The Department of Justice currently has twenty open investigations into police departments across the nation, all with the same reason: police violence (Bentle, 1). It is not a new topic, as police violence has been the subject of discussion for decades. Now the problem is larger and more complex than ever. This has created issues of trust and resulted in divided communities, more so in African-American ones. The reason this problem is so bad is because it cannot be solved like a traditional one. There is the police complex as a whole, then it levels down to state, county, precinct, and every individual officer. There are just too many variables. This is why the police community must focus on bridging the gap because civilians with trust issues will not do it themselves. The police officers are not the only ones at fault, though. Civilians, on multiple documented occasions, are the cause for police response. Civilian education is a key component of this police reform plan, and they must understand and comply if any changed is truly wanted. This is not an isolated issue, it is a nationwide issue, and it needs to be fixed now.  The relationship between the police and the public can be improved through practices of accountability, public education on policing, and community outreach.

The first step in fixing any problem is admitting that there is one. The modern police violence issues that are present today descend from those that occurred during the Civil Rights Movement. Police officers at that time would be allowed to do just about anything when it came to arresting, crowd control, and de-escalation. This style of policing was left unchecked until the Civil Rights laws were passed and went into effect. Even after those laws were passed, some departments continued to practice the same style of policing that they practiced before the laws were passed. In some instances, like the famous standing at Little Rock, the National Guard was called in to force the police to back down. The policing style changed because it had to, but the mentality of the officers did not. This mentality had nothing to grasp to in the years that followed the Civil Rights Movement, but something new came along that would enable it to catch on again: The War on Drugs. 

The War on Drugs is what created the modern police-community gap. Richard Nixon initiated the War on Drugs, stating that it was public enemy number one. The police budget doubled so that departments would both well-equipped and able to hire more officers. The biggest drugs that were targeted for the majority of the campaign was marijuana and crack. They were not targeting the drugs though; they were targeting the users. Marijuana belonged the hippie community, and crack belonged to the African-American community. Both were enemies of the Nixon administration. This War on Drugs allowed police to do whatever was deemed necessary by each individual officer to apprehend criminals and eliminate the drug trade. This resulted in mass incarcerations and the modern police violence struggle that is faced today. 

Modern police violence stems from the police practices of both the Civil Rights era and the War on Drugs, but it has evolved as the criminal complex has. Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in The United States is a two and a half year-long police violence investigative report. The report examined the excessive force used by police officers in fourteen major cities across the nation. The findings were that there are not only multiple instances of police officers who violate human and civil rights, but overwhelming barriers to establish accountability for those officers (Collins, 12). 

This is where the struggles begin because accountability is the first step in reducing police violence and re-establishing trust with the community. In the late 1990's, police departments began to install dash cameras on police cruisers. This was the first step in offering greater officer accountability. While they did offer complete video footage from the view of the dash, they were limited in effectiveness. The officers could turn the dash cameras off if they wanted to, and it would be deemed a simple malfunction. Whenever this information is brought up during a public trial, it creates a great sense of distrust. Looking forward on the hardware side, police officer worn body cameras offer the best increase of police accountability. They are not controlled by the officer, they are always recording, and all the information is stored on a government server that the police do not have access to (Lind, 1). Body cameras generate outcomes that are favorable to both officers and civilians. In a survey of state officers provided by the Department of Justice, 93 percent of officers who had charges filed against them were proven innocent by the footage. The other 7 percent were found guilty, which pleased the public (Lind, 1). Videoing police is only half the battle of accountability. The other half lies in the courtroom. 

The entire topic of police accountability revolves around two decisions: whether or not they are found guilty by trial. These crucial decisions are based upon how much ability do district attorneys and prosecutors have to make a conviction. A very small number of police violence cases result in criminal charges, and an even smaller number result in convictions (Graham, para. 2). This is due to the fact that police officers are critical in every criminal case that goes to trial. Police officers represent both witnesses and investigators. If a prosecutor or district attorney tries an officer in court, they risk losing other officers that they rely on in other cases. This is where the police “buddy system” interferes with accountability. The solution to this issue is to create a prosecution position of power that is separate from the police department and its county. This position would resemble those found in the Department of Justice that prosecute federal agencies (Graham, para. 3).  This system ensures that a detached individual will prosecute an officer without fear of compromising other cases because they hold no association with the department or county. With this system in place, police accountability will improve, but preventative policing can lower a number of cases that require accountability by better educating the public on policing.

Traffic stops are the great unknown when it comes to police-civilian interaction, which is why the public needs to be educated on what to do. Before the public is educated on this, they have to know what they are and why they are done. Traffic stops performed by police officers usually have three purposes: to deter reckless driving, to generate income for the local or state government, and to act as a wedge for arrest with more serious charges (Rhatz, 166). A traffic stop begins when an officer has reasonable suspicion or probable cause to pull a driver over. This can be for a simple speeding violation or a matching stolen vehicle description. Although traffic stops are the most routine part of a police officer’s job, it is also the most dangerous.

When a police officer pulls over a vehicle on a traffic stop, the officer only knows the information given to him or her by the license plate registered to the car. There is a huge unknown for the officer. This unknown makes the officers tense, alert, and quick on the draw. Officers try to use preventative measures that allow for them to have a step up. Officers may approach from either side of the vehicle and look through the back and side windows to allow for a greater field of view. At night the officer may use their searchlight to blind the driver via the side mirror so that they cannot see the officer approaching.  There is only so much an officer can do during a traffic stop, though. The rest is up to the civilian. 

The civilian’s responsibility during a traffic stop is somethings that has never seen much attention. It has always been the police officer’s job to regulate and control the situation of a traffic stop, but civilians need to be educated on what to do. The single most important thing a civilian can do during a traffic stop is to keep their hands visible to the officer at all times. After that, the civilian needs to tell the officer everything they are doing, from retrieving their information to informing the officer of any potential hazards like weapons or chemicals. From 1995-1997, the city of Lima, Ohio produced and aired public service announcements focused on public education on traffic stops after finding that roughly 60 percent of their aggravated police cases started from traffic stop errors. The public service announcements reduced traffic stop aggravated incidents by 40 percent (Chamlin & Mitchell & Christopher, 21). That means that percentage of potentially aggravated incidents was reduced by that much just from simple education videos. By allowing civilians to understand law enforcement from an officer’s perspective, a gap in communication and protocol is bridged. This both builds community trust of officers and prevents some violent situations from ever occurring. The public education does not stop at the traffic stop, though. 

Another area where civilians need to be educated on policing is the proper use of force. Michelle Beshears writes in her criminal justice report, “While there are police officers who may “willfully and wrongfully” utilize excessive force, use of force is often caused by the inability of police—either the individual officer or the organization—to employ better solutions when dealing with certain violent situations”. This goes back to preventative policing. If a civilian is uneducated on the use of force protocols and laws, then they are at that much greater a risk to the issue. While the use of force is often necessary, it can become unnecessary if the civilian in the encounter knows what to do. Citizens do not get to pick and choose what officer they get, as it is involuntary, but they can keep the choose how the encounter goes on their side. What may be perceived as normal behavior to the civilian, may be seen as hostile to the officer (Beshears, para. 3). Civilians need to understand what actions are deemed a threat that they respond to with force. The most important thing during a police encounter is that the civilian establishes themselves as wanting to cooperate. This can be achieved by following officer commands, speaking in a normal tone, and by not resisting. This establishes a short trust between the officer and the civilian that prevents or de-escalates situations (Rahtz, 168-176). This follows the idea that while one cannot control the other, one can control themselves. If a civilian eliminates the reason for the lawful use of force by an officer, then they have contributed to the reform of policing strategy.  I conducted an interview with Lieutenant Chris Tucker from the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and he stated, “It really comes down to each individual situation, but for the most part, officers do not want to use force because in entails loads and loads of reporting, board review, and explaining. It really is just a hassle, so if an officer understands that a civilian is not a threat and that they can just talk, they will do that 100 percent of the time. It is just easier for everybody”. 

These preventative measures reduce the use of violent police force, and with the reduce of force comes the rebuilding of trust between an officer and a civilian. That is the next step. The War on Drugs is what initiated the modern community divides between the police and the public. This most noticeable of which is the divide between the police and the African-American community. This is the oldest and largest divide there is, with the original starting during the civil rights era. Groups have been created that have further increased the divide such as the Black Panther Party and Black Lives Matter movement. Black Lives Matter protest have often become violent through riots and looting. The Baltimore riots are famous for chanting, “We want dead cops” (Rahtz, 41-42). This type of divide will be difficult to address, but it can be done. 

The most important step in eliminating a community divide is to first eliminate the barriers. These barriers include language, culture, service needs, socio-economic, poor organization, and suspicion of the police (Jones & Trevor & Newburn, 7). The first step in rebuilding trust and eliminating the individual barriers is to implement community oriented policing. This style of policing targets crimes that lower the value of the neighborhood such as vandalism, simple thefts, and other petty crimes. This brings value back to the community. If a community has value, then the population of the community improves as the quality of life does. Improving the quality of life through community policing strategies within is what removes barriers (Jones & Trevor & Newburn, 9-14). After the quality of life returns because of this, the civilian population realizes it was the police work that did it. The strategy is continued by officers becoming familiar with the residents and is able to identify what is out of place within the community. With this in place, residents of the divided community become appreciative of the officers' help, and the divide is eliminated over time.

Even with the community style of policing in use, some divides will not be eliminated. Any community that participates in illegal activity as a source of income, culture, and social status will not be swayed. Individuals may be, but the community will continue to exist without the swayed individuals. The communities follow the theory of criminal determinism. These communities would not survive without the illegal activities that run them, and therefore will always be against police. Since these communities do not have access to the legal system, it results in high levels of violent crime to settle disputes (Jones & Trevor & Newburn, 54-58). The only way to eliminate this divide is to arrest and prosecute the criminals, but this then eliminates the community as a whole.

The relationship between the police and the public can be improved through practices of increased officer accountability, public education on police encounters, and community-oriented police outreach. Police violence has been an issue since the civil rights era. The War on Drugs only made the situation worse by creating divided communities between the police and the public. This divide has only worsened over time, being fueled by police violence incidents that emerge weekly, and the lack of accountability that follows them. Police accountability is the first step in rebuilding the trust with the public. If an officer violates the rights of an individual, or the law itself, they need to be prosecuted and convicted of their crimes. Educating the public on police encounters is crucial to the concept of preventative policing. Preventative policing reduces the number of violent incidents between the police and the public, therefore the quantitative association of police officer and violence is lowered. To eliminate divides between the police and a community, the officers must implement a community-oriented style of policing. This policing style will allow communities to rebuild trust with officers as they improve the community's quality of life and are associated with that improvement. In this situation, progress is needed on both sides. The police and the public both have to change in order for a positive outcome to be produced. Through these methods, a successful relation between the police and the public can be achieved, and it will continue to improve as the state of trust does. 
