Some people believe police should not have the power to use force, no matter what the situation. They believe everything can be solved along peaceful terms in which no one can be injured or killed. These people do not realize the necessity of force and the responsible usage of this force by the police. Not all problems can be solved in a peaceful manner. If police did not have the right or the power to use force it could result in injuries and deaths to members of our police force on a regular basis. Though police do

I believe the police must use as little force as necessary for all situations. The force the police use should not exceed the threat of force that could be applied on them by someone else. As one can see in the many case histories the excessive use of force is very rarely punished on legal terms. The police nearly always get exonerated from the charged placed on them, even though substantial evidence may be in the prosecution’s favor. Why is this? Because the police enforce the law, they become analogous with the law. When officers are placed in situations where excessive force can be used they use this knowledge of past precedent to get away with their excessive aggression. For this to stop, the law must be enforced in its totality. Police must not be able to get away with this felony, the use of excessive force on undeserving offenders. Police who commit this crime should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, to be made as examples, so this crime does not happen in the future, so police know how force should be exerted along with how much and to what extent.

Whether or not a policeman uses force at a given time is based on his discretion concerning the present danger at the time of the arrest. Discretion is the authority to make decisions without reference to specific rules or facts, using instead one’s own judgment; allows for individualization and informality in the administration of justice. (Cole) This gives the police leeway as to when force is necessary and when it is not, within certain guidelines. For instance, a policeman can not beat up a man for robbing a store. But, if the robber battered someone in the process of the robbery the policeman could. He could do this because there was a clear threat of danger to himself of to another officer or human being.

It is not a question of would or whether, but when and how much. Therefore, the amount of force a policeman uses does not solely depend on himself but a

Some topics in this essay:
, Rodney King, Cole Police, excessive force, force police, police force, amount force, force applied, excessive force police, force regular basis, situations force, force sometimes, believe police, police power force, using force, rodney king,