Police Brutality: Police And Excessive Force

Over the past years, police brutality has become more and more visible in the public eye. The term “police brutality” was first used in the New York Times in 183 (2004), when policeman McManus allegedly clubbed his prisoner, Michael Maher. Brutality, by definition, is savage cruelty. Police brutality is the excessive use of force by police. Excessive force can be any kind of unneeded force, above what is legally necessary to use. McDavid (2011) suggested that the new world order has actually produced a more complex security environment, with multiple threats. In the article, “How Reasonable Is the Reasonable Man: Police and Excessive Force (1994),” Geoffrey and Williams argues that excessive force of police leads to court action of police

The standard model of police practices is assuming that generic strategies for crime reduction can be applied in any jurisdiction no matter the level of crime, the nature of crimes or any other variations. Even though Belize is a small country the “standard model of police practices” could also be criticized if it is to be utilized by the police departments and be efficient in stopping and preventing crimes. Police brutality is an area of research that allows us to understand how common it is and to help us find better solutions to deal with this brutality. There are many surveys and cases studies from police officers that determines how often and why police officers may be involve in

Harvard Kennedy School, conducted a research whereby they found out that Police forces across the United States have tried a range of new approaches to ensure public safety, from “hot-spots policing” to “order maintenance” strategies (2014). However, this strategies were not enough to combat crime and its brutality. “Community- oriented policing strategies: Meta- analysis of law enforcement practices (2014), looked back at 2014 and 2015, finding out that many violent events happened which is evident that new approaches are needed. They ended up suggesting that some community policing that can be involved are, foot patrols to education programs in school and door-to-door surveys asking for alternative and reactive policing strategies. In 2007, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime with Latin America and the Caribbean Region of the World Bank jointly reported on “Crime, Violence, and Development: Trends, Costs, and Policy Options in the Caribbean.” With the publication of this report admission is made that the Governments of the Caribbean recognize crime and violence as a serious problem (2007). Crime and violence and the struggles to keep the rate down is not a problem only for Belize, but for the entire Caribbean region and the rest of the world. According to Plant & Scott, “Effective Policing and Crime