Term Paper on "Police Officer"

Term Paper 6 pages (2028 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

police officer might be one of the most stressful jobs available today. The reasons for this are myriad, with the already odious nature of the work exacerbated by outside issues such as money, social issues and government issues. The police, as will be seen, walk a thin line when it comes to ethics and morality. Not only are they under close scrutiny, especially in the United States, of a public made up of a widely diverse group of ethnicity and rules of conduct, but they are also under government and financial pressure to perform their task with minimal resources. In an ideal situation, the task of the police is to fight, diminish and minimize crime. This aim has however been complicated by social, financial and legal issues. Below is a consideration of the influence of the public, the government and resources on the police force and the discrimination that is the daily task of the police officer.

The Role of the Public

In fighting crime, the police is faced with the difficult task of often having to discern whether an individual is truly a danger to society, whether to arrest or to warn, or whether to devote already limited human resources to a call or not. This discrimination is often influenced by not only the perception of the public regarding the police force, but also by the public paradigm of the time. In a society where racism is rampant, it is for example likely that the police force would be influenced by this.

The most recent example is the 9/11 and related events, and their influence on the attempt of the police to fight crime. Police discretion was directly influenced by the nationality of the perpetrators, as well as by the public perceptions influenced by this factor. Unannounced home and workplace searches, arrests and airport detentions were leveled at Arabs and people of eastern nationalities more often than at the rest of American citizens. Perfectly innocent, law-abiding citizens were discriminated against blatantly by the police as a result of public events and perception. Such actions were however not condemned, but were even at times approved under the guise of public security.

Another example of this mentality is the events around Rodney King and other incidents of racism perpetrated by the police force. Lucas (2001) mentions many instances of police brutality as a result of racism. The torture of Abner Louima and the shooting of Amadou Diallo are two examples. The fact that the officers in question are almost always acquitted if indeed they are ever even accused is indicative of the still-pervading mentality not only within the force, but in American society in general. Indeed, the ratio of black to white police officers and those in leading roles seems to substantiate this.

Furthermore, studies have shown that searches, extra-legal stops and interventions are generally more likely where a suspect is black or of an ethnicity other than white (Terence, 2005). This is the case especially with juvenile offenders and can influence the decision to arrest them or let them stand trial as adults rather than minors.

The discretion of the police may also suffer as a result of anticipated public perception. This occurred in a domestic violence case mentioned by Fred Barbash (2005). Jessica Gonzales repeatedly called the police for protection against her ex-husband. When they arrived on the scene, her three daughters had already been killed. Gonzales had a restraining order against the perpetrators, but it was not enforced in the way she felt she was entitled to. The defense of the police in this situation is that they had to make a judgment call for the specific situation. According to officials, the police could not be expected to enforce an order according to every requirement of the public, and that they could not be second guessed in their acts of discretion. However, it appears that a concern for future public action rather than the requirements of the situation at hand was the basis of this particular instance of discretion. Once again the law was on the side of the police and despite the death of three children to back her case, Gonzales lost to the police.

The Rules

Cases of discrimination and corruption in the name of discretion such as those mentioned above often result in a severely damaging public image of the police force in general. There are however rules and regulations according to which law enforcement should take place. These are examined by means of a study reported by Carroll Seron (2004). According to Seron, the prohibitions placed upon officers in their dealings with citizens include (1) using unnecessary Force, (2) Abusing their authority, (3) speaking Discourteously, and (4) using Offensive language. The acronym FADO has been created to reflect these issues.

Seron also mentions however that extra-legal and mitigating circumstances and paradigms play a very large role in possible police misconduct. The problem includes the complexity of the social phenomenon of crime, as well as the legal and governmental system. This is where police discretion plays the largest role. In the decision-making process, the police officer is often called upon, as mentioned above, to make judgments in certain situations. These judgments are made under pressure and stress, with issues such as public perception always playing a role in the process. Furthermore issues such as personal problems and bias could also detrimentally influence an officer's judgment and discretion.

Other Influences

Other influences extend to the realm of politics and the law. The police department is thus influenced not only by the particular public paradigms of the society within which it functions, but also by legal issues and the court of law.

It appears from the above that the police is normally backed by the legal system, regardless of public outcries against injustice and corruption. This paradigm unfortunately strengthens the tendency of the police force towards corruption. It is also indicative of outdated paradigms and systems. Racism is a prime example of this.

The above-mentioned 9/11 issues have greatly influenced police work. The public perception of the police and their discretionary practice has become less likely to focus on corruption and more on issues of homeland security. In the two years after the attacks, people were willing to wait hours at airports for the sake of flight safety. The perception of the public was thus influenced by crime rather than by police discretion. The legal system and the government thus implemented programs by means of which the police were required by law to engage in actions some of which would previously have raised public outcries against racism and discrimination.

Homeland security issues and the war against Iraq (or the war on "terrorism") implemented by President Bush has culminated in severe modifications in the police force. This has also affected the ability of the police to effectively fight crime. Benjamin Wallace-Wells (2003) mentions the example of Richmond, where the police force has been obliged by the government to change their neighborhood policing strategies. The declined numbers of police officers both in this city and around the rest of the United States have resulted in increases in crime. The police force is no longer able to perform its primary duty of fighting crime effectively as a result of a factor that is directly, according to Wallace-Wells, within government control.

The first budget of the Bush administration cut all direct funding for street cops, which directly resulted in a dramatic cut in police force manpower. The reason for this is the aftermath of 9/11. Many officers were called to join the fight in Iraq, while others who remained behind were obliged by the new policies homeland security laws to act as security guards not only at airports, but also in extralegal search operations of suspected terrorists, as well as patrol duties at potential terrorist targets. This detracted not only the public perception from police corruption in general, but also the attention of the police force itself from the fight against everyday criminal activities. This has placed stress on both local budgets and manpower.

A large amount of stress and frustration has been placed upon police departments as a result of this. Furthermore, community policing programs such as COPS were forced to be either terminated or substantially limited because of the budget and manpower cuts. This of course has had an exacerbating effect on the crime rate. Community policing furthermore resulted in a more positive perception of the police department by the public. The police and the public became partners in solving and fighting crime.

Current actions by government however is in the process of once again changing this. Firstly, a significant sector of society - Arab-Americans - now experience increased violent and unfair treatment from police. The general public perception of these actions by police is however positive, which furthers non-terrorist related racial tension between Arabs and non-Arabs. Whereas in the past many of these people had a good relationship with the police department, this can no longer… READ MORE

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