing: History and Structure. Criminal Justice Today An Introduction Text For the 21st Century (12th ed., ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
Police accountability is an effective way to regulate police officer’s behavior. Police accountability is applied in different ways and with different approaches. Some of these approaches include routine supervision, regular performance evaluations and early intervention systems. Police accountability is implemented by using external and internal controls. External controls include citizen complains reports and internal controls consist of early intervention systems. On the other hand, early intervention systems enhance a police officer’s accountability and overall performance. Police accountability refers to holding each police officer individually, as well as the agency as a whole, accountable for effectively enforcing
Police Power on the hand is different, Souryal (2007) states,” Power is the means of controlling the behavior of others beyond the standards of authority. Its purpose is not to punish or to discriminate, but to protect one’s safety (or the safety of others) when necessary or to reinforce authority in conventional cases. Power is a legitimate means of exercising responsibility when it degree murder to minor ethical violations”.
I imagine people believe this statement to be true because their opposite, they both stand for different beliefs and actions. Democracy is always hard on the police, because democracy represents harmony, freedom, involvement, and fairness. Instead the police represent ruling, limitation, and authority over the people. “That is why the police in a democracy are often confronted with hostility, opposition, and criticism no matter how effectively or fairly they may operate. (Roy Roberg, 2015)”
In a rule of a law where democracy exists the independence and power of police should be authorized based on their accountability. Accountability that consists of holding police responsible for what they do as an organization or individuals by observing their policies and practices and the purpose for which they claim authority which should be justifiable. And checking to what extent would the police be feasible to the societies for their actions?
There has always been a love-hate relationship between the public and the police. When called upon to help, they can be something sent from God, but when they are writing tickets, or taking a friend to jail, the view changes from a savior to a presence that is unwanted and often hated. An effort to improve the public view of law enforcement is being attempted by many departments. Using different styles of policing techniques, mainly community based policing, has proved to be the best way to improve the image of law enforcement.
In order to understand the attitudes towards police work and the actions of police officers one can make use of the Structure-agency debate which has three distinct perspectives; structure, agency and structuration. This essay shall argue which position is best to apply by drawing on sociological theories and concepts.