Historically, there has been a lot of distrust directed towards the police. Such distrust comes down to the provision of basic security to the people. Such a relationship is based on police legitimacy in how citizens view police do their work is of influence ( Cobbina, 2019) . However, communities have come to rely less on the police as they trust them less citing the inability of the police to have accountability. As rates of crime increase, the inability of the police to provide a safe environment has been questioned. The problem has been made worse after it was discovered that most police officers are the perpetrators of the crimes that have happened and have been happening in society ( Cobbina, 2019) . As such, citizens feel less obliged to obey police officers who are deemed to protect them while they are accountable for numerous crimes that are happening. Many police departments have been working towards restoring public trust. However, there has been inequality in the relationship between the police and the citizens that varies in different cultures ( Paoline, et al., 2018) . For instance, minority groups feel that they are more vulnerable when it comes to police protection in that there has been police abuse brutality directed towards them. As such, it has been hard for police officers to be effective in their work in communities that have lost faith in them. Feelings of safety and trust have also been tested by the police who feel that they are in a position of power and that they should be respected by ordinary citizens who in turn feel powerless and vulnerable ( Paoline, et al., 2018) . Whether or not the actions of the police uphold the law, citizens feel inferior and become more defiant. In that case, the building of trust between the police and the public has been disastrous hence the rift between the police and the public. Taking to the streets and demonstrating has been hailed as one of the best ways Americans are using to get the kind of policing they want as they fear that personal-level engagement is not enough to make an impact.
References
Cobbina, J. E. (2019). Hands up, don’t shoot: Why the protests in Ferguson and Baltimore
matter, and how they changed America . NYU Press.
Paoline III, E. A., Gau, J. M., & Terrill, W. (2018). Race and the police use of force encounter in
the United States. The British Journal of Criminology , 58 (1), 54-74.
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