Within the article, “The Myth of Police Reform,” the author points out how police respond to a lot of problems in our society that should not require police intervention. This is clearly an explicit argument because the author states that, “Fear and compliance have their place, but it can’t be every place.” This editorial is meant for everyone because it brings up numerous examples of people being shot, chased, or arrested over issues that shouldn’t involve violence. It also gives examples including different ages, races, and gender. Most of these narrations end up with someone getting shot over a silly reason whether it is someone running around naked or some kid tripping on mushrooms. These examples help us infer that every problem cannot be handled by force. Some may disagree with this, but the police can make mistakes just like the rest of us. Honestly, this paper seems very one sided. As soon as he says something noble about the police, he has something just as bad to counter it. …show more content…
I’ve never heard of the The Atlantic, but Ta-Nehisi presents himself as an average person, which is key for this editorial because it makes it a lot easier to relate with. Unfortunately, this article is in the political section so, some may not even see this. That’s too bad because Coates has a strong passion for reforming our police for the better. His example about how police use power to maintain “peace” instead of authority was very insightful. The only thing that caused me to question the writer’s credibility was when he brought up the relationship between African Americans and the police. I thought this was somewhat irrelevant to his main claim because we want police reform for everyone not just African Americans. Although the author did not include opposing views, I think this benefited him because it would take away from his main
In the essay “ The Paranoid Style of American Policing” by Ta-Nahisi Coates, Coates argues against police brutality in Chicago and the way the government handles policing in the state. At the start of the essay,Coates compares how his father would resolve conflicts without violence to the way police these days solve conflicts with violence,for example killing or beating, most of the time when it is not necessary. Police, Coates explains, are given too much power by the government as they are able to resolve dilemmas brutally without any sort of punishment. With all the events that happen between police and citizens the author states it is very hard for the people in Chicago to trust their policing, which is seen in text when the brother of
This essay is not attempting to push the ideology that the main issue isn’t because of them. However, the fear and hatred that is driven behind everyone on both positions is being perpetuated by the amount of negative coverage that this issue is receiving. In psychology, there is a term called confirmation bias, which is used to describe a mindset where people will only seek out information that conforms to their preconceived notions about something they believe to be true. (Fontinelle) Because of this, those who are in that mindset will be unlikely to be convinced otherwise that they are wrong. The fact that police are generally only talked about negatively in the news will almost force an individual who keeps up with mainstream media to see only negative things about police officers, and start to believe that police officers are not as trustworthy as they should be. This creates an immediate confirmation bias in people’s mind, which is a problem when the issue is already heated. Statistically speaking, the majority of officers are not the same as those being covered in the news. Good officers, alongside bad officers, have been seen as problematic because of the excess police brutality coverage, which in return negatively affects the entire police
If you grew up in an average middle-class town in the United States you were probably raised on the premise that the police were there to protect and fight crime, however, in many of today’s urban centers throughout the country, the tension between the police and the citizens has a very different relationship. The term ‘police’ brings many images to mind, while the objective of the police is to prevent and detect crime, this is far from the way so many Americans feel. Far from the original purpose of the police, the use of brutal and sometimes lethal force has evoked questions regarding the skewed system and the relationship between both in the communities. Ta-Nehisi Coates explores the issue in the article, The Paranoid Style of American Policing, often bringing up complex issues, and effectively brings the issues to life through anecdotes. Coates presents a logical, thought out and well-executed argument surrounding the cracked police system in America. Due to the well-supported thesis, the structure of the argument, and lack of fallacies, Coates position is adequately supported through the use
An article in the Washington Post revealed that across the nation 963 people were shot and killed by police in 2016. This puts police in a losing situation. Not only have they lost the trust of many, but they are now portrayed as the enemy. A police officer’s duty is to protect the people and enforce the law. After the shootings, people don’t see them as protecting anyone, but instead harming the population. More than often now the perception is that they are the bad guys who take advantage of their power.
In “The Myth of Police Reform” Coates is saying, That the criminal justice system is not working as well as it should. They are putting people, especially African Americans in jail or killing them. Some people have mental or physical disabilities or have drug or alcohol problems That’s been one of the reasons That they will get killed. All police departments understand that African Americans are just like other people to be treated. The police officers are sending men and women in fear that people are getting killed for reasons like having a drug or alcohol and mental problems. No matter who it is they are getting killed. “They do not urge them to make no sudden movements in the presence of police out of profound respect for the democratic
There are circumstances where the police use too much force; whether it is being frightened by the situation or too much adrenaline they make mistakes when it comes to addressing the situation safely for others. Civilians are defensive with approaching policeman now, always being ready for a confrontation. The people are more afraid of the police now than ever, taking drastic measures as not wearing a specific color, or raising arms at first contact. Interactions between police and civilians should not have friction; police were once viewed as the protectors of the people. Now the police are seen as the enemy with too much power.
Policing today consists of three eras. These three eras have adapted and built off one another through history (Parr, 2014). The first era started around 1840 to 1930, and is known as the Political Era. The second Era is known as the Reform Era and lasted from 1930 to 1970. The last era is called the Community-Problem Solving Era and is still being adapted and used today. The Political Era emphasizes on meeting the needs of politicians. The police were given power through the local government and the community had very little say in what happened. The police and politicians worked together to control the city and neighborhoods (Palmiotto, 2000). This was often referred to as a ward. The ward politician controlled all the police in their neighborhood. The police officers tasks included not only crime prevention and order but a lot of social service activities that involved their neighborhoods. The officers resembled the ethnic backgrounds of the neighborhoods they lived and worked in and performed their patrols gaining trust from their community (Palmiotto, 2000). This allowed positive integration of police officers leading to more public service, and the trust of the officers to stop crime when is starts.
When it comes to the topic of police reform, many agree that our country is long overdue for it, however, the questions are how exactly do we, as a nation, go about changing one of the most powerful structures to exist in the country. While some believe that reform must come from within the individually flawed police departments, others argue that the entire criminal justice system needs an overhaul. In this Response essay about Ta-Nehisti Coastes’ essay “The Myth of Police Reform,” Coates is saying, that the criminal-justice system is not working as well as it should. They are putting people, especially African Americans in jail or killing them. Some people have a mental or physical disability or a have a drug or alcohol problem that
Those who don’t believe police brutality is an issue argue that police brutality and abuse is exaggerated, and that rarely do officers use excessive force. They believe that criminals file false complaints in attempt to manipulate the justice system. When officers do use lethal force, it is in tense situations with instant decisions that need to be made. Another popular statement is “a few bad apples,” which means that there are a large number of officers in the U.S. so there is bound to be a few crocked cops.
“It was unexpected day at home for Tino. After coming home from school, we got him a toy gun as a gift. It was his birthday. He was really happy about it and running outside to brag it with his friends. He was playing it in our front yard, while we were preparing for the party. We heard the bang sound and the sound of the police car loudly in front of our house.......” Many people believe that police brutality is out of control in America. The reasons for it is police are killing many innocent people, they make people doesn’t feel safe and it is unstoppable if we are not doing something.
Policing relies on the public trust, police legitimacy and accountability, which can be destroyed by unjustifiable police shootings (Squires and Kennninson, 2010). Within this country, there is a recognition that the police do not always adhere to the rule of law (Newburn and Reiner, 2012: 809), which has led to consistent public outrage at the lack of effectiveness and legitimacy the police has maintained. Therefore the deliberate decision to enforce police to attend to the streets unarmed was employed to reassure the public that the police were not to be feared (Waddington and Wright, 2010). Ultimately, concerns derive from the belief that the police are completely ineffective when dealing with gun crimes (Farrell, 1992: 20). However,
This article's point of view is that it is so terrible that police officers are getting attacked and they need to have better relationships with other races. Craig Lally, president of the Los Angeles Police Protective League is very upset about these shootings: "I've never experienced anything like this in my 36 years in law enforcement. That is mind-boggling to me” (WP). The author used these quotes to support the point of view of the police officers need to be protected from the anger of Black Lives Matter protesters. It shows that we need our law enforcement officers to help our country. Police departments all over the country say "I don't want this to become the norm. We cannot allow this to become the daily routine”
Since a very young age we have been taught to put our trust into police officers. If we are in distress, they are always there to help since it is their job to protect and serve the common citizen. So what happens when the individuals we are supposed to trust to bring justice are the ones causing the injustice we see in the news? Recently, several police officers have been under fire for their excessive use of force. The number of casualties caused by police officers in the recent years have citizens demanding a reform in the system that officers work under.
Our world is full of rules and regulations that the common individual has to obey, and they are in forced daily in order to keep the peace and equality. One main body of the institution that promotes and maintains peace is the police, and they are given many special privileges and rights in order to keep the peace among us. In these ten given articles, it portrays how some officers have overly used their privileges to an extent where it is unacceptable. Officers should never shoot with the intention to kill on duty, because sometimes what an officer sees as a threat might not actually be a threat, also it is not the police job to give a punishment while it is the courts job to judge so they can give the type of punishment an offender deserves, and lastly everyone has the right to live and no one should take that away.
The history of the Police takes us back to England, according to an article "The History of Modern Policing" by Timothy Roufa updated February 2, 2017. Citizens were responsible for maintaining law and order. People who served as constables and justice of the peace were often not paid since they volunteered. Full-time sheriff's responsibility was to keep an eye to law enforcement activities. These early roles made a significant impact to the history of the police. In the early 1700's and early 1800's in the United States and England the population increased its lead to civil unrest and riots, it was clear they needed professional form of law enforcement that will be authorized by the government. Philosopher Jeremy Bentham began to call the