criminal justice Essay examples -- essays research papers

Denzel Washington plays veteran L.A.P.D. Det. Sgt. Alonzo Harris. For thirteen years this highly decorated cop has been on the front lines in the war against narcotics. He's pledged to protect and serve the citizens of Los Angeles, but his optimism about police work has long since been chipped away by the reality of life on the streets. He and the tight-knit group of officers that report to him have crossed the line between legality and corruption. They find themselves breaking the laws they're supposed to enforce. Alonzo's ethics and his logic are in complete opposition to the "book" which most cops must follow. "It takes a thief to catch a thief," Hoyt is a young naive cop that is given twenty-four hours to train with Harris. Before the day is done, the young cop is asked to take drugs, accept drug money as a payoff, invent evidence, and even commit murder. Before he knows it, he's in so deep that there seems to be no way out. As Alonzo tells him "There is no justice, no law. It all boils down to what you can and cannot prove." Alonzo’s abusiveness and carelessness become a problem and the Police Chief orders him to see a Psychologist concerning his behavior. During the first visit, the police department provided a copy of his personal information file, which reveals the typical schemata of a person with an antisocial personality disorder. He lacked a superego; he has little remorse for his abusive, impulse-driven and dangerous behavior. He also saw himself as almost being superior and smarter than everyone else; by planning the training day with Hoyt, he believed this made him superior. He hid behind his Los Angeles Police Department badge and broke the laws that he was supposed to enforce. Individuals with Anti-Social disorder think that when they are caught committing the crime—their problem is getting caught not committing the crime. The goal for the future is to become a better criminal, rather than obeying the law. Throughout the movie his thought processes would include some of the following: 1. Rules are meant for others 2. Only fools follow all the rules 3. Rules are meant to be broken 4. Look out for #1 5. My pleasure comes first 6. If others are hurt, offended, or... ...nt/helper relationship this is known as transference. This allows the client to re-experience a variety of feelings that would otherwise be inaccessible. During my sessions with Alonzo his behavior toward me is very shifty, careful, guarded, apprehensive, and distrustful. This causes me to become uneasy, withdrawn from the client and blaming the client for the tension between us. Counter transference is the reaction or a reflection of a past or present relationship of the therapist toward the client that could interfere with objectivity. Because Alonzo is so aggressive and forward with his angry behavior, I find myself fearing him and avoiding conflict. Since I am a new therapist, I will need ongoing supervision to monitor my reactions to the sessions. The Psychoanalytic approach is very simplistic and client-oriented, which is very important to Alonzo’s breakdown. I did not want to be too aggressive; I want him to establish his own goals and path to different lifestyle. When Alonzo is able to accept that he could get even more from holding the LAPD badge by becoming a part of the system, rather than trying to always fool the system, he (hopefully) begin to act more adaptively.