Category: A12: Causal Rewrite

The threats of terrorism is paralyzing to us. Because of past attacks, we fear of going to sporting events and other large social gatherings. A few examples of recent terrorist attacks that occurred, would be the Boston marathon and the bombing in the Germany vs France soccer game before the European Cup. The attack in France resulted in an unbelievable amount of security on all areas of France. These terroristic threats occurring in todays society causes major problems for the world. The people fear from experiencing some of the most entertaining events the world has to offer. By terrorists creating fear in the people, it helps terroristic groups achieve there ultimate goal, which is to cause chaos and fear.

The people of The US, have mostly agreed that the number one problem that we face in the US is terrorism, according to Rebecca Riffkin, in her article “Americans Name Terrorism as No. 1 U.S. Problem”.  Riffkin claims about one in every six americans feel terrorism is the biggest problem going on in the world. From these results terrorism should then be the first things we solve in America, rather than worrying about others issues. If the people agree on a problem, the government should react to the problem first before the issue increases to a bigger deal.

Terrorism is an on occurring problem in Syria. ISIS who is one of the most popular terroristic groups has been getting involved with Syria and creating chaos. Syrians fearing for there lives are deporting Syria and trying to make there way into other countries that are willing to accept them, which is creating more problems for countries letting in these refugees. ISIS is not a fan of the Syrians leaving, because if these Syrians leave and they are fleeing the country, Isis will have no one to terrorism which defeats the whole idea of terrorizing these people. By The US allowing these people to come into our country causes many problems for us, for which we do not know who they are or what types of ethics they believe in. The U.S could have many benefits by having Syrians stay in Syria in terms of defeating ISIS. By having Syrians stay in Syria it allow ISIS to be all in one area of the world rather than in all different countries, which will allow the counter terrorism programs to intervene and defeat ISIS easily.

First off by the U.S getting involved with ISIS will feel threatened by the U.S and will cause ISIS to do an unethical response such as another attack in fear of retaliation. The people of America feel unsafe already with terrorism, due to recent events that have occurred all over the world so, why should the government go looking out for more problems? The U.S should be fixing the problem and exterminating terrorism here in there own country first. Once the U.S do so, they can begin to offer help to other countries. By the U.S getting involved with these issues in Syria it results in the U.S national security to get into self defense mood. Which will result in more fear for the american people which is not something the people would look forward too.

Many problems occur with letting in these Syrian refugees in, such as we don’t truly know who is coming into the U.S. Many of these refugees are coming in with past crimes such as rape and murder. Now we are letting these Syrians in with who will continue with these lifestyles. By letting these Syrians in with these types of lifestyles they will inflict harm on our own people, because the government didn’t know who they were truly letting in. Another problem that occurs with these refugees is some of these Syrian refugees have forged papers and are really with ISIS which is a giant problem within itself, know we are letting in these people who we are trying to take out and defeat the U.S. Many believe that our government should have great knowledge of the refugees who are coming into the country, and if the government cant confirm who these refugees are then don’t let them in, that is how you create safety and hope for the people. By letting these Syrians into the U.S it is causing more problems rather than solving one. By just closing off the borders of American we are one step closer to defeating ISIS and are taking the fear out of the people. 

The best bet for the US to offer a great chance in safety for the people would be to let other countries take action on the problems that are occurring in Syria, and to just have the US worry about themselves. Even though other people and countries believe to stop terrorism the U.S should go attack ISIS head on, that would cause more problems rather then good. The US has many issues to deal with between its own countries and there problems, to go on and worry about how another country is doing. If it is such a big concern to the world why hasn’t anyone else stepped in and intervene?   

It seems we have always been accustomed to violence and crime inside U.S cities. It makes sense, more people more crime.However crime has been rising for years and even in the past year crimes such as homicides, rapes, assaults and shootings have risen. So naturally when more felony’s are committed in an area its safe to say law enforcement will appear in those areas. The officers will be on higher alert now and will most likely engage in more action if crime has risen. In an article written by the National Review they used statistics from the Post that said American police had fatally shot 965 people in 2015, 564 of those killed were armed with a gun, 281 were armed with another weapon, and 90 were unarmed. This means that 70% or more cases involving fatal shootings are after an officer is put into danger, defending himself or defending someone else. Unfortunately, these communities with high crime rates tend to reside in the inner-city. The most dominate race in inner-cities happens to be African American and Latinos. According to pbs.org “Across the nation, four out of five whites live outside of the cities and 86% of whites live in neighborhoods where minorities make up less than 1% of the population. In contrast, 70% of Blacks and Latinos live in the cities or inner-ring suburbs.” With these factors connecting one another we can see now why it seems to be that more and more African American men and women as well as Latinos are being arrested. When it comes to race the common view is that these fatal shootings on the black communities by white law enforcement is normal. However, its only 4% of all fatal shootings performed by officers each year.  And the reason most African Americans are fatally shot in these areas is simply because general areas with large black populations tend to have high crime/death rates. In the National Review article by David French he says blacks “commit homicide at close to eight times the rate of whites and Hispanics combined….among males between the ages of 14 and 17, the interracial homicide commission gap is nearly tenfold.” French goes on further to say  “In 2014, for example, while black Americans constituted only about 13 percent of the population, they represented a majority of the homicide and robbery arrests. 82 percent of all gun deaths in the black community are from homicide. For whites, 77 percent of gun deaths are suicides.” Although, even with statistics proving that cops are simply just doing their job and trying to protect the non-vigilantes; black communities are still in an uproar over the death toll. Thus, movements such as “Black Lives Matter,” have come about over this issue. Then, a domino effect starts. We see one protest turn violent, which leads to another, which then leads to an attack on officers. We should try and steer away from media analysis and rather understand the data because it paints a different picture. The real issue is poverty and the construction of these neighborhoods. If we can move and help minorities in the inner-cities move out or help these areas grow towards success, then crime and violence would go down. Cops are there to do their job and not to start some form of a race war. People make individual choices to break the law it has nothing to do with race. A white man is just as dangerous as a black man and we should still understand that.

French, David. “The Numbers Are In: Black Lives Matter Is Wrong about Police.” National Review. National Review, 28 Jan. 2016. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/429094/black-lives-matter-wrong-police-shootings

Bruer, Wesley. “Violent Crime Rising in US Cities, Study Finds.” CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 22 Nov. 2016.

Calming the Storm

Officer James R. Burns was proud to represent the Atlanta Police Department on his dress blues, but since he discharged his revolver on June 22, 2016, the Atlanta police department reminds him that he mortally wounded a 22-year-old in the line of duty. Officer Burns responded to reports of a suspicious man lurking in an Atlanta apartment complex. When officer Burns arrived, he attempted to block a 2011 silver Ford Fusion that was leaving the complex. Deravis Caine Rogers did not try to hit the officer, while Burns stood at the rear of his patrol vehicle. Officer Burns had no information describing Rogers as a threat and had no way to identify that Rogers as the man reported. Regardless, officer Burns fired a single shot through Rogers’ vehicle, hitting Rodgers in the back of the head. Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard charged officer James R. Burns with felony murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and violation of his oath of office. To this day, officer Burns is currently part of an ongoing court case. He has been charged with multiple felonies and has been relieved of his duties at the Atlanta Police Department. The stress from a shooting is sometimes overwhelming as the officer may feel betrayed by the department he/she serves. In addition, an officer faces administrative and legal proceeding which could result in termination, criminal charges or even being sued. A study conducted in 2002 by David Klinger, a professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Senior Fellow at the Police Foundation in Washington, DC., surveyed 80 police officers who’ve all shot suspects in their careers. Of the 80 police officers surveyed, 48% still experience trouble sleeping and an outstanding 83% have recurrent thoughts or feelings. An unhealthy mindset as a police officer has an adverse effect on behavior, emotion and performance.  The lack of counseling in law enforcement has directly impeded efficiency levels in law enforcement.

Perhaps the largest barrier to finding effective treatments and support systems is the culture that exists within law enforcement. The profession requires officers to restrain from their emotions and rein their feelings of pain or suffrage. It is presumed by law enforcement that officers can make that emotional switch and focus on another case, regardless of what they may be experiencing. Cops that suppress their natural instincts during conflict and “deal with the consequences” later only makes sense that there’s a benefit to the suppression in the first place. Law enforcement is both physically and mentally demanding, but sloppy emotions like empathy, understanding, sharing in, and caring about another’s emotions can get in the way of effective emergency policing. In 2014, officer Joe Winters, a deputy in the King County Sheriff’s Office, was called in response to a woman’s behavior, which residents deemed disruptive, in a city park in western Washington. When he arrived, officer Winters noticed a woman, who appeared to be homeless, laying on a bench shivering in thirty degree weather. The woman claimed that she purchased the bench and refused to leave. Officer Winters did not give into her false claims, but felt an underlying sense of compassion for the woman. Instead of forcibly removing her from the park, he gave her a blanket and sat with her for hours. Officer Winters inability to restrain from his emotions prevented him from performing his duty. Therefore, cops, unlike officer Winters, are rewarded for being able to distance themselves from their feelings.

Police officers are also more at risk for alcohol abuse than the general public, as a result of their stress levels. When police officer’s actually accumulate astronomical amounts of pressure in their field of duty, alcohol seems like a reasonable solution to their problems. The most remote cause for alcohol abuse in law enforcement lies in alcohol’s ability to alter levels of neurotransmitters in the brain that take officers away from their line of duty and into a mindless bliss. Why not drink alcohol as a temporary relief to help cope with a murder case? Vicki Lindsay, a professor of Criminology and Penology at the University of Southern Mississippi, conducted a study of police officer’s in urban communities and found that of the 375 officers surveyed, 11% of male officers and 16% of female officers reported alcohol use levels deemed “at-risk” by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism as opposed to a mere 4.7% alcohol use, ages 18-64, in educational services. Alcohol provides an outlet for police officers because they refuse to seek treatment for their anxieties or symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Problems that develop (such as alcohol dependency) are usually the result of a police officer’s, because of the stigma of appearing weak, reluctance to seek help. Mike Violette, an executive director of the Colorado State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police, emphasized that it was “difficult enough to have officer’s come forward who have this problem. There is an ‘I can handle it’ attitude that cops have.” A way to minimize the help police officers are offered, they quickly and completely indulge in a night of binge drinking that allow for them to drown the nagging memories months of talk therapy only dull.

Unhealthy coping mechanisms pave the way for additional stressors such as murderous hours, rank stagnation and managerial apathy. Lethargy is dangerous in law enforcement because it eats away at the productivity, ethics and effectiveness of an officer. Police officers become no longer willing to uphold the duties entrusted to them when they took the oath. Mark Bond, professor of Criminal Justice at American Military University, said,” What many officers might not be aware of is the long-term effects of chronic fatigue and the relationship between stress and fatigue. Not getting enough rest and not eating properly in order to fuel the body can increase the effects of fatigue. Being fatigued on-duty causes many issues, such as poor decision making and other cognitive task difficulties.” The lack of counseling in law enforcement directly impacts a police officer’s performance and effectiveness in their field of duty. Police officers need and deserve our help to regain their mental health.

Law enforcement needs to eliminate the stigma surrounding the culture of law enforcement regarding the harsh judgment of police officers who seek professional help for mental health concerns. The problem is completely internal to the department. It is critical that officers learn healthy coping strategies to minimize stress on a regular basis, rather than attempt to mask stress with alcohol or other unhealthy behaviors. We cannot limit our efforts to educate the protectors of our well-being. We must provide contemporaneous trauma support.

Works Cited

Bond, Mark. “The Impact of Stress and Fatigue on Law Enforcement Officers and Ways to Control It.” In Public Safety. American Military University, 01 Dec. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Gustafson, Timi. “Keeping Your Emotions Bottled Up Could Kill You.” Huffpost Living. 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2016.

Klinger, David. “Police Responses to Officer-Involved Shootings.” National Institute of Justice. National Institute of Justice, 1 Feb. 2002. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

McGhee, Tom. “Police Officers Struggle with PTSD.” The Denver Post. 18 Jun. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2016.

Willman, Elizabeth A. “Alcohol Use Among Law Enforcement.” The Journal of Law Enforcement. 2.3 (2008) 1-4. Print.