Police Reform Achieved Through Higher Education Police reform achieved through higher education will decrease violence and death, increase safety for officers, increase salary, and increase resources and outcomes for the community. The increase in police brutality has been a hot news topic since COVID-19. A call for police reform has been made to defund the police, and higher expectations of police conduct. The state of North Carolina police officers are required to complete 640 course hours mandated by the Commission. This takes approximately 16 weeks, and is followed with a comprehensive written exam and skills testing. “ (Basic Law, 2022) Police officers are being asked to cover several different professions while in the field such as; …show more content…
“Officers who have graduated from college are almost 40% less likely to use force.” (Bouffard,2022) College classes in de-escalation techniques will help officers’ calm volatile people and increase their ability to build rapport. “A study of officer-involved shootings from 1990 to 2004 found that college-educated police officers were almost 30% less likely to fire their weapons in the line of duty.” (Bouffard, 2022) Violence is defined as both verbal and physical interactions with the community. Police officers trained properly in current de-escalating techniques can prevent the need for reaching for physical weapons provided to the officers such as tasers, pepper spray, batons, and guns. Tasers and pepper spray are often considered less dangerous weapons for police officers to use. These weapons have caused death due to age, addiction, and health conditions of civilians. Deescalating the situation to the point where no physical violence occurs is the goal of all officers. Higher education can increase the police officers ability to obtain that goal more often.. “Most officers receive nearly 60 hours of firearm training, but less than 10 hours of de-escalation training. Roughly, 90% of calls for service do not involve violence or someone with a deadly weapon. Yet, law enforcement trains to the exact opposite. So an increase in de-escalation training is urgent.” (Ray, …show more content…
“Police departments that require at least a two-year degree for officers had a lower rate of officers assaulted by civilians compared to departments that did not require college degrees.(Bouffard, 2022) This displays that an associate degree provides important higher education classes that decrease assaults on police officers in their daily duties. Police officer safety is a priority to all officers, departments, and families. “The majority of 911 calls are for nonviolent encounters. This might suggest that these calls would be better addressed by mental health or behavioral counselors than by peace officers trained to address violence. But as all police know, domestic incidents and minor disturbances will often turn violent quickly. That’s when an officer’s training to diffuse or neutralize a dangerous actor or situation is necessary.”(Njfop, et al News,
Policing has seen much progress. Some reforms do work, and some types of abuse have been reduced. Today, among both police officials and rank and file officers, it is widely recognized that police brutality hinders good law enforcement. Whenever a new case of police brutality comes to light, people in the community must respond politically to ensure justice for the victim. These actions must be timely to be truly effective.
Officers are taught at the police academy to meet deadly force with deadly force. They are trained and given the techniques and skills to make sure they make it home at the end of their shift, and they spend extensive time training in the use of firearms. It's important to realize that, when discussing the use of deadly force by police officers, the expected result of a subject's actions don't have to be death. Instead, deadly force is described as actions that would likely cause death or bodily harm, which could include permanent disfigurement without necessarily causing death.
Including new policy that could help prevent this action of police brutality against unarmed individuals by increasing police training on de-escalating situations verbally before becoming physically aggressive. Change in policy could enforce more penalties for officers who carelessly do not recognize the difference between their Taser and gun or the difference between a suspect walking home with candy wearing a hoodie from one walking from a crime scene wearing a hoodie. Public relations could increase community activities or involvement that include the police force in a positive
Emily Wainwright April 13, 2023 CRM 420 Dr. Smith Final Paper Organization and Assignment Office Improvement Initiative (OII) Policy: Police Education Reform Introduction Police officers from state or local municipalities should be required to possess a bachelor's degree before they are brought onto the force. Education is power and law enforcement holds power so they should be held to a higher education standard in order to perform their duties. Holding officers to a higher education standard can decrease officer use of force, produce less authoritarian officers, decrease disciplinary actions and can lessen the incidents of using deadly force.
Working in a culturally diverse city, police officers are expected to interact with citizens in a professional manner which includes understanding various backgrounds, cultures, religions, and ethnicities. Misunderstanding an ethnic culture occurs when officers are not educated or aware of differing ethnic groups and cultural standards. If police officers are knowledgeable in various ethnic groups, they will not only avoid conflicts, criminal litigations against themselves, but also prevent violent riots and further distrust that ethnic groups already have with law enforcement
In addition to these notes, Hryniewicz has produced policy recommendations in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Violence & Victims, Society & Mental Health, Health Sociology Review, Contemporary Justice Review, and many more (“Danielle Hryniewicz” 1). On the other side of the debate, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, David A. Klinger, supports reform through the police force in his article, "Police Training As An Instrument Of Accountability," issued by the St. Louis University Public Law Review in 2012. Along with his specialization in policing, terrorism, and the use of deadly force, Klinger possesses the experience of a patrol officer for the Los Angeles and Redmond Police Departments ("David A. Klinger, Professor" 1). With Hyrniewicz’s perspective of police brutality as a social issue which can be prevented through civilian oversight, and Klinger’s belief that it is a psychological issue resolved by refining police training, the two authors also disagree on who should be responsible for the reform that reclaims police accountability and
According to The Washington Post, out of 356 police brutality cases in The United States, 365 were men and 80 were woman. Of those 356, 80 percent of them were carrying life threatening objects such as; knifes, guns, machetes, 49 of them were unarmed and carrying no weapons, and 16 percent were carrying a fake gun or unarmed. Police are allowed to use deadly force when they feel their life’s, or the lives of other innocent by standards are in danger, but according to this research most of the people were not carrying deadly weapons. Of those in the same brutality cases, 8 of them were under 18 years old, 55 were 18-24 years old, 118 were 25-34 years old, 94 were 35-44 years old, 62 were 45-54 years old and 39 of them were 55 years or older.
Excessive Use of Force by Law Enforcement The use of excessive force by law enforcement has been a topic of heated debate and controversy in the United States for decades. It is a complex issue with various factors contributing to it, including systemic racism, police training, accountability, and the lack of adequate laws and policies. The use of excessive force by law enforcement has disproportionately affected people of color, particularly Black Americans, and has led to countless deaths and injuries. Systemic racism is one of the primary factors contributing to disputes surrounding excessive use of force by law enforcement.
The hiring system within the police force is resulting in undertrained cops and officers with histories of abuse and brutality to be joining the force. Many officers are hired with a lack of sufficient training on how and when to use force, leaving them unprepared to handle tense situations leading to police brutality. Many police organizations rehire police officers with histories of police misconduct, undermining efforts to address police brutality and restore public trust in law enforcement. Such officers may have demonstrated a pattern of abusive behavior, which can escalate into more serious incidents in the
However, inadequate training in de-escalation techniques and implicit bias can lead to unnecessary use of force by law enforcement
Further research has shown that police officers ages typically correlates to the years of experience and officers who are younger or has a young mindset receives more excessive force complaints than the ones who are older and with experience (Hassell & Archbold, 2010). The issue can result in different reasoning. For example, research concluded by Alpert and Dunham The Force Factor: Measuring Police Use of Force Relative to Suspect Resistance, has shown that police officers needs to do a better job on training new comers on policies and procedures in order to avoid incidents such as unnecessary use of force. Alpert finds that additional training will help serve the officers by reducing the number of incidents using excessive force, which includes, “training officers on how to gain control without using a gun, training officers on the correct amount of force to use based on the given situations, training officers on using pepper spray as a way to reduce any physical harm or the use of weapons, training officers to use the baton to restrain rather than shoot, training officers on conflict resolutions technique that can keep the situation under control rather than escalating (which female officers are found to be good at)” (Alpert et al., 1997).
Hollywood and social media has blown the police subculture way out of proportion, portraying police officers as crooked cops who abuse their authoritative powers and beats every suspect they encounter during their tour of duty. Critics who are opposed to law enforcement services can argue that a police organization is nothing but a bunch of racist, power hunger, and trigger happy individuals. On the other hand, supporters of law enforcement will work cooperatively with the department in order to prevent crime, enforce the law, preserve the peace, and provide a safe environment (Houston Police Department General Orders, 2012). Studies from Wine (2014) revealed that “black and white officers were equally likely to shoot African-American suspects” (para. 6). When a police officer (white or black officer), conducts a routine traffic stop, and the officer immediately observes the driver of the vehicle pointing a handgun directly at him, the officer does not have time to ponder about the suspect’s skin color, and decide whether to discharge his firearm or not.
Officer training and supervision are highlighted in a report created by a working group of mayors and police chiefs from the United States Conference of Mayors under improving police department procedures. This paper includes a set of ideas for bettering community policing. According to the paper, "training should encompass more than policing methods" (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2015). The paper emphasizes the significance of police personnel knowing their position in society and emphasizing community participation. "Training must focus on reducing unjustified use of force, and officers should be given alternatives to the use of deadly firearms" (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2015).
Officers were informed that they are allowed to justify their stops by pointing out the prevalence of drugs and violence in the community. This loophole allows officers to stop anyone in an area that falls under that category. Overall, Moskos and other trainees thought “the overall approach of the academy as ineffective” and that what was to come next was more informative and realistic of the duty of an officer (pg
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.