Police Brutality Defintion. Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians. While police brutality has a long history, dating back to the s, it has become a common topic of discussion and controversy in recent years due to a surge of racially driven incidents, protests, and demonstrations Aug 20, · Research Strategy and Key Findings. This paper provides descriptive estimates of the national prevalence of fatal police violence. In doing so, we contribute to a body of research that uses demographic methods to systematically describe the depth of the involvement of the criminal justice system in the lives of Americans (22, 27 ⇓ ⇓ –30).We estimate the risk of being killed by police News about police brutality, misconduct and shootings, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times
Writing Police Brutality Research Paper
The term police brutality refers to the use of unnecessary, or excessive force by police officers when handling civilians. Examples of police brutality can include the use of pepper spray, nerve gas, or batons, though it does not have to be physical abuse or attack.
This behavior can extend to such actions as pulling a gun on someone in order to intimidate him, or falsely arresting someone. To explore this concept, police brutality research paper, consider the following police brutality definition. The use of such tools as pepper spray, batons, and tasers, as well as hitting, choking, throwing a non-combatant civilian to the ground, and sexual abuse are all examples of police brutality that is physical in nature.
While it may sound like police brutality is strictly physical, this is not the case. Examples of police brutality that are not physical in nature include false arrests, verbal abusepolice brutality research paper, and racial profiling.
While many countries have laws on the books that address the issue of police brutality, and while it is considered a serious offense, many complaints made by civilians do not even reach the investigation stage. Research suggests that, because police are permitted to use physical force when necessary, it is often difficult to prove that excessive force was used in a particular situation, police brutality research paper.
Verbal abuse is never permitted legally, or by policy, but once again, this is a difficult thing to prove in many cases. Civilians have been using their mobile devices to record interactions with police in order to stream instances of what they believe are police brutality online, alerting the public that this kind of behavior is occurring. Similarly, though, police officers have begun recording their interactions with civilians in order to protect themselves from false claims of police brutality.
That said, there are no two situations that are alike. Police officers must be able to swiftly decide on a course of action in police brutality research paper moment, and often when they feel their safety, or even their lives, are at stake.
Force is allowed to a certain police brutality research paper in all jurisdictions when police are trying to secure an arrest, but there is a fine line separating the justified use of force from that of excessive force. Once a police police brutality research paper crosses that line, his behavior is considered assaultand he can be held criminally liable for his actions.
Police officers must exert control over people in a wide variety of situations, whether to gain control of a potentially dangerous situation, police brutality research paper, to protect themselves or other civilians, or to make an arrest. There are many factors that influence the level of force that may be required, and justified, in any given case. According to the National Institute of Justicethere are levels of force that may be used by police on a continuum:.
It may be intimidating for someone to file a complaint against a police officer, especially in light of the fact that many of those complaints have historically gone uninvestigated. However, there are complaints that are looked into further, and for that reason, a civilian with a valid police brutality issue should definitely file a complaint against a police officer, police brutality research paper.
The first step in this process is to visit the website of the police department where that particular officer is based, because each jurisdiction has its own process for filing a complaint. For instance, one cannot file a complaint against a county sheriff at the city police department, police brutality research paper. The website should direct the individual to the specific forms that need to be filled out, and give instructions on how to submit them, police brutality research paper.
Some websites actually post the number to a hotline that is specifically set up for complaints of police brutality police brutality research paper misconduct. It may also be possible to make a complaint in person, depending on the department, though some people find that intimidating.
Those with complaints are advised to act immediately after the incident in question because some jurisdictions actually set time limits on when a complaint should be filed. If the deadline is missed, then the police brutality research paper to file a complaint may be lost forever.
The deadlines for police brutality research paper criminal charges, or filing a civil lawsuitagainst the officer accused of such acts is specified in the laws of the individual jurisdiction. Once the complaint has been filed, a department known as Internal Affairs will investigate it. Internal Affairs is a division specifically established within law enforcement agencies to investigate complaints made against law enforcement police brutality research paper. An officer can generally only be disciplined or fired for his behavior if a complaint has been filed against him, and even if he is not disciplined or terminated, the complaint typically remains on his permanent record.
Officers who receive several complaints may be investigated by the department, even if the complaints were not considered strong enough to investigate in the beginning.
For this reason, it is recommended that citizens file complaints as necessary, even if they do not see an immediate result, the complaints may stack up against the officer to the point where his previously undetected behavior comes to light.
Those who are unsatisfied with the results of an Internal Affairs investigation can choose to either file a criminal complaint against the officer, or sue him in civil court. Examples of police brutality have been coming to light at a terrifying rate, mostly due to the increase in the number of civilians who carry mobile devices capable of recording video and audio. This has led to new study of police brutality statistics, which have become more accurate and, police brutality research paper, more disturbing.
What follows are some of the police brutality statistics that have been reported in recent years, most of which encompass police shootings in particular as being excessive use of force:. In May ofMichael Kingsley was being held at the Monroe County Jail during the time leading police brutality research paper to his trial. While at the jail, Sergeant Stan Hendrickson repeatedly ordered Kingsley to remove a piece of paper that was covering the light above his cell bed, but he refused each time.
Finally, Lieutenant Robert Conroy, the administrator for the jail, police brutality research paper, ordered the staff to take the paper down and to move Kingsley to a different cell.
During the transfer, however, Kingsley refused to cooperate, making it necessary for the officers to pull him to his feet in such a way that his feet struck his bedframe. He complained then of pain, saying that he was unable police brutality research paper walk or stand. Kingsley kept yelling, and being combative, later claiming that Hendrickson had smashed his head into the concrete bunk.
Kingsley was then left alone in his cell to suffer in pain, writhing around with his hands cuffed behind his back, for 15 minutes. Kingsley later sued Hendrickson and the other jail staff, claiming their actions violated his due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.
He appealed the verdict, claiming that, during the trial, the judge had instructed the jury that they must find Hendrickson and the jail staff not guilty unless Kingsley could police brutality research paper that the officers knew that their actions could harm Kingsley, but went through with them anyway.
Kingsley argued that the jury had not been properly instructed as to what standards to use in determining whether or not excessive force was used. The U. The question then became: can the requirements of an excessive force claim be properly satisfied if it can be proven that an official deliberately used unreasonable force on a pretrial detainee? The Court held that Kingsley was not required to prove that the he believed the force to be excessive, only that the force was excessive based on a previously established standard.
The Court, therefore, police brutality research paper, had to take on the role of a reasonable officer who would have been on the scene at that time to determine whether or not the force that was used against Kingsley was excessive. The Court concluded that the force that was used against Kingsley was equivalent to being a punishment for bad behavior, rather than a means to establish control, and ensure the safety of the officers.
Such punishment was not reasonable, especially considering the fact that Kingsley was merely a pretrial detainee who had not yet convicted of a crime. Police Brutality January 21, by: Content Team.
Annual police misconduct reports released for the first time with officer names
, time: 2:25Police Brutality - Definition, Examples, Cases, Processes
Jan 21, · Police Brutality Statistics. Examples of police brutality have been coming to light at a terrifying rate, mostly due to the increase in the number of civilians who carry mobile devices capable of recording video and audio. This has led to new study of police brutality statistics, which have become more accurate and, unfortunately, more disturbing Aug 20, · Research Strategy and Key Findings. This paper provides descriptive estimates of the national prevalence of fatal police violence. In doing so, we contribute to a body of research that uses demographic methods to systematically describe the depth of the involvement of the criminal justice system in the lives of Americans (22, 27 ⇓ ⇓ –30).We estimate the risk of being killed by police News about police brutality, misconduct and shootings, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times
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