Excessive Use Of Force By Police

Introduction

In most cases the Police officers are legally allowed to partially use force. The police superior and the public at large expect this due to the nature of the police duties that requires them to do so when appropriate. In order to deal with the disorderly elements of the society, people who work in the law enforcement agencies may gradually develop the attitude or the sense of commanding authority over the society, this is evident in the traditional reaction-based policing models; in most cases the police hold the believe that they are supposed to be above the law. (Merle, 2004)

Reports link the Police with the causes of misconduct as result of the systematic factors that originates from the police force itself. These are as follows; the Pressures to conform to the aspects of the police culture which are designed to sustain a substantial opposition to the criminal subculture while protecting the police force interests, this goes to the extent of violating the law while at the same time the outsiders are viewed in a suspicious perspective or with a lot of distrust. Secondly, there is the command and the control structures that have a very rigid hierarchical foundation, with law enforcement the more rigid the hierarchy is, then the lower the scores when measured on the scale of ethical decision-making thirdly, the deficiencies that are created in the internal accountability the mechanisms especially in the internal investigation processes.

Police Use of Force

The Police officers use of the excessive force is always kept in check by many jurisdictions through the issuance of the force continuum that allows use of force to certain extent. The force continuum sets relevant levels of force that are considered appropriate in the direct response to a subject's behavior. This power is only granted by the civil government, and has the limits that have been set out under the statutory law as well as the common law. (Stetser, 2001)

The members of the public sometimes perceive the use of excessive force by the police as an offence even when the force used is lawful. In the daily duties, the law enforcement officers are faced with danger as they carry out their duties. In dealing with a dangerous or the unpredictable situations, the police officers have very little time to organize themselves psychologically and assess the ability to determine a proper response. Therefore, a good training given to the police can enhance the chances of the officers to react properly to the situations or the possible threats. The response that is accompanied with the appropriate tactics for addressing the situations that possibly including some levels of force under the given circumstances.

The Police are charged with the mandate to enforce the social order through the legitimization of the use of force. The use of force describes the amount of efforts that is required by police in compelling the compliance by the unwilling subjects. The levels, or the continuum, of force that the police officer use include the basic verbal and the physical restraint, the less-lethal force and the lethal forces.

The amount of force that the police use should be the minimized to a point that is needed for elimination of the threat that has been presented, in this way the risks are minimized and also the severity of any kind of injury that may occur.
Remedies to the police brutality
Police should do the following to remedy the situation;
Make sure that those people injured receive immediate medical aid.
Notify the family of any injured person.
The officers should be given supplementary guidance from the individual agencies, there should be no universal set of the rules to govern theÿofficers as to when to use forceÿand how much.
The level of force that the police officer use vary basing on the situation, due to of variation, the guidelines for the use of force can be based on many factors, these include;
The experience of the police department.
The Federal and the state mandates.
Availability of the law enforcement technologies.
The relationships that exist between the police and the citizens in a given jurisdiction.
Police-Community Relations

The controversy that exists over firearms policy and the use of excessive force by the police is tied to the overall quality of the relations between the community and the police. In the situations where the police and all the general community develop good relations, then the friction is generally minimized. The perception of the police to the civilians should be that of a concerned professional. This leads to greater respect in all the segments of the community. The confidence of the police officers to count on the support of all the community in the performance of their duties gives them a greater sense of responsibility in doing their job (Justice.gov, par 6).

A very effective police-minority relationship can immensely contribute to the reduction in the incidents of excessive police force. However, if an incident of a police officer excessive force does occur, then the public is likely to give a response with a very open mind due to the positive relationships and the trust that has been built up with the police through their daily experience. The community organizations on the other hand might consider the possibilities which may act as an aid for the improvement of the relations with the police. Another way is through the Exploration and the establishment of communications links to the professional police associations as well as the linkage with the police union.

Conclusion

Most people have a crude understanding that if the police officers use excessive force on a civilian then that is a criminal offense. That is not the case but it is an occupational crime since it is committed while the police officers are operating in their legitimate occupations. If a police officer Abuses a citizen then that is the violation of the trust that has been implied to the position officer's position and the power bestowed upon the officer (Social.jrank.org, par 5). The Excessive abuse of force tends to violate the state laws, federal laws, and the constitutional rights. By considering all these violations, it is assumed that the conviction of an officer in relation to violence is revered with much fervor.

From my research I made the conclusion that the general public prefers that the police officers involved in violence should be punished, but the police the police on the other hand cannot accept such an action. The offenders learn this acts of brutality through the organization's failure to give them proper training especially on the importance of controlling of some situations through the use of minimal force. In the practical contexts the excessive force users are rarely punished. The manner in which the police force organizes its departments are tends to encourage the police to use force through their approach.

The Police have the right to use force in protecting themselves, however the extent beating up a suspect who has been restrained or one who has surrendered is not justified for self defense. Therefore actions need to be taken in order to diminish the crime of caused by the police brutality. Good utilization of the interdisciplinary police units, the justice system, and the police officers trainers can work together to deter the police brutality. The justice system needs to actively pursue and punish the offenders within the police system. On the other hand the Police must do more on their part to change the structure of the police force in order to sanction the officers who abuse their power thereby preventing the new officers from learning the bad behaviors.