Causes Of Police Brutality

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Police brutality is one of the major issues plaguing our justice system today. There have been many recent instances that highlight this epidemic, especially against minorities, that have led to recent riots in Ferguson, news media outrage, and social media campaigns like #BlackLivesMatter and #StayWoke. In this paper, I aim to explore several high-profile instances of police brutality from recent history, as well as examine some theories as to why police are overstepping their boundaries to physically abuse civilians. First, let's look at some high-profile instances where police brutality is apparent. One of the main events that sparked the Ferguson riots and unrest was the shooting of unarmed 18 year-old Michael Brown by police officer …show more content…
Research has been done to carefully profile officers with higher rates of complaints from those taken into custody, and this research has indicated that said officers have a more “authoritarian” personality than others. These “tough cops” tend to be more cynical and view people as out for their own self-interest only. They tend to believe that citizens have negative and even hostile views of police, but think that police are the best solution to the problem of crime. They tend to seek out positions of power and control and use this authority to do their jobs. While that is not always bad, in instances where officers use excessive force it is certainly taking their authority and using it for inappropriate ends. (Duffee and …show more content…
One statistic points out that in the state of New Jersey, 99% of police brutality complaints are never investigated formally. Nationwide, only one out of every three accused cops are convicted—the conviction rate for civilians is double. In terms of cases referred for federal prosecution, 95% of cases are declined by prosecutors because juries are conditioned to believe the police, and prosecutors do not want to take on a case that they know they will have trouble winning. In the four instances of police brutality outlined in this paper, recall that none of the officers in question were convicted in court, and only one is no longer working for the police (he chose to resign). These statistics clearly evidence the fact that police are held less accountable for their actions than members of the general public. This means that police may act inappropriately more often, since they know that they are unlikely to be caught, and even more unlikely to be punished for their actions.
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