An Open and Transparent Police
The relationship between the police and the community is recently strained as there is a lack of transparency and openness in the activities of the police. To improve development in such relations, the police must reconsider their strategy. Recent incidents such as Rodney King, Eric Garner, Robert Dziekanski, Michael Brown and Cody Bosquet have made the public very angry as they could not understand the reason behind such actions. Reinforcing openness and transparency in the police department calls for initiatives aimed at creating communication between the police and the public. Educating people on the police procedures and use of force policy is a strategy that most departments could adopt to help the community to understand them better.
Police procedures determine what the police are allowed to do versus what they are not permitted to do. These procedures govern how the police carry out their tasks without violating the rights of the public. With increased awareness over the internet, most people are already away from procedures such as probable cause, reasonable suspicion, warrants, and Miranda rights. Educating the public on the detailed steps during the procedures, however, is yet to be done. Most people tend to think they understand some police procedures when in a real sense, they only know the surface details hence the need for lawyers. Making this information easily accessible to the public has the power to increase trust within the community and improve accountability on both parts (Chanin & Espinosa, 2016). If a culture of openness and transparency is to be formed, then, it has to begin with the police laying out their procedures to the public.
Use of force policy determines the amount of force that the police are allowed to use in a given situation. Changes in technology, however, have redefined how the public views this policy as there have been viral videos of police brutality doing rounds on the internet (Jackson, 2015). Such videos are taken by bystanders or CCTV cameras making it evident that visibility has increased in society. Use of force by law enforcement, however, is necessary in some cases but the other side of the story is never told hence portraying the police as insensitive. This has created a rift between the police and the community as they are perceived to be against the people. Brucato (2015) claims that the new transparency is portrayed through information technology with images speaking for themselves. The only counter the police can enforce is addressing the public beforehand regarding their use of force policies and immediately when incidents occur. Making the use of force policy manual available to the public is another way to ensure that the public is aware of what will happen in case of certain threats and also what police are not supposed to do to people when using force.
In conclusion, openness and trust are both important is the police department hopes to create better ties with the community. It is relatively vital that the society feels a sense of trust towards the police which may result in accountability. Feeling that the police are doing more harm than good is a recent pandemic that has swept over the nation due to the police being secretive. Making procedures and policies easily accessible to the public is a step that the police can take to increase their chances of mending their broken relationship with the community.
References
Brucato, B. (2015). The new transparency: police violence in the context of ubiquitous surveillance. Media and Communication, 3(3), 39-55.
Chanin, J., & Espinosa, S. (2016). Examining the determinants of police department transparency: The view of police executives. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 27(5), 498-519.
Jackson, B. A. (2015). Respect and legitimacy—A two-way street: Strengthening trust between police and the public in an era of increasing transparency.
