In the New York Time Article by Timothy William, Inquiry to Examine Racial Bias in the San Francisco Police Department, first thing to remember known as implicit social cognition, implicit bias refer to the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Another key point to argument is that there is no systematic bias in the criminal justice base on race. To point out, in performing their policing duties, police officer are able to exercise a high degree of discretion. This means that they have a have a broad freedom to make decision about how to act on the given situation. For this reason some police officer deliberately use their wide power of discretion and their authority to perform …show more content…
Ian Furminger. And together with and former Officer Edmond Robles both were convicted in a federal corruption trial. At the same time, Federal prosecutors released dozens of racist and homophobic texts when they became public during a bail hearing for former Officer Ian Furminger, who was convicted for public corruption late last year. As a matter of fact, his crimes include stealing money and drugs from dealers, among others. In this one, he 's accused of texting racist and homophobic messages to other cops. On Tuesday, among all the uproar, he wanted to get his side of the story out. The offensive texts were released by federal prosecutors during a bail hearing last week. The four other officers have been reassigned to units with no public contact while the department investigates the scandal. First thing to remember the court system has sentence an individual who is charged with enforcing the laws and put into the same system he protect. In fact when a law enforcement officer violates his oath, the victims are not only the people directly affected by it, but all of us. A jury convicted Furminger in December of two counts of wire fraud, conspiracy against civil rights, and conspiracy to commit theft. Direct evidence linked Furminger to thefts committed by his subordinates, although Vargas and others testified he was involved in a conspiracy to steal property from suspects, including an Apple gift card and, in one incident, more than $30,000 in cash. Furminger spoke briefly with reporters after he was sentenced. He said he had urged the SFPD to implement stricter policies for plainclothes officers, but the department ignored him. “That’s not my job,” he said. “My job is to protect my people. I was papa bear, and I rocked. I made it happen. I made everything happen. We caught everybody.” (Furminger) He 's appealing that conviction, saying he was framed. And now he 's involved in another
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Show MoreThe criminal justice system is united under one basic law body, in which no racism is present. Personal beliefs and anecdotes prove nothing, the criminal justice system isn’t racist. Although it may seem African Americans are highly discriminated upon in the justice system, there is ample amounts of data to prove otherwise. The criminal justice system is united under one basic law body, in which no racism is present. The system is not to blame for the racial differences found in the United States criminal justice system. The racial issues found in the system are due to inner city isolation and common crime patterns involving drugs even if it may seem as if the system is racist.
Smith, Robert J., and Justin D. Levinson. "Seattle University Law Review." "The Impact of Implicit Racial Bias on the Exercise of Prosecutorial Discretion" by Robert J. Smith and Justin D. Levinson. 2012. Seattle University School of Law. 13 Nov. 2013 .
In the article “What are the Causes and Effects of Racial Profiling,” the interviews imply that most police officers think that racial profiling means they stop a vehicle or pedestrian solely based on the race or color. In other words, as long as racial or color is not the only base, it is not called racial profiling (“Heal the Street Race”). Most police officers also think that racial profiling is not a widespread problem. They believe that it is only caused by a “few bad apples.” In addition, there is another phrase called biased profiling which officers believe to be more common. They explain that every person has his own preference and methods, so some personal bias is inevitable during investigation. On the other hand, most victims do not think in this way, since African Americans define racial profiling differently. They state that, as long as race or color becomes a factor, they are treated unfairly, because race or color can’t indicate anything related to crime. As a result, the absent of a comprehensive understanding about racial profiling prevents people from really solving the problem. Each side of the argument will have a feeling that they are the real innocent people. And at the same time, racial profiling will keep
Racial tension has been part of America ever since the civil war. Today we have a different issue with race which is called racial profiling. Over the years the relationship between the police and community of color has gone bitter do to racial profiling. America’s society today tends to be tainted by racial profiling and stereotypes. These issues can cause great effects on our society. Racial profiling or stereotyping could diminish how a certain race is viewed. Racial discrimination can be a result from having racial profiling and stereotypes in our present culture. Today racial discrimination is used to approach citizens assumed to be criminals. This is called racial profiling. Although some argue that racial profiling is a necessary tool for law enforcement to protect our safety, it puts some people at a disadvantage while it privileges others. Overall racial profiling is bad for the economy, unconstitutional, and sets borderlines for different races.
Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System “We simply cannot say we live in a country that offers equal justice to all Americans when racial disparities plague the system by which our society imposes the ultimate punishment,” stated Senator Russ Feingold. Even though racism has always been a problem since the beginning of time, recently in the United States, there has been a rise in discrimination and violence has been directed towards the African American minority primarily from those in the white majority who believe they are more superior, especially in our criminal justice system. There are many different reasons for the ethnic disparities in the criminal justice system between the majority and the minority, but some key reasons are differential involvement, individual racism, and institutional racism to why racial disparities exist in Institutional racism is racism that is shown through government organizations and political institutions. In a report done by David Baldus in 1998, he discovered that when it comes to the death penalty, blacks are more likely sentenced to death than whites, and those who kill whites are more likely to be given the death penalty than the killing of blacks (Touré).
The issue in this case was on whether or not the police officials had probable cause to search the container in the individual’s car, and if they acted in the correct way when searching it. The court needed to identify if it was necessary for the officers to search the bag at the moment that it was found. The officers were unable to detect the marijuana when the trunk was first opened because it was in the brown bag. In that case, it could be considered the searching of someone’s luggage. A person’s luggage is considered to be more personal than their car because it is hidden from the public. A case brief states,
This blindness to truth has the potential to result in violence against the victim of stereotyping. In Staples essay he speaks of how, “There were the standard unpleasantries with policemen, whose business is to screen out troublesome individuals before there is any nastiness” (Staples 267). Staples doesn’t blame police for stereotyping he and countless other African Americans. Instead, Staples accepts that the police are just doing their job and keeping people safe from violence before it happens, in Mr. Kinsley’s case he wasn’t as understanding. In an interview with the Washington Post Mr. Kinsley speaks about the incident that happened, “The officer who fired the shots seemed confused by what happened. “‘Sir, why did you shoot me?'” Kinsey recalled asking the officer. “He said, ‘I don’t know.'” (Washington Post). Police are taught to shoot first and deal with questions later, in the case of Mr. Kinsley the officer shot first based on the color of his skin and didn’t bother to ask questions before shooting. Police can become blind to the truth of the suspect when they see the color of the skin. In recent cases, including Mr. Kinsley’s, the truth about the victims do not play a role in whether or not police shoot them. The only thing that matters to police is the color of the suspects skin and if they have the potential to be carrying a
Furthermore, many individuals believe that the police officers are misusing their power by taking extreme measures when situations arise. In shootings for example, we see that many police officers claim that their lives were in danger and the individual displayed threatening behavior that required them to fire. Many people contend this as they think that the police officers did not have sufficient discretion in firing their weapon and used their deep rooted, or even subtle, racism in handling the situation. In other words, had the individual been White the situation would have ended differently, and not with a dead African American person. The fact that in each of these cases of police brutality the individual ends up dead and unable to tell their side of the story is extremely alarming to
Some people think that the police are targeting minorities, because there is more police activity around minorities; however, police officers are not targeting minorities. Accordingly, one reason people might think minorities might be being targeted are because of the color different races of the individual and the police officer. Based off recent events the public believes that if the police officer and the suspect have different color of skin, the officer is targeting that suspect. However; the literature does not agree, “In addition, officers’ race and racial interaction effects between officers’ being white and arrestees’ being non-white did not produce a significant relationship” (Lee Jang, Yun, Lim, & Tushaus 2010). The police are not looking at the suspect’s skin color before the officer justifies the arrest, police judge the arrest justified if there is probable cause that the suspect broke the law. Police officers look for criminal activity, and people who match the description of a criminal, but the police do not just go after people of an opposite race. Additionally, people believe that the police use more force around people of color because those individuals are being targeted. “Police officers use deadly force when they believe they have no choice in order to preserve human life, their own or that of other citizens… Police officers characteristically restrain their use of force with citizens, sometimes at the cost of their own safety. However, certain types of attitudes, personalities, and job experiences may make some officers more prone to use force in police-citizen” the types of attitudes are common in minorities (Miller, 2015). This is not true though, police officers are not targeting minorities. Minorities might be more aggressive because many might think the police are racially profiling. Police officers do
There is a serious problem in our justice system. Is not a secret that people are judge by the color of their skin and ethnicity. Unfortunately, race plays an important role in the criminal justice system. Around the world race affects how an individual is perceived and affects how a person is going to be treated. Regrettably, American justice system is not an exception of this wrongdoing. Minorities (blacks and Latinos) are often prosecuted differently than white offenders; verdicts are harsher with longer-term sentences. According to article The Economist, “Justice is harsher in America than in any other rich country. Between 2.3m and 2.4 m Americans are behind bars, roughly one in every 100 adults.” (Economist.com) The majority of inmates are minorities. “The incarceration rates disproportionately impact men of color: 1 in every 15 African American men and 1 in every 36 Hispanic men are incarcerated in comparison to 1 in every 106 white men.”(aclu.org) So, why is the majority of American prison population is minority’s ?
A police officer is a law enforcement official whose job is to protect and serve all people, not to ignore racial equality. Because the U.S consists of many different races and ethnic groups, the ongoing conflict between police officers and citizens of color is constantly rising. Although police officers today are no longer allowed to have racial bias, which can be described as, attitudes or stereotype used against individuals of color to define their actions and decisions, officers sometimes abuse their authority going around racial impact tools and policies. This results in citizens viewing it as discrimination and mass criminalization. By changing the way laws and regulations unfairly impact Black and Brown communities can improve the justice
Based on from what I seen and experienced, racism is still here and now that we have improved technology we can catch people in the act. There was a time when I went shopping and I went in a high end store. As soon as I stepped foot into the store, the security guard there stared me down as if I came to steal. It doesn’t matter if I’m a black man or women it’s the fact that I’m black. Implicit bias is very real and prevalent to today society. The second article was an opinion based on what he knows and sees. It’s not because of our provocations that causes black people to have disdain towards the police. It’s because of cases like Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Miriam Carey, and Kelly Thomas that black people are hurt and angry. Black lives matter was created to stand against injustice in the criminal justice system. This is how social workers can step in and encourage social
Throughout history there has been many problems involving racial profiling and police misconduct. Very rarely do police get the proper punishment for their wrong doings. One of the most recent cases was the Oscar Grant case. Oscar Grant was 22 years old when he was killed because of police misconduct. He was killed on New Year’s Day 2009 by Ex-BART cop Johannes Mehserle. This misconduct made the people of Oakland extremely angry because they lost one of their own. After the shooting many people around Oakland started protesting. This lasted for months on end because people were very angry. Bystanders videotaped the incident. This has been one of the most racially polarizing cases in California (Ravindhran).
The justice system is something everyone wants to believe is fair. So, in theory, if a person is innocent, there is no need to fear the justice system. The justice system has many layers, and in order for a suspect to determined guilty, he or she must go through all these layers. These layers start with the detection of a crime. Then, law enforcement must find proof, and arrest suspects. After filing a police report for the crime, a trial must take place, the proof is presented, and a jury and judge determine the guilt of the suspect. Only after passing through all of these layers can a suspect be determined guilty. Not to mention the constitution-the constitution contains many rights that protect a suspect from being determined guilty when
Discrimination against law enforcement and correctional officers based on gender has been a growing problem in the United States. Women are comprised of a small percentage of law enforcement around the nation. Though their work in the police force dates back to the 1800’s, it has only been noticed for a little over 40 years. Women are often troubled with being taken seriously as a crime fighter, or if a woman should even be allowed to become a law enforcement officer. They are usually viewed as too gentle, emotional, or weak. Over Ninety-five cases have been documented since 2000 of discrimination by sex. This is a rising problem in our country and if not corrected it could harm law enforcement as a whole.