Introduction
Police brutality refers to the act of abusing the authority by a police officer while performing official duties through unwarranted use of excessive force (Danilina, 2015). Police have the duty of protecting people by ensuring people in the society within their jurisdiction maintain law and order as defined by the Federal Government. However, the increasing number of cases of police brutality questions the effectiveness of the police force in performing their professional duties. The main causes of violence among the United States police is the lack of accountability from commanding officers, lack of disciplinary actions on officers accused of brutality, high level of racial and ethnic discrimination, and lack of refresher causes targeting police officers (Rosenfeld, 2014). The mental state of the police officer also acts as a cause of brutality.
Civilians are the most affected people by the acts of police violence. The act causes both physical and psychological harm to the victim of the violence, which have a significant impact on the future or present life of the victim. The physical harm takes place when a police officer uses a gun, batons, nerve gas, or pepper spray to hurt a civilian. Psychological harm happens when the police use intimidating tactics to cause fear and unrest on a civilian. Other forms of harms caused by police brutality include force arrest, sexual abuse, racial profiling, and political repression. Police brutality is an unlawful act and should be condemned at all levels of the government. Countries have different laws, policies and legislations that address the issue of police brutality.
Police brutality is an issue of debate because it is against human rights. The issue has been present since the establishment of the police force and still prevails in the modern society. Police officers take advantage of their powers to harass and intimidate the public. The government should come up with effective policies on the issue of police brutality to ensure civilians enjoy their rights. The following paper addresses the issue of police violence by recommending two alternative policies and the decision-making process supporting each alternative. The alternatives discuss are the provision of mandatory yearly training to officers and conducting an extensive background check on officer's mental state yearly.
Body
The United States government under the Department of Justice has put in place rules aimed at addressing police misconducts such as brutality and violence against civilians. A large number of police officers perform their duties while respecting people in the society and applying acceptable laws. However, a few misplaced officers take advantage of their positions to break the law and cause discomfort among civilians. The Police Misconduct Provision makes it illegal for a state or local law enforcement officer to participate in practice or pattern of conduct that interferes with the right of a person as protected by the Constitution of the United States (The United States Department of Justice, 2015). The introduction of these provisions helps protect the society from police brutality. The government has introduced many other policies, but the problem seems not to end.
Alternative policies
The following two alternatives are possible to address the issue of police brutality in the country and ensure police officers adhere to the laws provided by the constitution:
Alternative I: Provide mandatory yearly training to officers
Alternative II: Extensive background check on officers’ mental state yearly
Evaluation criteria for each alternative
Each of the two solutions suggested will be evaluated according to the decision-making process to determine the most applicable in solving the issue in question. The evaluation criteria applied focuses on four main factors. These are cost, time, effectiveness, and efficiency.
Decision-making process to alternative one
Cost
Training acts as a critical function of the police department because it promoted high productivity, quality of services, and avoids unnecessary, illegal acts such as brutality.
Expenses: There is an increase in the total cost of training police officers despite the shrinking city budget. The government puts aside money from the annual budget to take care of officer’s training needs. The estimated for the training process is $20 billion.
Resources needed: Planning for a yearly training program for police officer requires a lot of resources. The training program needs a budget for food, housing, transport, and medical care for the trainees. Additionally, the government will tender for the supply of different types of equipment such as training aids, guns, and other resources needed to make the training process successful that amounts to about $50 billion.
Technology is an important resource for police training. The academy will utilize about $30 billion for technology, and communications equipment upgrade. Overall, the New York City Police Department spends approximately $100 billion for police officers training program (The Council of The City of New York, 2014).
Time
Implementation period: The estimated time for implementing the alternative is two years. The state must look at the budget and plan for additional expenditures that may take more than one year.
Evaluation period: The evaluation of the policy alternative will take five years. Results will be released in the sixth year after the implementation of the policy
Timeframe: The policy will continue all through because new officers are brought into service each year; hence, a need for continuous training.
Effective
Taking police officers through annual training programs will be very effective in preventing police brutality. A police officer receives an average of 402 hours of training in a police academy in the U.S. and about 14 hours of field training (IPT, 2014). The amount of time allocated for class work is inadequate to teach the officer everything they require while in the profession.
The policy program has been practiced in other police departments and achieved acceptable outcomes; hence, there is a high probability that it will meet objectives. Police officers are allowed to use force in areas where the culprit resists arrest but the magnitude of the force matters. The officer’s level of training and experience determines the approach used towards a civilian (National Institute of Justice, 2015). The training program helps in educating police officers on how to handle different situations and avoid causing harm to civilians.
Efficiency
The evaluation of the program reveals that it is working accordingly, but it has not realized the full potential of preventing violence acts among police officers. Police officers need more education and training to help solve the problem of police violence. The training of police personnel has shown a significance increase over the past few years leading to a decrease in the number of police brutalities reported each year. The New York Police Department established refresher courses whose updates are conducted on an in-service basis for all police officers. The program has been very efficient in ensuring officers avoid disputes with citizens and promoting effective police-community relationship (United States Commission on Civil Rights, 2000).
Decision-making approach to alternative two
Cost
Expenses: The government undergoes the cost of hiring medical consultants to undertake an annual checkup of all officers in the state. The government gave a funding of $10 billion to cater for veterans' health care program. The actual cost of mental health was $60 billion in the year 2015 (Department of Veteran Affairs, 2015).
Resources: The following policy alternative does not need any resources. The government needs to purchase new screening machines that are more accurate and efficient at a cost of $14 billion.
Time
Implementation period: Just like the yearly mandatory training program for officers the background check on officers’ health status will take some time to implement. An approximate period of two years will be enough to implement the policy
Evaluation period: The evaluation of the results takes less than three years.
Timeframe: The policy will continue for the lifetime
Effectiveness
Understanding the police officers’ state of mental health is very crucial because it helps in avoiding risks associated with police violence and brutality. The society should desist from mythologizing police officers to help them make better choices when faced with a situation requiring force. Scharff argued that a large number of law enforcers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and many of them do not have access to proper treatment programs. A Police officer suffering from PTSD has higher chances of engaging in a violent act. Taking police officers through regular annual checkups to determine their mental health will help prevent certain incidences earlier and improve the safety of civilians. The program works effectively. Once a police officer is suspected to suffer from any form of a mental problem, he or she is taken through extensive counseling sessions and other forms of therapies and given duties that require less association with the public.
Efficiency
The United States lawmakers called for an annual mandatory mental evaluation for all police officers. The evaluation was proposed to take place after every one year. The idea was brought up to help cope with violence acts among police officers towards the public (Agorist, 2015). The program was very efficient in reducing the number of violent acts by ensuring mentally disturbed officers had not close relationship with the public. Likewise, the policy alternative is expected to create a significant impact on the police department and help them cope with inhuman behaviors of harassing and harming innocent civilians.
Pros and cons of each alternative
Provide mandatory yearly training to officers
Pros
The following policy program has an advantage because it allows police officers always to maintain a good behavior towards the public because it offers constant training on law observation. Additionally, it is beneficial to the police department because it allow officers to share ideas with colleagues who never had a chance to attend the training and educate them on how to handle civilians without causing any violence.
Cons
The cost of implementing the following policy alternative is high. The government will have to spend approximately $100 billion each year to train officers. Additionally, the lack of accountability from individual officers and their leaders decreases the effectiveness of the program.
Expected consequences
The policy alternative is expected to reduce the number of police brutalities recorded each year by half if properly implemented.
Extensive background check on officers’ mental state yearly
Pros
Conducting a background check on every officer's mental health state on an annual basis will play a big role in minimizing violent cases among police officers. It is a cost-effective program and utilizes fewer resources compared to the policy alternative one.
Cons
Sometimes the police officer may provide false information concerning their health and family background. Additionally, officers may bribe their way out to retain the power given by the state; hence, influencing the effectiveness of the program.
Expected consequence
The Police Department at every state will monitor the activities of all police officers and delegate duties according to the officer’s mental status.
Monitoring results
Policy monitoring takes place through conducting research on the public after the end of the evaluation process to determine their response on the issue. Information collected from citizens in different states, and racial backgrounds will help in establishing the impact of the policy in addressing the issue. Second, the information will be collected from the Police Department databases to determine the number of police violence cases reported and come up with the trend.
Conclusion
Police brutality is an act condemned by the society. Policies play a significant role in controlling police officers' behaviors towards the public. The discussion recommends the first alternative as the most appropriate to implement to address the issue of police violence. Conducting a routine training program will equip the police with the necessary knowledge on how to handle different people and situations; hence, reduce incidences of police violence. Additionally, the program will be effective in bringing change to the police force because officers who undergo training will act as agents of change to other officers.
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