Policing Policies Analysis

Policing Policies Analysis

Introduction to Use of Force Policy

In order to ensure the accomplishment of lawful ends, the police forces serving in the United States have been granted extraordinary rights in terms of the use of force under the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States (Petrowski, 2002, p. 24-32). In accordance with the clauses of the amendment, the Use of Force policy essentially legitimizes the use of excessive force, providing police officials with added leverage when dealing with potentially dangerous suspects and criminals and/or enforcing social order (Petrowski, 2002, p. 24-32). The term 'Use of Force', as described in the policy, is subjective to the level of effort that is needed by a police officer in order to encourage an unwilling subject to comply with his instructions. Moreover, the policy is comprehensively defined as it outlines the situations in which the different levels of legitimized force can be used by police officers.

Description of Use of Force Policy

The terms 'Force' is used to describe a wide range of physical efforts that are used for the purpose of either controlling or restraining another person or overcoming their resistance to submit or overcoming their resistance to submit (Kinnaird, 2007, p. 201-213). Therefore, through the Use of Force policy, members of the police department have the legal authorization to use excessive force when conducting their operations.

However, members of the law enforcement are only allowed to use “as much force as is objectively reasonable in a specific situation”. In this particular clause, however, the term 'objectively reasonable' implies that the police officers are legally bound with the responsibility to assess a given situation and determine whether the use of force is appropriate under the perceivable circumstances (Kinnaird, 2007, p. 201-213).

This also includes conducting an assessment of the magnitude of the crime and whether the suspect is a threat to the police officers' safety and those of others. Apart from this, the Use of Force policy also requires a police officer to determine if the suspected person is deliberately refusing to comply with his instructions. If a suspect is not resisting an arrest, then he has the right to seek legal protection against the use of force.

Levels of Force Authorized under the Use of Force Policy

Most importantly, it is the responsibility of the police officer on duty to accurately determine whether the use of force is actually required and, if yes, the reasonable level needed to force the suspect to comply. The different levels of force that the police officials are legally allowed to use are as follows (Kinnaird, 2007, p. 201-213):

Basic verbal force

Police officers are also required by the Use of Force law to issue warnings and instructions to the suspect before resorting to physical means in order to subdue them (Kinnaird, 2007, p. 201-213).

Physical restraint

As authorized by the Use of Force policy, this level of force allows the police officers to physically restrain the suspects, either to render them harmless or to ensure their captivity (Hickman, ...