There has been a reason for outrage as police brutality has escalated and many incidents have become more visible in communities today although was also present in years past. For example, according to Darden and Thomas, “If African Americans in Detroit between 1925 and 1945 were to name the worst racial abuses they had to encounter, without a moment’s hesitation they would have said “white police brutality” (Darden and Thomas 29). This has helped to encourage reporting of police brutality. But, citizens like Victor Rios who have experienced police brutality filed complaints and was simply ignored (Rios 59).
Police brutality has been defined as “the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians” (Rodgers, 1). However do police really abuse their power on people? In order to complete this study, information such as citizen complaints about police brutality needs to be analyzed to determine if further measures need to be taken in order to reduce these alleged incidences of police using excessive physical force. In order to operationalize terms toward the use of police force, a survey was created with questions that measured varying police use of force scenarios.
Review the Literature
Over the years, several studies have been performed on police brutality ranging from police excessive use of force on a man in New York City. According to Yale Law and Police Review, Inc. “Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant to the United States, was arrested on August 9, 1997, and brought to the stationhouse of the 70th Precinct where New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers took Louima into the bathroom, beat him severely, and sodomized him with the handle of a plunger (Miller 149). In another study the issue of the lack of social work and police brutality is analyzed. The study analyzed how police brutality against African Americans was not a new issue as data had been collected as far back as 1920. In this data it reported, “The most publicized type of police brutality is the extreme case of Negros being killed by policeman. This phenomenon is important in itself, but it constitutes only a minor portion of all police brutality More than half of all Negroes killed by whites, in both the North and the South, were killed by police” (Ellis 511). This left them to question the role of social work in this issue of deadly police brutality on black citizens. In another study, police abuse and corruption in Illinois is reviewed. In this study, there are a number of officers found to believe that they can break the law and still be free of any consequences. One officer actually believed citizens would be afraid to report his behavior. “And if they did, his fellow officers would intimidate witnesses, hide the evidence, and cover up his crimes” (Gradel, Simpson, and Edgar 131).
Based upon the research, it is important to understand the number of people abused by police. In some instances, police were able to detain suspects in jail without any evidence. This has become common in situations that involve people who are impoverished and have a limited education. Police officers are able to frame such people and speed up their investigations. A corrupt officer can easily imprison someone that is poor just for being in the wrong place or at the wrong time or simply by accusation. This is an issue that needs not only to be approached from the perspective of the community but also the police. There remains a deep mistrust embedded in communities against police. However according to research performed in Journalist’s Resource, “From a police perspective, law enforcement continues to be dangerous work” (Journalist’s Resource 1). However, whether or not the police use of force is necessary or not continues to be a debate. In the case of this study, the first hypothesis of this research states, “People who work in law enforcement are likely to support the use of force compared to people living in the communities”. In order to support this statement, someone that is not a police officer would not be aware of the kind of force that is necessary to stop a criminal.
The 2nd hypothesis states, “Minorities would be more against police brutality than Caucasians.” The support behind this hypothesis is that minorities have been more likely to experience police brutality than whites. The dependent variable will consist of the number of citizen complaints regarding police abusing their power and complaints concerning police use of excessive physical force. In order to build the first dependent variable which represents the police abusing their power, there are some questions that would need to be analyzed. These questions analyze the total number of citizen complaints about an unlawful arrest and the total number of citizen complaints about illegal searches, harassments, and misuse of one’s authority. Also the complaint rate of excessive police force will be analyzed as part of this variable. The independent variable will consist of the police department size.
The methods of research I would use would be qualitative and quantitative research. I would use quantitative research in order to find statistical demographic information. This method would also allow me to be able to find historical data that concerns police brutality. I would also use qualitative research as I submit surveys to those that either witnessed police brutality or was a victim of police brutality. Qualitative research would also be used when interviewing police about their experience with police brutality. This information will help me to determine how often and why police officers engage in police misconduct. Each police would be given an anonymous survey.
After analyzing the results, the dependent variables vary greatly. The data provided a picture of police force as reflected in citizen complaints. The complaints that were reported however lacked physical evidence. This lack of information help to reduce the number of citizen complaints. A sample of citizens was taken to estimate the opinion of the public. The sample of citizens consisted of a diverse group of people. A total of 50 citizens met the criteria and agreed to participate. In order to collect the data, the people were contacted and required to submit their questionnaires online through Survey Monkey. Out of the 50 surveys that were required to be submitted, only thirty were received. Out of the thirty surveys, twenty failed to have physical evidence. A total of twenty police officers were also surveyed in regards to how they felt about the force that they used on civilians. Out of those ten surveys, only six was received. Within the fifteen surveys, each police did not consider their use of force as brutal. If they had to use force, they noted only in situations where it is necessary. It was also more common for more consumer complaints since the police department was quite large.
Conclusion
In summary, this study has found that a lack of physical evidence in regards to citizen complaints reduces the number of police brutality cases. Although there are instances when police brutality exits, the results of this study make it difficult to determine if police abuse their power. Overall, the first hypothesis, “People who work in law enforcement are likely to support the use of force compared to people living in the communities” has been proven. According to Cooper, “A police officer has a little more right than a citizenHe may make an arrest without warrant and may use his revolver if the criminal attempts to escape” (Cooper 658). The second hypothesis, “Minorities would be more against police brutality than Caucasians” could not be proven due to the lack of information. Future study is needed to better analyze citizen complaints and their overall experiences and to help justify the discipline of police officers. When preparing the report, members of the police administration and citizen groups against police brutality will be considered to read the report. The report will consist of questions asked in the survey and the results from the survey would be presented using a pie graph.
Works Cited
Bobo, Lawrence D. Deadly Injustice: Trayvon Martin, Race, and the Criminal Justice System. Ed. Devon Johnson, Patricia Y. Warren, and Amy Farrell. NYU, 2015. Web 10 July 2016.
Cooper, Samuel Williams. "Abuse of Police Powers." The North American Review 150.402 (1890): 658-59. Web.11 July 2016.
Darden, Joe T., and Thomas Richard W. Detroit: Race Riots, Racial Conflicts, and Efforts to Bridge the Racial Divide. Michigan State UP, 2013. Web. 10 July 2016.
Ellis, Arthur L. "Where Is Social Work? Police Brutality and the Inner City." Social Work 26.6 (1981): 511-14. Web. 11 July 2016.
Gradel, Thomas J., Simpson Dick, and Edgar Jim. Corrupt Illinois: Patronage, Cronyism, and Criminality. U of Illinois, 2015. Web. 11 July 2016.
Excessive or reasonable force by police? Research on law enforcement and racial conflict. Journalist’s Resource. 29 October 2015. Web. 22 July 2016.
Miller, Marshall. "Police Brutality." Yale Law & Policy Review 17.1 (1998): 149-200. Web. 11 July 2016.
Rodgers, Garry. What’s Considered Police Brutality? The Huffington Post. 23 December 2015. Web. 10 July 2016.
