In module 5, all of the readings dealt with the issue of whether or not the legal system is an effective tool for social change. Some of the different readings discussed the players of the legal system such as police officers, judges, and lawyers and how they are not always good team players. There are some corrupt members and it only creates social change for the worse. When police officers offer bribes to people in order to get information or they often keep confiscated money and drugs for themselves it is hard to trust them that they are enforcing the law properly. The laws are created to control behavior and the police officers are they to enforce those laws and make sure people are safe. But, if the police officers are not following the laws as well, then it will be hard to maintain a stable society where people obey the laws. Police have a lot of pressure to get their job done, which includes to make arrests, issue citations, and to secure confessions, who is to say that they will not break the law themselves in order to do their job (Walker)? Since police have a lot of discretion on the job, they may not perform their job to police standards either by making illegal decisions or letting people off. The Walker article also discussed the issues that police officers face in their day-to-day duties so that they do not have to face scrutiny from their bosses or the news. The major areas of scrutiny they deal with are use of force, shooting their weapons and in domestic violence situations. If officers make one wrong decision, they may be reprimanded. However, sometimes officers have to keep their mouths shut about certain things in order to maintain relationships with other officers and this may also create a problem for the general public. If one officer breaks the law, others will “do what it takes” to make sure it stays hush-hush and if one officer tells what is really going on, they may endure great suffering from those other officers and may face difficulties later on down the line if they decide for a different job. The issue there is trust, and without it many officers will not want to work with you. “It is easier for the rookie new to the department to be corrupt, rather than to be honest” (Lee & Visano). When trying to enforce new social changes, we are faced with several dilemmas. An important one is that many people have vested interests (Unknown). I believe that only ten percent of the population in the world holds all of the power. These are the people creating the laws and they are not about social change. They are actually afraid of it because they may lose the power and the wealth. Will it happen, sure maybe over a period of time, but they do not want the opportunity to even present itself. Another major problem is that people will oppose something even if they do not have all of the information, otherwise known as ignorance (Unknown). It happens all of the time, I think because people are afraid that something may be taken away from them or harm them. Other factors related to social change are cultural factors, social class, another important on economic factors (Unknown). “Cost and limited economic resources in a society do in effect, provide a source of resistance to change” (Unknown). If people have the slightest thought in their head that a change might cost them more money, they will automatically oppose the idea.

WEB CONTENT
http://www.libr.org/ISC/ - This website contains links and articles to information about social change.
http://www.empowermentresources.com/ - This site contains information about tools for social change.
http://www.tsa.uk.com/YCSC/ - This site provides information about youth, citizenship and social change.

SO WHAT?
I think that in order for social change to occur, chances need to be taken and risks need to be known. People are always afraid of change because the first thing they think of are the negative impacts it may have on their life whether it may be true or not. I am pretty much open to new policies that might change our society for the better. We still have problems with discrimination and equal opportunities for women and I feel it is because ignorance is a key factor. People are still educating their children that men are better then women and that is the first place social change needs to be implemented. As far as law as a tool for social change, not necessarily an effective tool. Law is there to keep people from acting a certain way and to protect them from certain things; it’s not there to make a major change. It has happened in cases like civil rights cases, but look how long it takes to make change and then all of the resistances people have to encounter. It is not very efficient.