Police Officers And Its Effects On The Workplace - 1026 Words

Police officers clearly face consequences for not making enough arrests, but they also have indirect financial incentives to make arrests, such as potential promotions. Police officers don’t get more direct incentives, such as commissions, from making an arrest, but if an arrest occurs towards the end of their shift they can get overtime pay. That case can also lead to more overtime pay if their court appearance is scheduled at an off duty hour. Consequently, one officer told The Nation about how the police radio is often silent for periods of time until minutes before their shifts change. Numerous petty arrests are then heard over the scanners. Some officers even list other officers as witnesses who had little or nothing to do with the†¦show more content†¦They also created mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. Consequently, anyone who supports the drug war isn’t truly â€Å"tough on crime.† Mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses often result in violent offenders gaining early release before non-violent drug offenders because many violent crimes don’t have the same mandatory minimum sentences. These kinds of bureaucratic policies have taken away a judge’s most important duty and manufactured an overpopulated prison system. In addition, mandatory minimum sentences are actually much harsher than the â€Å"tough on crime† crowd realizes, according Judge Mark W. Bennett, a federal district judge in Iowa. Drug cases take up 56% of his docket. â€Å"Northwest Iowa is one of the most conservative regions in the country, and these are people who, for the most part, think judges are too soft on crime. Yet, for all the times I’ve asked jurors after a drug conviction what they think a fair sentence would be, never has one given a figure even close to the mandatory minimum. It is always far lower,† says Bennett. TV and movies have crafted an unrealistic image of the criminal justice system. Our court system actually operates with the speed of the fast