When reading recent current event articles on the police force in America, one prevalent trend arises: there is serious controversy on the effectiveness and state of our police force. After recent events like what occurred in Ferguson, Missouri, the public’s attitude towards our police forces have soured. Policing is a necessary part of any society in keeping order and enforcing laws; however, it is clear that there is a need for reform in our police forces.

On November 24^th 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, when the grand jury’s decision to not charge a police officer with the crime of shooting an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, riots broke out throughout the country. News shows broadcasted images of burning police cars, crowds choking on tear gas and the looting of stores. Accusations of racial injustice by our policing and jury system echoed throughout much of the public. African Americans suffer great injustice in America. In Ferguson, a small southern town alone, they account for 86% of the random vehicle stops made by police. (1) Looking at a larger scale, throughout America, minorities are subjected to more scrutiny by police officers. A study in Arizona during 2006-2007 showed that the state highway patrol was significantly more likely to stop African Americans and Hispanics than whites on the highways studied, while Native Americans and persons of Middle Eastern descent were more likely to stopped on nearly all highways studied. The highway patrol was 3.5 times more likely to search a stopped Native American than a white and 2.5 times more likely to search a stopped African American or Hispanic. (2) Though there has been a history of racism and racial profiling by police in America, there is a call for this injustice for an end. Solving the problems of racial profiling and racism in the police force call for a reform of politics and policing, which would contribute greatly to racial harmony in America.

Another major issue that has arisen along side with the prominent practice of racial profiling in America is the militarization of police and overpolicing. Militarization of police is defined as “the process whereby civilian police increasingly drawn from, and pattern themselves around, the tenets of militarism and the military model”. (3) The militarization of police has advanced to the point that phrases such as “War on Crime” and “War on Drugs” are reality. There is an incredible increase in the number of heavily armed SWAT teams, even in small towns, the number of brutal raids that often results in killing of innocent bystanders. Over-policing and militarization has grown so extreme that it even small, slight misdemeanors have turned innocent people into criminals. A seven-year old boy named Wilson Reyes in New York was handcuffed and interrogated under suspicion of stealing five dollars from a classmate. Three teenagers in Rochester, New York were arrested for loitering while waiting for a bus. (4) Extreme measures such as instills a feeling of fear towards the police, instead of safety, which is how we should view our police force.

The final major issue with policing is brutality and abuse of power. Because police officers are expected to protect the public and confront violent individuals, they are legally allowed physical, and even deadly, force. When a police officer uses force when it is not called for, or uses more force than is necessary to perform his or her job, and crosses the line into police brutality. In November 2013 in Tullytown, Pennsylvania, a fourteen year old boy was arrested in Walmart for accused shoplifting. The boy’s mother alleged that the police viciously beat her son, leaving him with a broken nose and swollen eyes. He was also tased in the face. A driver who failed to stop at a Walmart parking lot stop sign was pulled over by police officers. The police officers claimed he was “clenching his butt cheeks”, arrested him, issued a search warrant and forced him to undergo an anal probe. No drugs were found. These are just two examples of police brutality, although they can be even more extreme, such as murder.

When discussing the need for reform in our policing, it is important to keep in mind that although there are evident problems with the force, it is not completely corrupt. Not all police officers racial profile or use brutality. Our problems lie in certain police officers. Although the police force is not perfect, it does enforce the law and protect us to a certain degree.

References

1. The fury of Ferguson. (2014, November 29). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21635012-race-americas-deepest-problem-multiple-small-changes-can-mitigate-it-fury-ferguson
2. The Reality of Racial Profiling. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/the-reality-of-racial.html
3. The Militarization of U.S. Police: Finally Dragged Into the Light by the Horrors of Ferguson – The Intercept. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/14/militarization-u-s-police-dragged-light-horrors-ferguson/
4. Time to be Afraid in America: The Frightening Pattern of Throwing Police Power at Social Problems. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/time-be-afraid-america-frightening-pattern-throwing-police-power-social-problems
5. Police Brutality: What is Police Brutality? | Nolo.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/police-brutality.html

I found that one of first and most important problems related to policing is the prison system. It is used to punish those that have failed to comply with laws, but what about after they serve their time. What then? A lot of prisoners become mentally scarred and unable to return to a normal life. According to an article on harvardmagzine.com, the change from living in prison to living outside jail is vast. One of the more memorable parts of the article was when they mentioned the fact that after leaving prison, a majority of  people’s minds are still in prison. This means they never really feel safe. In prison, the small cells were what kept them safe at night, but outside prison, rooms tend to be much more open and accessible. This leaves them with feeling unsafe. Smaller crimes, that put people in jail for a short period of time, can really affect their whole life. Their likelihood of finding a decent job plummets and if the person was in school before the crime, they would have missed a lot of education. Our system is meant to destroy the lives of those who end up in prison rather than helping them after they have repented for their crimes.

Another one of the big problems is the way in which the police somewhat abuse their power. Recently, the media has been focusing on police brutality and police killings. According to usatoday.com there are at least 400 recorded police killings every year. This number is apparently not so accurate because a database for this information is not being kept well. A lot of police killing end up falling through gaps. This means a lot of the police officers are not as liable for their actions as they should be. On top of this, it appears there is not that much that keeps the police officers from abusing their powers. They could cross red lights and speed as they wish, but we may never know if they were actually doing these things for their convenience.

The last big topic about policing that stood out to me was the long time that can be spent in prison while waiting for a court case. The article we read in class showed how long a case can take for no reason. Mr. Browder had to stay in prison for years for allegedly robbing and assaulting a man. This is ridiculous considering the fact that they had to dismiss the case. The monetary cost along with the emotional cost can become extremely high due to the fact that these cases last for months to years. This one specific case wasn’t even an extraordinary high time for a court case. According to The New York World, on average it takes 783 days for a case to go to trial. That is more that 2 years. The defendant, if they cannot afford bail, is practically carrying out their punishment while waiting for the case. Our system is very flawed and we need to fix this.

Sources:

http://harvardmagazine.com/2013/03/the-prison-problem

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/14/police-killings-data/14060357/

http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/2012/02/27/the-daily-q-how-long-criminal-cas/

Policing is a vital, but complicated aspect of New York City’s structure. While we need an institutionalized force to enforce the laws, protect citizens and uphold the morals and norms of society, problems do occur when certain situations test the functionality of the system. Three critical problems surrounding policing in NYC are surveillance, racial profiling caused by the “stop and frisk” tactic, and the inhumane treatment of prisoners by guards.

After many recent, troubling instances of police brutality, the U.S government has proposed a surveillance system to review the behaviors of patrolling policemen. By doing this, the government hopes to limit the number of shootings or killings, like those of Eric Garner or Trayvon Martin, at the hands of police officers. Thus, the Obama administration sought “$75 million in funding for police body cameras and training”(Freidman 1) proposing that 50,000 body cameras should be given to police precincts across the country (1). This idea raises privacy issues, and concerns that the cameras will be costly and ineffective. According to The Atlantic, the cameras cost up to $1,000 each and with added fees can cost the city billions of dollars (Freidman 2). In addition to the financial impracticalities, researchers believe that not enough studies have been conducted to prove that the cameras reduce police brutality. Furthermore, while the cameras may survey the police, they also will survey every nearby citizen, “recording people’s movements across the city” (2). This creates an even greater lack of privacy in public spaces.

Another significant issue is the stop and frisk policy. Inspired by an earlier policy by Mayor Giuliani called the “broken windows” strategy (‘The Issue”), Mayor Bloomberg implemented stop and frisk, allowing police officers to stop any person on the street without cause, and search them for incriminating possessions. This controversial policy promotes racial profiling and has been deemed inefficient in obtaining illegal items such as guns. According to the New York Times, approximately eighty-seven percent of citizens stopped and searched for firearms are either Latino or black (Rolnick Borchetta 1). By engaging in selective policing, officers are discriminating against many minorities and creating tense, mistrusting relations between the people and the police. Furthermore, according to researchers, police are collecting only “780 guns, a rate of 1.1 guns per 1,000 stops” (Rolnick-Borchetta 1), proving the strategy to be both unjust and unsuccessful.

Lastly, convicts are faced with inhumane treatment by officers in their prisons. Calling the problem a “deep-seated culture of violence” (Weiser 1) The New York Times reports that prisoners come into conflict with officers who exert excessive force in unwarranted situations. According to the Correction Department, there are 3,381 violent instances of force used against prisoners per ten-month period (2). Officers will assault prisoners and even force them into unfairly long periods of time in solitary confinement, for minor infractions. This inhumane treatment is a violation of human rights, and thus proves that the NYPD is in need of socially innovation to improve the system for both officers and the citizens.

Word Count: 500

Works Consulted/ Works Cited

“The Issue.” Communities United for Police Reform. N.p., 2012. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

Friedman, Uri. “Do Police Body Cameras Actually Work?” The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 03 Dec. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

ROLNICK- BORCHETTA, JENN. “The Problems With Stop-and-Frisk.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 June 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2015.

Weiser, Benjamin, Michael Schwirtz, and Michael Winerip. “U.S. Plans to Sue New York Over Rikers Island Conditions.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Dec. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

Like almost any process that involves a large amount of people, a large amount of variability, and limited funds, the justice system could use some serious reforms. Inefficiency and poor practices can lead to individuals spending lengthy amounts of time in prison or jail for minor crimes with little to no actual rehabilitation (Gonnerman). There are also problems with authority figures and abuse of power (Goode). Three interesting issues that exist relating to this problem are the validity of drug-use-related crime, the blurred line between revenge and justice, and lack of reform opportunities.

The validity of drug-use-related crime means whether drug use should be a crime in the first place. Nearly 50% of incarcerations in 2011 were for drug crimes (Sledge). It is possible that addiction and conviction rates might actually go down if all drugs were legalized. The potential benefits are the loss of the “coolness” associated with illegal drug use, the shift to distributers being stores and companies that compete for sales via advertising instead of drug dealers that compete for sales through violence, and regulations that would hopefully allow the drugs to be less shady and more safe. The risks of course are that legal access to extremely addictive drugs could lead to drug companies manipulating people through those addictions, people committing crimes to support their habits, and even more dangerous accidents related to being under the influence of a drug while driving or working.

The blurred line between revenge and justice means exactly that. People have a tendency to see revenge and justice as the same thing (Bloom). Emotions can get involved in many cases and cause police and court systems to want to make people suffer for a crime more than they want them to learn from their mistakes and move on. This can lead to police brutality, unnecessarily long sentences, unfair treatment of the accused, and other forms of corruption.

Lack of reform opportunities means lack of opportunities for an individual convicted of a crime to get assistance getting back on their feet (Petersilla). This includes psychological assistance, assistance kicking drug habits, a decent education that will make that individual eligible for job opportunities, and the motivation to know that he or she can achieve their goals and not need to turn to crime when facing difficulty.

The controversy in all of this appears to be on whether or not people should care about others and give second chances. Some believe it is not their job to help others and that if one is convicted of a crime, it is that person’s fault and that person’s problem. However, this can lead to those incarcerated committing even more serious crimes against others, and to people being incarcerated for crimes they did not commit. Others believe it is our duty to help those who have lost their way get back on their feet, not just for their benefit, but for the benefit of communities as a whole. However this requires forgiveness, time, effort, and a large amount of funds, all of which is not always easy to attain.

Works Cited:

“Beyond the Prison Bubble.” National Institute of Justice. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nij.gov/journals/268/pages/prison-bubble.aspx>.

Gonnerman, Jennifer. “Before the Law.” N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/10/06/law-3>.

Goode, Erica. “Judge in Maryland Locks Up Youths and Rules Their Lives.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Dec. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/20/us/judge-in-maryland-locks-up-youths-and-rules-their-lives.html?_r=0>.

“Reflections on the Desire for Revenge.” Reflections on the Desire for Revenge. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nonviolenceandsocialjustice.org/Research-Literature/Sanctuary-Model-literature-and-works-by-Sandra-Bloom/Reflections-on-the-Desire-for-Revenge/75/>.

Sledge, Matt. “The Drug War And Mass Incarceration By The Numbers.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/drug-war-mass-incarceration_n_3034310.html>.

While there is no disputing that policing is one of the most important aspects of maintaining a civilized and humane society, there is room to improve upon our policing practice by identifying and attempting to resolve some key issues existing in our policing society today.

One of the major problems in policing today is police training. It is an over-arching problem that is one of the main contributing factors to many of the most controversial, unjust policing scenarios. In these types of cases, for example the recent Eric Garner case, officers overreact, overstep their bounds and seem to abandon all previous training they received throughout their career leading up to their appointment as an officer of the law. I believe officers should enroll in behavioral classes that would help them adopt a more thoughtful, problem-solving mindset rather than one that is highly spontaneous and reactive to the situation at hand. These types of classes would educate newer police officers as to how to react to certain situations from an ethical and humane point of view. I also think much of the largest, most controversial cases involving police aggression and shootings can be attributed to nervousness or over-eagerness on the part of inexperienced police officers.

Another problem with the way police conduct themselves has to do with the fact that many officers out-right racially profile civilians in their Stop-and-Frisk program and also in their routine motor stops in an attempt to apparently “decrease” crime. Over the past 3 years 1.5 million New Yorkers have been stopped and frisked by NYPD officers and on average 86% of those stopped were found to be completely innocent. Even more staggering is the fact that about 80% of the 1.5 million stopped were either black or Hispanic. So between 2011 and 2014 1.2 million innocent black and Hispanic New Yorkers were racially profiled and searched in NYC alone. This statistic and phenomenon leads to increased distrust and contempt toward police officers by the general public. While most officers are in the business of rightfully servicing the community they are paid to protect, others have ulterior motives they seek to impose on the civilians.

A third problem I can identify in the way we as a society are policed is in the form of re-incarceration rates among teenage repeat offenders. A recent study in Illinois determined that 86% of youth offenders were arrested again within 3 years of original release and 41% were arrested for a new offense independent of their original offense. These statistics show that teenage offenders are not getting the help and guidance they need to successfully leave their mistakes in the past, refresh their lives and become active, contributing members to society. While there are many Alternative in Incarceration (ATI) programs, they seem to be virtually ineffective given the high re-incarceration rate among teens in America. The current programs clearly need to be reformed into ones that allow the troubled youth to be set straight and nurtured into fully-functional members of society prepared to rejoin life as it was prior to their incarceration.

While these problems do exist in our policing system nowadays, unless major institutional changes occur in our government we can get used to seeing these same outcomes as a result.

http://www.calea.org/calea-update-magazine/issue-101/police-training-officer-pto-program

http://www.nyclu.org/content/stop-and-frisk-data

http://reclaimingfutures.org/il-juvenile-arrests

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/january_february_2014/ten_miles_square/driving_while_black048283.php?page=all

Policing involves the police’s enforcement of the law onto the people; it sounds great on practice, but there are many problems with it. One of which I am going to discuss is police discrimination. According to a research proposal by Cynthia Najdowski, a social psychologist, at University of Illinois at Chicago, African Americans reported that police officers exercised force and often questioned them more than white suspects. This is supported by the frequent questioning and stalking by the police on black youths shortly departing convenience stores. The stereotype that black youths are more crime-prone usually implicated unfair treatment by the police force. A clear example of the presented problem is when Charles Belk, a television producer with 51 years of clean background, was arrested simply because he was near the crime scene. The police accused Belk of being an accessory to an armed bank robbery with the bail placed to $100,000. If I took his place, I would have no way gathering that much money in an instance and would have to stay in the precinct over night. According to Belk’s statements, he was also denied many rights such as: a phone call, explanation of charges, and many others.

Another problem that is relevant today is the brutality of the police force. A popular, recent example of this problem is the case of Michael Brown. Brown, unarmed, was walking down a street with his friend and was ultimately shot for no reason. Witnesses claimed that the officer confronted them with vulgar language followed with gunshots. They also testified that Brown held his hands up defining a surrender signal, but he proceeded to take several more gunshots to his back. In addition to this case, the case of Eric Garner is another evidence of police brutality. This case was made popular on the social media with the video evidence of the actually brutality. Police brutality along with discrimination is often exercised together and it was evident in these two cases.

With the case of Michael Brown still in mind again, studies after the incident has shown that shooting behaviors are discriminating against African Americans (problem 1). This research concluded that blacks are four times more likely to die after an encounter with law enforcing officers than whites. This study defines the unconscious stereotyping can offer social and racial inequality that causes police brutality.

The next problem is about the way the policing administration handles civilian complaints. Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) was created in 1992 as an agency to investigate complaints of police misconduct. The number of complaints filed with CCRB increased from 2000 to 2006, and the numbers remained in the 7000s in the following years. Most of the complaints were indicating police officers to be using excessive force (problem 2) and there was a significant rise between the 6 years as well. The CCRB either closed the complaint cases with no regards or the police department would reject the CCRB’s evidences. This is a significant problem, because CCRB is supposed to help us dissipate police brutality and help the complainers. With more than half the cases gone, the CCRB is shown to be useless and cannot affect the policing positively which allows those police officers continue to behave wrongly.

Sources:

http://www.russellsage.org/awarded-project/effects-citizens-response-to-stereotype-threat-police-officers-perceptions-and-decis

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/26/charles-belk-beverly-hills-police_n_5716897.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/leland-ware/michael-brown-stereotypes_b_5685712.html

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Eric-Garner-Death-Chokehold-Investigation-272043511.html

http://www.nyclu.org/issues/racial-justice/civilian-complaint-procedures

The purpose of our police force is simple, to protect our citizens by enforcing the laws passed by our legislative system. Although police are here to help not harm, giving any person power over another can result in disputes. Our law enforcement system works, but is not perfect and many problems must be addressed.

America has about 4% of the world’s population, yet we contain 25% of the world’s incarcerated population. We have the highest rate of incarceration in the world, and this is over countries like North Korea. This is where our first problem lies. There seems to be an obsession with deterrents such as jail time in our country. Petty crimes such as marijuana possession can still be accompanied with jail time. Instead of focusing more of our money and effort into corrections such as rehabilitation, we are throwing our citizens into jail to rot. The prison industry is a $75 billion a year industry with some prisons paying up to $100,000 per year, per prisoner. Most of this money comes from us, the taxpayers. With all of this you would think in the end criminals would change their ways. After completing their sentences, former criminals have an extremely hard time finding a job. Being banned from welfare, student loans, public housing and food stamps makes it almost impossible for some convicts to get their lives back together. This leads to high numbers of both homelessness and suicide among convicts. Jail time is supposed to discourage continued crime, yet it does more than that, ruining lives of many, some of which deserve second chances.

The way we handle our already convicted criminals isn’t the only problem with our law enforcement system. The over-militarization of our country’s police force has become an issue requiring immediate attention. Most of the equipment given to our police in the country is not military-grade, in fact 4% of the entire Pentagon’s output to police departments is military-grade. This may sound like a small number but it is not. That 4% come out to 92,442 small arms, 5,235 Humvees, 617 mine resistant vehicles and 616 aircraft, all of which are military-grade. This is a huge problem. The same weapons and vehicles that are being used to fight our wars are now in the hands of our local police departments, being used against our citizens on our home turf. This can lead to all sorts of further problems; we have seen what a military style police force causes in places like Ferguson.

Even detecting potential criminals and crimes has become a problem in our society. Racial profiling in the police system is widely used to pick out potential criminals. With the NYPD’s Stop-and-Frisk program, 85% of people stopped are either Black or Hispanic, yet 9 of 10 stops result in police finding nothing. In Illinois it was found that Black and Hispanic drivers were twice as likely to be searched after a routine traffic stop compared to those who are white. Racial profiling causes a huge distrust in law enforcement for those who are being wrongly accused and profiled. Distrust in law enforcement only causes further problems, limiting the effectiveness of our police system.

Our law enforcement system is not perfect, yes it works, but it is not nearly as effective and helpful as it could be.

References:

http://www.prisonpolicy.org/

http://www.cnn.com/2014/12/01/politics/obama-police-militarization/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/15/racial-profiling-has-destroyed-public-trust-in-police-cops-are-exploiting-our-weak-laws-against-it/

One problem related to policing is the backlog in the Bronx’s court system. As of January 2013, the Bronx had 952 pending cases that were more than two years old (McKinley). As of July 2013, the borough had more pending cases that were older than two years than the other four boroughs combined (Rivera). One possible cause for this discrepancy is that the Bronx is the most economically impaired of the city’s five boroughs, and therefore lacks the political pull to demand reform (Glaberson). Another possible cause is that the number of arrests that occur in the Bronx exceeds the court system’s processing capacity (McKinley). A third possibility is that prosecutors may intentionally delay trials in an attempt to coerce a guilty plea bargain from the defense (Glaberson). To address this problem, judges from other districts were temporarily transferred to expedite the process (Rivera). This strategy has proved effective; by December 2013, the number of pending cases that were older than two years had dropped to 397 (McKinley). However, because the issues that likely caused the backlog in the first place persist, the possibility remains that the backlog will accumulate once more after it has been cleared.

Another problem related to policing is distrust between the New York Police Department and civilians, particularly African Americans. Between 2003 and 2013, the number of black new recruits in the NYPD dropped from 18 to 10 percent (Goodman). The Police Department’s use of stop-and-frisk, which has primarily affected black youth, could have contributed to this decline by alienating potential recruits. As the number of black recruits decreased over the last decade, the number of recorded street stops by police, which occurred mainly in minority neighborhoods, has increased, further alienating the black community and creating a self-perpetuating cycle of increasing street stops and distrust and declining recruitment (Goodman). Although the Department has tried to increase black recruitment by highlighting the perks of the job, it has not approached the issue from the angle of alleviating distrust between the two communities (Goodman).

A third policing problem is the use of metal detectors in New York City middle and high schools. The City employs metal detectors as a means of ensuring the safety of schoolchildren. However, a research article that reviewed seven other studies on the effectiveness of metal detectors in schools found that there was insufficient data to determine whether or not metal detectors in schools actually decrease violence and increase safety (Hankin). The researchers also found that the use of metal detectors may actually make students feel less safe at school (Hankin). Metal detectors are disproportionately present in schools where the majority of students are poor, black, and Hispanic (“A Look at School Safety”). Critics argue that metal-detector use, combined with the Department of Education’s zero-tolerance policy, feeds young people into the juvenile and criminal justice system, contributing to the discrepancy between the incarceration rates of poor, black, and Hispanic New Yorkers and those of other demographic groups (“A Look at School Safety”). Furthermore, opponents of the policy reason that the money used to fund the 5,055 school safety agents and 191 armed police officers in public schools (as of the 2008-2009 school year) can be used to improve educational facilities in these schools, which generally tend to underperform academically (“A Look at School Safety”).

Works Cited

Glaberson, William. “Faltering Courts, Mired in Delays.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

Goodman, J. David. “More Diversity in New York City’s Police Dept., but Blacks Lag.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 26 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

Hankin, Abigail, Marci Hertz, and Thomas Simon. “Impacts of Metal Detector Use in Schools: Insights From 15 Years of Research*.” Journal of School Health 81.2 (2011): 100-06. Web.

“A Look At School Safety | New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) – American Civil Liberties Union of New York State.” A Look At School Safety | New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) – American Civil Liberties Union of New York State. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nyclu.org/schooltoprison/lookatsafety>.

McKinley, James C. “Bronx Courts Make Gains in Reducing Case Backlog.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

Rivera, Ray. “Bronx Courts Trim Big Backlog, With Outside Judge at the Helm.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 July 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.

The purpose of a police force is to protect the community and maintain the societal order by enforcing written laws. Problems occur with policing from time to time and can impact society negatively. Such problems include police brutality, conflicts with the mayor, and the inability for prison sentences to provide proper character reform and reintroduction into society.

Police brutality has been an issue as of lately. There have been many reports that officers have been using unnecessarily excessive force to handle minor cases. The Eric Garner incident is a prime example of a controversial case regarding excessive force. Garner, who was selling illegal cigarettes, was confronted by a police officer who apprehended him using an illegal choking hold. Video evidence was captured by bystanders and witnesses who mentioned that Garner repeatedly told officers that he could not breathe. While this was not the only incident of misuse of power by the police, many communities called for protest against police actions and demanded reformation to prevent unnecessary death and harm to alleged criminals. Protesting police causes a divide between the people and the law, which makes it much harder for law enforcement to do their job. The primary job of police is to make citizens feel safer in their environment and the perception of police overstepping their bounds causes distrust and fear with the police.

With the aftermath of the Eric Garner case, the divide between people and police were tragically seen through an extremist attack on two officers. During the funerals for the officers, police officers turned their backs on the mayor, Bill deBlasio and revealed the distrust between the police and the legislation. Conflict rose due to numerous complaints, such as the mayor himself warning his son about distrusting police and comments that downplayed protest assault on police officers. This is a serious issue since the mayor is responsible for many decisions in the well being of a city and conflicts with any branch will hinder progress and change. Having an unpopular mayor also divides the people and a society will be much harder to maintain with increasing opposition.

There is also a problem with reintroducing prisoners back into society. A criminal record prevents ex-convicts from obtaining jobs because employers remain cautious of their tendencies. 60% of ex-convicts are unemployed after a year of release from prison and 89% of convicts violating parole do not find work. There exists programs that find work for recently released prisoners to integrate them back into society but most of these jobs are unskilled and pay minimum wage, not nearly enough for former prisoners to reform their lives. Many prisoners also accumulate debt during their sentence and that creates a burden that prevents them from living a normal life. As a result of this, most ex-criminals return to their criminal ways to make more money. This creates a vicious cycle, which lands them back in prison with no way out. Prisons are expensive to maintain and lacking in space. If prisoners are not cycled out of the bars, it is difficult to continue to fund these facilities and give people a second chance at life. Those who are imprisoned early will miss out on important steps such as education, which push them further back.

References

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/nyregion/grand-jury-said-to-bring-no-charges-in-staten-island-chokehold-death-of-eric-garner.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-new-york-tensions-between-police-and-mayor-bill-de-blasio-boil-over-after-killings/2014/12/21/7bc5a746-892a-11e4-8ff4-fb93129c9c8b_story.html

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/11/news/economy/convict_employment/