Essay On Police Accountability

Superior Essays
Undoubtedly one of most important and lest educated issue in this country is Police accountability. Approximately 1000 people are shot and killed by police officers each year. Since 2005, according to Stinson 's research group, a total off seventy-seven officers have been charged with murder or manslaughter. With these two statements combined this means that approximately 11,000 people have been shot and killed by police officers and since 2005 only 77 have been charged with murder or manslaughter. This statement shows how police accountability is not an individual problem but rather how it is an institutional problem. My paper aims to expose and propose a solution for each of the ways police officers are slipping through the cracks of accountability. …show more content…
The three ways that have been covered is investigating misconduct internally by colleagues, destroying misconduct information, and “gypsys” cops. These three ways are the most common and many people would agree that this is something that occurs way too often. According to a study there is a perfect split between what people believe is true about police accountability. 50% believe police are held accountable whereas the other 50% believe that police are not held accountable. As discussed in the introduction of the paper the main issue of police accountability is not individual problem but rather an institutionalized problem. What does this exactly mean? Even though what police officers are doing is wrong it is not their fault that they are not held accountable. It’s the whole police system overall that is the issue. The system inside police departments is completely in favor of protecting an officer. Misconduct history can completely be erased from an officer’s record without trouble. Police officers can transfer from one police department to another without a single piece of information of their preview history on their back. Lastly every single piece of misconduct information is reviewed internally which leads to the easy opportunity of ignoring misconduct to protect the officer from being charged with

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts’ (Holmes, 2009). Criminal Investigation is a very critical aspect of the Justice System and the wider society in general. For a number of years now, the international media have been criticizing severely the handling of criminal investigations. Some of the issues that have been highlighted are flawed police investigations, which has led to miscarriages of justice (Rossmo, 2009).…

    • 1472 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Not all officers are ‘clean’. Furthermore, the laws that are passed by the government are part of the backstage. “In 1994, the Department of Defense and the Department of Justice signed an agreement enabling the military to transfer wartime technology to local police departments (Franklin, 2008, p.17)”. Police forces that gain this kind of equipment have to be prepared and trained to use it. The officers that are meant to keep the peace are now being trained to operate and use military equipment in America against American citizens.…

    • 1704 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Kalief Briker Case Study

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Police accountability has been in question for many years regarding to treating the public fairly regardless who they are or where they come from. In recent encounters with the public, the police were not accountable for their actions. The trust between community and policing has been lost because of incidents that the police has not been punished for. Incidents like the Kalief Browder and Pedro Hernandez case, losing communication with the community, the mayor of New York City not implementing laws to improve police accountability, and police abusing their power and arresting innocent individuals. Law officers should be punished no matter what their ranking.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Corruption In Copland

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages

    It is human nature, I suppose, this natural desire to fit in. We create relationships and search for accord in a likeminded crowd. With few exceptions, humans instinctually long to belong. We have all experienced this longing - those situations where we wish for even the slightest nod or hint of attention from another person, a bit of acknowledgement for accomplished work. Recall the variety of thoughts that emerge in particular social situations or at a workplace: e.g., “first day of school, will I have any friends”, “wow she is gorgeous, I hope to talk to her”, and “will my boss notice my job well done and finally give me that raise?”…

    • 1462 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ethical Dilemmas Scenarios

    • 1456 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Lieutenant A will represent the newly promoted narcotics detective assigned to the precinct with the widespread drug problem. Sergeant B will represent the partner of Lieutenant A, Captain C will represent the squad commander, and Major D will represent the precinct commander. In the scenario provided, Lieutenant A attended his first briefing along with Sergeant B. Squad Commander C informed his subordinates that the tactics that they are using have proven to be effective and as a result the street crimes and homicides rates are down. After the briefing was over Lieutenant A asked Sergeant B to clarify what tactics the unit used since Captain C did not go into details. Sergeant B informs Lieutenant A that the unit sometimes plant evidence…

    • 1456 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Police Force Definition

    • 1570 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Over time, our faith in the criminal justice system has become everything but progressive. One of the many issues we are facing, and have been facing for quite some time, around the world today is police brutality and corruption. The days when police officers were seen as peacekeepers are long gone. It is agreed upon that there is no single, universal definition of “use of force.” According to the International Association of Chiefs of Police, use of force can be defined as, “the amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling subject.…

    • 1570 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Annotated Bibliography Walker, Samuel. “Police Accountability and the Central Problem in American Criminal Justice.” Holding Police Accountable. Ed. Candace McCoy.…

    • 1467 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Accountability is what the United States Army revolves around. Without accountability the United States Army would be chaos. But I digress. The definition of accountability is the fact or condition of being accountable or held responsible. There is no progress within yourself, your team, your life without accountability.…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In this essay a discussion will be explored about the benefits and problems associated with police use of discretion. Which current policing strategies have the most potential for controlling officer discretion and providing accountability, and which have the least, and why is that the case? And finally, how might these issues impact the various concerns facing law enforcement today? Police behavior is different across all communities.…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On Police Legitimacy

    • 2002 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Police Legitimacy Under the Spotlight “When you realize that incompetent police officers are harassing you, you need to call 911 and demand that a police supervisor be immediately dispatched to the scene. In the mean time you need to be video recording everything, as police officers are known for their blatant lies and fabrications.”- Steven Magee (G. (Ed.). 2008, January).…

    • 2002 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Police Reform Essay

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Based on the research done by Randall G. Sheldon, he discussed that his good – support theory which suggested that those who are against corruption indulge only with those who follow the conduct of the department have been blindly ignored (Sheldon, 96). As a result, many departments’ have forgotten their role as law enforcement officers. Gandhi proclaimed that if we removed the cause of the disease (the corruption) the result would remove the disease from the land. However, today police corruption has only increased. For example, (Sheldon, 96).…

    • 1330 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Discuss the main ways in which police officers are personally held accountable for abuses of power. Are these measures effective? Police accountability has been a widely discussed issue from the very beginning of its official establishment under the Metropolitan Police Act 1829. Through the years public trust has been of great importance, as the public is one of the main groups, which the police is accountable to. In this essay, we will focus on accountability on an individual level rather than on an institutional level.…

    • 1624 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Therefore, proper complaints investigation and discipline is essential to ensure public confidence in police and ensure justice in police operations (Prenzler, 2013, p. 63). Testing of applicants is another standard mechanism for attempting to prevent misconduct. These screen mechanisms include panel interviews, where questions about personal ethics and ethical scenarios can be presented, referee reports, drug test, and even home visits and financial reviews (Prenzler,…

    • 1110 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Police Misconduct Thesis

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages

    An important fact that needs to be addressed is, “the repercussions of police misconduct are many and include the fact that police criminal behavior undermines the legitimacy of policing and hampers public confidence in the police” (Burns…

    • 768 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    People put their trust in these officers. They trust them to protect and serve our communities. People shouldn’t have to fear their policemen. Police corruption makes the whole department look bad. That 's unfair to the policemen who are obeying the rules and respecting their other policemen as well.…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays