he majority Anglo population group combine to create even greater tensions between police departments and community areas of high ethnic and racial concentration (Kelling & Coles, 1996).
The demands placed upon police officers in American society are far more complex and difficult than were those placed on the police in an earlier era. 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 in contemporary American society be appreciated through a consideration of the following factors (Zhao & Thurman, 1997):
1. Police departments 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 are often condemned by many in society.
2. Police departments are expected, by society, to incarcerate offenders, and to preserve order in detention centers. In accomplishing these objectives, police, at times, are required to employ procedures which can, and at times do, result in injury or death to those incarcerated. When injury or death does occur in such circumstances, police officers are often condemned by many in society for the consequences of their actions, in general, and for their use of specific procedures, such as those involving neck restraints and other forms of deadly force.
3. Police departments are expected to respond to a growing number of domestic disputes, where the potential for injury to polices officers is significant. Police responses to domestic incidents, however, often result in charges of police brutality being lodged against individual police officers.
The complex and changing demands placed upon police officers in American society demand that today's and, more especially, tomorrow's police officers receive the mo...