The issue I wish to study is the impact of heightened racist attacks in Ontario with regard to Police power. The broader theme which it relates to is racism. This issue has been a huge concern in Ontario the last year or so and continues to be an ongoing problem within specific areas of Canada. There has been recent shootings by police on black, latino, and indigenous people who are at the wrong place at the wrong time. These issues will only get worse if not addressed by the government and their ability to teach police how to use their power properly. Police officers need to understand the implications of drawing a gun on someone without a weapon who raises no harm to society or needs to stop searching and seizing people of colour because they believe they are culpable of crime. Below are six citations that are relevant to my topic and will be discussed further in detail.
News Source:
Spratt, M. (2016, October 26). Police racism? It's part of the system. Retrieved January 04, 2017, from http://www.ottawasun.com/2016/10/26/police-racism-its-part-of-the-system The article shows the study of visible minorities of colour being stopped by the police as opposed to white drivers. The study indicates that the majority of people stopped by police and then are detained, are Middle Eastern and than black
…show more content…
Police are using the same excuses, stating that they felt threatened at the time of the incident or they were doing their duty, protecting the people in the surrounding area. Police officers tend to have multiple stories and unexplained issues that arise when on the job. They are dividing the population between people of high and low income and base it on racial profiling which is know known as the new colour line. Stated in the Charter of rights, everyone is equal before the law and no one is above it, which is not displayed in this
Wilkins, V. M., & Williams, B. N. (2008). Black or blue: Racial profiling and representative
Early in the 17th century was when the first modern day policing was expected to have begun. Ever since the 18th century begun, incidences of police using excess force by abusing their power have been quite common. As time progressed, these wrongful actions by police have been entitled as police brutality. Police brutality is defined as" the use of excessive force used by police dealing with public... excessive force can be either physical, verbal, and/or psychological". According to this definition, whether it be arresting someone with too much force or even uttering certain statements, can all be classified as police brutality. No individual should be victimized by police officers who use excess force that in no way deters crimes. It does nothing but bring a dire unjust society in which innocent people can feel afraid; and give those officers who are correctly doing their duties a bad reputation. Due to the dispensable, unscrupulous nature of police brutality; several measures including disciplining police officers, stricter laws(and stringent penalties), integration, as well as educating the general public about their rights, must be applied in order to extirpate the misconduct citizens should not have to face.
Smith, Brad W., and Malcolm D. Holmes. "Community accountability, minority threat, and police brutality: An examination of civil rights criminal complaints." Criminology 41.4 (2003): 1035-1064.
In the article “Point: Racial Profiling in Law Enforcement is Unjust”, Adele Cassola determines that racial profiling is an extensive problem in policing across Canada. She identifies that racial profiling is based on stereotypes of race, ethnicity, and cultural background with African-Canadians, Arab-Canadians, and Aboriginal Canadians being targeted most frequently. Racial profiling is not unique to law enforcement and immigration, Cassola asserts, “it is a wide spread problem within other institutions and establishments as well” (2009). She discovered a survey that showed Toronto's African-Canadian secondary school students were stopped four times more frequently and searched six times more frequently than their non-black classmates. In an article from the Toronto Star newspaper in 2002, Cassola notes that African-Canadians were subject...
Weitzer, Ronald, and Steven A. Tuch. ''Racially Biased Policing: Determinants of Citizen Perceptions. '' Social Forces 83.3 (2005): 1009-1030. Academic Search Premier. Web. 11 Oct. 2013.
According to Dr. Carl S. Taylor, the relationship between minority groups and police in the United States has historically been strained. Some cities have a deep and bitter history of bias and prejudice interwoven in their past relationships. The feeling in many communities today is that the system pits law enforcement as an occupying army versus the neighborhood. Dr. Taylor wrote about easing tensions between police and minorities, but stated “If there is any good news in the current situation, it is that the history of this strain has found the 1990’s ripe for change.
When things have commenced are they able to come to a halt? Many people in this world wonder
In the line of police force it is imperative to think outside of the box. Many people confuse a police officer’s curiosity as racial profiling and racism. However, this is how a police officer often finds the majority of their evidence. In many neighborhoods, there a dominant races that live within the community. For example, if a wealthy white man was driving around a predominantly minority-based community, it would be acceptable for a police officer to grow skeptical at this situation. It is obvious that man is out of place, and it is the police officer 's duty to further investigate the
Comack, E. (2012). Racialized policing: Aboriginal people's encounters with the police. Black Point, Nova Scotia: Fernwood Publishing.
Over the past centuries, Black community in Toronto have encountered and persisted violence and discriminations in many different ways. Racial profiling and carding are the two major roots of police brutality. Police officers often have biased perceptions and negative feelings about certain races. Carding can be defined as random police checks that target young African-Canadian men. Police might detain a driver for driving a specific type of vehicle or driving in certain areas that they have assumptions about. “This practice was a systematic violation of the rights of people in our communities, especially of racialized youth” (CBC ABC National, June 1, 2015). Carding results in police abusing their power which leads to assaults, shootings and death. However, police have said
This paper was written to discuss the hot button topic, “Black Lives Matter.” Specifically, in regard to law enforcement. This has been an ongoing and controversial issue ever since the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting of Trayvon Martin. This is when the movement “Black Lives Matter,” was born, with the belief that blacks are treated unfairly by law enforcement. I, however, do not believe that blacks are treated any more unfairly by law enforcement than any other race.
Ramirez, D., McDevitt, J., & Farrell, A. (2006). A Resource Guide on Racial Profiling Data Collection Systems: Promising Practices and Lessons Learned. Retrieved August 05, 2010, from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=mHqDZnqKHLYC&oi=fnd&pg=PA57&dq=ramirez,+p.,+mcdevitt,+j.+%282006%29,j.%282006%29+,+farrell,+a.+issues,+data+and+analysis.&ots=FygYTSDQgd&sig=MkiXUBNZiBkSBaq_0fjA9-fmbuQ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Weitzer, Ronald, and Steven A. Tuch. "Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct." JSTOR. Aug. 2004. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
Burris, John L. Blue vs. Black : let's end the conflict between cops and minorities New York : St. Martin's Press, 1999
Walker, S., & Katz, C. (2012). Police in America: An Introduction (8th Edition ed.). New York: