Policing was created to uphold laws and work together as a community to bring justice. But where is the justice? The ongoing problems with the police and the people are not something to overlook. There are multiple problems regarding policing but there are few that should be focused and discussed. One of these problems is the right to speedy trial. As seen on the case with Kalief Browder, there are numerous cases where the trial is not taken place at the right time. According to the sixth commandment in the constitution, the defendant has the right to speedy trial by the jury that is not involved in the case. The right to speedy trial quickly allows the defendant to present his or her side and be judged according to his or her actions. The problem is that it takes a long time for the trial to take place. That means people who are innocent can be locked up in jail for months or even years before a trial. This is not only detrimental for defendants who are innocent but also for those who are guilty. The guilty defendants are losing time that they could be spending after they have done their days. This not only wastes the time of the defendants but also waste time, space, and money for the prisons that holds the defendants until trial.
Furthermore, one of the biggest problems in policing is the abuse of power by the police. After the Ferguson incident, the tension between the police and the people grew even stronger. There are many who claim that the police are abusing their power to enforce the law, rather than being fair and justice. In recent news, there was another incident reporting police abuse of power. On February 6th, a 57-year-old Indian man was pushed to the ground in the street of Alabama for looking “suspicious”. The old man was simply walking on the street of his neighborhood like he usually did, when the policeman pushed him down, leaving him with a neck injury that made him partially paralyzed. The reason for the policeman’s action is not justifiable because he based his action on how the man simply looked. Although many reports are made regarding police abuse of power, not many are being brought out to light. It suggests that this is a big problem that is being continuously underreported.
Additionally, there is a problem regarding funding the police department. According to COPS, Community Oriented Policing Services, there were about 12,000 police officers and sheriff’s deputies expected to be laid off in 2011. Also, the operating budget has declined over five percent from 2009 to 2011. Now that President Obama is expecting to enforce body cameras on the police, there will be even more funding needed. This increase in demand for police yet the lack of funding is surely a problem to consider. However, the controversies regarding policing and the police department at the moment is causing even more difficulty in initiating some sort of a change.
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/Default.asp?Item=2602
I find your argument related to abuse of power by the police force rather intriguing. In recent times, I think it has become a general notion amongst the public eye that the police force simply has too much control. With this being said, I think much of this abuse of power stems from inadequate training and assessment of employees. While the officer is surely at fault for pushing the innocent 57-year old Indian man to the ground and paralyzing him, I think it is imperative to mention the majority of police officers who don’t abuse their power and go about their job the way they should. The problem, as in most cases, is the minority not the majority. Being able to identify these officers through an evaluation process should be required. Due to the actions of the few, the whole police department receives an image that in my opinion is undeserved. Following the Eric Garner verdict, as I mentioned in my post, there was a march in Manhattan where protesters chanted “’How do you spell murderer? NYPD.’” No, the NYPD is not a gang of murders. Daniel Pantaleo is a murderer and I think that this situation could’ve been avoided if Pantaleo had received adequate training and had been better prepared for dealing with an emergency.