- Limitations of the use of police force. The procedure in the use of police force.
- Advantages of using police force.
- Enables the police carry out their duties effectively.
- Scare criminals from engaging in criminal activities.
- They can deal with criminals with sophisticated weapons.
- Disadvantages of using police force.
- Police have misused the use of force.
- Has increased discrimination in relation to race and sex.
- Damaged relationship between the police and the public.
- Conclusion.
- The police force should be maintained. No changes should be made on the use of force by the police.
Introduction
Police are civil servants who have the responsibility of ensuring law and order in the society. They have the challenge of finding criminals so that they can be punish them. They also have the responsibility of detecting suspects so that they can further be investigated. This is why the police are allowed to use force so that they can carry out their activities properly. The society has in certain circumstances conflicted with the police due to excessive use of force. Part of the society feels that the force that the police are allowed to use is excess and should be reduced. The use of this excessive force has resulted to death of many people some of who are innocent individuals. In some circumstances, minors are killed due to excessive use of the force. It is however important to appreciate that the use of this power is important. Some members of the society also feel that the power that the police have is not enough and law should be passed so that they can have more power. The stand of this research paper is that the current power of the police should be maintained. It should not be reduced nor should it be added (Cole, 2008).
Discussion
The police are required to use force in various circumstances. In the first place, there may be demonstrations that are unlawful and hence not safe for the members of the public. In this case, the police require force so that they can disperse the unlawful gathering. Secondly, the police have to use their force when they need to arrest a suspect. Not many people accept to be arrested. This resistance necessitates the police to use force to arrest an individual so that further investigations can be conducted to find out whether the suspect is a criminal. In other circumstances, the police are attacked by the criminals. These criminals usually use force. In response, the police are required to use force so that they can arrest them or prevent them from committing crimes. In the process, innocent individuals are injured or even killed. This shows that the police cannot avoid using force due to the nature of their work. According to some members of the society, this force is too much and this is what leads to innocent deaths.
Even though the police are allowed to use force, there are certain limitations. They are required to follow a certain procedure before they can use force. In the first place, the police need to use verbal persuasion. This is the case where the police inform the suspect the need to report to police station for further investigations. If the suspect fails to obey this, the police can use little force and in this case, they do not use weapons. If this does not work, the police can then use all the force available but not use of weapons. However, if the suspects try to use weapon, then the police are allowed to use their weapons to facilitate arrest. In some circumstances however, the police do not have to follow the procedure. An example is where the criminals use weapons such that the police have no chance to use verbal persuasion. In this case, the police use force without following the procedure and this is allowed. The police are also trained to use force to ensure that they are able to deliver their services effectively (Cole, 2008).
Advantages of use of force.
In their daily activities, the police are required to use reasonable force. This is what is allowed by the law. The society should therefore not complain about excessive use of force since they cannot measure whether the force used is reasonable or not. Whenever they feel that the police have used their force excessively, they should report the case to the courts that have the legal authority to determine whether the police involved used excess force. Use of excess force is unlawful and in such cases, the police can be treated as a criminal. Whether force is used in excess depends on the circumstances that lead to the use of force.
If the use of force were reduced, the police would find it difficult for the police to perform their duties. Their tasks would be carried out with a lot of fear. Their concern would be avoiding use of excess force, which would result to punishment. This means that they would in certain circumstances watch criminal activities happen, since they have no power to intervene using the necessary force. It is important to appreciate that the police are human beings who also are careful about their security. They cannot go to scenes where criminal activities are taking place whereas there is no power to protect themselves and the rest members of the society (Renzetti, 2005).
Reducing the police force means that criminal activities will increase. The criminals will realize that they are protected to some extent and this is why they end up engaging in criminal activities confidently. More deaths and injuries would result as a result. Even though use of police force leads to injuries and deaths, the deaths and injuries would increase if this force is not used considering that crimes are likely to increase (Cole, 2009).
Some members of the society argue that the current police force is not enough. They are not able to carry out their activities effectively due to the limit in the use of force. The increasing rate of crimes necessitates use of greater force. The criminals are currently using sophisticated weapons to propagate their criminal activities. Terrorist activities have increased and the best way of dealing with these problems is increasing the right to use greater force. By this, the police will have the confidence of facing any suspected terrorist or criminal and many crimes will be avoided (Renzetti, 2005).
This is very reasonable considering that the police will be always blamed if they fail to ensure enough security to the society. If the society wishes to be assured the security they need, they should accept higher police force. However, this argument is not very attractive currently. This is considering that police force has been misused the right to use force and many members of the society are currently complaining due to various incidents. Retaining the current force seems a bit reasonable (Skogan, 2004).
Disadvantages of use of force
There are many disadvantages related to use of police force and this is what has risen complains that the police have excessive powers. The fact of the matter is that the police have used the power they have to use force for their benefit, which violates the rights of individuals. In certain cases, the police attack armless individuals with the reason of preventing a crime. The police usually use these chances to attack people who have conflicts with them. This is unfair in that rights of these individuals are infringed. In other cases, the right to use power and arrest people has resulted to sexual harassment of women. This is not ethically fit and the police are required to stop such instances. These police go to an extent of raping these women.
The use of force has interfered with the relationship between the public and the law enforcement agencies. The public view the police as violent individuals who harass, mistreat, and even kill people anytime. This makes it difficult for the police to pursue their goals of providing security to the society. Failure to co operates with the police means that it becomes difficult to identify criminals in the society so that they can be punished.
Research shows that race and gender of individuals influence the use of police force. This means that use of police force leads to unfair treatment of individuals in the society. It encourages discrimination in the society. Research has shown that the males in the society are more attacked by the police. Female criminals face less use of force on them. This is why the arguments to reduce use of power are in place. In the United States, the studies have revealed that greater force is used on the blacks as compared to force applied on the whites. This shows that the right to use force in the security agencies have created discrimination in the society according to gender and race.
Conclusion
It is important that the members of the society accept the fact that use of force by the police is a necessary thing. The nature of their job necessitates this. They are required to provide security to the whole society and failure to empower them to carry out their activities effectively is dangerous. There are necessary laws that regulate the use of the force and the citizens should have trust in the courts and report abuse of force whenever they feel that it has been used inappropriately. The fact is that there are many advantages associated with the use of force. The disadvantages associated with the use of force are few. People should also appreciate that police are human beings who need to ensure that they are secure in carrying out their duties. By this, it will be realized that current use of force is not excessive and is not dangerous in any way to the members of the society. Even though the proposal to increase these powers appears to be necessary, there is the need to retain the current powers considering that the current application of force has affected the society negatively in many circumstances (Dempsey, 2011).
In conclusion, the current application of force by the police should be retained. This will allow the police to carry their duties appropriately, hence the society will receive the optimal amount of security that they need. There are laws that regulate the use of these powers and the members of the society should feel free to go to the court whenever they feel that their rights have been infringed by unnecessary use of force. The use of force has more advantages than its disadvantages and this is why it is important that the current state of use of force should be retained.
References.
Cole, G. F., & Smith, C. E. (2008). Criminal justice in America. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth.
Renzetti, C. M., & Bergen, R. K. (2005). Violence against women. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Cole, George F., & Smith, Christopher. (2009). The American System of Criminal Justice. Gardners Books.
Skogan, W. G., In Frydl, K., & National Research Council (U.S.) Staff,. (2004). Evidence on Policing: Fairness and Effectiveness in U.S. Law Enforcement. Washington: National Academies Pr
Gaines, L. K., & Worrall, J. L. (2012). Police administration. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar/Cengage.
Dempsey, J. S., & Forst, L. S. (2011). Police: Introduction to policing. Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.
