In the matter of a year, nearly 6,000 reports of police misconduct have been reported with nearly 600 of these linked to prison inmate deaths while under the watch of an officer (Statistics). This is a staggering number and hundreds more have occurred but were kept on the "down low" and were never reported. With the current policies in place not being effective states must revise their laws and create a system that more strictly deals with police brutality. This can be done through moral workshops and harsher penalties on officers convicted of withholding information or performing an act of excessive force. Everyday police officers are on the streets protecting us from the dangers of society and are forced to make split second decisions in order to protect themselves and the public from danger. According to a handbook on police conduct in West Virginia, these officers are forced to make, "Critical and quick judgment, often when the circumstances are volatile and potentially deadly" (Police Misconduct). With life and death situations right in front of them officers are forced to make decision of whether or not force is appropriate for the situation. Many of the cases that occur are often when an officer misreads a situation and applies force when it was not needed. .
Part one of my solution to hub the occurrence of police brutality is to enroll all new and current officers into a program where they learn to read body language and other indicators that will help them decide when to use force in order to subdue the criminal. This will lower the rates of excessive force used on criminals who are not resisting arrest at all such as the case of Abner Louima who was falsely accused of hitting an officer outside a nightclub and then unjustly beaten multiple times on the way to the police station (Kirschner). In this case, four officers were indicted but all the evidence was destroyed by officers in the jurisdiction before the case was even reported.