Last week I talked about the different levels of law enforcement and who was actually in charge. This week I will be talking about whether or not the police actually fulfill the goals and expectations that we imagine them to.

The police have a lot of pressure put on them that society contributes a lot to. We expect them to always make the right decision when they are put into circumstances that they might not know how to react to and want to punish them when they don’t handle a situation properly or how we want them to handle it. Police typically are responsible for maintaining public order and safety, enforcing the law, and preventing, detecting, and investigating criminal activities. For the most part I would say that the police fulfill the goals that society puts in front of them but I think the problem is how the police are enforcing and maintaining the laws as well as equality across enforcing laws.

Everyday the police have to enforce laws and make arrests in order to keep our community safe. We mostly go about our day and don’t even think about the police, but when they mess up we are the first to call them out for it. There are many examples of police enforcing the law when they don’t need to be or enforcing the law with force that is unnecessary. The murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Eric Garner are all examples of people that have been killed by police unnecessarily. Not only are all these individuals victims to police brutality but they are also black individuals.

There has been a lot of talk about equality and how the police view different races in the U.S. There is no denying that the police treat people of color differently than white people and I don’t think that was the plan when the police were first introduced. In the U.S. today it is very common for police to target certain races and ethnicities. Ever since the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001 there has been attention drawn to Muslims and people from middle eastern countries. Not to say that this isn’t a natural reaction because I think it is fair to say that the U.S. took proper precaution after 9/11.

The police are good people……..for the most part. We are able to live our lives without many worries because we know that there are law enforcement officers that are keeping our towns and communities safe. We often take advantage of law enforcement because we there work often goes unrewarded by the public. I believe police officers are the product of their environment. In the case with George Floyd, it was noted that the officer did not receive proper training and that his actions could have been the consequences for not receiving proper training.

I don’t believe that all cops are malicious and I do think that they are good people. For the most part the police have fulfilled the goals and expectations that we have enabled. The crime rate continues to go down and we still rely on the police for everyday safety.