Qualitative Analysis Of The Incidents Between Police And The Public

Incidents between police and the public, including deadly force from both officers and civilians, racial profiling, police brutality, and other civil rights violations, each in part are related to the lack of police-community relations within the United States. With increasingly prevalent incidents and conflicts, the need for a solution is eminent. This mixed method research approach proposes a study that implements a strategically designed community policing program, which employs police/civilian collaboration and promotes building positive relations, for the duration of one year and utilizes both quantitative and qualitative analysis to conclude the success or failure of the program in regards to improving police-community relations and conflicts.
There have been decades of research put into designing programs that unite law enforcement and civilians and promote respect and collaboration between the two. Research suggests that the improvement of police-community relations can ultimately affect the improvement of the number of incidents that occur. One program that was established in 1993 is the Citizens Police Academy (CPA). This program allows citizens to meet and communicate with officers in order to learn and understand the policies and regulations of law enforcement. It offers citizens the opportunity to recognize the difficult role of being a police officer and allows them to understand and acknowledge the person behind the badge (National Citizen Police Academy Association, 2016). While the CPA appears to be a successful program, it has only been implemented in a select few communities and there is little statistical data regarding its true
For the future of the nation, a step towards a resolution or at least a reduction of these conflicts needs to be taken. It is believed that improving police-community relations can have an adverse effect on police brutality, use of deadly force, abuse of discretion, and other civil rights violations. Forming positive relationships between law enforcement and the public can allow for the reduction of personal biases and can, in return, lessen the number of abuse of discretion and profiling cases. As well, if civilians can understand law enforcement’s position, especially in stressful situations or apprehensions, they may begin to understand that mere cooperation can change the entire outcome of a