Labeling Theory And Criminological Theories Of Excessive Police Force

Introduction Complaints against police officers have been a growing issue within the past ten years. Many complaints allege violence, lewdness, or excessive force. While it’s important for all allegations of negative behavior to be addressed, it’s vital to stop excessive force because it could easily end a person’s life. Not only will it negatively impact the community, but also the police department. Many nationalized events of excessive force have caused minorities to hate or fear the police. This jeopardizes the lives of every police officer and every member of the public. Due to publicized tragedies like the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, many community members have joined Black Lives Matter, protest, or joined the media presence,

Theory and Methods Foundational Criminology Theories In order to find a plausible solution, it’s imperative to have an understanding of the criminological theories that play a part. Social disorganization theory, rational choice theory, labeling theory, and conflict theory all play a part in why complaints are filed against police officers. However, the theories that have the most impact are labeling theory and conflict theory. To begin with, labeling theory asserts that negative behaviors and acts are the result of negative feelings and words being associated with a person (Williams & McShane, 2018). This means that as police officers are negatively labeled by the media and public, the public is more likely to see police officers in a negative light. Conversely, as more anti-police organizations are created and anti-police protests occur, the police will begin to think negatively of the public. This cycle will continue forever until someone intervenes. Furthermore, conflict theory asserts that those in different groups will struggle to maintain power (Aymer,

During the 2015 year, there was a substantial decrease in funding (“CJ 675 Final Project Data Set,” n.d.). This data shows that as funding decreases, the number of assignments per police officer increases and the number of use of force complaints increases. Research has found that defunding the police can have many negative consequences that people may not realize. These consequences include longer wait times when a crime occurs, fewer officers in the field, an increase in the crime rate, harder recruitment and retention of police officers, and a deeper divide between the police department and the community (Reber & Corley, 2023). Furthermore, defunding the police often has the opposite effect of what people want to happen. Many groups like Black Lives Matter push to defund the police in hopes that this will stop the excessive force. However, from the data presented, it is clear that defunding the police is not the solution. In fact, the data shows that as funding decreases, the amount of use of force complaints increases (“CJ 675 Final Project Data Set,”