Police Use of Force Essay

Like other law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, New Jersey has a policy that addresses police use of force. The New Jersey Attorney General’s Use of Force Policy was first put into operation in April 1985. The purpose of the policy is to serve as a guide for police officers who are confronted with use of force situations during their duty to preserve the law and protect others. This essay will provide a summary of the policies and practices of New Jersey’s Use of Force Policy. An evaluation of these components will be presented with emphasis on the legal sufficiency of the policies and procedures. Policy strengths and weaknesses will be identified in addition to suggestions for improvement. This essay will conclude

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)

Clear narrative accounts from observers provide detailed descriptions of altercations that give a step by step account of how a situation played out and what factors sparked the use of force. The force continuum’s worth as an analytical tool is also firmly established. Where, the continuum has generally been a mechanism to guide officer decision making, from the study it’s use as a means to assess force appropriateness becomes quite apparent. Terrill is able to uncover that officers actually perform quite well when dealing with resistant suspects but fail to show as much restraint when dealing with non-resistant

In book “Making Sense of Criminal Justice System: Policies and Practices”, Mays and Ruddell discussed five influences on the use of force by police. These important influential factors are; 1. Local state and federal laws 2. Departmental policies 3. Training 4.

The use of force continuum is basically a stair step of levels of force an officer can use to defend themselves and/or effect an arrest. The use of force continuum starts with the level of force known as officer presence. An example of this is when an officer arrives on scene, and his or her mere presence causes the subject or subjects to comply. If an officer arrives at a bar fight and the subjects are actively fighting until they observe the officer then the use of force level was successful. The next level in the use of force continuum is verbal commands. Police officers will generally combine

The use of deadly force by police officers is a very important subject in today’s society. Many consider the use of deadly force excessive in most cases. However, there are many aspects to look at when considering this topic, such as: Why was deadly force required? When did the officer feel it necessary to apply deadly force? What will be the implications for the officer after the fact? How does the use of deadly force affect society as a whole?

After performing this research about police use of force I hope to shed some light on this issue. The use of force has been come a big problem in our country today there are many things that we can do to help the people understand the use of force. I hope that this research has help many of you understand what police can and cannot do. Also shed some light on the differences of justified use of force and police brutality. As a officer, I hope that we can all come together and help stop the violent acts towards each other.

Whenever a law enforcement officer places an individual under arrest or is involved in a deadly force scenario the officer has used some degree of force. The incidents where an office has to make a split second decision and use physical force to control a situation is known as “Use of Force.” The use of force varies as situations present themselves to the officer and they must decide what level of force is necessary to control the situation. Often the use of force is subject to much debate and not a year goes by without some media coverage of some law enforcement officer accused of using excessive force. In dozens of studies of police use of force there is no single,

the use of excessive force. Many people have witnessed or have become victims of police brutality. In their line of duty, police officers are sometimes faced with threatening circumstances that enable them to make haste decisions when expecting the worst at the same time hope for the best outcome. A police officer is given the power to maintain law and order as well as to take away any right of a citizen when a situation permits (Heydon, 2005). Thus, they have the responsibility to apply the forces in a recommended way. Therefore, police are trained to use the least amount of force necessary to make an arrest by using escalations of force. However, sometimes police exceed the minimum amount required to diffuse an incident or protect them, which leads to misconduct or undue violence when not warranted.

From the perspective of law, excessive physical force most clearly constitutes police brutality, a term often applied loosely to various forms of police misconduct (Holmes, 2000). Over the years, police brutality continues to be an issue of concern all across the world and the need for reducing law enforcement from engaging in this unethical behavior is imperative. Although, police organizations throughout the United States have responded by tightening their "physical force", policies and reminding their officers to use

Force that police tend to use on subjects that pose a threat has become an escalating issue in society today as we know it. Sometimes the public gets the notion that the police abuse their authority and use dangerous

To follow the initial importance of all of the aspects of use of force, there are different kinds of use of force (General, 1985). The first of several is constructive authority. Constructive authority doesn’t involve actual physical contact, but simply the use of law enforcement officer’s authority to take control over a suspect (General, 1985).Examples of there are verbal commands, gestures, warnings, and unholstering a weapon (General, 1985). Even pointing a firearm at a subject is an element of constructive authority but is to be used only in appropriate situations (General,

This paper will describe police power and police authority. I will also talk about police discretion as for as whom gets locked up and who is allowed to go free. This paper will discuss the different use of police force. In this paper I will also talk about police attitude, police misconduct, and physical abuse among police officers.

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

Police officers are faced with a wide variety of threatening situations on the job every day, they go through an intensive training at the academy to prepare them for the safety keeping job they have. The use of force may or may not be a significant predicament but it should be viewed by the community as well as the police. Often police officers find