The police forces in every community are deemed law enforcement officers and have to take necessary precautions in executing their job. Individuals that police officers encounter may at any time threaten the security of the officer or others. Police officers have to follow procedures that are necessary to maintain control of situations that can cause harm to others or property. The three topics that will be discussed in police use of force are; the explanation and background of use of force, limitations
Abstract This paper will describe police power and police authority. I will also talk about police discretion as for as whom gets locked up and who is allowed to go free. This paper will discuss the different use of police force. In this paper I will also talk about police attitude, police misconduct, and physical abuse among police officers. Most people confuse police authority with police power. What are police authority and or police power? Souryal, (2007), stated, “That Authority is the
Variation in the Use of Force Amongst Police Departments The use of force has been around since policing began, although the rules for its use have changed overtime. In a 1964 survey, the majority of police reported they were to use “good judgement” when deciding whether or not to shoot (Walker 1993, 26). Back then, police also used force for any fleeing felon, which basically meant whenever. Now that rules have changed, the American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code, established in 1962
When we think of the use of force by police officers we usually think of officers using their weapons, wrestling someone to the ground, or even beating someone up. Then we start to ask what is the proper use of force is. Police officers undergo a lot of training so they know what they can and cannot do when making an arrest. During this training they learn when it is acceptable to use force and how much force they can use before it becomes illegal. In most cases the police officers are legally
"Proper use of discretion is probably the most important measure of a police officer or department." -- Rich Kinsey (retired police detective) 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
by the police in the performance of their duties” (Rappert). While many believe that the use of force by police is not needed and only causes more problems, there are also people who support officers and their use of force in order to protect. Police should be able to use force without opposition to detain people trying to harm others, save their own lives, and stop escalating situations. A police officer’s job is to protect civilians by keeping criminals off the streets. Without the use of force
inal-justice/impact-of-digital-technology-on-law-enforcement Library | How the FBI Investigates Computer Crime. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sei.cmu.edu/library/abstracts/news-at-sei/security1q01.cfm Schultz, P. D. (2008, June). Police Chief Magazine - The Future Is Here: Technology in Police Departments. Retrieved from http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?article_id=1527&fuseaction=display&issue_id=62008 Social Engineering: What It Is and How to Help Protect Yourself. (n.d.). Retrieved from
gas station, and all of a sudden you are stopped by the police and told if you do not lay down with your hands on your head they will shoot. It sounds pretty unlikely, right? Well it may be happening more often than you think. The use of lethal force by the police has become all too familiar to the people of today’s world. The use of lethal force by police is becoming a present day issue that recently seems all too common. Excessive use of force, brutality, racism, and profiling are all terms
Since 1829, police officers have been adverted to as peace keepers. However, as of now the reference has become invalid and they are only law enforcement officers. Many still do their jobs to Serve and Protect, while others are more worried about arresting innocent civilians for suspicious conduct. As submitted by Patricia Williams, “We must not tolerate a policy that makes walking down the street or pausing on a street corner or just sitting in a car an inherently suspicious activity.” It has become
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
What is Police Brutality and How Can We Help Prevent It Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. Excessive use of force means a force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation. Police brutality can be present in a number of ways. The most obvious form of police brutality is a physical form. Police officers can use chemical gases, batons, OC spray, tasers, their fists and even guns in order to physically intimidate
criminal and noncriminal events” (Boivin & Cordeau, 2011). Every police officer has a great deal of discretion concerning when to use their authority, power, persuasion, or force. Depending on how an officer sees their duty to society will determine an officer’s discretion. Discretion leads to selective enforcement practices and may result in discrimination against certain groups of people or select individuals (Young, 2011). Most police officer discretion is exercised in situations with individuals
The use of force by law enforcement officers is sometimes required when dealing with suspects resisting arrest and/or individuals disobeying direct orders. However, when the use of force becomes excessive or is used unnecessarily, law enforcement officers are arguably committing ethical violations. (Peak, 2011) Police officers are given the responsibility of enforcing laws and ordinances to provide protection of life and property. Therefore, the ability of law enforcement officials to to cope with
responding to crimes or when they encounter various situations. Often this rush of adrenaline can cloud an officer’s judgment. Officers are then faced with the possibility of being accused of excessive force. Citizens often call an officers use of excessive force “police brutality” (Petrowski, 2005). Citizen’s opinion of law enforcement has often been linked to the media’s tactics of displaying officers using what appears to be excessive force during an arrest. This typically leads to citizens becoming
Police Weaponry The police can use a variety of weapons to take down a suspect. The fact that they have so many non-lethal weapons, makes me wonder why they don’t use them. According to, Okayplayer.com, Barack Obama banned the use of military grade weapons from the police force in the United States. If he would not have did this, police brutality would be far worse than what it is today. The most used weapon by police officers is the Glock 19. They have used this as the primary weapon, when
When it comes to the criminal justice system, legal rulings only provide a systematic method of dealing with the problem of crime and, especially, the problem surrounding the police use of force. In Graham vs. Conner, for example, the courts established the four-factor test to evaluate police use of excessive force but left other, underlying social and moral dilemmas untouched. Furthermore, the influence money has in negotiating punishment via lawyers and bail, have made the courts a perfect playing
Alcoholism and heavy drinking is a huge issue when one talks about the police world today. The article, Police and Alcohol Use: A Descriptive Analysis and Associations with Stress Outcomes written by Violanti et al., does an excellent job conducting a study on alcohol use by police officers. The focus of this study was to look at how demographics, life events and police stress are important factors that can be linked to alcohol use. This article is interesting because it looks at the outcomes of stress
Police officers have been in the public eye these past couple years due to their use of deadly force. However, the public is not seeing police officers point of view of the situation and believe this is all due to racial issues. Just recently in the city of Chicago three police officers responded to a car cash where a man was under the influence of drugs and being very violent toward these officers. The three officers were beaten by this man even though they had all rights to use lethal force toward
What is Use of Force in policing? Use of force is police using force to control a subject who is not willing to obey a command. Force includes pointing firearms, takedowns, and hobbles, striking a person, the use of chemical sprays, and using a minor weapon like taser or bean bag (Stewart, Henning, and Renauer, 2012). Use of force has been used on suspects who are not willing to let a police officer arrest them. Someone who is willing to endanger the lives of the people around them. Use of force
The use of force by police officers has been a widely discussed topic over time. Whenever force is used, especially deadly force, it needs to be determined if the force was necessary. There are many cases in history where deadly force was used by police officers in different scenarios. Over the past few years, this has been a major problem in the U.S. and has caused a lot of speculation of the police. Media has also played a big roll in the judgment of deadly force. The media has the ability to influence