Rehabilitating Lawbreakers: Police, Court, Legal Team - Research Paper

Introduction

The work of the police, the court, and the entire legal team if for the rehabilitation of lawbreakers. This starts by the police identifying the law breakers; they are arrayed in court, then a verdict is given. Those who are guilty may go to prison or pay a fine, as the court sees fit. In the constitution, every person is innocent until they are declared guilty by the court. Therefore, no one deserves to pay for a mistake that has not been proven he is guilty of. However, this has not been the case, especially among the police. There have been increasing reports on police causing brutality and even murder while arresting people due to the use of force. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the police force.

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The use of excessive force by force can be described in a situation where the government officials, who are legally entitled to use power, exceed a particular level. It happens in different places, which may be in public, in prisons, and during military practice. For example, police are supposed to use life bullets only when they are being confronted by law offenders who are also carrying life bullets. This is the principle of applying a force that corresponds to the threat that an individual has. The police have been spotted to shoot life bullets on innocent people without any weapons.

The use of body cameras in the latest technology has brought into light these things, which generally happen. The cameras give footage of what is happening. The fourth amendment of the constitution prohibits the use of excessive force, which leads to the cruel and harsh treatment of the culprits. The constitution protects humans against any brutal or inhuman treatment from anyone. The police, which is meant to enforce the law are the ones who break them by taking advantage of the fact that many people are not aware of their rights. They end up beating people physically like giving heavy punches and kicking people so hard that they get hurt. Most people think that this is how things should be when it isn't.

The supreme court recognizes the fact that to make arrests or investigation, especially on criminals, force must be used. However, it is limited to a certain degree of coercion, which corresponds to the threat (Kane, 2014). An example of excessive force is when the police shoot life bullets on innocent people who may not be even armed. It has been seen in recent research to be shared in nations with mostly blacks.

There are four main ways in which the use of force by the police can be categorized. These include deadly force, excessive force, unnecessary and appropriate force. The relevant authority is when the police officers use power to the levels that are required of them by the court. This is where the individual does not get injured out of innocence. For example, when a victim tries to fight the police back in the attempt to getting an arrest, then the police have to fight back, for instance, kick him down. This then would be the appropriate use of police force since it is proportionate to the threat they are facing.

The second type of force is a deadly force. This is where the energy used by the police causes critical problems, like causing death or the likelihood of one dying. There was a law that allowed the police to shoot, especially on fleeing suspects, who, by high chance, have committed a felony. At some point, this law was ruled out since it was not god for the life of the citizens. The mistake done by the courts is that they did not provide a law that defines a life-threatening situation. This leaves the police to interpret for themselves what a life-threatening condition is. This can explain the reason for so many police brutality cases getting out of hand in the courts.

The third type of force by the police is unnecessary to force. This is where energy is used appropriately, but I situation that the police could have avoided. It often happens due to action by the police, which escalates the situation and throughs them to a situation where they need to use force. An example is when the police, confronted by a situation, say, with a man having a gun. The police then go on to shoot the person. This is unnecessary because they have not asked the man to drop the weapon or used other ways to try to separate the ammunition from the man. It, therefore, becomes unnecessary since it was unavoidable.

The fourth use of force by the police would be excessive force. This is where the cops use energy in such a way that they hurt and individual. They may cause bruises, bleeding, and even cuts that would send the individual into medication. This is the most common type of force that is there. The police sometimes think that they are entitled to do these actions, yet they fail to realize that they are hurting people. The court also makes the mistake of acquitting them, and this makes them continue since they know they won't be convicted.

A recent example of the use of police force was in Mankato, Minnesota, where Andrew Layton died in the hospital while being treated for injuries caused by the police. A police officer found him lying down in a supermarket at night. The police began to beat him up with a kick and heavy blows after he tried waking him up, and he responded aggressively. Later on, he became unconscious and was rushed to the hospital, only the be diagnosed to have been suffering from pneumonia, liver, and heart disease (Carter, 2019). The injuries caused by the police speeded up his ailment, and he ended up dying while being treated.

Among the few things that are helping the public against such forces currently, are social media and technologies such as body cameras. The public is keen to circulate any videos and pictures of police brutality on people. The police force has also installed the body cameras that monitor what the police are doing in the field. The social media circulations would make the cops behave since no one would want to be the next trending video in social media. Body cameras also enable the police system to track all actions and determine if they were justifiable or not, according to the environment in which the activities occurred.

Some of the recommended ways to the police to avoid excess force includes that they be physically present. Whenever a 911 call is made, the police are supposed to report to the crime site to see what is happening; then, they come up with measures of how to handle the situation at hand. They are required to utilize verbal communication to give orders which do not threaten but rather sermons the person. This may include telling the alleged offender that they are under arrest and are supposed to surrender to the police officers. Where dangerous weapons are used, the police can keep distance and use a public address to sermon the criminals to quit.

They can also use empty-hand control for the lawbreakers who become a bit notorious. This may include pinning them down and chaining them to inhibit movement and any other action. Some of the people may try to run away, especially when they know they are in danger, the police are advised to run after them and chase them than using the gun as it puts the life of the person in danger and ends up violating their rights. The use of weapons for some situations is allowed for tools like batons and chemical strays. Firearms may be used only when the job is out of hand, and the life of the policy is in danger.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the use of force by the police has been seen to increase remarkably. People ought to the realization that it is against the constitution, and therefore, their rights are being violated, even if they have wronged. The police should also stick to the lessons they learn on how to tackle people in their criminal law classes.

References

Carter L. S. (2019. When Police Use Too Much Force. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-02-19/excessive-use-of-force-by-police-this-court-got-it-wrong

Kane R.J. (2014) Police and the Excessive Use of Force. In: Bruinsma G., Weisburd D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY