Spring Break
Experts weigh in on criminal justice issues
Nick Wells
Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: News
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Following an Arts and Sciences (A&S) Student Council Meeting, council members and students joined Dr. Wayne Lucas, professor in Sociology and Criminal Justice Department; Tom Jacobs, former KCPD officer; and Dr. Ken Novak, associate professor in the Sociology and Criminal Justice Department, discussing the issues surrounding criminal justice. The panel touched on a number of topics, such as police brutality, racial profiling and drug use.
Novak began by defining police brutality.
"Police brutality can be defined by any use of force that is in excess to what is necessary to make an arrest or induce compliance," Novak said. "But the question then becomes, how do policy makers monitor that - how do you gage out on the street how much force is quote, 'enough'?"
The forum included a series of videos, highlighted by Bob Marley's "Children of the Ghetto," which set the atmosphere for the evening. A video of the Florida University student being arrested and Tasered was also shown, followed by a montage of clips of people being beaten by the boys in blue. One clip showed police repeatedly using PR-24s, a type of police baton, on a 64-year-old black man.
Jacobs said this video was an example of unnecessary force.
"Policy [training instructs] do not hit someone in the face with a PR-24 unless there is a lethal force level, in other words that person is trying to kill you or somebody else and you cannot get to your weapon," Jacobs said. "The center of the body, from the head down, is supposed to be off limits."
Students questioned Jacobs about how police use the Taser.
"The Taser came along so officers would not have to get in close and actually be involved in the use of physical force," Jacobs said.
Novak addressed the increasing use of Tasers
"With the increase in the availability of Tasers came an increase in the use of Tasers," he said. "So you are seeing more use of force of less than lethal nature, and the use of lethal force has gone down, not at the exact same rate, but it has gone down."
Lucas followed Novak by addressing the connection between drug use and police force.
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