Police Use Of Force

Great Essays
Use of Force Paper

What is use of force in police work; well for one thing it is unescapable and goes hand in hand with doing your job as a police officer. In many situations the lives of ordinary people and officers can be taken if use of force is not used properly or when necessary. There are so many different scenarios that can come into play when an officer decides to use force. Also they have to think about is it justified, have they had the proper training and is the department going to cover my butt or be held liable.
There is no single, completely agreed-upon definition of use of force. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has described use of force as the "amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject" [1].
Police Officers receive their training from their different agencies, but there is no universal set of rules that governs the officers when they should and how much use of force. The number one thing an officer has to think of when determining the use of force is justification. Once the decision is made by the officer to use force, there is a large range of force that can be executed depending on the situation.
In the past different police departments used the “Use of force Continuum Method” to
…show more content…
If we have more awareness of this subject we would have fewer incidents in my opinion. More people aware of how to act when being questioned and how not to be perceived as a threat. If we had the media show more about the officers as in “walk in their shoes” for a day. Have the media go through the paces of training in firearms, driving, and defense tactics. Show them in scenarios and have them answer to what they did what they did. How about having more civic leaders go through the course also that way we have more leadership on the side of the police, more allies in their

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Opposition towards Police Brutality: Force Justification Violence throughout America seems to be never ending; on a monthly basis you here of gruesome shooting sprees, unpredictable crimes, horrible drug and human trafficking and possible terrorist threats. Because of this American police officers are given an enormous responsibility of having the authority to use force, including deadly force, under certain circumstances to maintain order, keep crime rates low throughout the states and keep America safe (Redenbaugh 1). However recently, there has been an ongoing issue of citizens believing police abuse their authority and are above the law. Although there is no question that police misconduct does occur, society must come to the understanding…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Causes Of Police Brutality

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Three main factors come into play and those are certainty of protection, severity of punishment, and celerity of punishment. The heavy force would be deterred from committing crime under the knowledge of that if caught by police, immediate and severe punishment would be inflicted and it prevent citizens not involved in crimes from performing future crimes. (Boggess 122). In 1991 study was and the results were that every time police killings percentages increased then the violent crime percentage happened. On the other hand there are people who are against unjustified force by police because they believe this kind of conduct will have a negative impact on society.…

    • 1092 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Now that cameras are so cheap and people have cameras on their phones , it is a lot easier to hold the police accountable for their actions. Another thing suggestion would possible have new training will help the police officials have a new way of approaching suspects. This training would include teaching law enforcement to have safer and more professional techniques. Lastly, this article talks about is new ways that the government can teach police to profile suspects in a more fair way. The ACLU had a lot of suggestions for this topic.…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Excessive Force Case Study

    • 1615 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The use of force can be determined by the individual, but there are situations in which most people do not agree with the outcome. Of course when using the phrase excessive force it is automatically associated with law enforcement. In the past few decades, police officers have become more violent in their approach to restrain an individual or control a disruptive setting. According to a sister of a killed unarmed black male, she stated that police officers believe they have to “’make split decisions’” (Police Officers Use Deadly Force Too Frequently).…

    • 1615 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    There are different level of forces, the type of situation help to indicate the level of force uses. Police brutality must stop so that police officers do not forget that they make an oak to serve the public, not…

    • 106 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Police officers vowed to protect the lives of citizens, as well as keep the community safe. Unfortunately, several fellow officers have decided to brutalize citizens, and abuse authority. By using excessive, unreasonable force, these officers have put the lives of other officers at risk, although they have been following their authorities. Police brutality has increased throughout the years. Police brutality refers to the use of excessive force against a civilian.…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Abstract This research paper is about police brutality and whether or not they should be allowed to use the force of a stun-gun, chokehold, and baton. It also discusses the topic on when enough is enough - concerning overkills and excessive choke holds. They have the power to get way with brutally murdering someone just because their job involves that. With that power comes great responsibility of knowing when and where to use what weapon and when not to use a weapon at all.…

    • 2266 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Police Subculture The police subculture is much the same throughout all the law enforcement careers throughout the world. The police subculture is a distinctive set of beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors that are shared amongst the majority of officers working in law enforcement organizations (Malmin, 2012). The subculture is taught to new recruits from the first day they arrive at the academy to the last day. This subculture follows them from that point on throughout their career in law enforcement.…

    • 2157 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Allan Geary Mr.Murphy 7 January, 2015 Police Brutality in America In result of the recent events and heavy media coverage like the case of Michael Brown and Eric Garner, the controversy of excessive force and police brutality has become more renown than ever before. The use of excessive force by police officers has been growing despite the protection offered in the Constitution for citizens against such drastic measures. The term “Police Brutality” and what it encompases appears to have a varying definition with the justice system. Police Brutality is formally defined as the “wanton use of excessive force, usually physical, but also common in forms of verbal attacks and psychological intimidation, by a police officer.”…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The force in the United States also “routinely used violence, rather than formal arrests, to resolve low-level conflicts”. By definition, this type of approach would prove to be police brutality because the police was using violence to try and solve the conflict rather than rationalize and deescalate the situation. As time, has passed, there have been changes to how the police operate. In the late 1960s, police departments in the United States were becoming more militarized as they began using more technology and weapons of higher caliber. The standard lethal…

    • 1995 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Police brutality is a civil rights violation that occurs as a result of the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. “Excessive use of force” means a force well beyond what would be necessary by law enforcement officers in order to handle a situation and is a violation of a person’s rights. The use of excessive force is also a direct violation of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the U. S. Constitution regarding cruelty and protection of the laws. There are several ways police brutality can be present. The most obvious practice of police brutality takes place in a physical form.…

    • 1229 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The job of an officer is to confront violence, to solve and detect crime. Their job is one of the most stressful and dangerous occupations involving violence that must be controlled such as the use of drugs, gangs and mass murder. In many of these cases it may be necessary for the officer to administer the use of force to control a situation. In many of these confrontations, an officer may use physical force with a suspect who refuses to get arrested or to cooperate. Officers are individuals who are expected to behave at a standard higher than that of a civilian.…

    • 1311 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Currently throughout the nation there has been an increase in police shootings. The public and the media seem to think it is mostly white cops against black citizens. The media likes to blow things out of proportion to increase their ratings .When they get videos of police brutality or even a police involved death. They usually edit the footage or leave out vital information.…

    • 496 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Issues In Policing

    • 1405 Words
    • 6 Pages

    A survey showed results that Hispanics and African Americans are more likely to be expose to force of officers that whites. This brings about problems nationwide within the policing system because the public is being exposed to these situations more each day. It is known that police officers should only use the necessary amount of force that is needed to protect themselves from harm and make arrest, but this is not always the case. There are some cases where officers mishandle suspects and use more force than what is needed when making arrest. The use of force from officers can be categorized into two ways; deadly force or nondeadly…

    • 1405 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Once this training is established, and everyone is on the same page, there must be some sort of “training” available for the community. This “training” could be something as simple as the recently popular “coffee talks” with various members of the department on a semi-regular basis, to community oriented programs that promote (positive) interactions between the police and the public. Promoting these programs as well as ensuring transparency and accountability paves the way for a better understanding of what is going on behind the closed doors of the department(s). This helps initiate regular opportunities for constructive and quality engagement with the community they serve. The enforcement of laws and arresting people are important aspects of policing, so too, are relationships and bonds, as they can be the proverbial glue that keeps a leader accountable for his or her…

    • 1161 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics