http://accountabilityforstlnow.blogspot.com/
I did my project on police brutality, and the lack of accountability of police officers. My blog shows that police violence in america is significantly higher than any other rich country. I write about specific cases of police brutality in america , and also cases specific to the Saint Louis area. In most of the cases I write about, there is little to no punishment for the police officers. This is a problem because if officers are not held accountable for their actions, it creates a rift between the police and citizens. To increase accountability, I propose that police should have to have body cameras recording while on duty, and that the footage should be independently stored and reviewed.
I think that body cameras are a good idea, and I agree that there are some cases where police are overly brutal and are not held accountable for their actions. However, I think that the media is to blame for much of the outcry over this issue, especially recently. I think that there is a side of the story that isn't being heard, and or parts that are overly dramatized. I think it is important for police to be held accountable for their actions, but I think the problem is less dramatic than many people have made it out to be.
ReplyDeleteWhen you compare the amount of people killed by police in the United states to other first world countries, you can see it is a big problem. So I think that the media is doing a good job raising awareness . But I do agree there's always two sides to a story, and i'm sure there have been times where the cop has been at the wrong end of things. I think that a body camera would help both parties by showing exactly what happens.
DeleteI'm not very informed on police brutality, but today in my Sociology class we had a debate about the issues in Ferguson. The class was divided into groups; the judges, the protesters, the city council, the department of justice and the police. Each group (except the judges) had to defend there case and argue why they were not in the wrong. As the debate went on, I realized that the protesters and the police were highly criticized. The police group had a hard time justifying their actions and explaining to everyone their point. Which made me think of your project, and how the use of cameras could have helped (or not helped) the case of the police.
ReplyDeleteThis topic has become a large one in the Saint Louis community. I am honestly not sure on what to believe, but I believe that their needs to be change. I also think that for protecting the people of a town or city, police should have minimum of two years of higher education, past high school.
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