Police Accountability
Police accountability is defined as the act of holding both police officers and law enforcement agencies responsible for offering essential services of crime control and maintaining order effectively while ensuring that individuals are treated fairly by abiding with the law. Police officers have duties of upholding laws, arresting, discriminating, and carrying out a legal search, as well as maintaining other laws such as equal employment and sexual harassment. Hence, it is essential to hold police officers accountable to keep the public’s faith in the government’s system. Police accountability should, however, be done on an independent review of complaints against law enforcement, instead of putting the internal investigations on the shoulders police departments. Research has suggested that such an oversight will favour the government by improving the public’s view on how police officers are held accountable.
To discuss on police accountability, we need to understand how they abuse power and authority. Even though police officers have a quest of protecting civilians and preventing crimes, some of them ignore their quests and violate the rights of civilians whom they are supposed to be protecting. Courts at times fail to hold police officers responsible for various misconducts such as sexual abuse by forcing people to strip naked during an executive search. Concurrently, the officers on duty abuse rights of individuals by taking advantage of drug addicts, vulnerable women, drunken drivers, traffic violators as well as street prostitutes. Legal actions are mostly not taken on these policemen since most of the prosecutors protect these officers, and if they are afraid of losing their professional reputation.
Police brutality is considered a crime, and therefore to stop it, supervisors should get severe and identify officers who are taking advantage of the power they possess. The cruelty of officers is not the right way of preventing crimes amongst citizens. However, there is a group of people that find no problem with police misconduct and support it. They always favour police officers and finds excuses when people are beaten up. Some argue in favour of victims while others excuses incorporate alcoholic influence, hence justifying the treatment given to citizens with no power or authority. Police officers are trained on how to treat offenders while arresting them, and therefore should not beat them up physically or abuse them. Courts should ensure that these acts are punished since they are not viable and legal ways of stopping crimes.
However, all these police misconducts show how the police department lacks integrity and abuses human rights. They take part in corruption deeds by protecting criminals and drug lords and ends up earning a massive amount of money. In urban areas, people always feel that the first-class community is more secure as compared to middle-class communities when it comes to law enforcement. Several athletes, entertainers and black celebrities face a significant challenge due to racial profiling, clearly indicating that there is a lot to be done to end racism from police officers. Prejudicial judgments and arrest are ordinary amongst the police force, which profoundly affects all victims, whether rich, poor or even famous. Racial abuse is punishable by law, and it might bring tensions within police departments, where discriminated police officers condemn misconducts on racism resulting in racial discrimination.
Individuals who fear harassment tend to keep police brutality and racial abuse as a secret, and hence refuse to file a complaint or take actions on these illegal activities. Misconducts are more rampant than expected, instilling fear of intimidation from police officers on victims. However, even when an individual files a complaint against a police officer due to brutality, the case always goes in favour of police officers and the victim who complained. Police are then filled with confidence and redo the act more confidently without any doubts or fear since they know no action will be taken on their wrongdoing. Consequently, the police officers who are not involved in these acts but are still aware, don’t do or say anything about these various incidents just for the protection of their organizations’ image. All police officers should, however, look for valid evidence to show that a crime has been committed before arresting someone.
Harassments by police officers are all over the world, and the issue is unchangeable since it has been politicized on equal basis globally. However, to protect oneself from these harassments, each person should know their civil rights and stand firm, bold and state the laws and human rights when found in such compromising situations. Individuals who might fall into victims of these misconducts are advised not to fear the power and authority a police officer has, even though they are not aware of the situation they are involved. Most governments are responsible for instilling fear on their individuals as they try to oppress someone for political gains which makes it hard for victims to exercise their full rights. Moreover, the government tolerates harassments on people who demonstrate trying to bring out a change in society or a given community.
Police officers are supposed to be accountable public servants of a nation. The latter work transparently, somewhat and together with every person and community, they serve to build trust between the community and the police. They should also trust and respect the ethical decisions made by their commanders. As discussed earlier, they, however, violate their role and abuse their authority by treating the individuals they are supposed to serve as ‘not a democratic citizen but as the subject of a carceral state, waiting to be systemized. The fact that they are not held accountable too often has resulted in these acts. Due to this, the public no longer trusts the government system, and the community has also fostered suspicion and resentment. To ensure that police legitimacy has been restored, structures should be set to ensure they’re a responsible, accountable policing, and measures for police officers to be held responsible for their actions.
Community-based accountability is one of the four measures set for holding the police accountable. There should be an implementation of policies that make police officers directly responsible for the community they serve and protect. The policies involve applying practices that improve the relationship between law enforcement and the community. For the specific evaluation of complaints and disciplinary measures, the police force is granted an opportunity to study and build collaboration with society. Even though Civilian review boards ensure police accountability when applied in a disciplinary fashion, communities should still work together to conquer the practical barriers to the development and useful application of civilian review boards. The political barriers include resistance from police departments. The review boards should be created by a collaboration of community representatives and municipalities, and are supposed to be independent, transparent, and representative with enough resources. Wearing of body cameras by civilians, and police officers providing their name, badge number and an informative card to the civilians they interact with, are examples of policies that helps in creating mutual respect between the police and the community.
Subsequently, political measures are also ways that can determine how police departments behave and treat their civilians. Confederate funding, internal evaluation, and increased reporting are examples of Political checks that should be applied both locally and nationally to make police officers and their departments more accountable. The mentioned measures work together with criminal and civil lawsuits to pressure police departments into practising best practices. One key tactic on political accountability is to apply Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in 1974 to enhance federal oversight of the police departments. When a complaint is made, the Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights comes in. If they find out that the whole police department was involved in the act of violating the rights of the community, the offending jurisdictions are commenced or threatened for legal action. Recipients of federal funds inclusive of police departments are prohibited from discriminating people based on colour, race or origin. In case of such discrimination, the policy charges the police departments are supposed to provide evidence that includes the type of policy change the department adhere to in agreement with the federal government, inclusive of, tutoring on civil rights and de-escalation, more vigorous scrutiny, excessive force or racial inequalities.
Additionally, civil lawsuits can be used to hold police officers accountable. 42 U.S.C. 1983, is a federal act that forbids constitutional violations by the police officers, and these lawsuits can be applied in cases where a police officer deprives an individual whose actions are either prohibited by the law or not of their rights. The civil lawsuits are used to hold police departments and officers accountable while the federal government scrutinizes various police departments. Section 1983 lawsuit is the most used mechanism to enforce constitutional rights against police officers and the departments at large. However, for suits to work in favour of civilian victims, they should have the capability to present and win lawsuits on civil rights by themselves by ensuring they are playing a level field during case hearings. It is however tricky, since the Court has created severe obstacles to civilians who present complaints, and wants to hold the public officials accountable by immunizing prosecutors and the police officials to different degrees and restricting the responsibility of municipalities and state bodies. The obstacles that are facing public accountability can only be overcome by preparing the way for legislation that helps in minimizing the challenges complaints face. All this is possible if advocates agree to deploy a long-term public campaign.
Similarly, criminal prosecutions rely on the criminal justice system to hold officers accountable. The lawsuits are initiated by state prosecutors and retain police officers and departments responsible under state laws. However, state attorneys delay charging police officers who kill unarmed civilians and fail to secure accusations after these officers have been accused of a crime. The failures are attributed to laws and policies that are excessively obsequious to police officers, incestuous relationships between police officers and prosecutors, and the biased jury selection practices. Local prosecutors have a great interest in protecting and justifying the actions of local law enforcement. The bias system has led to a lack of trust between law enforcement and the community, which is a requirement in building public safety. Therefore, the government is suggesting that reasonable alternatives should be considered. Advocates have started implementing other options by inviting an independent prosecutor to tackle the issue of injustice. The forms taken by the independent prosecutors include providing state attorney general’s additional authority over matters concerning police officers, having permanent special prosecutors that reside within the attorney general’s state office to promote a level of +insulation from the local enforcement.
In conclusion, police brutality should stop, since it can damage individuals physically, mentally or emotionally. Violation of human rights is an offence, and therefore, any law enforcement officer who does this crime should be presented in the Court of law. Police brutality leads to the discussion on police accountability and the measures that should be taken to ensure that they are accountable. Police accountability should be applied in all nations to ensure that police officers and departments work effectively together without violating the human rights of individuals. They are supposed to control crimes and maintain order by treating civilians fairly and according to the law, to build trust between the police and the community, and for the public to hold the police to higher standards. The four measures set to hold police officers accountable include community- based accountability, political accountability, civil lawsuits, and criminal lawsuits. The local, state and county legislatures should come together, and promote accountability by applying the discussed measures.
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