Increase in Police Killings

Basics of the Problem and Program

The issue identified as being one of the most significant in the United States is the substantial increase in police killings where the number of police officers killed in the line of duty has been increasing significantly. Brucato (2017) argues that although police officers have the sole mandate of enforcing the law, they face significant risk resulting in instances where some of these officers tend to lose their lives while engaging in their respective duties. The issue has created considerable concern among the people in the United States most of who reflect on the issue from the perspective of trying to understand some of the key factors contributing to the high number of officers losing their lives. Alang, S., McAlpine, D., McCreedy, E., & Hardeman (2017) argue that although it has become essential to set out practical strategic approaches to help improve on the same of police officers, most of the officers find themselves exposed to severe risks.

In dealing with the issue of safety among police officers, one of the critical programs that have been set out is the Officer Safety and Wellness Program, which seeks to ensure that police officer are accorded the necessary support structures to improve on safety standards. Garrett, B., & Stoughton (2017) argues that the number of police officers is dying or getting injured while in the line of duty is increasing at a rapid rate with most of these officers facing violence when accosting suspects. From that perspective, the establishment of the Officer Safety and Wellness Program is essential, as it not only seeks to ensure that police officer achieve their respective duties but also reflects on the need for the departments to offer necessary support. Garrett, B., & Stoughton (2017) indicate that one of the conventional support structures for officers is back up in the event of need, which reduces the possibility of death or injury when dealing with suspects.

The existence of the Policy

The presence of the Officer Safety and Wellness Program reflects on two key aspects focusing on the safety and wellness of police officers as part of ensuring that they would be in the position to deliver on their set expectations. Firstly, the program was created with the intention of providing that that the leadership of law enforcement departments understands the value of human resources, police officers. The administration is expected to set up policy frameworks that seek to ensure that the level of response when dealing with an emergency call is high to help prevent exposure of police officers to violence. According to Giroux (2014), leadership is an essential aspect of the police departments as allows the police to receive appropriate protection based on the fact that majority of the time they are exposed to insecurities. Secondly, the program aims at the provision of insurance services to the police to ensure that they receive quality healthcare services in upon facing issues that influence their health conditions.

My Experience and Knowledge

My experience and knowledge focusing on the Officer Safety and Wellness Program relate to the readings, discussions, and lectures, as it seeks to highlight the importance of creating a platform for protecting the police officers against killings and physical harm. In most of the readings and discussions, one of the key aspects that I was able to note is that protection of the police officers is one of the critical elements that would be of value as part of the legal framework of the society. From that perspective, I noted that the program seeks to ensure that police officer understood the need for providing that they set up effective strategic approaches to help boost or promote their safety to avoid instances of facing death. Based on my understanding of these readings, discussions, and lectures, it was evident that this program would achieve the highest levels of success in dealing with the issue in question.

Data and Evidence

A review of the evidence touching on the issue of police killings indicates that the number of police officers killed in their line of duty has been on the increase at a significant rate, which has raised serious concern regarding their safety. Hirschfield (2015) presents statistics on the rise in police killings, which indicate that the annual figure regarding police killings is going higher primarily focusing on those that die in their line of duty. The issue has been rampant because police officers do not receive adequate protection and backup services when undertaking their responsibilities to protect the citizens. Since 2010, the number of police killed by civilians has increased by approximately 32.6%, which is a clear indication that this is a critical issue that the society ought to consider and reflect upon (as can be seen in the graph). Dealing with the problem requires a clear understanding of the fact that individuals involved in such killings much be held to account for their actions to avoid such cases in future (Rosenfeld, 2016).

Police Killings Graph

On the other hand, evidence also suggests that the leadership within law enforcement departments in the United States have failed regarding ensuring that they set out effective avenues from which to improve on the conventional security structures in the country. That can be seen from the fact that most of the individuals involved in such police killings are not punished based on their actions. As a result, this has resulted in instances where police officers tend to quit their jobs in fear of being killed in their line of duty. From a long-term perspective, it is clear that more efforts or approaches must be put in plan with the sole focus being on trying to enhance overall capacity in dealing with the issue.

Critique of the Evidence

An in-depth review of the evident portrays several essential elements that may help in critiquing the evidence presented explicitly focusing on the fact that most of these killings affect innocent police officers whose intention is to offer protection. The first essential element to consider when critiquing the evidence presented is the fact that the evidence seems to support the position that law enforcement officers are wrong in their killing of suspects. Although some of the evidence offers some form of contradiction regarding overall expectations, it is clear that most of the evidence reflects on the issue from the perspective of the suspects. In some cases, criminal offenders engage in actions that result in the death of the death of the police officers, which is a significant threat to the police (Giroux, 2014).

However, when presenting evidence within mainstream media, one of the key aspects to note is that the evidence tends to focus much attention on the killings rather than focusing on the circumstances resulting in such killings. The second critique of such evidence revolves around the fact that the evidence does provide information on the number of police officers killed in the line of duty by armed suspects. When evaluating such issues, the central aspect of assessing is whether the evidence presented supports every aspect of the circumstances resulting in such matters. In this case, it is essential to reflect on evidence that would help evaluate the effect of police killings with the sole intention being to understand why the police officers take drastic measures when dealing with their suspects. Using such critique, the critical aspect to note is that the evidence presented may highlight some form of bias on the part of the police officers.

Ethical Considerations

The primary moral consideration that is at stake within this particular issue is on human rights taking into account the fact that every human being has the right to life. Ironically, police officers have the sole mandate of upholding and protecting citizens' rights and freedoms, as enshrined in the constitution (Rosenfeld, 2016). However, in this case, police officers face increased instances of killings, thus, raising serious questions on the role of the police in protecting and upholding the law, as indicated within the constitution.

The second ethical consideration from the issue reflects on the fact that police officers engaged in such cases of killings tend to portray abuse of power and authority given by the law. Police officers can enforce the law, as well as, arrest suspects that do not conform to the expectations in the code (Stanley, R., & Brinks, 2015). Primarily, this has been the critical expectation for police officers taking into account that most of the officers are expected to set up productive avenues from which to build or define their capacities within the law. However, in this issue, it can be seen that most of these officers take forceful action against suspects, which seeks to suggest that the officers tend to abuse power accorded to them.

Lastly, the accountability also acts as a critical ethical consideration reflecting on the fact that most of the officers engaged in such actions are not accountable for their actions. In most cases, officers involved in cases of killings tend to receive minor forms of punishment including suspension from duty among others. From an ethical perspective, such sentences are not, in any way, justified for their actions taking into account the number of police killed by the civilians (Krieger, N., Chen, J. T., Waterman, P. D., Kiang, M. V., & Feldman, 2015). The long-term effect associated with lack of accountability on the part of the officers is that the number of officers that are expected to engage in such actions will increase significantly moving into the future. Thus, this seeks to highlight the need for having to set out practical strategic approaches to deal with these officers.

What I Learnt About Leadership

Over the course of the program, I learn several vital aspects are touching on the need to promote leadership with the sole focus being on ensuring that one becomes an active leader. The main character that I learned is that one must always be willing to reflect on his or her strengths as a leader with the aim of ensuring that others embrace positive values. In any given circumstance leaders must be ready and willing to influence how others perform depending on one's ability to build upon his or her strengths. The expected outcome of the building of such powers is a leader would be in a better position from which to determine what he or she expects from his or her followers.

On the other hand, I learned the need for leaders to maintain highest standards in promoting accountability among their followers with the sole focus being on ensuring that individual followers take appropriate action when dealing with given issues or scenarios. In my understanding, lack of accountability on the part of different followers creates some form of challenge for leaders regarding their capacities and abilities to meet some of their set out goals. In the application of the knowledge to the policy, one of the critical aspect to note is that the system must reflect on the overall position in which leaders seek to build on intended outcomes as part of promoting accountability for the police officers. That means that the leaders involved must work towards ensuring that the police officers understand the need and value of having to wear body cameras while on duty with the aim of providing that the leaders work towards ensuring that the officers remain accountable.

Most Important Lesson Learnt

The most important lesson learned is that leadership is one of the critical elements of consideration in building or reflecting on overall expectations especially in trying to define prospective outcomes. In the case of police killings, it is evident that the introduction of the policy on body cameras would help achieve some form of success in reducing the number of executions. However, it is equally important to take note of the fact that most of these killings occur due to lack of adequate leadership that would be willing to help create a vision on how the officers ought to act and operate. From that view, I believe that the essential lesson learned reflects on the value of leadership in any given situation.

References

Alang, S., McAlpine, D., McCreedy, E., & Hardeman, R. (2017). Police brutality and black health: setting the agenda for public health scholars.  American journal of public health ,  107 (5), 662-665.

Brucato, B. (2017). Big data and the New Transparency: Measuring and representing police killings.  Big Data & Society ,  4 (1), 1-15.

Garrett, B., & Stoughton, S. (2017). A Tactical Fourth Amendment.  Va. L. Rev. ,  103 (2), 211-307.

Giroux, H. (2014). Militarism's Killing Fields: From Gaza to Ferguson.  Open Review of Educational Research ,  1 (1), 8-19.

Hirschfield, P. J. (2015, December). Lethal policing: Making sense of American exceptionalism. In  Sociological Forum,   30 (4), 1109-1117.

Krieger, N., Chen, J. T., Waterman, P. D., Kiang, M. V., & Feldman, J. (2015). Police killings and police deaths are public health data and can be counted.  PLoS medicine ,  12 (12).

Rosenfeld, R. (2016, March). Police killings and sociological research. In  Sociological Forum  31(1), 223-224.

Stanley, R., & Brinks, D. M. (2015). The legal response to police killings in Latin America: Inequality and the rule of law. Journal of Latin American Studies ,  40 (3), 603-610.