essay on police accountability

Police Accountability Analysis Essay

Enhancement of good policing is contributed by the relationship between the community structure- whether rural or urban and the law enforcement. The policing strategies are supposed to agree with the expectations of the society in order to make both the police work effective as well as to enhance the relationship between the police and the community. This means that officers should be practically sensitive to what society expects of them in their provision of services and maintaining of order as well as law enforcement. To achieve this, the officer should enhance a good working relationship with the community by establishing good communication channels which provide information to the police and vice versa (Reiman, 1997).

Hence, besides the police maintaining their police culture, they should become part of the community to avoid unjust practices towards society. The integration will allow the police to become part of the socially beneficial aspects which will allow the police officers to accommodate the local knowledge, their sensitivity, as well as cultural flexibility. This is a requirement that is intended to ensure that both the police department and the community agree in their interaction without violation or discrimination on either side. As a result, many departments have emerged to ensure that good policing toward the people is observed and that the police become accountable for any act they perform either within their fraternity or to the community. Some of these departments act as watchdogs towards the police, others educating people concerning their rights while others deal with the police body to ensure they hold their required principle to the letter (Kennison, 2007).

One of these departments is the Office of Police Integrity or the Ombudsman. This is one department that ensures that the efficiency of the police officers is enforced as well as holding into accountability the modern policing actions according to their requirements. This Office of Police Integrity is concerned with the behavior and attitude of the police in their contact with the citizens, concerning everyday life events. In addition, the department analyses the social and cultural factors that contribute to police deviance and how effectively they can be dealt with. The department strives to ensure that police misconduct is dealt with. Any unethical or illegal police conduct is scrutinized by the department and the officer involved is interrogated by being held accountable for his mischievous behavior (Jobes, 2002).

For instance, one area that the Ombudsman is more concerned with is the corruption issue. This is an act that in most cases goes unnoticed because both the corrupter and the officer find it beneficial to them and they keep it their secret. This goes to an extent of practices of unjust to the low-advantaged people in the society when their rights are abused by more financially advantaged people. As a result, it has become a social and cultural characteristic of avoiding reporting such cases because it is believed the powerful will eventually have their way. Corruption is also defined as an act that extends from giving a free cup of coffee to the officer to torturing a suspect to get a confession. (Keily, & Peek (2002) noted that “ This action of forced confession is still considered by the department as one of the worst problems as it deprives people the just of their liberty.” According to the police ethics, this is unprofessional and the Ombudsman department strives to ensure that at all cost, the ethics and morals concerning the police are adhered to (Keily, & Peek, 2002).

The department is entitled to taking measures that will stamp corruption once and for all by ensuring the police outright crimes are confronted in a disciplinary approach. It encourages the police officer as well as the civilians to blow the whistle concerning any police misconduct, particularly on corruption issues to them. The “Ombudsman department strives to reinforce inhibitions against unethical, unprofessional and illegal behavior by police officers, particularly in sensitive areas of policing by employing restorative justice approach to these petty infringements” as noted by Kersten (2000).

Reference List

Jobes, P. C. (2002). Effective officer and good neighbor: Problems and perceptions among police. Policing , journal, Vol. 25, 256-272.

Kersten, J. (2000). Police power and Accountability in democratic Society: Introductory Report. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research , Vol8 ( 3), 237-245.

Keily, J. A. & Peek, G. S. (2002). The culture of the British police: Views of the police officers. The service Industries Journal , Vol. 22, 167-182.

Kennison, P. (2007). Shooting to kill. Crime Law Soc Change . Vol. 47, 151-168.

Reiman, J. (1997). The scope and limits of police ethics. Criminal Justice Ethics ,Vol.16, 41-45.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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