A lot of people look at law as a zero-sum game, where one side's gain inherently means the other side's loss. Others see it as "us versus them". Unfortunately some of these beliefs are true in some law enforcement agencies. However, I’ve also encountered agencies that tried to respect the constitutional rights of defendants. For reasons to be explained, I’ve argued that Diplomacy Is A Form Of Advocacy.
A LESSON IN DIPLOMACY
When I was a new Public Defender, I was outside the courtroom talking to another lawyer about the continuous problems I was seeing with law enforcement officers (LEOs). A LEO overheard the conversation, he came over, and to my surprise he said that some of their actions are even worse.
As I reviewed more cases, I noticed a pattern. The same LEOs were responsible for much of the problematic behavior. After talking to some LEOs I discovered many of them were aware this was happening, and they were against it. They believe they are there to do a good job, which means respecting people and their rights. They also recognized that a few bad apples tarnished the reputation of the entire agency and wished these individuals would follow the rules.
I further discovered that most of the time if someone told an LEO they were overstepping boundaries they would stop being so aggressive, and start respecting people's rights more. It is only a few that resist and continue to engage in inappropriate conduct.
UNDERSTANDING THE ROOT OF THE PROBLEM
From what I could tell the problem was people at the top were not getting feedback about what was happening in the field with individual LEOs. Once they found out what was happening they corrected the problem, with only a few bad apples resisting. Not only did diplomacy help correct some of the problems, but many times LEOs would actually advocate for a dismissal or a more lenient disposition.
CONCLUSION
This reflection is based on my experience with a specific agency, and I recognize that not all law enforcement agencies operate similarly. While I believe diplomacy should be the first step, it’s not always effective. Some agencies are deeply entrenched in an adversarial mindset, where misconduct is ignored or even encouraged. At one time the Los Angeles Police Department had a bad reputation of respecting the rights of the people.
