1

Angelina Avsec

Lentschke

English 1302

21 April 2025

Police Brutality Project Proposal

Police Brutality is a subject that many find difficult to approach. For some, it’s simply an

emotionally taxing issue; others believe it to not be an issue at all. However, ignoring an issue

would not make it disappear, especially an issue withstanding police brutality. Systemic issues

are not easy to solve, and this is exactly why there should be attempts to solve them. Problems

like police brutality largely affect the less fortunate and more marginalized communities. This

issue will likely never be completely solved, but the extent to which it exists could possibly be

lessened. This could happen through a variety of police education programs and the restructuring

of police departments. These programs could require police officers to go through more

schooling and receive degrees, or this could require officers who do have records of brutality to

be given less leeway.

To understand this issue to the fullest extent, it is necessary to understand its root. This

issue has had roots in the American legal system as far back as the 1700s, with the

institutionalization of slave catchers and the passing of the fugitive slave act. Some might ask

why this is significant. There is no direct correlation between slave catchers and police

departments. “In order to demonstrate causation, one must show that policing drew its distinctive

practices and structure from slave patrols. But the evidence shows that American law
 2

enforcement…all emerged from distinctly English influences…this point lets us easily dispense

the claim that policing as an activity began with slave patrols.” However, codifying legislation

that explicitly targets Black Americans in policy created a direct link between discrimination and

law enforcement in America. It seems to be a bad faith argument to make it appear as if regional

legislation would not have further effect on future versions of policing. It may be true that

policing itself has roots in countries besides America. Still, those countries may not have the

same history of police violence as America, which is the very reason the parallel between slave

catching and policing is drawn.

Though the death of George Floyd in the year 2020 seemed to be the event that opened

the gates for such significant discussions, there was a spike in police violence the year after in

2021, and 2024 was a record year for police violence. “End of the year statistics released by

Mapping Police Violence, a non-profit research group that has been tracking police killings in

the US…found that police in the United States killed over 1,250 people in 2024. Overall, the

research group found that there were only 13 days in 2024 in which police did not kill

someone…someone in the US succumbs to police violence every seven hours,” Crosse goes on

to write that the youngest victim of police violence in 2024 was a two-month-old baby named,

Destinii who was killed along with her mother, Maria Pike. People refuse to believe that

situations such as these take place every day.

Since the rise of Black Lives Matter, many have suggested defunding the police. One

detail that makes this seem like a poor solution is stability. Of course, when one becomes tired of

the status quo, they will push for radical change. Some might think an overnight overhaul of such

an institution without creating fallbacks or alternatives could result in a vacuum of power or

some sort of crisis. However, defunding generally refers to the idea that funding should simply

be reallocated to other resources,” Although there are multiple interpretations of ‘defund the

police, ’ the basic definition is ‘to move funding away from police departments and into

community resources…” Which is not nearly as radical as it is exhibited in the media. Though it

lacks the accountability that should be required for police departments, it sounds like a start.

However, police education still requires close examination.

The standards for police officers are said to be high; most agencies require that to apply,

one must hold at least a high school diploma or GED (The state of Minnesota requires an

associate's degree) Training overall would take around a year. It takes around eight years to

become a lawyer and six years to become an FBI agent. This is logical when considering they

handle guns and artillery regularly. What is the difference between a police officer and an FBI

agent? Why would local enforcement officers, who interact with civilians every day, have less

education? Does that not put the public at risk? More programs should be opened to further

police education. These programs would not be the week-long seminars that have circulated in

recent years. The programs would act similarly to a social-work course and would hopefully

institute a larger sense of responsibility in law enforcement.

The best way to solve the issue is to educate the public and officers. It is also important to

hold officers accountable. If this is done to the furthest extent possible, I truly believe that it is

possible to lessen the magnitude of police brutality. Why should guns be put into the hands of

those not educated to the fullest possible extent?

Works Cited

Mapping Police Violence. “Mapping Police Violence.” Mapping Police Violence, 2024,

mappingpoliceviolence.org/.

Crosse, Jacob . “US police killed record number of people in 2024.” Wsws.org, 2 Jan. 2025,

www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/01/03/xymt-j03.html. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.

Hsiao, Timothy. “Did American Police Originate from Slave Patrols? By Timothy Hsiao | NAS.”

Www.nas.org, 2023,

www.nas.org/academic-questions/36/3/did-american-police-originate-from-slave-patrols.