Perceptions of Communities in Policing

Answer

Perceptions of Communities in Policing

            The relationship between the police and the community has engaged the attention of the public from how the police die when on duty. Nonetheless, this relationship varies from place to place depending on the community and their cultures. This paper discusses the perceptions in policing by explaining the perceptions from different cultures, militarization, application of positive theories, and usage of body cameras in policing.

Perceptions of Police from Different Cultures

               People have contradictory attitudes towards the police. Some feel that the police engage in misconduct, while others believe that they behave effectively to address crime concerns. These perceptions rely on the experiences of people and the police in shaping their defiance. However, less well-integrated communities in the government have negative views of the police, while the efficacious communities present favorable views (Lowrey-Kinberg et al., 2020). Other than that, the native citizens feel the police are addressing crimes but the people born abroad feel differently (Tucker, 2019). Therefore, the perceptions of police rely more on the attitudes of individuals rather than their experience with the police.

“Militarization” of Local Police in America

Definition

               According to Koch (2018), militarization refers to the process by which the police use their tenets of militarism and model by adopting the equipment, strategies, conviction, and culture of the military.   

Accuracy

               Police militarization is not an accurate characterization because it does not keep the citizens safe. From the militarization statistics, it can help to reduce crime, but it also increases excessive force by the police (Moule et al., 2019). Militarization allows the police to use their military equipment in the community. Unfortunately, results show that their use of equipment has no deterrent influence on misconduct. This outcome implies that excessive force is only putting the people at risk instead of reducing crime as expected.

Positive Theories

               Positive theories can also apply to police officers. People can sometimes take advantage of the situation when they have committed a crime and refuse to follow the police instructions or sometimes fight them back. In such situations, positive theories can apply to the police because they will have to use excessive force on the criminals and turn them in (Vidisha, 2018).

Body Cameras

Drawbacks of Body Cameras

There are various drawbacks associated with police body cameras. First, they are costly and unreliable for numerous police departments. The reason is that the departments have to budget for the camera, training, extra employees to manage the video data, equipment for charging the camera, and maintenance costs (Norwood, 2021). Second, the recordings done by the police body cameras violate an individual’s privacy, exposes victims, and subjects the public to facial recognition software. 

Recordings may further traumatize victims of crimes like rape or domestic abuse. Lastly, the cameras lessen the safety of the police officers and adversely affect their mental and physical health. Various studies show that assault on police officers increased when body cameras were on the police officers (Norwood, 2021). A certain percentage of the population might violently respond to officers when being filmed. Examples of these populations are those who take alcohol or those suffering from psychological health issues. 

Position of Police Unions 

           The position of the police unions is that police body cameras increase the risk of harm to officers. The union claimed that studies indicate that officers in America and the United Kingdom with body cameras were 15 percent more likely to face assault from the public (Norwood, 2021). 

Conclusion

               In conclusion, perceptions of the community in policing differ across communities based on their cultures. Some will feel the police are right, while others will feel their use of force is misconduct.