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Introduction: Police and Liberal Society
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20427 |
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MODERN THOUGHT
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3 / 1992 |
1,708 Words |
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Police are on the defensive nationwide. The beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles and other cases of wildly excessive use of force have drawn widespread attention to misconduct by law enforcement personnel. Los Angels and other cases of wildly excessive use of force have drawn widespread attention to misconduct my law enforcement personnel. Los Angeles is not alone. In San Diego, police came under heavy public criticism after several instances were reported where they allegedly used deadly force without just cause. In Boston, officers failed to arrest a man for physically abusing his wife and the husband continued his violent behavior. And in Washington, D.C., a spate of high-speed police chases of criminal suspects resulted last year in the vehicular deaths of innocent bystanders.
These are some of the many well-publicized incidents, because of which police across the United States are under increasingly hostile public scrutiny. The crime epidemic sweeping the country has left few untouched. We don't feel safe and demand greater protection. But, with the King beating in Los angels and the Jeffrey Dahmer horror in Milwaukee, Americans are beginning to see their protectors differently. Suddenly, law enforcement personnel are being called to greater accountability nationwide, fewer discretionary powers are being advocated for individual officers. And this even as the average citizen's concern and frustration over violent crime and the drug problem escalate.
The implications for law enforcement of this shift in public attitudes could be enormous. The police ultimately depend on citizen goodwill to be effective as crime fighters. As Charles Silberman notes in his book Criminal Violence, Criminal Justice, it is vital that officers know as many people as possible in their patrol areas and that they build close relations of trust with them. They need to encourage civilians to report criminal activity of they are to effectively reduce crime.
In the following pages THE WORLD & I explores the meaning and significance of the rapidly changing relationship between society and the police looking at the loss of police authority the role of community policing, the problem of police stress and burnout, and the issue of police misconduct and corruption.
The problems involved are enormous, posing real dilemmas. How can the police effectively fight crime if we take away their authority and power to do so? How can society control an increasingly violent and predatory criminal element while also respecting the rights of suspects and leaving
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