The law evolves and as such it has been the case that he who can define will always win (Philips, 1998). Federally protected rights had not had a remedy in the case that there was a violation of the same, instigated by governments and its employees. It was not until the landmark ruling in the Monroe V. Pape case that shaped the development to what is commonly referred to as “section 1983”. This points out to the glaring fact that not only do the police, who are state and local government employees have to only deal with criminal issues, but are also faced with the taunting task of handling civil litigations while in the line of duty. The environment today is very litigious and only points out to the fact that there is a training need to combat the increasingly challenges of society, and undeniably police departments cannot be spared. Training is a continuous process and cannot be measured wholesomely as to how much is enough. However, training on how to handle the lawsuits brought to a police department can only be measured by the end result. When after adequate training the officers have higher chances of winning the confrontations levelled against them, and gives them confidence as an end result, the training would then be deemed as sufficient.
Several publications have pointed out that police departments are being faced with litigations and lawsuits filed against them with the common underpinning of such legal claims being failure to train. However, the training advanced to the police officers is that that majorly concentrates in catching criminals but very lightly on how to deal with humanistic and interpersonal areas altogether. A majority of the time, police officers are involved in handling non-crime calls, and this only emphasizes the need to have the police well oriented in other issues for them to effectively perform their duties. Training therefore is not just a matter of conducting it, but rather that it is relevant and consistent with the officer’s conduct in the course of their job. While the department can be able to come up with its own set of training procedures for its officers, matters relating to issues of law can only be effectively handled by those that understand the field. Most times people often find it daunting to interpret law, and as stated earlier, those that are able to interpret it and apply it to their favor always win. Attorneys can very well be able to shed light on the due processes and interpretation of laws, such as those surrounding “section 1983”, therefore it is necessary that legal training be accorded to officers by the legal professionals. Information that regards legal updates, new laws and civil proceedings directly associated with the “section 1983” liabilities may not be provided by a police chief but attorneys dealing with such issues routinely are best suited to provide such information.
Alluding to the earlier fact that many of the litigations and lawsuits are under a denominator for lack of training, it then informs the fact that it is a very crucial need. There have also been studies that show the considerable cost arising out of lack of training for the officers being that they are not well versed with various liability charges they can be charged for. Plaintiffs in the police civil liability cases have taken various angles to approach their liability suits, including: unlawful detention, excessive use of force, improper strip searches, false arrest, inadequate supervision and lack of proper training (Spencer, 2007). The dynamics of the suits and litigations are sporadic and vast in nature, and the plaintiffs have a wide range of choice on which to file their claims. Significantly, under the corridors of justice, the failure of training officers is also critically engrained in several judgements such as in Monell v. Department of Social Services that allowed municipalities to be sued for failure to train officers (Hayman & Hale, 1978). All these facets inciting the civil liability suits placed together create a dynamism towards Title 42, U.S. Code, Section 1983, and as this is the case, it only emphasizes the continuous need to train police officers towards this subject matter.
In realizing, that training is a crucial need towards the effective defense of the civil liability cases levelled against police departments and their employees, departmental policies need to be well informed. Every case is always assessed on its own merit, but the scope of the cases will always evolve around similar issues. When these issues are well articulated and taught to the officers, every case need not result in the change of policies, though it is imperative that they should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they conform to the law in every sense. Policies thus have the guiding power to ensure that police conduct is always aligned to the requisite law. Plaintiffs want wider access to government coffers, thus always dragging the entire entity of the force that employed the officer meaning that the officer is not sued individually. In almost all cases the municipality, its policy makers and most certainly the supervisors and chiefs have to be accountable for their roles to the string of events that lead to the lawsuits ("Failure to Train as a Theory of Section 1983 Liability in the 11th Circuit - FindLaw", 2016). Therefore, apart from departmental training policies, supervisory policies and departmental disciplinary actions are pertinent proactive management initiatives that will both deter and inform officers appropriately.
References
Find Law (2016). Failure to Train as a Theory of Section 1983 Liability in the 11th Circuit - FindLaw. Retrieved 9 June 2016, from http://corporate.findlaw.com/litigation-disputes/failure-to-train-as-a-theory-of-section-1983-liability-in-the.html
Hayman, L. C., & Hale, D. G. (1978). Monell v. Department of Social Services: The Emergence of Municipal Liability under 42 USC 1983. Cap. UL Rev., 8, 103.
Phillips, D. W. (1998). Do Laws and Standards Evolve? Acts & Facts. 27 (9).
Spencer, W. (2007). Suggested Topics For Training Police Departments In Section 1983 Liability. N.P.
