Force and Brutality in Policing
In this paper, I argue the effects force and brutality in policing has on citizens within a community. This ethical dilemma in policing is important to explore because of the negative perception’s citizens develop. These negative perceptions can be troublesome because in order for the police to be successful, they need the support and cooperation of the public. To this end, I will structure my paper as follows. First, I will identify and provide detailed information regarding major ethical dilemmas facing the field of policing. Second, I will identify and provide detailed information on potential causes of police dilemmas. Third, I will address whether police misconduct is a more serious problem in 2018 than a decade or so ago. I conclude with a summary and suggestions to decrease policing dilemmas.
Police brutality and the use of force has been center stage in American discourse or decades. While seemingly a recent movement, with the rise of Black Lives Matter, the reality is actions to address the dilemma of excessive use of force are anything but new. From naming the issue itself to discussing justifications, it is undeniable that the change a change is needed in order to ensure the safety of both civilians and police officers, and to help rebuild the relationship between the two communities. The use of force, in and of itself, is not illegal. The use of force is defined as the use of physical restraint by police officers when dealing with a member of the public. It is important to note that force is the essence of the police role, and officers are thus granted the authority to use force against citizens. However, this use of force becomes problematic when the police abuse their authority, and force becomes excessive. Excessive force is defined as force that goes beyond what an officer reasonably sees as necessary. The problem of police brutality and excessive force is nationwide, but it is not completely at random.
National statistics show many trends within the issue. The most obvious being a disproportionate affect across races. Mapping Police Violence published a report showing that black people were three times more likely to be killed by police than white people. Further, 30% of the victims who were black were unarmed, whereas 21% of the white victims were unarmed. These rates are also impacted by geographic location. Comparing Georgia and Oklahoma, Mapping Police Violence found that a black person was 7x more likely to be killed by a police officer in Oklahoma than they were in Georgia. (Cite this for this paragraph)
As the country has seen, the impacts of these instances can be catastrophic. They can do everything from drastically impacting the trust the community has with its police force, to impacting the actions of police officers to the point where they are too fearful to protect themselves. Psychology Today reported that “perceived legitimacy of law enforcement is crucial to effective law enforcement.” The report found that when people trust law enforcement, they are more willing to cooperate during investigations. Psychology Today looked to one specific example with 300 Muslim-Americans and found that with more perceived legitimacy, there was a greater desire to assist in terrorism investigations. It went on to not the pervasiveness of a lack of trust with law enforcement. Across the board, minority groups have a problem trusting the police. This is related to greater reported negative interactions with law enforcement, as well as the well-known disproportionate incarceration rates that minority groups experience. This impact goes far beyond simply who will help in investigations but can have extreme mental and physical health consequences. This includes increased stress response in the presence of law enforcement which can have negative impacts on overall health, especially if the interactions are recurring.
These trends give rise to the root of the problem. What has caused the dilemma of police brutality and ongoing excessive use of force, and what allows it to continue to grow? First, it is clear from the Mapping Police Violence and the Psychology Today reports that decreasing trust and increasing brutality go hand in hand and have turned into a terrible cycle. Due knowledge of stories of police violence, civilians at large do not trust police forces. In turn, officers enter situations knowing that civilians do not like them. This results in every interaction being tense and can turn seemingly routine encounters into life or death situations. But how police forces conduct themselves today only add fuel to the fire. A 2014 Business Insider article outlined some reasons that the issue continues to flood the nation’s communities. First, there is a devastating lack of training for officers in non-violent situations. For example, there is no required training across the board about using all other methods first before turning to deadly force. Second, what is considered brutality vary due to the standard that is used. What is considered reasonable to one officer, may not be to another. As a result, it is near impossible to pinpoint what conduct goes too far, and practically eliminates the potential for a national legislation barring specific conduct. With that in mind, when an officer is accused, the consequences that come with it are often minimal. The Business Insider article points to the reality that only one out of three officers are convicted nationwide, while the civilian rate is double that. The article finds that the double standard is the result of juries often being conditioned to believe officers when in a criminal justice setting. This conditioned trust can come from everything like schooling to shows like Law & Order.
So where does police brutality stand today? As mentioned earlier, it oftentimes seems as though police brutality is a new issue, but the reality is that it has been prevalent for decades. But the feeling that it is new is not unwarranted. Black Lives Matter activist Shaun King wrote an article where he argued against the sentiment that police brutality is not actually getting worse, but that social media is merely making it more available to us. He noted that the years of 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 all showed a steady increase in police killings in the United States. Unfortunately, the question of where police brutality today compares to a decade ago is a difficult one to get to the bottom of. This is because, despite being required, not all police departments report their brutality cases to the federal government. On top of this, there is no regulated standard on what is required to be reported and what is not. Despite this uncertainty, one comparative fact is certain, the United States of America’s police force kill more civilians than all their international peers, and that fact alone warrants an intense readdress of the current system.
The introduction of community policing can drastically change the issue of police brutality by working to restore trust within the community. Community policing describes the practice of a community and police force working together to identify problems and come up with solutions. Further, it assigns specific patrol routes to specific officers, so they become friendly faces throughout the community. This begins establishing a foundation of trust between the community and the police and can work to reduce violence between the two communities. Second, it is imperative that new standards be established, and new mandatory training be implemented. By preparing police officers to better handle specific types of interactions, from instances in vehicles to handling interactions with mentally disabled civilians, increased training can make officers more confident in their ability to handle a situation without resorting to deadly force to protect themselves.
In summary, police brutality and excessive force present an extremely prevalent problem in the United States today. It is complicated by the United States’ extensive and complicated history with race relations. It has resulted in a detrimental lack of distrust in the police force, which brings harm to the overall safety of the country. Implementing community policing nation-wide could help rebuild that trust, and in turn, lower the