NCJ Number
177315
Editor(s)
T L Roleff
Date Published
1999
Length
170 pages
Annotation
This book presents papers that argue both sides of the following issues: whether police brutality is a serious problem, the factors that contribute to police brutality, how police brutality affects society, and how police brutality can be reduced.
Abstract
Six papers argue that police brutality is a serious problem. One paper notes that a decade-long survey of cases of police mistreatment of citizens and the use of excessive force shows that police brutality is a serious problem in New York City. Another paper claims that a pattern of paramilitary assaults on innocent civilians by Federal law enforcement officers is well documented, and another paper argues that minorities across the Nation are the targets of police brutality and harassment. Other papers document complaints of brutality by officers in the Immigration and Naturalization Services, brutality against prisoners in Mississippi, and the media's failure to focus on patterns of police misconduct. Six other papers argue that police brutality is not a serious problem. These papers claim that the extent of police brutality is exaggerated, that police use of extreme force is sometimes justified, that efforts to reduce police brutality should not interfere with effective crime control, that media reports of police brutality are incomplete, and that the media overemphasize police brutality. Five papers focus on factors that contribute to police brutality, including racism, police overreaction to challenges to their authority, assertive policing, police attitudes, and the influence of police culture. Five papers consider how police brutality affects society. Topics addressed include police brutality as a revelation of the injustice of capitalism, police brutality as a revelation of society's racism, a loss of trust in and respect for the police, and citizen fears for their safety when coming into contact with the police. Nine papers suggest how police brutality can be reduced. Some suggestions pertain to community oversight of the police, civilian review boards, police involvement in the community, police accountability, and community insistence that the police treat citizens professionally and with respect. A 53-item bibliography and a subject index