Editing Police brutality (section)

=== Legal system ===

A type of government failure that can result in the normalization of police brutality is a lack of accountability and repercussions for officers mistreating civilians. While it is currently commonplace for civilians to [[police accountability|hold officers accountable]] by recording them, the actual responsibility of police oversight rests heavily on the criminal justice system of a given nation, as police represent the enforcement of the law. One method of increasing police accountability that has become more common is the employment of body cameras as a part of police uniforms.<ref>{{cite press release |last=Zepcam |title=Growing Number of European Police Forces use Bodycam |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/growing-number-of-european-police-forces-use-bodycam-892044220.html |access-date=2022-05-19 |agency=PR Newswire |language=en |archive-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519045909/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/growing-number-of-european-police-forces-use-bodycam-892044220.html |url-status=live}}</ref> However, the effectiveness of body cameras has been called into question due to the lack of transparency shown in police brutality cases where the footage is withheld from the public. In many cases of police brutality, the criminal justice system has no policy in place to condemn or prohibit police brutality. Certain nations have laws that permit lawful, violent treatment of civilians, like qualified immunity, which protects officers from being sued for their use of violence if their actions can be justified under the law.<ref>{{cite web |title=Qualified Immunity |url=https://eji.org/issues/qualified-immunity/ |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=Equal Justice Initiative |language=en-US |archive-date=9 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209133537/https://eji.org/issues/qualified-immunity/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

Police officers are legally permitted to use force. [[Jerome Herbert Skolnick]] writes in regards to dealing largely with disorderly elements of the society, "some people working in law enforcement may gradually develop an attitude or sense of authority over society, particularly under traditional reaction-based policing models; in some cases, the police believe that they are above the law."<ref>{{cite book |last=Skolnick |first=Jerome H. |author2=Fyfe, James D. |editor=Winters, Paul A. |title=Policing the Police |year=1995 |publisher=Greenhaven Press |location=San Diego |isbn=978-1-56510-262-0 |pages=45–55 |chapter=Community-Oriented Policing Would Prevent Police Brutality}}</ref>

There are many reasons why police officers can sometimes be excessively aggressive. It is thought that psychopathy makes some officers more inclined to use excessive force than others. In one study, police psychologists surveyed officers who had used excessive force. The information obtained allowed the researchers to develop five unique types of officers, only one of which was similar to the [[bad apples]] stereotype. These include personality disorders; previous traumatic job-related experience; young, inexperienced, or authoritarian officers; officers who learn inappropriate patrol styles; and officers with personal problems.{{cn|date=February 2023}} Schrivers categorized these groups and separated the group that was the most likely to use excessive force.<ref>Scrivner, 1994: 3–6</ref> However, this "bad apple paradigm" is considered by some to be an "easy way out". A broad report commissioned by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on the causes of misconduct in policing calls it "a simplistic explanation that permits the organization and senior management to blame corruption on individuals and individual faults{{snds}}behavioural, psychological, background factors, and so on, rather than addressing systemic factors."<ref name="RCMP Review">{{cite web |last=Loree |first=Don |title=Corruption in Policing: Causes and Consequences; A Review of the Literature |work=Research and Evaluation Community, Contract and Aboriginal Policing Services Directorate |publisher=Royal Canadian Mounted Police |year=2006 |url=http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/PS64-27-2006E.pdf |access-date=1 September 2007 |archive-date=10 September 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110910142903/http://dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/Collection/PS64-27-2006E.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> The report continues to discuss the systemic factors, which include:
* Pressures to conform to certain aspects of "police culture", such as the [[Blue Code of Silence]], which can "sustain an oppositional criminal subculture protecting the interests of police who violate the law"<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/15614260290011309|last=Skolnick |first=Jerome H. |title=Corruption and the Blue Code of Silence |journal=Police Practice and Research |volume=3 |year=2002 |page=7 |issue=1 |s2cid=144512106}}</ref> and a "{{'}}we-they' perspective in which outsiders are viewed with suspicion or distrust"<ref name="RCMP Review" />
* Command and control structures with a rigid hierarchical foundation ("results indicate that the more rigid the authoritarian hierarchy, the lower the scores on a measure of ethical decision-making" concludes one study reviewed in the report);<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Owens |first1=Katherine M. B. |first2=Jeffrey |last2=Pfeifer |title=Police Leadership and Ethics: Training and Police Recommendations |journal=The Canadian Journal of Police and Security Services |volume=1 |page=7 |year=2002 |issue=2}}</ref> and
* Deficiencies in internal accountability mechanisms (including internal investigation processes).<ref name="RCMP Review" />

The use of force by police officers is not kept in check in many jurisdictions by the issuance of a [[use of force continuum]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Stetser |first=Merle |title=The Use of Force in Police Control of Violence: Incidents Resulting in Assaults on Officers |year=2001 |publisher=LFB Scholarly Publishing L.L.C. |location=New York |isbn=978-1-931202-08-4}}</ref> which describes levels of force considered appropriate in direct response to a suspect's behavior. This power is granted by the government, with few if any limits set out in [[statutory law]] as well as [[common law]].

Violence used by police can be excessive despite being lawful, especially in the context of political repression. Police brutality is often used to refer to violence used by the police to achieve politically desirable ends (terrorism) and, therefore, when none should be used at all according to widely held values and cultural norms in the society (rather than to refer to excessive violence used where at least some may be considered justifiable).

Studies show that there are officers who believe the legal system they serve is failing and that they must pick up the slack. This is known as "vigilantism", where the officer-involved may think the suspect deserves more punishment than what they may have to serve under the court system.<ref>Chevigny, P. (2008). "Police Brutality", In ''Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace and Conflict''. Oxford: Elsevier Science and Technology, 2008.</ref>

During high-speed pursuits of suspects, officers can become angry and filled with adrenaline, which can affect their judgment when they finally apprehend the suspect. The resulting loss of judgment and heightened emotional state can result in inappropriate use of force. The effect is colloquially known as "high-speed pursuit syndrome".<ref>{{cite web |author=Kevin Mullen |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fe%2Fa%2F1996%2F04%2F05%2FEDITORIAL9376.dtl |title=The high-speed chase syndrome |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=5 April 1996 |access-date=12 November 2011 |archive-date=9 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209133536/https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/The-high-speed-chase-syndrome-3148123.php |url-status=live}}</ref>