We all know the familiar red and blue flashing lights on the side of the highway, but our reactions vary. For some, the police are necessary enforcers of the?law, without whom society would certainly struggle. For others, the enormous responsibility and power we entrust in our police force is not well-placed.
Between these viewpoints is a broad spectrum of conditional opinions — that the police are usually a social benefit, except in certain cases when they “go overboard.”
This concept of “going overboard,” or police misconduct, is subject to our opinions on how far police need to go in order to keep the peace. Take Ferguson, for instance.
Impending whether Darren Wilson will be criminally charged, we will soon see whether his decision was really made with the best of intentions. Regardless, the damage has been done, and in the eyes of many, Ferguson has now become an example of what happens when one group of people or officials is given too much power.
The police, being human, are not without faults, and it is not fair to make a blanket assumption that the mistakes of?a few are true of all police. But wrongdoings must still be addressed and handled with care.
One of such wrongdoings can be lax or negligent behavior.
Consider, for example, a report on the New Orleans Police Department released last week that revealed more than one thousand sex crime reports filed over the past three years were ignored. Although the issue has been localized to the latency of five special unit detectives, it will likely negatively affect the perception of the police force New Orleans citizens. Unfortunately, these cases are nothing new.
No matter the type of misconduct, there is no doubt when even one officer fails in his or her duty, people get hurt. Police misconduct of any kind, whether intentional or unintentional, should not be taken lightly.
Above all, the police exist to maintain justice and ensure safety, but this does not excuse officers from abuse of their heightened position in any form.
Although much of this discussion has focused on the negative aspects of the police force in society, I feel it’s appropriate to mention we shouldn’t necessarily generalize our ideas on the police based on the faulty actions of a few officers.
Looking back at the examples of Ferguson and New Orleans, the question- able acts have been traced to one officer and five detectives, respectively. Nevertheless, it feels like we take such opportunities to assume these unsound officers are the norm, when in reality, they should be considered the deviation.
As children, we are taught the police are a force “for greater good,” and we have the choice now whether we still want to believe that. The key is to remember the police, like anything else, are not without faults, and we should be careful before assuming the nature of the whole by the actions of a few.