Police violence and secrecy
Police violence and secrecy, in my opinion, is a matter of misguided training, lack of supervision, and discipline. Police killings have been going on for the longest time without any decent intervention by the responsible government, especially in the US. We can agree that police are trained rigorously on the protocols and other critical aspects of their jobs during their academy stage. However, training goes beyond instilling law enforcement nous. Police lack a clear and collected manner in which to react to various situations. Additionally, the training fails to remind them that they serve the community, not particular groups or communities. The shooting of Michel Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old African American in 2014, portrays the lack of vital police training elements.
Police violence is also a result of a lack of supervision. Police prescient captains are expected to control what their officers do and review their actions to determine potential risks. Police officers who feel like they can do anything on the streets and not answer to anyone will always be prone to more violence. A stricter regimen in controlling police officer actions may go a long way to ensuring that officers do not misuse their power to abuse human rights.
Discipline is a critical factor in police brutality. In the most recent case where George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis, the video showing the heinous act revealed an utter lack of discipline among the officers. Rogue police officers who believe That they can oppress anyone are highly prone to police brutality. They are eager to portray their power, as shown in the video where George Floyds begged for his life. Discipline is perhaps an essential trait among officers, as it enables them to make sound decisions in cases, to avoid reckless and indiscriminate killing.
Fogelson’s work was integral in illuminating the dynamics of urban riots and establishing the same root causes. His research was that urban riots were responses to the misuse of power and the lack of police accountability. In recent times, anti-police sentiments have echoed the same worrying trends. Much of the recent police violence has caused urban riots that have disrupted various communities. In the most recent case, the killing of George Floyd, demonstrations in the US reached a peak level. This rioting was a response to the perceived racial violence conducted by police officers. The George Floyd riots in various cities in the US echoed the lack of police accountability and the feeling of racial treating. The US has come a long way from the era of slavery and racial discrimination, but law enforcement remains one of the most biased organs of the government’s US has not learned anything from the multitude of work coupled by brutality cases in the past 50 years. The George Floyd riots in various areas of the US were people of all races gathered, portrayed the people as united against law enforcement. In a sense, the public has moved beyond racial boundaries, whereas law enforcement is still clinging to that a construct. The looting and destruction of property witnessed in various areas of Minneapolis, portrayed anger in citizens wanting to commit crimes without being accountable, which is the same thing that officers have been doing on the brutality cases.
There are various essential elements for achieving police accountability. First and foremost is making the police accountable to the community. Accountability can be achieved through community relations and community review boards. These boards would evaluate whether the police have achieved their overall gaol to the community. Police officers would thus be accountable to the community for any misdemeanors in their actions or chaotic behavior such as police brutality. Increased accountability of the police creates a better relationship between the police and the community making them more accountable.
Another critical element of the same is establishing an administrative mechanism of control. These can include supervision and direction. The police force should be restructured so that the leaders in the force manage the officers like a manager would in an organization. This is because the police administrative system’s primary mechanism adheres only to classical organizational principles such as discipline and training. Having a better and more robust system to manage police may go a long way in ensuring they are accountable.
The current internal and external mechanisms, used by police for accountability, are not sufficient. This is because there are still issue s within the police force such as police brutality and the continued racial policing. One of the internal mechanisms used is professional and integrity standards. All police officers are well informed on the police code on conduct, yet the case of brutality and racial policing has risen over the past decade. An external mechanism of accountability is police body cameras. This mechanism has been useful as some rogue police officers have been caught red-handed exercising criminal justice and therefore have been held accountable for their actions.