Common Complaints against the Police
Commonly, problematic behavior often begins at an early stage, resulting in violent issues.
The cops are the critical component and the influential representatives of the criminal justice system. And those police officers who primarily put people in cages are the active enforcers of mass incarceration (Kappeler, 2012).
There is a communication barrier among the cops and the public.
The cops probably have no reason to clear their positions for unjust murders like those of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Daniel Shaver, Kelly Thomas, Tamir Rice, and Eric Garner. Due to this, they are liable to be locked up for suspecting murder.
Some problems are responsible for serious issues later. Even though many children in the United States insufficiently get the essentials required for proper growth and development. They have no access to adequate food, shelter, and healthcare rights. These insufficiencies result in abnormal development and criminal attitude.
“Police officers are usually the first to make contact with accused offenders and are in a position to make some significant decisions about what will happen to those individuals. Perhaps the most frequent decision that a police officer makes is…to initiate an alleged offender’s journey through the maze of American criminal justice.” (Kappeler, 2012).
Violent crime control devastates people’s livelihood because this results in an increased rate of mass incarceration rather than concerning public safety.
The bitter reality is that the cops fill up the prisons.
People possess misguided ideas regarding police officers as mental health professionals, youth mentors, and social workers.
The police do not entertain a vulnerable population; they make the population helpless. The commonly heard complaints against police are excessive force and violence that jeopardize the stability of a police department and its relationships. Generally, community members’ allegations report misconduct, inappropriate procedures, corruption, and lack of professionalism (Galston, 2016).
The brutality is apparent when the cops deal violently with immigrants, people of color, queer and trans people, the mentally disabled, and the homeless.
The policing profession shook by a series of incidents in the United States, includes the killing of George Floyd during the arrest, Eric Garner, Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, and many others that grab the attention internationally.
Recommendation with the Criminal Justice
The harm caused could only be reduced by manipulating the scope and focus of the police.
Police departments should have proper, open, and easily accessible complaint processes. Accountability systems are also required to ensure fair and legal operations to identify and address potentially problematic behaviors by their personnel.
Early prevention and intervention programs could mitigate or say reduce the probability of delinquency and crime rates. Research knowledge for preventing and intervening in the criminal justice system’s problems suggests the following recommendation.
- To implement and practice the preventive strategies in close collaboration with the Federal agencies.
- To practice intervention in the criminal justice system.
- To do more advanced research for bringing promising approaches in the justice system.
References
Galston, W.A. (2016). Criminal justice reform: Issues and options for the next president. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/research/criminal-justice-reform-issues-and-options-for-the-next-president/
Kappeler, V.E. (2012). What is the Place of Police within the Criminal Justice System? https://plsonline.eku.edu/insidelook/what-place-police-within-criminal-justice-system