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police brutality through the years
impact of policing on minority groups
petrceptions of police brutality
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We live in an evolving and ever changing world. This does not only apply to technology but also to the jobs that have been around for hundreds of years; like police officers. A police officer is someone who whose job is to enforce laws, investigate crimes, and make arrests in order to protect the community they have sworn themselves to. The past few years have shown us several major police brutality cases that have caused communities across the nation to turn against and lose trust in their officers due to one case and the media. This is due to the fact we have weak police-community relations. At one point in time, and maybe still in some places, you could see an officer every few blocks or so and see a friendly man or woman that you could …show more content…
Racial profiling has been one of the main causes of the tensions in communities with their police. The officers they believed they once trusted in a community, far from a white police officer and black victim crime, they are now skeptical and thinking, “If they attacked a black/white guy for no reason they’ll attack me.” This type of crime also brings up different combinations of racial tensions that were thought to be left behind in history. Racial profiling, as well as profiling based on religion, ethnicity and origin, continues to plague our nation despite the constitutional guarantee of equality. Evidence of widespread racial profiling, shows that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to be stopped and searched by police, even though they’re less likely to be found with illegal possessions or crimes. “Critics argue that under the sole-factor definition, a hypothetical officer who routinely stops African-Americans for rolling stops or obscured license plates but does not stop Whites for the same infractions is not technically engaging in racial profiling because a reason other than race can be used to justify the stops” (Protecting Civil Rights 159). Profiling undermines public safety and thins the police and community trust. When law enforcement officers target citizens based on race or religion rather than behavior, community distrust of police seems to increase. Although the perpetrator just may happen to be a minority depending on the diversity of the population. Minority communities that had been unfairly targeted in the past continue to experience greater mistrust and fear of police officers. But, this problem can go both ways. There are white communities who would see a black cop and automatically feel fear due to others in his race, and vice versa. In order to put a stop to the problem of racial profiling of and by police officers there must be trust instilled
In the United States of America today, racial profiling is a deeply troubling national problem. Many people, usually minorities, experience it every day, as they suffer the humiliation of being stopped by police while driving, flying, or even walking for no other reason than their color, religion, or ethnicity. Racial profiling is a law enforcement practice steeped in racial stereotypes and different assumptions about the inclination of African-American, Latino, Asian, Native American or Arab people to commit particular types of crimes. The idea that people stay silent because they live in fear of being judged based on their race, allows racial profiling to live on.
The judicial system in America has always endured much skepticism as to whether or not there is racial profiling amongst arrests. The stop and frisk policy of the NYPD has caused much controversy and publicity since being applied because of the clear racial disparity in stops. Now the question remains; Are cops being racially biased when choosing whom to stop or are they just targeting “high crime” neighborhoods, thus choosing minorities by default? This paper will examine the history behind stop and frisk policies. Along with referenced facts about the Stop and Frisk Policy, this paper will include and discuss methods and findings of my own personal field research.
At the core of the stop and frisk policy as utilized by the New York Police Department is racial profiling. Racial profiling has a significant and often controversial place in the history of policing in the United States. Racial profiling can be loosely defined as the use of race as a key determinant in law enforcement decisions to stop, interrogate, and/or detain citizens (Weitzer & Tuch, 2002). Laws in the United States have helped to procure and ensure race based decisions in law enforcement. Historically, the Supreme Court has handed down decisions which increase the scope of discretion of a law enforcement officer. For example, traffic stops can be used to look for evidence even though the officer has not observed any criminal violation (Harris, 2003). Proponent's for racial profiling reason that racial profiling is a crime fighting tool that does treat racial/ethnic groups as potential criminal suspects based on the assumption that by doing so increases the chances of catching criminals (Harris, 2003). Also, it is important to note, law enforcement officers only need reasonable suspicion to stop and frisk, probable cause is not required as in other circumstances (Harris, 2003). It is because of this assumption that the New York Police Department’s stop and frisk policy is still a relevant issue.
While the stop and frisk program ultimately seems like a great idea and that it will help residents of New York City feel safer while on the streets, there has been much controversy with this program. The issue of racial profiling is largely discussed when talking about NYPD’s stop and frisk program. Besides police officers targeting lower income neighborhoods, more stops are of African Americans or Latinos than of whites. These stops often end up with a higher arrest rate. Of the 685,784 stopped last year, 92% were male and 87% were African American or Latino (Devereaux, 2012).
Racial profiling in the dictionary is “the assumption of criminality among ethnic groups: the alleged policy of some police to attribute criminal intentions to members of some ethnic groups and to stop and question them in disproportionate numbers without probable cause (“Racial Profiling”).” In other words racial profiling is making assumptions that certain individuals are more likely to be involved in misconduct or criminal activity based on that individual’s race or ethnicity. Racial profiling propels a brutalizing message to citizens of the United States that they are pre-judged by the color of their skin rather than who they are and this then leads to assumptions of ruthlessness inside the American criminal justice system. With race-based assumptions in the law enforcement system a “lose-lose” situation is created due to America’s diverse democracy and destroys the ability to keep the criminal justice system just and fair. Although most police officers perform their duties with fairness, honor, and dedication, the few officers who portray to be biased then harm the whole justice system resulting in the general public stereotyping every law enforcement officer as a racial profiler (Fact Sheet Racial Profiling). When thinking about racial profiling many people automatically think it happens only to blacks but sadly this is mistaken for far more ethnic groups and races such as Jews, Muslims, Mexicans, Native Americans, and many more are racially profiled on a day to day basis. Many people believe racial profiling to be a myth because they see it as police officers merely taking precautions of preventing a crime before it happens, but in reality racial profiling has just become an approved term for discrimination and unjust actio...
Despite the fact racism has been around for hundreds of years, upcoming generations are becoming more open minded and less likely to publicly berate minorities; racial profiling, however, is the one loophole of racism America overlooks. Police officials often use the practices of racial profiling to discretely single out minority races. A common approach to this is through traffic patrols. According to a statistic based in San Jose, CA, nearly 100,000 drivers were stopped; during the year ending in June 2000; and of these drivers less than 32% were white, the remaining 68% of drivers were a...
Racial Profiling has been used by law enforcement officials from early 60’s during the civil rights movement. The term “racial profiling” which was introduced to criticize abusive police practices against people of different race, ethnicity or national origin. One must assess how to understand the practice, and how to keep it distinct from other issues. Racial profiling is defined as “any police-initiated action that relies on the race, ethnicity, or national origin, rather than the behavior of an individual or information that leads the police to a particular individual who has been identified as being, or having been, engaged in criminal activity.” (Ramirez 5).
Racial Profiling is a big issue amongst people of color and the police force. In this paper I speak about the relations both have between each other and how stereotyping has affected society as a whole.
Police officers must rely on instinct and quick decision making to keep a potential situation calm. These instincts have been seen to cause more harm than good when racial profiling is involved. These biases against a race could have been implanted from childhood, personal experience, or learned behaviors. These events involving racial profiling, and police brutality, have become more common and have gained national recognition. The national stage creates a following for the wrongful misjudgment and most often over use of power by the police officer. The wrongful death of people by an ardent officer due to his lack of judgment of the situation is unacceptable and must be fixed. I believe police officers need to complete a series of simulations, need to be trained to enter potentially racial profiling situations not without intent but as a precautionary measure, and lastly I believe police officer partners must monitor each other for over use of power of mistreatment of the suspect. All of the measures in combination could prevent riots, deaths, and national distrust of our police
"I resolutely believe that respect for diversity is a fundamental pillar in the eradication of racism, xenophobia and intolerance. There is no excuse for evading the responsibility of finding the most suitable path towards the elimination of any expression of discrimination against indigenous peoples (Menchu)." A quote by Menchu explains how racism is connected with racial profiling and why it shouldn’t be tolerated. People often evaluate personality traits based on physical characteristics but is it humanity if your using ethnicity background to determine the innocence of others? There shouldn’t be claim involving race in order to prosecute anyone. Some of the important questions that people ask are how discrimination is affecting the lives of people and how it should be prevented. There are a lot of causes related to racism/race profiling. Racial profiling has been a big issue that occurs all around the world. Racial discrimination is taking action or beliefs that include different races being ranked as superior or inferior. It is largely based on shared inheritable traits and the color of your skin. It has been known to upset innocent people. Our color shouldn’t be used to judge others and convict if guilt or not. Racial profiling happens when people consider your skin color to convict anyone of committing the crime. There has been large number of cases that proves racial discrimination in the justice system is un-American and unproductive. Not only is racial profiling/discrimination occurring in the justice system but also in the airport, traffic stops, schools, even public stores. Federal law enforcement agencies are even suspecting distinct ethnic groups of criminal activities based o...
In 2003, 36 black police officers were asked to recount their lived experiences with having been the subjects of racial profiling, and a majority indi- cated that they had been stopped and questioned by other police officers ‘‘for no other reason than the colour of their skin’’ (Tanovich 2006: 1–2).
In the past few years, racial profiling has become a very prominent issue in American society. In “Racial Profiling,” “Racial Profiling is a controversial and illegal discriminatory practice in which individuals are targeted for suspicion of crimes based on their ethnicity, race, or religion rather than on evidence-based suspicious behavior” (Para. 11). Many people are wronged because of this phenomenon and effects many of them in multiple ways. Racial profiling is effecting many people and it needs to be addressed.
Racial Profiling Causes Negative Impacts Racial profiling is a negative action in the nation. In which many people across the country have experienced this sort of treatment, leaving a demoralizing effect on the citizens. Racial profiling is an act of discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. This in which acts on a terrible and negative impact to the society.
In this poll, involving telephone interviews from 2,250 adults in America, Gallup(2004) investigated the public opinion on racial profiling with two methods. Gallup (2004) first method of approach was asking the respondents “how widespread they think the practice of racial profiling is when: motorists are stopped on roads and highways, passengers are stopped at airport security checkpoints, and shoppers are questioned in malls and stores about possible theft.” Results showed that a considerable amount of Americans believe racial profiling is widespread in all three circumstances. 53% of respondents think the practice of stopping motorists due to their race or ethnicity is widespread. 49% of respondents think racial profiling is used widely by those attempting to prevent theft in shopping malls and stores, and 42% of respondents think the practice is widespread at security checkpoints in airports. Needless to say, perceptions about the occurrence of racial profiling differ by racial and ethnic group. Blacks and Hispanics generally believe it is more common than whites. For instance, 67% of blacks and 63% of Hispanics felt that racial profiling is widespread in traffic stops compared to the 50% of whites that felt the practice is widespread. Furthermore, blacks at 54% and Hispanics at 48% were nearly just as likely to believe that profiling is widespread in airports compared to the 40% of whites. Moreover, when asked about malls and stores, 65% of blacks and 56% of Hispanics believed the practice is widespread in that context, compared to only 45% of whites. Furthermore, Gallup (2004) second method of approach was asking the respondents “whether they think racial profiling is justified when: motorists are stopped on roads and highways, when passengers are stopped at airport security checkpoints, and when shoppers are questioned in malls and stores about possible theft.” Most of Americans
Choudhury and Fenwick (2011) argue that as a result of increased policing and stop and searches, more members of minorities are subjected to prejudice and discriminatory views from law enforcement which has heightend distrust amonst minorities with the police force as laws are seen as being unlawfully implicated amongst members of their minority group as a result of their race of religious