Police Use Of Force Essay

210 Words1 Pages
Within the criminal justice system, the police have three main goals: to serve, enforce the law, and to maintain order. Most police officers are people just trying to fulfill these goals and protect the citizens, using discretion wisely, but sometimes in this process, it may seem that there is an abuse of power, especially in terms of the use of force. As stated in Criminal Justice in America (2014), police are able to use legitimate force on those individuals that are deemed uncooperative, but this force is sometimes deemed excessive. Excessive use of force is when the force used by an officer either violated department policy or the constitutional rights of the individual by exceeding the level of force permissible and necessary for the