Contains over thirty essays that provide different perspectives on the issue of police brutality, debating the extent of the problem, the factors that contribute to brutality, prevention strategies, and appropriate punishments for perpetrators.
Content Note
Police brutality is a serious problem / The Progressive. -- Police officers use deadly force too frequently / Amnesty International. -- The media underestimate police brutality / Michael Novick. -- Some prisons condone guard brutality / Douglas Dennis. -- The extent of police brutality is exaggerated / Arch Puddington. -- The use of deadly force is sometimes necessary / Randy Tedford. -- The police rarely use excessive force / International Association of Chiefs of Police. -- The force used against political demonstrators is appropriate / James J. Fotis. -- Racism promotes police brutality / Salim Muwakkil. -- The police are not racist / Michael Levin. -- Aggressive policing encourages police brutality / Joseph D. McNamara. -- Aggressive policing does not encourage police brutality / George L. Kelling. -- Antiterrorism measures encourage law enforcement agencies to harass immigrants / Jane Bai and Eric Tang. -- Antiterrorism measures target only terrorists / John Ashcroft. -- Militarism in police departments encourages police brutality / Diane Cecilia Weber. -- Aggressively policing the poor leads to abusive police practices / Daniel HoSang. -- The war on drugs promotes the unnecessary use of deadly force / Paul Armentano. -- Public protest against police brutality promotes accountability / Edward Lewis. -- Police-brutality protests discourage effective policing / Tamar Jacoby. -- The police must discontinue the practice of racial profiling / David Cole. -- Unproven accusations that the police use racial profiling discourage effective policing / William Norman Grigg. -- Early warning systems reduce police misconduct / Samuel Walker, Geoffrey P. Alpert, and Dennis J. Kenney. -- Citizens should have access to accurate data on the 0 use of deadly force / James J. Fyfe. -- Video cameras curtail police brutality / Richard D. Emery. -- Federal lawsuits against police departments effectively punish police brutality / Alexis Agathocleous. -- Federal intervention in police department policies discourages effective policing / Darlene Hutchinson. -- Civilian oversight promotes impartial investigation of police misconduct / Emma Phillipps and Jennifer Trone. -- Civilians cannot objectively oversee police practices / Bill Rhetts. -- Police chiefs should be given the authority to discipline officers / Anonymous. --Police culture makes it difficult to prosecute police brutality / Jerome H. Skolnick. -- The courts do not adequately punish police departments that use racial profiling / David Cole. -- Civil lawsuits rarely lead to punishment of police brutality / Human Rights Watch. -- Juries are reluctant to convict police officers / Scott Turow.