Militarization Of Police Essay

Television, movies, and other mass media sources use persuasion in commercials, product placement, etc. but what about in the content? Is what one sees perceived as true and factual? How are people influenced by media (Postman, 161)? More importantly, how are people influenced by media to view those called upon for help when in need? The overabundance of media relating to crime has not only influenced public opinion but has also triggered changes for law enforcement personnel. The bias (or incorrect/incomplete) views of news media have contributed to a negative opinion of law enforcement officers. Television programs and movies have portrayed false realities of the lives of law enforcement

Now, 28 law-enforcement agencies, including police departments in New York, Seattle, Las Vegas, Memphis and San Francisco, have requested program materials and inquired about the training”(A. Novotney). We see that there are positives when it comes to training the police. This police training began because of one major reason and that reason was that in 2005 police misconduct had reached an all time high in New Orleans. There were a lot of high profile beatings and unjustified shootings by the police. This lead on to the police being trained so that there would be less violence used against civilians and so that there would be less chaos in the community. This clearly worked as the city has already seen some positive effects as there was less complaints against police officers after their training. This is great example of what can happen if this type of training was to happen in more

“...Much of the recent crime increase threatens the vitality of America’s cities–and thousands of lives–it is not, in itself, the greatest danger in today’s war on cops. The greatest danger lies, rather, in the delegitimation of law and order itself’ (Mac Donald). In the book “The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe,” published in the year of 2016, author Heather Mac Donald provides credible evidence to expand on her viewpoint of our country’s current criminal crisis. In addition to “The War on Cops, Mac Donald has written two other books. Her works “Are Cops Racist?” of 2003 and “The Burden of Bad Ideas: How Modern Intellectuals Misshape Our Society” of 2000 contain ideas similar to those expressed in “The War on Cops.” The powerful stance Mac Donald takes on certain themes expressed throughout “The War on Cops” direct the reader’s understanding towards the flaws of America’s governmental systems, revealing the backstory and complexity of racism and criminal justice behind our “war on cops.”

We see that with the large number of law enforcement departments across the United States unitizing the same paramilitary structure that there is little ability for those that are in the lower brackets of the structure to make changes or even at time use their own judgements when challenging events take place (Hill & Beger, 2009). There is a requirement for the upper levels of these brackets to be fair, ethical, and educated to make the correct judgment calls for those that are in the lower brackets of the

Police Brutality is an ongoing problem and existent concern in the United States and should be resolved immediately. Law enforcement must function as an element that consists of organized and civilized officers. The presence of police brutality is becoming more of an issue as society grows. The problem posed by the illegal exercise of police power is an ongoing reality for individuals of a disfavored race, class, or sexual orientation. Police brutality must be stopped so that police do not forget who they are serving – not themselves, but the public. This means that even the criminals, who are a part of the public, have certain rights, particularly, civil rights. Police brutality causes a major concern in today’s society in America and a resolution is imminent. These racial prejudices are rooted in America’s deep psyche to grasp its power, we must move American original sin, slavery, and its corollary the terrible fear transmitted from generation to generation of a revolt.

Matheson, Victor A., and Robert A. Baade. “Race and Riots: A Note on the Economic Impact of the Rodney King Riots.” Urban Studies, vol. 41, no. 13, 2004, pp. 2691–2696, Academic Search Premier, doi:10.1080/0042098042000294628.

In this week’s module one content. I learned that there should always be police integrity and community trust. “With police and community trust, there is an honored relationship between citizens and a government agency.” (Community Trust and Police Integrity, p.7-16) Secondly, police officers must be trusted to behave in an ethical way on their own. “When a terrible crime has occurred, the public may demand that the police solve it ‘no matter what they have to do,’ and so there is pressure to use unnecessary force” (Wilson, Police Ethics). Finally, police officers should always have a positive response to a negative incident. “They can learn from incidents of police misconduct and take steps to correct the policies and practices that allow misconduct to occur.” (Walker, Policing the Police).

This debate topic speaks about police being less proactive, because of vitriol, and causing an increase in crime rates. This debate topic is not directly related to the book, Ghettoside, but falls into the same bracket. The debate talks about the police becoming less involved because of denunciation, and rates of crimes increasing because of that. Ghettoside talks about the black-on-black homicide rates going up, one reason, because of the ignorance of the police. So, both the debate and the book have crime rates going up because of the lack of interference of the police department. The book shows ignorance because they simply don’t care, and the debate showing ignorance because of criticism. “For

There are numerous issues that deal with the American criminal justice system, but the two I found most prominant that occur on a daily basis is the abuse from police officers and clear racism shown by the American criminal justice system. To begin, racism as we know is a prejudice directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one’s own race is superior. In the criminal justice system African Americans are directly targeted and punished in a higher more aggressive way, than say someone who is caucasian and committed the same exact crime. Racism is more often than not, the motive for official misconduct. There are examples of racism from every known region in the United States, spanning across centuries from slavery to

Every time I decide to watch the news, there always seems to be a story about an officer of the law shooting an innocent victim. This problem never truly resonated with me until reading an article about “The Myth of Police Reform.” Throughout this editorial there are countless examples of incidences where police intervention should be deemed unnecessary. There are some scenarios where extreme force may be needed, but a majority of them do not. Ta-Nehisi’s editorial supports this, even though it may have a few drawbacks related to the ethos, but he still manages to support his main claim with sufficient logos and pathos.

Black Americans are more than twice as likely as white Americans to be unarmed when they are shot and killed by police officers, according to a study published in the Journal of Criminology and Public Policy. In addition, the study finds that racial bias is a contributing factor (Schumaker). How does racial bias influence police brutality? Defined, “Police brutality is the use of excessive physical or verbal assault during police procedures, such as apprehending or interrogating a suspect. Deadly force is not always excessive force. However, when deadly force exceeds the force that is necessary to create a safe environment, it is considered police brutality.” The United States has an abhorrent history embracing racial relations. Police brutality has historically been perpetrated against individuals in lower socioeconomic levels and the social marginalized. It has been permitted against citizens who have participated in strikes during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s by spraying them down with hoses and attacking them with police dogs. This behavior has been motivated by racial stereotypes. Many police officers believe blacks are more violent than other races, and this image has been reflected in media quite often. These stereotypes are rooted in the sordid history of enslavement, genocide, and segregation. Although, stereotypes are not entirely the problem that encourages police brutality. Rampant discrimination and disparate treatment of certain minorities in the judicial

Police subculture may, however, be changed through external pressures, such as new hiring practices, investigations into police corruption or misuse of authority, and commission reports that create pressures for police reform” (Schmalleger, 2015, p. 243). The integration of new technology, both on the side of the public (think Facebook Live and smart phone video recordings) are already making a huge impact questioning the regular negative behaviors of policing. I also believe that situational training of officers, and stronger consequences for officers who demonstrate poor behaviors, need to be in place and upheld by leadership. Frankly, it should not just be the judicial system that puts an impactful spotlight on bad behavior, but internal processes which give no excuse for poor

According a study conducted by Chaney and Robertson, American’s attitudes about police officers have changed dramatically in the past ten years. Their study, which appeared in The Journal of African American Studies, suggests that instead of feeling safe and protected by police, many citizens actually feel animosity towards police officers, and are mistrustful and suspicious towards them (Chaney and Robertson 480). This situation seems almost impossible to rectify, especially since law enforcement is given the authority and the privilege to use force not only by the law, but also by society. In order to allow law enforcement officers this power, the public must completely trust those who are protecting them, and must believe that police are using force responsibly and ethically. People naturally assume that the police are well-trained to use force appropriately and fairly without prejudices. Sadly, According to Ross, the training given to law enforcement officers is inadequate and, in many instances, even biased against those who they think are a threat. In truth, there is no uniform preparation of law enforcement officers, no federal rules or guidelines regulating their training, and as of yet, no consistent set of federal standards for police confrontations (Ross).

Police departments face increasing criticism from protesters, the media, and the federal government. Many negative personal encounters and officer-involved shootings have stimulated arguments about American law enforcement. These officer involved shootings have caused racial issues across the country. Is reform necessary? With approximately 18,000 police agencies operating in the United States, is reform even possible? I conducted a survey with both black and white respondents. The survey includes demographic information and a few questions that ties together the respondents demographic information and their thoughts of the police. In addition, I will discuss innovative strategies to improve the relationship between police and people

Police training starts in the academy. Officer safety is very heavily to the point that it almost becomes a religion for Rookie officers. Rookie officers are usually taught what is known to them as the “first rule of law enforcement”: All officer’s most important goal at the end of every day is to go home at the end of their work shift. The sad fact about this is that cops live in a very hostile world. They are taught early on that every encounter, and every individual is likely to become threat for them. They always have to be very alert while on the job because, as cops are often known to say, “complacency kills.” While in the academy, rookie officers aren’t just told about the risks that they face on a daily basis. They are also shown gut wrenching graphic, sad dash-cam footage of officers being assaulted, their weapons being taken away from them, or worse, them being fatally shot or wounded after lack of attention or complacency, as most law enforcement officers like to put it. These rookie cops are taught that the number one perpetrator isn’t the criminal that can be seen on the video, but that it is the officer’s lack of better judgement. While watching these videos, rookie officers are usually thinking to themselves that they can’t let that happen to them while out on the job. They want to be better than the officers that they see during the videos. That is the point of their training and it is the reason as to why a lot of cops are put in to the situations that they’re put in to now. Police training needs to go beyond highlighting the seriousness of the risks that officers face by taking into account the probability of those risks materializing. Policing has risks—serious ones—that we cannot casually dismiss. But for all of its risks, policing is safer now than it has ever been. Violent attacks on officers, particularly those that involve a serious physical threat, are few and far between when you take into account the fact that police officers interact