A Case Study on Police Misconduct in the United States of America and an Applicable Model for the Turkish National Police. Page: 17
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all people, those who violate the constitutional rights and privileges of people should be
punished more severely than perpetrators of ordinary crimes.
Author Egon Bittner states, "The role of the police is best understood as a
mechanism for the distribution of nonnegotiable coercive force employed in accordance
with the dictates of an intuitive grasp of situational exigencies" (as cited in Kerstetter et
al., 1996). According to Bittner, the nature of the police job is nothing but a series of
conflict resolved through the use of force. None of the parties in this conflict resolution
system are happy, but to some extent, all are forced to sacrifice some rights unwillingly.
Police work is not only conflict management, however. The police sometimes apply
sanctions, sometimes use force, and sometimes proactively move to prevent crime.
David Cohen sees the police as a unique arm of the government. The police are
entitled to use physical force both for and against people in order to protect the public at
large. In fact, the only institution that has the power to use physical force to control
problems in society is the police force (Cohen, 1996). The police then have not only a
very complicated position in society. They have a very problematic position. Franklin
states that the "police power of state" is established to secure the common good, the
general prosperity, as well as the public safety, health, and moral values. Franklin asserts
that this power is nonnegotiable, but should not be used arbitrarily or oppressively. Police
should primarily use force only when it serves the greater good (Franklin, 1999).
On the other hand, Michael Conant points out that, constitutional limitations
function "to protect the civil rights of persons against abusive actions in any branch of the
government." If civil rights are at stake, then constitutional limitations should be17
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Lofca, Izzet. A Case Study on Police Misconduct in the United States of America and an Applicable Model for the Turkish National Police., thesis, August 2002; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc3234/m1/23/: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .