Police Abuse

Essay by Anonymous UserUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, November 1996

download word file, 12 pages 4.3 1 reviews

In recent years, police actions, particularly police abuse, has

come into view of a wide, public and critical eye. While citizens worry

about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been shown that they

must also keep a watchful eye on those who are supposed to protect and

serve. This paper will discuss the types of police abuse prevalent today,

including the use of firearms and receipt of private information. I will

also discuss what and how citizens' rights are taken advantage of by

police. For these problems, solutions will be discussed, focusing on

political reform, education, and citizen review boards. These measures are

necessary to protect ourselves from police taking advantage of their

positions as law enforcement officers with greater permissive rights than

private citizens. Because of this significant differential, all citizens

must take affirmative action from physical brutality, rights violations,

and information abuse.

Problems arise, however, when one side is told what to do by

another, as there is bound to be conflicting viewpoints.

In regard to

police abuse, there will be many officers who feel that their job of

fighting escalating street crime, gangs, narcotics violations, and other

violent crimes is difficult already, and that worrying about excessive

policy for abusive behavior will only further decrease their ability to

fight crime effectively, efficiently, and safely. Citizens, however, have

been caught up in this gung-ho attitude, and police are more and more often

crossing the line of investigation and interrogation with abusive behavior.

This abuse must be monitored so that police do not forget who they are

serving--not themselves, but the public. This means that even the

criminals, who are a part of the public, have certain rights, particularly,

civil rights. All citizens must be aware of these rights to protect

themselves against over-aggressive officers...