Both individual officers and law enforcement agencies should be held to account for their actions. Accountability includes both what the police do and how they perform. According to Petter Gottschalk Agency-level accountability involves the performance of law enforcement agencies with respect to controlling crime, disorder, and providing services to the public. (Petter Gottschalk).
According to www.ncjrs.gov the accountability of individual police officers is a fundamental issue for police executives. Police officers are the public officials that society has authorized, even obliged, to use force. Ensuring that police officers use that warrant equitably, legally, and economically on behalf of citizens is at the core of police administration.
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Police accountability is responsible to deliver crime control and maintain order, while treating individuals fairly and within the bounds of law. Police officers are expected to uphold laws, regarding due process, search and seizure, arrests, discrimination, as well as other laws relating to equal employment, and sexual harassment. Holding police accountable is important to build trust with the public's and for them to have faith in the system. There have been many complaints from the public against law enforcement, rather than relying on police departments. Integrity and accountability issues in policing is one of the reasons why the community feel unsafe and bias towards police officers because of the physical abuse of some police officers who are careless and abused of their power. Another issue is prisoner mistreatment, there are many people who have been incarcerated and are victims of abuse emotionally, physically, and mentally by correctional officers. Finally, corruption is problem because personal gain is a primary motivation for all criminal behavior because of the special trust and responsibilities placed in police officers the opportunities for them to abuse that trust to obtain money or advantage are considerable. Therefore, these are some reasons why the public have no trust in the police officers which is understandable, but as a community we need to also understand and be aware that not every police officers are bad there good ones too and we must treat them and everyone with
When facing this issue, some people are to believe that cops have more important things to do, whether it be a larger, full-scale crime, or them just not caring. It is apparently believed that those working to fix issues regarding crime, have no taste for the smaller, “irrelevant” ones that face society frequently. Whereas the distrust in our safety system stems from is without reach of comprehension, but the fact of the matter still stands behind the fallacies. Cops, although given a bad reputation through movies and society, have a job to prevent and fix any crimes that come their way, large-scale or small-scale. The small misbehaviors that
Furthermore, Police Officers are held to higher standards than others employed in public service because they alone have the power to limit individual freedom. Another effort to increase legitimacy with the citizens of Dallas is the Law Enforcement Code of Ethics and the Canons of Police Ethics that provides officers with a philosophical en ethical basis for the Dallas Police Department rules and regulations. The provisions of the Code of Conduct shall be observed by all members of the Department in order to maintain the confidence, respect, and support of the public. Police Legitimacy reflects on how the public perceives officers and what they can do to improve or erode those perceptions. In the city of Dallas, there is about one patrol officer for every thousand citizens, as a result, the impact that every single Dallas Police Officers makes on the citizens that we served represent the Police Department in general.
An officer is working for the public helping to protect and to help keep everyone safe from danger. The public does not work as an officer because they are not trained or are aware of how the job works. When misusing your power this takes an effect on the public and how they will function around the police. You want the public to feel welcome and that they feel safe knowing that there is an officer around. Police that are leaving horrible impressions on the public is what ruins the relationship between the people and officers.
The Justice system has shown a pattern of taking the side of law enforcement. As of today, police brutality, specifically excessive force still remains as one of the most serious human rights violations. From the severe beatings, to the unjustified shootings, and inexcusable aggressive rough treatment all contribute to police officer misconduct. Many officers need to be opened minded about the way they address victims, suspects, and criminals. Yes, they have the upper power, but in any situation everyone is a human being and should be treated as such; the majority of this unacceptable behavior goes unnoticed or unreported.
In Law Enforcement and enforcing the law there is six areas in which police departments have been found to be defective or deficient. This is a very difficult topic for me to agree with because police officers are put in to very stressful and unknown circumstances on a daily bases. In many cases these scenarios require a decision to be made in a split second or it could be life or death. This split second decision has months and months to be twisted and picked apart by lawyers, jury, and mostly the media. Another reason police receive such attention is because it is their job to be in the view of the public at all times and today’s technology is making it even more difficult for them to effectively and efficiently do their jobs.
Many states have Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights and it is argued that the Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights makes it very difficult to discipline or remove bad officers; only other officers many times judge officers, and it makes an investigator’s job of
As defined by Bob Harrison in Noble Cause Corruption and the Police Ethic, “Noble Cause Corruption is the concept of officers acting illegally,not for personal gain, but to fulfill moral obligations, stands as a testimony to the difficulties encouraged by those entrusted with the public's safety”. It is “a mindset or sub-culture which fosters a belief that the end sjustify the means, law enforcement is engaged in a mission to make our streets and communities safe and if that requires suspending the constitution or violating laws ourselves in order to accomplish our mission then for the greater good of society,so be it” (Steve Rothlien). Officers as well as other law enforcement officials are faced with ehtical dilemmas nearly everyday and have
Numerous videos and pictures floods the social media world like Facebook and Twitter everyday showing police officers abusing their power. This is not something new anymore and this is an ongoing problem that our Criminal Justice system in the United States has to focus on. The major scandal that happened in Los Angeles Men’s Central jail that involves 18 Los Angeles County Sheriff officers changed how the public looks at the police officers when they are inside of jail using their power and no one is looking. Integrity is one of the qualities that can be found in the police officers. If one officer have this quality it will prevent them doing abuse, misconduct or corruption.
Police organizations have been evolving over the years, but still there are so many things that have to be address in order to create a better law enforcement institutions. Police misconduct and police brutality have been the center of many confrontations between police officer and society. It is imperative that police organizations change the police subculture that exist among them that protects any wrongdoing from being disclose in order to promote a more efficient service to society. In the process of doing this assignment I learned how cohesive is the relationship between officers that most of the times protect them when they are acting in a misbehave way. It is really impressive to see how one officer was seen as a traitor in the organization because he decided to report police brutality.
Yet, at their core, the ethos remains: to protect and to serve. Ensconced atop this hierarchy sat the Chief of Police, a figure of immense responsibility and respect. Their selection often involved a complex interplay of merit and political acumen, navigating the delicate balance between political appointees and civil service veterans. The Chief's role was pivotal, setting the department's tone and ethos, guiding its officers, and serving as a bridge between the law enforcement machinery and the community it
The police officer 's authority role, is to “fight crimes, maintain order and provide social services”
And in many cases, they can only observe and report, or generating a report. The law enforcement personnel have a much greater responsibility to uphold the law. An example is to protect and served the public, or a particular assigned community. And more than often than not, officer are face with the decision that involved the use of deadly force in order to protect life, or perhaps makes an arrest if necessary. On the other hand, there is some similarity between citizen patrol and police officers practice in keeping a neighborhood safe.
While it can be interpreted as standing for ones beliefs, a police officer must uphold a high moral code in accordance to the society which is being served. The ethics to which police officers holds themselves, must include the character traits demonstrated in personal life, in addition to operating as public servants. If an officer is deemed untrustworthy at home, they cannot be trusted to work legally within the police department. Honesty within policing is just as important, where failing to admit a mistake can weaken a reputation and call previous cases into question. Although these traits can be trained into an individual, integrity must be developed personally before it can be applied
It is easy to learn about a subject from a book, but it is an entirely different matter to learn about a subject through real life experience. I hope to learn how to serve and protect while implementing the law correctly, especially in today’s world when the level of support for police officers is very low and the level of misconduct cases concerning the police are very high. It is not easy to know what to do in every situation, especially when some reactions are needed with very little or no time to think about. It is one thing to hear about a crime happening and the response that would be best to give, and another thing to need
Police officers should take integrity rests from time to time; this would test if the officer will make honest choices when faced by a situation. This tests would lead to opening of investigations and uprooting corrupt and dishonest officers. Internal affairs model- this would help reduce corruption by investigating the officers from the department and resolve it internally from the