Abstract
The United States criminal justice system is expected to protect law and order, through law enforcement agencies, and protect the public from crime and disorder. The founding fathers intended that the system would justly implement the law to protect all Americans as equal. However, events, such as the shooting of an unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, by a Fergusson police officer, Darren Wilson, in 2014, the failure to indict the perpetrator, and the militarized response to the protests resulted reveal a high level of failure in law enforcement leadership. The system remains racist and unfairly targets minority communities through policies, such as reasonable use of force. Major changes are necessary to improve law enforcement leadership and police reforms to eradicate racism and improve the relationship between law enforcement officers and public members. Such changes will improve law enforcement culture and create a just and fair criminal justice system.
The Failure of the Justice System in the United States
America’s founding fathers created the criminal justice system to protect the citizens, keep communities safe, and respect and restore victims. The system is meant to protect society by apprehending offenders for rehabilitation and reintegration into society after completing their prison term. Besides, as a protective arm of the government, the system is anticipated to apply the principle of partiality when dealing with community members, whether offenders or law-abiding citizens, to gain the public’s trust. However, in many instances, the criminal justice system has failed in its role of protecting the public. A significant racial divide exists among the public relating to the high level of inequality and impartiality in protecting the American people (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005). The vast racial divide characterizes the current justice system and law enforcement in the country, explained by sustained racism. The justice system has caused fear among some parts of the community, such as the minority races, such as African Americans (O’Hara, 2012).). The system has failed in many instances, causing societal concerns and new demands for reforms. While many examples of failure in the criminal justice system have occurred in the past, the recent calls for justice through movements, such as “Black Lives Matter,” indicate the growing need for reforms to restore law enforcement and regain trust in its ability to protect communities.
The Significant Federal Criminal Justice Event
The Hashtag Black Lives Matter has become widespread in American society, involving the cries for justice for American blacks in the wake of unarmed individuals’ shootings by law enforcement officers, such as in Brown’s case, a teenager shot by a law enforcement officer in Ferguson. The movement became especially important in the United States through social media as the public advanced the course for justice and the end of racism in the justice system (Ince, Rojas, & Davis, 2017). The event is motivated by the increasing racial discrimination in law enforcement that has led to the deaths of young African Americans in police officers’ hands, which are meant to protect every member of society. For example, the officers are expected to arrest and charge suspects in the court of law. However, the officers have increasingly shot unarmed blacks instead of allowing them to defend themselves in court. The shooting of an unarmed teenager, Michael Brown, is an example of the country’s justice system (Potterf & Pohl, 2018). The shooting of the teenager and the heavily militarized police response provide evidence of the system’s failures to fight the injustices against blacks, which has resulted in further shootings of blacks and the miscarriage of justice.
Darren Wilson, 28-year-old white Ferguson law enforcement officer, fatally shot Michael Brown Jr., an 18-year-old black man, on August 9, 2014. The shooting took place in Ferguson, Missouri, while the victim was with a 22-year-old friend Dorian Johnson (Potterf & Pohl, 2018). The witnesses testified that Wilson and Brown’s confrontation started when the former grabbed the latter by the neck through the window of a police car and proceeded to shoot him. The witness further stated that the victim was unarmed, which meant that he was not a threat to the police officer (Jawando & Parsons, 2014). In an ideal situation, the officer should have arrested the teenager and charged him in court. However, the shooting indicates a failure in the law enforcement sector and the country’s entire justice system. The killing instigated protests in the country using the hashtag Black Lives Matter, which led to the militarized response, which is a further indication of failure in the United States justice system.
The pinnacle of failure in handling the Brown’s case was how the grand jury dealt with the case against Wilson when he was charged in court for shooting an unarmed teenager and the processing of the protests in the wake of the shooting. Wilson was charged in the court for the teenager’s death, but the jury failed to indict him for his role in the shooting. Regardless of being presented with hours of testimonies and numerous documents to support the allegations against the officer, the jury still concluded that the evidence was not adequate to indict the perpetrator in Brown’s shooting (Jawando & Parsons, 2014). The jury’s failure to indict the officer meant that he would quickly get away with the crime and that society would fail to hold him accountable for violating the law. The incidence revealed that the country’s justice system is flawed and biased towards the majority race, white and impartial towards the minority, such as African Americans (O’Hara, 2012). The event also supports observations that racial minorities continue to be unfairly targeted by law enforcement officers in the country without any repercussions. Prosecutors and police appear to be rewarded for convictions and fail to be held accountable for the increase in racism within the country’s criminal justice system (Ezorsky, 2018). In an ideal justice system, Wilson and other white law enforcement officers would face justice for their acts against racial minority groups.
The Black Lives Matter protests are fuelled by the increasing deaths of unarmed African American youth in the police’s hands, who are white-majority. The issue of police use of force targets black youth more than any other racial group in the country. Unfortunately, perpetrators quickly get away with their actions since the system has failed to protect and bring justice to the perpetrators. The majority-white jury is most likely to be biased towards the white perpetrator, like what was evident in Officer Wilson (Jawando & Parsons, 2014). Besides the unfair and unjust handling of Brown’s case, the country has a record of many other instances in which officers get away with their actions due to the racist criminal system. For example, a grand jury in Staten Island, New York, failed to indict New York Police Officer Daniel Pantaleo, who killed Eric Garner. Notably, the unarmed black man entered into the record of the criminal justice system’s continued failure in the United States. In this particular instance, the criminal justice system failed to act on the case even though the officer’s actions were caught on tape (Jawando & Parsons, 2014). As is evident from various criminal cases, the country has records of many instances of the system’s failure to provide justice for law enforcement officers’ victims, for merely being racial minorities.
The Failures that Caused the Event
The Black Lives Matter protests in the United States, such as those witnessed following Brown’s shooting, indicate the justice system’s failure in performing its protective role in communities across the country. The event turns back to research and evidence of the system’s failure characterized by systematic racism and racial biases when dealing with members of minority communities in the country. The events that followed the identified failure reverts to the findings made by O’Hara (2012), including the failure of criminal justice agencies in the country. The events that led to protects revealed the system’s failure to protect the racial minority in the United States, which has remained a significant challenge for decades. The book shows major structural and cultural fault lines within the law enforcement agencies, which has led to the unfair and unjust treatment of the racial minority groups, especially blacks in the United States. The police officer in Brown’s shooting did not have a second thought before shooting the teenager since he knew how easy it would be to get away with the act in the country’s racist criminal justice system.
The criminal justice system in the country has significant loopholes that could have led to Brown’s shooting, the jury’s failure to indict Officer Wilson, and the violent response to the fire’s protests and the miscarriage of justice. The event’s primary cause is based on the persistent inequalities in the country’s criminal justice system, which has created a culture that permits the unjust treatment against the racial minority in the country (O’Hara, 2012). The system’s failure has given the leeway for law enforcement officers to continue shooting and unfairly arresting members of the minority communities. The latter are increasingly overrepresented in the corrections facilities, while the police get away with their actions. Law enforcement officers in the United States have developed the culture of targeting minority individuals, not informed by their tendency to commit a crime, but due to their skin (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005). As a result, when policing, they are most likely to target, arrest, or even kill, an unarmed African American.
Another failure that caused the event in the United States’ criminal justice is the failure in leadership and the system’s administration. Leadership plays a critical role in the success of any organization in a country. Therefore, failure in the management of the system’s administration reflects leadership failure, such as the inability to prevent justice’s miscarriage. According to Cordner (2016), the governmental and political system in the country should have influential leaders, who understand the need to protect communities from criminals and to make critical decisions that promote positive behavior by the police personnel. The author further states that proper leadership and administration are at the core of successful law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Therefore, undesirable political relationship creates an environment that allows miscarriage of justice, while at the same time, members of some communities that should ideally enjoy police protection continues to suffer. Leaders and policy-makers’ failure inform the continued challenges, such as excessive use of force against the minority in the country (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2005). Based on such system failures and poor management of criminal cases in the country, the situations led to the event since the officer understood that he could easily evade justice after shooting the black teenager.
The justice system’s failure that led to the shooting of brown relates to a culture that poor leadership has created. For example, Wilson was aware that his skin color would lead to his freedom in a white majority jury. He enjoyed the justice system’s protection, which gave him the confidence to shoot an unarmed black teenager. The system is far from ideal, which would protect lives by trying and prosecuting every person who commits a crime, such as murder. However, O’Hara (2012) reveals a history of a racist system in which the person’s skin determines whether the individual faces the law for a crime. The aftermath of Brown’s shooting confirms the reality of the failure of the American justice system. Regardless of the sufficient evidence to support the claim that Wilson was not justified to shoot the unarmed teenager, the jury failed to indict him. Overall, the event reveals a system with a culture of racism that affects how law enforcement officers relate with members of the minority communities.
Why Law Enforcement Organizations Fail
Various researchers have focused on the American justice system and law enforcement, which, in particular, revealed major systematic failures. They reveal major issues and shortcomings in how the police relate and interact with the public. O’Hara (2012) conducted a detailed analysis of the system, revealing significant shortcomings in law enforcement, including leadership that created the culture of impunity and miscarriage of justice along racial lines. The author further explained the critical roles of operational mechanics, organizational structures, and bureaucracy that allow the country’s justice system’s ongoing failure. Institutional racism is one of the main reasons for the loss of the justice system, which creates a culture in which law enforcement officers can perpetrate atrocities against minority communities’ members and get away with it. Besides, managers and oversight officials have failed to hold perpetrators accountable for their crimes, which gives them the leeway to continue offending (Sarver & Miller, 2014). The justice system appears reluctant to address the challenges, which has led to the ongoing cases of murders of blacks by law enforcement officers. The current environment supports the injustices, although the book provides guidelines on how to resolve the crisis.
Scholarly work provides a useful framework for analyzing failures within law enforcement and the criminal justice system in general. O’Hara (2012) presents a detailed framework that can help understand Brown’s shooting and the resultant miscarriage of justice by the white jury. The event occurred since the justice system has failed to eliminate malignant individuals and continue to provide perverse incentives for them to continue operating. From the author’s perspective, the justice system appears to have sent to the street law enforcement officers who can quickly kill those they consider undesirable members of society. The system’s leadership has failed to neutralize the deviant culture and create new philosophies based on equality (Sarver & Miller, 2014). Instead, the criminal justice system continues to motivate a crisis that makes the deviance and trigger officers, who quickly shoot to kill at will, and an organization that allows them to get away with their actions. Furthermore, criminal justice management and policies remain limited in dealing with racism and institutionalized injustices.
At the center of the debate about the criminal justice system’s failure and law enforcement in the United States is the system’s rudimentary functioning inequities. The country’s justice system, which is expected to protect communities equally, is marred by injustices and inequalities, affecting the relationship between the police and the policed. O’Hara (2012) and Jawando and Parsons (2014) present a detailed and partial analysis of the problem that affects the system, including the failed police practices, aggressive policing and excessive use of force, and false arrest and prosecution policies. Criminal sentencing and the unfair impact of the criminal justice system on the minority communities continue to affect the United States’ justice system. The argument that the criminal justice system is fundamentally rigged against the communities of color persists and is unchallenged considering the ongoing failure to protect them, the unlawful killings of blacks by police officers, and the eventual miscarriage of justice, such as in Brown’s case (Garland, 2014). The failure eventually increased the gap between black and white views on policing and its justice system. Besides, the challenges in race relations within American society appears to be increasing, and the system has failed to address it. Unfortunately, no recent attempts to change the policy have succeeded in the past, evidenced in blacks’ continued killings and their proportional representation in the country’s corrections facilities.
Part 2
The Results and Impact of the Failures on the Federal Agency
The failure of law enforcement created a severe problem for the American society for failure to prevent the murder of the unarmed black young man and lack of effective investigation and prosecution of the offender. Besides, the failure in law enforcement in Fergusson led to excessive use of force, which led to Brown’s death and the militarized response to protests (Garland, 2014). Brown would likely be alive today if the federal agency did not fail to protect Fergusson’s black community. The result of the failure includes the lack of use of accepted practices in policing, a case that raises the broader issue of race and justice in the criminal justice system (O’Hara, 2012). The failure allowed the white police to use force, kills an unarmed teenager, and evade punishment due to the minority-majority race interactions.
The failure of the law enforcement agency in Fergusson created a state of anarchy in the city and across the country as people protected the death of a young black teenager in a police officer’s hands. In the days following the shooting, Ferguson experienced protests and violence, which resulted from the law enforcement agency’s failure to protect the community (Garland, 2014). The failure also led to unprecedented global scrutiny relating to racism in the American criminal justice system. The event’s impact reflects on the evidence that O’Hara (2012) gives about the issue of race in the country. The agency’s failure also led to tension between the public and other government authorities, such as the prosecution. The events also opened up the country to criticism, with people around the world wondering what led to the situation and how it could be addressed to restore the justice system’s trust and legitimacy.
How leadership (or lack of) impacted the Outcome of the Event
Effective leadership is critical for successful law enforcement and the ability to deal with the challenging and complex issues affecting contemporary society. Therefore, any failure in law enforcement reflects on a lack of effective leadership in police organizations. Ineffective police leaders fail to respond to society’s challenges and even worsen the situation due to their inefficiencies (Sarver & Miller, 2014). In the case of Brown’s murder, the criminal justice system in general, law enforcement agency in particular, fails to respond appropriately to prosecute perpetrators and bring order in society, such as by preventing the Black Lives Matter protests conspired afterward (Garland, 2014). The police responded with excessive force toward individuals who gathered on the streets to protest the murder, reflecting negatively on leaders who allowed the miscarriage of justice the resulting violence.
Law enforcement leadership in the United States failed to develop a policing culture that would respect diversity in society. They were unable to understand the forces to which law enforcement officers should adapt and change to become more effective in working with members of communities across the country and preserve law and order (Miller, 2014). The failure in leadership created a loophole that allowed police officers to shoot and kill members of minority communities, such as in Brown in 2014. Furthermore, leadership failed to comprehend and implement the forces that drive organizational changes and develop new models within the justice system that would lead to Officer Wilson’s prosecution for shooting and killing an innocent American. Leaders within the system failed to prosecute for the crime and to prevent the violence that ensued afterward during protests against the killing.
Specific Decisions, Procedures, and Policies
Police offices are not perfect and sometimes misinterpret individuals’ movement and miscalculate the seriousness of threats that suspects pose to others. As a result, many police departments in the country apply a “continuum of force” policy to maximize the possibility that a response by police will be proportional to the actions of the suspect (Garland, 2014). Although policies differ from one department to another, a majority allows the police to use reasonable force when dealing with suspects (Miller, 2014). The policy and procedures are typical sequences that law enforcement officers use to control a suspect. Officers make decisions regarding the use of force using tools, such as chemical agents, voice commands, use of hands, baton, and canine. However, reasonable force does not involve the use of deadly force like in Brown’s case.
The policy that supports reasonable use of force is a primary cause of law enforcement challenges in the United States. According to Bedi and Futterman (2017), there is a need for a policy that deletes concept, “reasonably believes” or “reasonably necessary” due to the loopholes they cause in law enforcement and leave the police with the room to make a flawed judgment when dealing with the public. The use of reasonable force policy fails to provide clear guidance to law enforcement officers, which causes the risk of misinterpretation, human error, and flawed judgment (Bedi & Futterman, 2017). Changes are necessary for the policy, especially in permitting deadly force when dealing with offenders. For example, in Brown’s case, the police officer was not justified to use deadly force on the teenager because he was unarmed. Although the justice process was followed, including charging the perpetrator, racism affected the outcome of the case. The idea of reasonable force should be revisited in law enforcement leadership to prevent further challenges in law enforcement in the United States and the shooting of unarmed Americans in the name of protecting law and order.
Prevention of such Failures
Effective leadership and significant changes in the criminal justice system in general and law enforcement agency, in particular, would play a key role in preventing such failures that led to the shooting and killing of Brown and the lack of accountability that led to the miscarriage of justice. Effective leadership would have prevented Brown’s shooting and killing and the miscarriage of justice by failing to prosecute Officer Wilson, who committed the murder (Garland, 2014). Furthermore, the ensuing protests also reflect a failure in leadership, especially in how the police responded to the protectors with aggression and violence. Property and effectively led police departments would not have reacted the way law enforcement officers in Ferguson responded to the protests (Sarver & Miller, 2014). Thus, proper leadership would have prevented the killing, violence, and the miscarriage of justice.
Another way the criminal justice would have prevented the event that resulted from failures in the agency is a change in the policing culture in Ferguson and the country in general. O’Hara (2012) suggests that the main reason for failures in law enforcement is the racist culture and excessive force and violence when dealing with members of the public. Therefore, cultural change would help bridge the gap between law enforcement and the public (Sarver & Miller, 2014). The change would also improve the relationship between the police and the people, especially from the minority communities in the country. Such transformations would have prevented the situation in which law enforcement officers use force against such individuals and even shoot them when responding to crime.
Recommendations
Evidence suggests that the American justice system is flawed and necessitates critical changes to improve the system and address the prevalent issues. Specific changes are necessary for law enforcement in the United States to improve policing and the relationship between officers and public members. First, leadership should use an adequate model, such as the participative leadership approach, to improve policies and decisions regarding how officers deal with public (Sarver & Miller, 2014). Engaging all officers in making policies, procedures, and decisions will play a key role in preventing the failures that led to Brown’s shooting, the ensuing protests, and failure to indict the perpetrator. Another necessary change in the country’s law enforcement agencies is proper training to change the culture of policing. The current criminal justice system is marred with racism, which is one reason for the unequal treatment of the communities of color in the US. Therefore, the system should implement proper training of law enforcement officers to change the present culture and improve how they police different societies (Souhami, 2014). Adequate training will create a new culture and enhance the relationship between law enforcement officers and public members.
A time has come for the criminal justice system in the United States to address institutionalized racism, which is a significant cause of Brown’s case’s failures. O’Hara (2012) recommends systematic changes that will improve the way law enforcement officers in the country police the communities of color to enhance the relationship between the police and public members. The government should anti-racism policies and ensure that all law enforcement officers understand them to reduce the use of excessive force and other forms of violence when dealing with crime in the communities (Souhami, 2014) New policies and procedures are necessary in the country to improve leadership and prevent a miscarriage of justice in cases dealing with members of minority communities in the country. Significant changes will transform law enforcement and promote equality when dealing with crimes in society. The racial differences have persisted for many years, since the slavery period, and should be addressed through major institutionalized and systematic changes to ensure that justice occurs for all Americans regardless of the color of their skins.
Conclusion
As part of the criminal justice system, law enforcement agencies in the United States play a crucial role in preserving law and order and protecting the public from criminals. Conventionally, law enforcement officers work within communities to prevent crime and ensure law and order. As a result, they interact with members of the public. While contact with the public is expected to be positive, it can also be harmful, especially if disagreements and excessive force ensue. The police are expected to use reasonable force when dealing with the public, but in some cases, they use it excessively to the point of death or injuries. Such an event is the shooting of Brown, a black teenager, by Officer Wilson in Ferguson. The killing resulted in widespread protests in the city and across the Black Lives Matter banner. The police responded to the protests with violence, especially following the court’s failure to indict the perpetrator. The situation reveals the continued prevalence of racism and ineffective leadership in the country’s law enforcement agencies and the need for changes in the culture and relationship between the police and public members, especially minority communities. Major reforms are necessary in the American justice system to eradicate racism and the miscarriage of justice caused by white majority officers against minority communities. The changes will not only eradicate the problem, but also increase the level of trust towards law enforcement officers and agencies throughout the country.
References
Cordner, G.W. (2016). Police Administration (9th edition), New York: Routledge Publishing
Ezorsky, G. (2018). Racism and justice: The case for affirmative action. Cornell University Press.
Garland, E. (2014). Is Trouble in Ferguson a Design Failure of its Government Structure? Center for American Progress
Hurwitz, J., & Peffley, M. (2005). Explaining the great racial divide: Perceptions of fairness in the US criminal justice system. The Journal of Politics, 67(3), 762-783.
Ince, J., Rojas, F., & Davis, C. A. (2017). The social media response to Black Lives Matter: how Twitter users interact with Black Lives Matter through hashtag use. Ethnic and racial studies, 40(11), 1814-1830.
Jawando. M.L. & Parsons, C. (2014). 4 ideas that could begin to reform the criminal justice system and improve police-community relations, Center for American Progress
Miller, L. L. (2014). Racialized state failure and the violent death of Michael Brown. Theory & Event, 17(3).
O’Hara, P. (2012). Why law enforcement organizations fail (2nd edition), Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press.
Potterf, J. E., & Pohl, J. R. (2018). A black teen, a white cop, and a city in turmoil: Analyzing newspaper reports on Ferguson, Missouri and the death of Michael Brown. Journal of contemporary criminal justice, 34(4), 421-441.
Sarver, M. B., & Miller, H. (2014). Police chief leadership: styles and effectiveness. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management.
Souhami, A. (2014). Institutional racism and police reform: An empirical critique. Policing and society, 24(1), 1-21.
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