'All I Want to Say is That They Don't Really Care about Us': Reducing Police Misconduct via Social Control Theory
25 Pages Posted: 16 Feb 2017 Last revised: 24 Apr 2017
Date Written: February 13, 2017
Abstract
In response to a nationwide increase in allegations of police misconduct or police brutality, Congress amended grant funding availability in July 2016 for its “Cops on the Beat” program, an extension of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Through these amendments, Congress sought to create a larger community presence and enhance officer conflict resolution, mediation, and problem-solving skills. In this Article, the author argues that Congress did not achieve this result, resulting in greater friction between community and law enforcement interaction and a predicts an increase of future altercations. The author examines the New Orleans consent decree by applying Hirschi’s Social Bond Theory to ascertain the effectiveness of community outreach, residency requirements, and mandatory use of body cameras. In the end, he concludes that the “Cops on the Beat” Program is not viable legislation and offers suggestions based on social-bonding theory in creating legislation mirroring the New Orleans consent decree to reduce incidents of officer misconduct against the community they serve.
Keywords: Social Bond, Social Bonding, Control Theory, Social Control Theory, use of force, police misconduct, consent decree, body camera, body-worn camera, body worn camera, police shooting, residency requirement, police training, police hiring
JEL Classification: K00, K10, K14, K19, K42
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation