ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q1-2025

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Continued from "Excessive Use of Force", on page 20

since it is quite easy to detect and address. However, police vio lence can be expressed in various other less apparent methods, sometimes subtle and often difficult to identify. It can range from simple verbal menace to acts of torture. For example, without being exhaustive, we can mention:

In general terms, LEAs are commonly divided into two main branches: public safety and criminal investigation. Concerning public safety, officers are confronted to emergency and serious situations that are stressful and can easily represent a threat to their integrity or life. In this context, the unlawful violence com mitted by officers can respond to the aggression and violence that themselves face in their daily work. On the other hand, violence committed by detectives in charge of criminal investigations follows a different logic. They are fully result-oriented, i.e., their main objective is to address and resolve investigations they are responsible for. Further more, in addition to their own commitment to professionally be effective and successful, detectives will often be under extreme pressure from hierarchy, Justice, media and, depending on the case media coverage, from the political level. All this contributes to the enactment of a results-oriented culture, which essentially translates into obtaining suspect con fession. It will therefore be necessary to be particularly vigilant about suspects’ interviews because a results-oriented culture could lead to an unlawful use of force to achieve objectives. In both cases, the use of force can appear legitimate and jus tified for police officers even if disproportionate. Undeniably, the major issue in preventing excessive or unjustified use of force relies on that officers may consider it useful and thus legitimate for a given objective whether in response to the aggressiveness and violence experienced during their interventions or to solve a major case.

- Abusive / unjustified control - Unjustified security pat-downs/body searches

- Excessive or unnecessary use of non-lethal weapons (use of taser, excessive handcuffs tightening, use of unjustified or excessive and painful immobilization techniques, etc.) - Verbal violence or abuse - Discrimination / racist or sexist remarks - Humiliation In all, there are many possibilities of carrying out acts of violence, at different instances and places. In addition, police of ficers know perfectly their work environment, the means at their disposal which is a significant asset in concealing these acts and, if necessary, evidence. We must add to this a strong corporatism in police culture in which a certain law of silence reigns. As pointed out previously, police leaders must acquire a comprehensive knowledge of police culture and its underlying mechanisms. Law enforcement agencies have to face a wide range of missions: from public safety to criminal investigation or administrative policing. As a consequence, LEAs are struc tured and integrated by several units with highly different tasks, missions, purposes and working methodologies. Understand ing these different subcultures is essential for police leaders to identify risk situations and the reasons underlying violence.

continued on page 31

24 FBINAA.ORG | Q1 2025