rceby police is of such great concern. First, there is the humanitarian concern that policeare capable of inflicting serious, even lethal, harm on the public. Second, there is thephilosophical dilemma that in "protecting" the whole of society, some of its constituentparts, meaning its citizens, may be injured. Third, there is the political irony that police,who stand apart from society in terms of authority, law, and responsibility, also are partof society and act on its behalf. Thus, rogue actions by a few police, if condoned by thepublic, may become perceived as actions of the citizenry.Recent developments in policing have elevated concerns about police use of forcebeyond ordinarily high levels. In particular, community policing, which is becomingwidespread as a result of financial incentives by the Federal Government, and"aggressive" policing, which is becoming widely adopted as a solution to serious crimeproblems, have come to the fore as perspectives of choice by policing experts.Community policing emphasizes the role of the community as "coproducers" of law andorder in conjunction with the police. Communities naturally vary in attributes, and theyvary in how they are defined for the purposes of community policing. Consequently,some communities look to add restrictions on police use of force, while others aresatisfied with the status quo, and still others seek to ease current restrictions.Regardless of the community's orientation on this issue, community policing meansincreased levels of accountability and responsiveness in key areas, such as use offorce.Use-of-force concerns also are reflected in the attention the media give to possibleinstances of police abuse. An accumulation of alleged abuse-of-force incidents, widelyreported in the media, encourages overgeneralization by giving the impression thatpolice brutality is rampant and that police departments across the Nation are out ofcontrol. For example, Human Rights Watch states,...
