Use of Force Essay

A '''use of force continuum''' is a standard that affords law enforcement officials & security officers (police, probation, or corrections) with guidelines as to how much use of force may be used against a repelling subject in a given situation. In certain ways it is similar to the military’s escalation of force. The reason of these models is to clarify, both for officers and citizens, the complex subject of use of force by law officers. They are often vital parts of law enforcement agencies' use of force policies. Although various agencies have developed different models of the continuum, there is no universal standard model (Stetser, 2001, p. 36)

Police have the uncontested right to use force when necessary to apprehend a suspect. If the force exceeds that which is necessary it is defined as excessive force and is illegal. An officer’s discretion on use of force is a based on judgment. They do not know if a judge will later rule an instance of use of force as excessive or not. There is a fine line between what is considered acceptable force and what is considered excessive force. All an

The ending of the story shows that the little girl had been dealing with her own sort of internal conflict. She had a

One night, a small-town patrol officer stops a car driven by two teenagers. The officer believes that one of them might be responsible for a string of recent burglaries. The teens are questioned, and the officer becomes angry at their responses. Over the objections of the teenagers, both teens are pulled out of the car and shoved around a little. They are both told that they are under arrest and the officer begins to place handcuffs on them. Both fight back and both are beaten badly (Bruno, 2010). The question is what legal recourse is available to the families of the teens if any?

Police departments have use-of-force policies that specify when force may be used and the proper level of force to be used under given circumstances. Most departments use a continuum-of-force approach that allows proportional force to the suspect’s resistance. The level of force by an officer increases in direct response to escalating resistance of the suspect. Policies such as this one have been put into place following many humiliating acts of excessive force. The policies are in place in an attempt to prevent future acts of excessive force (Pollock, 2010).

Police encounter different situations in their daily activities. The diverse nature of the circumstances implies that the members of the police also have to adopt different strategies of handling them. In some circumstances, the police have to use force as a way of addressing the situations. Unfortunately, when the police apply their own discretion in the use of force, the outcomes of this approach may end in fatalities or serious injuries. In recent times, diverse opinions have emerged in relation to the use of discretionary force. In some quarters, the use of discretionary force has been hailed as beneficial while in other case such as the 2008 Shooting of Tyler Cassidy, concerns have been applied concerning the appropriateness of the strategy. Against this backdrop, this essay examines whether the police use of force is a necessary component of the job and describes the benefits and limitations connected to the discretionary use of force by the police.

Use of force The use of force in law enforcement is unavoidable. In most cases the wellbeing of the officer and the patient can be put in dangerous circumstances by not using force when necessary. Both police and correctional officers and all other law enforcement officers use force to maintain order, enforce the law, and to keep people safe. The use of force by law enforcement is the amount of effort that is required by the enforcer to compel compliance by a person that is unwilling to comply. For example, when an inmate is told to exit his cell, but does not willingly comply, the correctional officers will begin the use of force tactic to force the inmate to comply and exit his cell.

By definition, use of force refers to the amounts of efforts that a police officer may need to use to compel an unwilling subject to comply. In general ideology, police officers should never exact more force than the required with the aim of controlling an incident, or when making an arrest as well as when protecting the public or their selves from some form of imminent danger (NIJ, 2012).

The fundamental purposes of law enforcement is the serve and protect the individuals of society. Rough treatment is often times afflicted upon unruly citizens as an alternative reform of discipline. Police abuse remains one of the most serious and divisive human rights violations of today. The secrecy, stress, and dangers of police work leads to an insular and close-knit occupational culture that results in a strong distinction between members of the police and society. An in-depth investigation on police brutalization and its causes of corrupting within the 1991 beating of Rodney King is evaluated by means of the credibility within the rights of citizens in Canada and the United States, the effects from prejudice

Officers can punch, kick, or strike with elbows and/or knees to defend themselves and/or make an arrest. An officer can shoot an unarmed suspect under certain conditions. A suspect who is battering an officer to the point of the officer suffering death or great bodily harm, the officer may use deadly force for defense. In certain cases, an officer can shoot someone in the back. If the suspect flees, and their escape presents an imminent threat of death or great bodily harm to the community, the use of deadly force can be justified.

There was also three other areas included in the study that includes the applications of the use of force. The first was the use 82% of force with restraints in 7,512 situations. The second area was the use of handcuffs where officers reported the use of force 0.9%. Lastly were the applications of leg irons that were applied requiring 0.4% of the time with the use of force during arrests. Restraints that did not require the use of force was 16% of the time. Police vehicle pursuits occurred in the use of force required 3% and 2.4% for the arrest of those pursuits 94.4% did not require an

Police officers are faced with many tasks and encounters with the public each and everyday. Most encounters are non-threatening where the individual or individuals are compliant. But however, there are some encounters where the individual is non-compliant and can pose a threat to the officer. When an individual is non-complaint and resisting arrest, an officer will use force, and how much force used depends on the officer and the situation he or she is in. How much force is determined by what the officer uses. An officer has many weapons and tools they can use to get a situation under control. The most common weapons a officer could use include their gun, taser, baton, and mace. Out of these weapons, one of the most controversial weapons is the taser.

United States National Institute of Justice issued the article 'Understanding the use of force by and against the police' in November 1996 at its journal, 'Research in Brief'. Written by Garner, Buchanan, Schade and Hepburn, the article reported the result of a two week research on the officers of the Phoenix Police Department and the use of force involved during the period of time, both from the police officers or from the suspects. The study defined the use of force into five different areas, including voice, motion, restraints, weaponless tactics and weapon. Each first respond officer would fill out a use-of-force survey after their arrest report, in which they would address the action that being conducted by other officers as well.

The use of force, with regards to law enforcements use of it, is a complex topic that should be looked at in all perspectives. There is tension between the police and the community they work for, on whether this is a power that the officers should have or not. There are ambiguous laws that do not give law enforcement offices much guidelines on what is exactly permissible when it comes to force, and all the different situations it could occur. The line that the use of force leis on is often a fine one. It is teetering between excessive force and never being able to enforce the laws. The use of forces is a conversation that is worth having with all the pros and cons that it brings to the discussion board.

In policing the use of force is an ethical issue for law enforcement because officers may have to use force while doing their job. Police officers are given both state and federal law to use force if necessary as peace officers. The fourth Amendment discusses seizure of person or persons in relation to use of force. Use of force by law enforcement officers should be in accordance with five lawfully recognized objectives; Self defense, defense of others affect an arrest or detentions; Prevent an escape and overcome resistance. Peace officers are given discretion on laws, practice, and policy as the officer's perception and knowledge at the time of the incident. Discretion gives police officers authority to make decisions about constitution laws, policy and practice knowing that judgment is very important.