Police misconduct
Abstract
Policeman practice involved any illegal and inappropriate behavior undertaken by police officers while on their line of duty. Depending on the nature of the misconduct, such malpractice result in the violation of police guidelines, morality as well as the law. Remarkably, misconduct within the law enforcement agencies can be individualized or organizational. This academic paper provides an analysis of nature, causes as well as prevention mechanisms of police malpractice within the security department.
Introduction
Police officers are warranted law enforcement employees whose role is to maintain law and order within a given region. To achieve this task, they are empowered to investigate all activities that seem to threaten the security of a given population, and in extreme cases, they are allowed to use force to deter any activities that seem to compromise with the lives of the people (Marins et al., 2019). As such, these law enforcement officers are expected to carry out their responsibilities diligently and beyond reproach. However, contrary to the expected norm, there have been reports of police officers engaging in professional misconduct that is either illegal, immoral or both. Thus, understanding the nature, causes and prevention mechanisms of police misconduct is key in establishing an accountable police force characterized by a strong and acceptable moral character.
Nature of police misconduct
Arguably, excessive use of force and ethical profiling are the most common misconducts that face a majority of the police officers. The former involves the violation of civil rights where an officer exercises undue forced against the subjects. It includes but not limited to verbal harassment, mental injury, physical harassment, property damage, among others. The latter, on the other hand, involves targeting an individual or a group of people based on their character or behavior. However, it is important to note that other forms of misconducts such as intimidation, witness tampering, police corruption, unwarranted surveillance, false arrest and falsification of evidence have also been reported in a majority of complaint police websites (Marins et al., 2019). The impact of police misconduct has far-reaching effects. In particular, people lose confidence with the accused officers a perception which reverberates through family members, friends and the community at large. As a result, it negatively affects police-community relations leading to the lack of cooperation between the citizens and law enforcement agencies.
Causes of police misconduct
Studies have shown that low education levels, social disorganization and lack of police supervision are the primary contributors of duty dereliction among law enforcement officers. To begin with, Reingle Gonzalez et al. (2015) states that increased training coupled with credentialing can significantly reduce the current brutality witnessed in the police force. To support this argument, Reingle Gonzalez and his research team provides an analysis of the police complaints presented between 2010 and 2015. In his findings, it was revealed that police officers with a college degree are unlikely to engage violent protesters or use their weapons while on duty. This is because trained officers are more problem-oriented, a strategy that calls for careful analysis of a given problem, use of applicable responses and the assessment of whether the responses at hand are realistic.
Correspondingly, a study by Peeples (2020) reveals that social disorganization can contribute to police misconduct because of two key reasons. Firstly, the abused residents may lack social networks to report police malpractice. Therefore, some officers may take advantage of the situation and take the law into their hands knowing that they will not be accountable of their wrongdoing. Secondly, because of societal distress, the affected communities may experience a continuous police-citizen conflict because of lack of sanity. Applying social disorganization theory, it can be suggested that the residential characteristics of a given place are more significant than the population’s characteristics when anticipating a criminal activity. This means that with social disorganization, there is always a high likelihood of malpractice from both the police and the citizens, a factor which conceivably contribute to the current police misconduct.
Equally important, a study by Wood et al. (2020) reveals that lack of supervision greatly contributes to policeman malpractice. In his study, wood and his peers argues that without proper planning, equitable allocation of duty and constant monitoring, there is always a likelihood of misconduct and negligence of duty within the police force. As such, it is important for the police leadership to monitor performance, build teamwork and ensure workforce involvement if conflict and misunderstanding between the police and the citizens are to be avoided. On the basis of the above findings, it can be concluded that low education levels, social disorganization and lack of supervision within the police departments significantly contributes police malpractice.
Prevention of police malpractice
While literature has provided several intervention approaches to circumvent police misconduct; police training and accountability as well as body-worn cameras have shown promising outcomes when dealing with the vice. According to Peeples (2020) training police officers moral lessons probably on how to resolve ethical dilemmas can drastically improve the competence of decision-making within the police department. Moreover, training the police communication skills and personal responsibility can lead to the establishment of an understanding and respective law enforcing agency. Furthermore, Peeples alludes that training the police conflict resolution strategies can reduce the intensity and frequency with which police force is used. Apart from training, reminding the police that they will always be held accountable of their actions can reduce the instances of police malpractice. Moreover, equipping the police with body-worn cameras can significantly reduce police brutality (Alang et al., 2017). In light of the above evidence, it can be concluded that with proper police training, accountability and body-worn cameras, it is possible to reduce malpractice within the police department.
Conclusion and Recommendations
Indeed police officers play a critical role in ensuring security is maintained among the citizens population. However, reports of police malpractice still remain a challenge in the security department. Some of the misconduct linked with the police include but not limited to ethical profiling, police brutality, intimidation, witness tampering, police corruption, unwarranted surveillance, false arrest and falsification of evidence. It is therefore recommended that police officers should undergo annual in-service training to improve the competence of their decision making. They should also be held responsible for all actions they undertake apart from equipping them with body-worn cameras.