Should Cops Be Able To Use Force Essay

Asa Northrup

Wortley

English 2nd

28 April 2023

Should Cops be Able to Use Force?

Force is always needed to enforce law or take control of a situation. Without force the police or the military would not be able to take control or make unwilling citizens do what is needed for the safety of others. If police were unable to use force nothing would be accomplished. When citizens are doing suspicious activity or breaking the law they cannot be reasoned with and aren't as compliant. That is why police must be able to use force. So they can take control of the situation and be able to deal with people who do not want to follow the rules that have been set in place. Due to this police must be able to use force and violence. Reasoning and trying to

In the article, “The United States Department of Justice” it states, “This Department-wide policy emphasizes core principles and training standards for the DOJ law enforcement component agencies, which have updated their individual use of force training programs regularly” (Winn, 1). This shows how all officers are trained and permitted to use force when needed. It also shows how often the police training is checked on and regulated to make sure police are being trained the right way.

Police officers must be able to use force also to make sure everyone is protected and feel safe. They need to use force because there are certain situations that the only option the police have is to use force. If they do not use force, citizens and other officers will be hurt, citizens will not feel safe, and others will stop listening to the police and will stop following the law. To support this the source, “The United States Department of Justice” says, “It is the policy of the Department of Justice to value and preserve human life. Officers may use only the force that is objectively reasonable to effectively gain control of an incident, while protecting the safety of the officer and others”(Winn, 1). This explains that the police department's first priorities are to protect citizens, protect themselves and other officers, and to also take control of the situation by any means necessary.

This is why others might say officers should not be able to use force. They can also try and use reasoning instead of force. Some officers abuse their power and do not handle situations how they should be handled. This can cause others to get hurt and even worse, killed. On the website, “How to Handle Law Enforcement Abuse in California” it states, “‘Police brutality’ is another common term that refers to a police officer’s use of force that exceeds what is necessary or reasonable to carry out their lawful duties. Here are a few examples of ways that police officers can abuse their authority”(Law, 1). Some examples that the article states are, unlawful murder, violating rights, blackmailing, assault, unlawful searching of citizens' things, and placing someone under arrest without any reasoning (Law, 1). How this supports the argument is it shows how police can abuse their power and how it can happen. On the other hand, this can be avoided and dealt