Question

Brainstorm 2 solutions to police brutality, find at least 3 sources to support our agreed upon solutions and how to implement one of the solutions

Answer 1

The case of George Floyd raised passionate objections against racism and was supported by people of different countries, professions, races, castes, and communities. People united to protest with the aim to make the society “less fundamentally racist” and the “immediate firing of offenders”, be it police officers. Police officers are supposed to be the guardians and protectors of the society. They are formally defined as “public servants”, serving the civilians by protecting them against crime and preventing crime in the society. But police officers have taken undue advantage of their posts and positions in the society by taking lives of people. They have taken the Law in their hands, thereby being unethical and immoral. The victims of such brutality have often been Black people. Racism has reduced them to an insignificant position in the society, thereby making their lives insignificant. So, this has made it imperative to practice monitoring the police acts.

One such method is body cameras. Body Worn Video (BWV) and Body-Worn Camera (BWC) help to record situations involving police interruptions. A study conducted by Home Office found that body worn camera system utilized in Devon and Cornwall demonstrated the capacity to significantly enhance evidence quality involving police actions. Body-worn video cameras became a subject of media coverage in 2005, when it was first tested in the United Kingdom. Also, an impact assessment comprising 54 Rialto police officers with body cameras found civilian complaints against officers to reduce by 88% and the utilization of force to reduce by 59%. So, the use of body cameras can be implemented for recording events and giving police actions a sound evidential base. Moreover, body cameras will keep reminding them that events will be recorded, which may be helpful in consciously avoiding maltreatment. This is in context of the fact that George Floyd’s incidence was recorded by street cameras. Despite the presence of street cameras, the police officers killing George Floyd were unafraid to take his life.

The actual function of the police is different from that of military. To restrict police officers to their actual functions, “Demilitarization of Police Act” should be implemented. This will be done by justifying the law enforcement agencies the “need and cost” of any military weapon owned by officers. It is important to note that more powerful weapons can be a source of experiencing irrational and unreasonable power and impulse to execute acts in the name of Law which are evidentially racists and criminal. In this regard, the law enforcement agencies must provide the legislature or council, or commission a notice of minimum 90 days for any future possession of military weapon.