POLICE DISCRETION IN THE USE OF FORCE

This research examines the following question: Can the exercise of police discretion in the use of force be reformed or controlled? The thesis of this examination is that the use of force by police in the discharge of their duties can both be reformed and controlled without compromising the capacity of the police to maintain public safety and enforce the law.

Violence in the United States has reached epidemic proportions (Mason, 1993, pp. 1-3). Violence is most typically an outgrowth of conflict when peaceful dispute mechanisms fail. The use of force by police frequently occurs in situations that are characterized by violence prior to the arrival of police.

Crime, particularly violent crime, has been a major concern of the American population for decades. The demands placed upon police officers in the 1990s are far more complex and difficult than were those placed on the police a decade earlier. Further, the potential for additional and significant changes in these demands over the coming ten years appears to be strong. The complex demands placed on police officers may be appreciated through a consideration of the following factors:

1. Police are expected by society to preserve order and to enforce the law. In accomplishing these objectives, police, at times, injure or, less often, kill offenders. When injury to or death of offenders occur, police officers often are condemned by many in society (Buchanan, 1993, p. 20).

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evels of physical force, intimidation, or coercion, the application of which by a police officer constitutes police brutality per se in any situation (Roberts, 1992, pp. 16-22). The application of physical force, intimidation, and coercion by police officers is widely recognized as both appropriate and necessary in some situations. Such actions on the part of police officers are classified as brutality only when the level of physical force, intimidation, or coercion is deemed inappropriate for a given situation. Unfortunately different people--more often than not, the police on one side, and some civilian or group of civilians on the other side--evaluate situations differently, and, therefore, make different assessments of the appropriateness of the use of physical force, intimidation, or coercion by police officers in given situations. The not unexpected outcome of such conflicting perceptions is the current dilemma surrounding the question of the existence and extent of police brutality in American law enforcement. Although a relatively strong and persistent public perception exists to the effect that police department administrations, public prosecutors, and judges and juries tend to turn a blind eye to civilian complaints
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Approximate Word count = 1869
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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