Introduction
The primary problem of focus on this discussion is police brutality. 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). Cases of police brutality have been covering media headlines from the 19th century to date. Harassment by police officers has become a common norm in the society, and the relevant authority shows no signs of dealing with brutal officers. According to Hill (2015), numbers prove it that more and more Americans are experiencing problems with law enforcers and police department ought to take an urgent action towards ending police brutality towards civilians.
The discussion focuses on Police brutality cases in the United States The issue has been present since the establishment of the police force and still prevails in the modern society. Civilians are the most affected people by the acts of police violence. 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). Blacks have about 70 percent probability of experiencing police brutality that leads to death in the U.S. compared to the white people (Sinyangwe, 2015). The act causes both physical and psychological harm to the victim of the violence, which have a significant impact on the future and present life of the victim.
On the other hand, data gathered from the United States Department of Justice revealed that between 2002 and 2011, approximately 44 million civilians aged 16 years and above had a bad interaction with police. Out of the 44 million people, about 1.6 percent experienced the use of unnecessary force during the contact with the police. Additionally, 75 percent of those encountering force termed it as excessive. Moreover, a big percent of those experiencing brutality from the police during this period were blacks and non-Hispanic and claimed to have experienced an excessive force. A breakdown of police brutality in the United States based on races show that black Americans and Hispanics experience greater harassments than the White Americans (Hyland, Langton, and Davis, 2015).
The United States has had numerous debates between the Federal government, human rights activists, and the public on the issue of police brutal that yields no substantial outcomes. These objectives guide the discussion:
Police brutality is an unlawful act condemned at all levels of the government. Countries have different laws, policies, and legislations that address the issue of police brutality. In U.S., the laws are divided into Federal Criminal Enforcement and Federal Civil Enforcement (The Unites States Department of Justice, 2015). The discussion offers two alternative policies. The first alternative involves the Provision of a mandatory yearly training to officers. The total cost of implementing this alternative will be approximate $100 billion per year. Additionally, the process takes about two years for the policy formulation and approval. Upon implementation, the alternative will increase the efficiency of the police department and reduce cases of police brutality. According to the United States Commission on Human Right (2000), providing refresher causes to police officers helps them avoid disputes and perform their duties efficiently.
The second alternative proposes an extensive background check on officers’ mental state yearly. The estimated cost of implementing the alternative will be $20 billion. Policy makers will wait for about two years to allow the government to go through the policy and give the Congress time for approval. The policy will have a significant impact on the behavior of individual police officers. Agorist (2015) claimed that the annual mental evaluation for police officers assists the police department to cope with violent activities performed by officers on civilians. However, the policy creates less impact on those not diagnosed with mental problems.
The two alternatives have various costs and benefits. The first alternative is costly but brings more benefits compared to the first alternative. According to an investigation by Adams (1999), emphasis on continuous police training has a high potential of reducing risks of force and injury for both civilians and police officers. On the other hand, the annual checkup of the mental status of all police officers costs the government less to implement, but the policy will only have an impact on those police officers found to have mental issues.
In conclusion, preventing police brutality should be a priority by the Federal government to reduce injuries and harms caused to innocent civilians by police officers. Additionally, the reform plays a critical role in bridging the gap between the police and the public.
References
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