Why Police Officers Killed in the Line of Duty - Research Paper Example

Police Officers killed in the line of duty , why? lack of training , lax attitude and demographics of the killers verses officer I. Introduction The phenomenon of police officers losing their precious lives in the heat of confrontations with the criminals is not new in this country. But, has anyone ever deemed it appropriate to ask the following thought-provoking questions? Why? Is it because the police officers don’t have adequate training as expected? Or should the blame be shifted to the affected officer’s lackadaisical attitude to his/her duty? Or do such tragedies occur because the victims (killed officers) find themselves in an environment that is totally unfriendly and strange, and populated with people of different races? This research would be taking a critical look at the questions raised above, and identify any possibilities of stemming this social mishap. 2. The purpose: The purpose of this research is to critically analyze the conditions that may be responsible for this dastard act of killing police officers on duty. And probe the chances of finding lasting solutions to be an end to this phenomenon that have claimed the lives of hardworking police officers in the United States. 3. Rationale: It is quite ambiguous to discover the exact reasons why police officers are targeted to be killed by the criminals. Many of the bogus reasons for this heinous crime have been that of self-defense on the part of the culprits; or it occurred in the course of fending off racial maltreatment common to some over-ambitious police officers. 4. Objective: The crucial objective of this research is to explore the core of this subject matter and argue critically why such an occurrence happens in the first instance, and how it could be constructively prevented. 5. Statement and significance of the problem: This social problem has robbed the Police the lives and services of some energetic police officers. And it is imperative to take a cognizance look at the problem since it is far from being over: many police officers still lose their lives across the cities and the big towns in the United States. 6. Progression or argument, research questions, themes, or other positions: What are the possible causes of this phenomenon? Why hasn’t the Police come up with a solution that could totally eradicate it? Are there any potential solutions to this problem? If any, how could such solutions be properly implemented in the Police Force? II. Review of relevant literature Community policing in a free world like the United States is similar to cutting through a mountain with bare teeth! It is indeed a difficult task that requires arduous concentration, serious planning and cutting-edge management (U.S Department of Justice, 1998). The presence of multi-cultural communities in many cities and towns across the country even makes this task appears more complicated. Each member of the communities aspires for equal treatment under the law when it comes to the issue of policing (Walter, ). This circumstance puts a strain on the police officers’ performance. Even though they have their own prejudice, they are required by laws and ethics to justly handle each case. In order words, they should see their job as servants to the entire population, not just to satisfy the ideology of their own race once they are in the uniforms (Mastrofski, 1999). However, instances of overtly use of force and weapons peppered by racial prejudice have often come up between the civilians and the police officers (Milton et al, 1977). And in these situations, the affected civilians who might have felt cheated and embarrassed often resulted to self-defense. In the course of the melee, either the police officer or the civilian may have an upper hand in the scuffle, and one of them might mistakenly (often unintentionally) take the life of the other! III. Critique of the major issues To have a better grasp of this issue, it is important to consider several points of views on the matter. 1. Divergent points of view: Why did police officers get killed? And what do the communities think when such a thing happened? Well, there are divergent points of view on the matter. The criminal’s point of view: Do the criminals who took the police officers’ lives often right when they cite self-defense as the major reason for attacking a police officer? This question is yet to be answered comprehensively: one sure fact is that the criminal may have deemed the police officer’s action too forceful, demeaning and racially motivated before he/she took up the challenge to fight back. Police’s point of view: As an agent of law enforcement, is it always correct to believe that a police could exert any amount of force to subdue a roaring civilian assailant? Almost every time an officer got killed, the Police often absolve him/her of any untoward behavior: the final assertion has always been in support of the police officer’s action. Community’s point of view: How does a community in which such a killing takes place react to the incident? Well, it depends on the demographic of the community. If it contains more people of the same racial orientation with the criminal, there might be a mild reaction to the murder of the police officer. But, if an officer is killed in his/her demography; there is every possibility that a racial struggle may be ignited. 2. However, there are some established issues that often explain why a criminal could kill a police officer: (a) Excessive use of force: Milton et al (1977) explained how deadly an excessive use of force could be: Some police officers perceive themselves as more superior once they were in uniform. And in some cases, they threatened the public by their unethical behavior (Milton et al, 1977). Such an attitude often provokes a section of a community who might want to return fire for fire. (b) On-the-job laxity: this is common among young officers who act improperly even when they are on duty. Sometimes, a police officer may let racial exasperation and prejudice take over his/her sense of duty to the community and the people and acted stupidly by creating chaos through lax attitude. Those who are affected by his/her actions may respond in a more violent way. (c) Understanding the community structure: Despite their rigorous trainings, many police officers haven’t fully grasped the complexity of the community’s structure they were expected to work in. And this often creates a condition of mistrust and misunderstanding (Mastrofski, 1999). 2. Some of the new issues that are cropping up about this matter are: (i) Language barrier: As immigrants poured into the United States, so many new residents are still unable to hold a fruitful conversation in English; hence, they run into problems when arguing with an officer. (ii) Youth culture: Many cities are witnessing a surge in the number of unruly youths who are forming gangs and hate groups. These kinds of groups often hinder the police officer’s strong determination to pursue every case judiciously (U.S. Department of Justice, 1998). IV. Discussion 1. Looking at the different perspectives detailed above on why police officers unfortunately died in the course of their job, it is interesting to state that the slain officer should be blamed for the incident. Why? It is important to ask: an average civilian is harmless, law-abiding and non-aggressive until he/she first sensed a threat from an over-ambitious police officer. And isn’t it right for anyone to defend himself or herself in the face of adversity? But the extent of executing deadly self-defense may be unjustifiable on the part of the civilian. However, the thought of confronting a highly trained police officer, who is also heavily armed, could spark an over-reaction from the civilian, who might opt for a deadly weapon to save himself/herself from the attacker. Generally speaking, should a police office first resort to using force against a harmless civilian? Wasn’t he/she taught the usefulness of consultation and discussion? The officer should have engaged the civilian in a respectable conversation; and this could have prevented the ugly situation from happening. Also, the reports from several researches on this phenomenon point to the effect of demography in the issue of police killing. The ideology is that a criminal is usually emboldened when he/she is confronted by a police officer in his/her demographic. The belief is that the people around him would come to his rescue if anything goes awry. And such a situation, the civilian is encouraged to engage the officer in a scuffle that would eventually lead to the law enforcement agent’s death. And yet, whose fault? Didn’t the police officer have wide knowledge of the community he is working in? 3. The new issues: The problem of language barrier in the United States is giving both the law enforcement agency and the community a headache. Some immigrants, mostly from Spanish-speaking countries are finding it hard to learn English. To address this issue, shouldn’t the police train all officers to, at least, speak the language of the communities they are expected to work in? Considering the rise in the number of youth gangs and hate groups, shouldn’t the Police take it upon itself to instruct the officers how to handle such problems? As long as these issues are shoddily handled, there is no way the Police could stop the occurrence of police officers being killed by irate civilians. 4. Needs for further consideration: It may helpful if the Police tries to correct the anomalies stated above: And this would require thorough training for the police officers. They should be taught how to interact with the civilians, and not to think everything has to be settled with the cock of a gun. There should be more studies on how to foster fruitful relationship between the Police and communities, enlisting the efforts of community leaders to control criminal activities. Conclusion In conclusion, the Police should let all officers pass through rigorous training that have human face on it. They should be cautioned against invoking anger in the ordinary civilians by their threat of force. More police-community partnerships are needed to stem the tide of crime in the suburbs, and instruct the Police how to handle crime issue in a society. In the view of critical analysis, police should always remember their primary duty to the community: to protect the common people. Works cited. 1. U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice (1998), Community Policing in Action: Lessons from an Observational Study, Research Preview, 10, 2-7 2. Walter, Lisa (2000), Eradicating Racial Stereotyping from Terry Stops: The Case for an Equal Protection Exclusionary Rule, University of Colorado Law Review, 71(1), 255-94. 3. Mastrofski, Stephen D. (1999), Policing for People, Ideas in American Policing, Washington, DC; Police Foundation. 4. Milton, Catherine H., Jeanne W. Halleck, James Lardner, and Gary L. Albrecht (1977), Police Use of Deadly Force, Washington, DC; Police Foundation. Read More