NCJ Number
163103
Journal
Law Enforcement Technology Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1996) Pages: 31-33,44-45
Date Published
1996
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Eleven police chiefs, educators, and law enforcement leaders assess the impact on law enforcement and criminal justice of O.J. Simpson's criminal acquittal.
Abstract
Most the individuals who contributed to this article believe that, while police officers may have suffered in public opinion because of revelations of the behavior of Mark Fuhrman, the public's opinion about the police is very much determined by the way policing is done in the community where the citizens live. Mark Fuhrman is not representative of the vast number of professional police officers, who are well-trained, well-supervised, and do society's most difficult job with a high degree of professionalism. The Fuhrman tapes may turn out to be even more offensive to women than to African-Americans, but that may help get more women into policing and therefore change the way police respond to women reporting spouse abuse. The Simpson case is no more extraordinary than Ruby Ridge and Waco and cases of police corruption which bring law enforcement negative publicity. Law enforcement bodies must assure the community that they do not intend to abuse their authority or to condone the actions of police personnel who do.