Negative and Positive Policing In the USA (Essay Sample)

360045360045 Negative and Positive Policing In the USA Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Negative and Positive Policing In the USA 915669155039Negative Policing Negative policing involves the use of disproportionate force by the police officers and sometimes mishandling situations which they may encounter. The main duty of police officers is to protect the people, their property and state property (Johnson 2018). However, in recent times the police force has been found on the wrong side of their duties as systematic racism, disproportionate use of force, violence and abuse have become the norm when policing. There are now many bad apples in the police force who are tarnishing the organization’s image because of their bad policing practices. The aim of this essay is to look at the case of an Illinois father whose daughter’s cremated ashes were mistaken for drugs by police officers and the backlash the article received from social media users. In April 2020 an Illinois young black father was stopped by police officers while over speeding and was subsequently detained. The police officers searched his vehicle for drugs and alcohol but found an urn which had Dartavius Barnes’ daughter’s cremated ashes. Even after the police officers had tested the ashes and found that they were not drugs, they still continued to temper with the ashes, throwing some into the air and all this was captured on a police bodycam. Now the father is suing the Springfield police department for the officers’ behavior. 2007870282515Link to the story: https://www.instagram.com/p/CPLrtRdBul9/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link The article has a total of 12,600 comments and of all the comments I read (more than 100), only 2 were positive whilst the rest of the comments were negative. The people were disheartened, hurt and others where in disbelief because of the police officers’ attitudes. Many people in the comment section stated that the police officers had acted in a racist manner and that this was bad for the police force’s image. Whilst others called for further investigations into the issue because the police officers’ attitude did not reflect on the police force’s values well. Positive Policing Good/ positive policing is when the police force works effectively for the good of the people and deploys the best tactics and strategies in tackling crimes (Alexander, 2020). In positive policing practices; police officers are held accountable for their actions for example when they use force, violence and behave in a manner which puts the police force into disrepute. This essay will look at the case of police officer Nick St. Onge who saved a choking baby. In May 2018; a Georgia police officer Nick St. Onge saved a baby who was choking from milk. The baby had started showing signs of being lifeless when the police officer arrived. However, Nick managed to revive the baby using CPR and back blows to clear the baby’s throat. This is a clear example of what good/positive policing should be like because the police officer was ‘the right person at the right time’. Nick responded to a 911 call early and rushed to the scene to save the baby, which is what is expected from police officers in our society. Link to the...