African-Americans Attitudes Toward Law Enforcement

Historically there has been conflict between the american police force and members of minority groups. In recent years this conflict has moved into the eye of the public, through the media attention given to events like Ferguson. Outrage and unrest ensued and the backlash from these events were felt all over the US if not internationally. The result of these events lead to politicians and the police pledging reforms to improve the relations between law enforcement and members of minority groups. However many still believe that nothing has changed and that law enforcement is still more likely to use excessive force when dealing with members of those minority groups. Research has started to be conducted on this issue and many try to find solutions. This paper will provide a literary review of the current literature regarding this topic and will further provide some ways in which the relationship between law enforcement and the public can be improved.

I have been a police officer for nearly 10 years, and I have seen how the citizens we serve and the various media sources that surround us constantly scrutinize our actions. Simply because the actions of other officers may not be ethical, professional, or correct in the eyes of society, that should not determine the hatred towards all of the officers. Often people believe that police officers constantly and consciously commit racial profiling, but that is not the case. Chapter Four: Racial Profiling and the Law will be utilized to demonstrate the legal issues surrounding racial profiling that have led to changes in law enforcement.

Mills, in regards to black lives matter and what is going on with the police and the African- American community; would relate the issue to private troubles and public issues. For example, at first the violence started with Diallo a man that was gunned down by police. He was seen as one of the first victims of police violence. For him and his family this was a private issue. I am sure that there were several other crimes before this one, that we are not aware of, that are apart of a long-standing bias of African American’s. Issues that steamed from, African American rights, inequity, racism, and oppression. These issues are all apart of Stroh’s ice-burg. They are in the middle of the ice-burg. After the increase in victims started, it has

This source discusses the topic of not the race of the citizens being suspected, but the one in question is the officer’s race and if it is one of the major factors pertaining to the problem of racial profiling. The authors’ main stance is that, although throughout history, the influence of race is certainly a factor in the citizens’ perceptions of the police; the influence of the race of the officer also plays as a major factor in police behavior when looking at the study’s results. A finding that the authors’ have discovered is that Black officers interact differently towards Black citizens compared to when White officers do, therefore maybe increasing the amount of Black officers would be better for the community. However, other authors

First of all, only two respondents officially contributed in the survey portion of this research. Further research on this phenomenon should include multiple agencies across the country to compare agencies with official policies of community-oriented policing and agencies with other models of policing. Furthermore, significantly more respondents should participate in surveys to provide more perceptions from a diverse group of respondents. In addition, this article does not address all forms of policy and practices in the criminal justice system that adversely and disproportionately affect persons of color; mass incarceration, the war on drugs, felony disenfranchisement, just to name a few. Nor does it dig deep into brutal history of systemic oppression and how these historical consequences of European colonization, genocide of the Native Americans, Western imperialism, and the industrial era that was fueled by slavery, have adversely impacted people of

Racial profiling has been a hot topic recently and has influenced citizen’s perceptions of police. Minorities that been stopped due to racial profiling are more willing to voice their dissatisfaction with the police. Minorities who have not been racially profiled but hear stories about racial profiling may be more skeptical of future experiences with police. Research has found that minorities tend to rate officer legitimacy in a more objective manor when stopped by a minority officer (Tyler, 2005). Minorities that are stopped by White officers tend to be more skeptical of the officer behavior (Tyler, 2005). African Americans are the most skeptical of police behavior and especially believe

The National Institute of Justice defines ‘racial profiling’ as “a practice that targets people for suspicion of crime based on their race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.” It creates a link between certain crimes and certain races which effectively creates stereotypes, and it tends to fail to consider non-Hispanic and non-Arab whites. While it targets many racial and ethnic groups, it greatly affects African Americans’ rights and their everyday lives. Racial Profiling, largely criticized within and outside the United States, is perpetuated by stereotypes, social bias, and fear and used largely against African Americans by figures of authority as an underlying justification for use of force, search, and suspicion.

Racial profiling is a sensitive, yet longstanding violation of human rights in which law enforcement targets individuals for crimes merely based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin. I chose this topic because there has been an alarming rate of incidents nationwide where individuals have fallen victim to racial profiling. This violation of this human right has a widespread effect on the lives of minorities and is beginning to shape their communities’ attitudes toward law enforcement. Law enforcement encompasses all individuals who are used for policing intended for public or private purposes. As a young, educated, African-American woman, I have been followed around stores and even denied for certain jobs

The concept of racial profiling has its wide range of definitions. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, racial profiling means “the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual 's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin.” In other words, racial profiling has its assumptions that particular individuals are more likely to be involved in transgression or unlawful activities based on individual’s race or background. Racial profiling does not just exist today; it thrives and mostly propels a brutalizing message and inhuman misconception to citizens of the United States whom they are pre-judged by the color of their skin. The primary cause of profiling is racism or race-related discrimination. Unfortunately, this unwarranted approach is now commonly used by law enforcement officers, even though it could be both unjust and unconstitutional. Not only does it violate the core principles of this country, but it can be dangerous and deadly because it threatens our privacy and security. It is also a threat to racial equality, where many influential and prominent people have fought for to accomplish. Although many heroic activist leaders have ended racial division to its certain extent, yet many African-Americans all over America still face the rigid unequal world because of unjustifiable race-related tragedies that tremendously affects African-Americans.

Racial Profiling is used often by law enforcement and is a social problem that displays racial inequality. Many people are losing lives because of our Criminal Justice System. Most police officers are prejudice and use stereotypes while pulling over minority groups which include ethnicity's other than Caucasian. Caucasian's carry the figurative white privilege, so racial profiling is not as common for white people. Providing examples of how racial profiling in our criminal justice system is necessary since these are huge problems in American Society. Much evidence exists on the American institutional systems, cultural norms and values, and even individual experiences that display racial profiling in the criminal justice system. African Americans,

The existence of racial profiling is one of the most pressing issues facing the contemporary society of America. Historically, law enforcement has a heritage of racially motivated legislation - from slave codes, black codes, to other oppressive practices targeted at the populations of minorities. The present-day relationship between minorities and the police has been consequently influenced by such historical trends of discrimination. Recent events reflect the policing strategy of racial profiling where minorities have been mistreated and discriminated against, leading to a relapse towards social inequality once again.

Since this is a Race and Ethnic class I decided to do my research paper and power point presentation on “racial profiling”. Starting off racial profiling refers to the biased practice by law enforcement officials focusing on individuals for suspicion of crime, based on the individual 's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Racial profiling is a very brood and sensitive topic because it’s a lot of it going on in the world today. My opinion is that racial profiling is a controversial topic in our society. The beneficial parts of racial profiling are firmly upheld by statistics that show that racial profiling is a compelling measure for fighting crime. In any case, there are decreasing consequences for certain minority groups on account of the sentiment that minorities are continually being preposterously associated with crime. Throughout my paper I will be informing you on the historical background, statistics, political views, my opinion, and contributing factors to the issue. The topic of my paper is racial profiling but I will mainly be racial profiling by police officers, since that’s a big topic in the world today.

The brutality of the police force has been a long worldwide problem, but especially between the years of 2012-2016. Black people are being unjustly beaten and shot in plain sight for doing nothing while being unarmed. Journal of African American Studies “Blacks are viewed as deserving of harsh treatment in the criminal justice system” (482). “Black males with more “Afrocentric” features may receive longer sentences than blacks with less Afrocentric features like lighter skin and straighter hair”(482). Nowadays it is important to know about the police force. It’s important to know our rights as citizens and be careful around cops. Not everybody is good, but not everybody is bad also. In The New York Amsterdam News 21 people were killed by Chicago police in 2008. Entire families were being attacked. They believe it’s because of their skin color and how they are different. The year of racism started off with the world seeing the police murder of Oscar Grant. “The media have pushed people away from hearing the issue of police brutality, and it has fallen off of the radar screen.”(2) “You can’t give in. They will try to make an example out of you, try to break your spirit!”(2) African Americans say do not trust the cops with anything. “They will ruin you.”(2)

Racial profiling has been one of the most controversial and prevalent topics in today's society. This form of harassment is demonstrated when certain ethnicities are being targeted by the law enforcements. An example of this can be expressed when police are targeting people with colored skin because they suspect them having some type of illegal substance, or suspect them of crime, which they have not committed. Racial profiling needs to stop before it gets out of hand, or cause violence. Law enforcements are mistreating blacks and Latinos by racial profiling. In the article “Jim Crow Policing,” by Bob Herbert, demonstrates many statistics on how many blacks, and latinos were stopped by the police. The article “Racial profiling has destroyed public trust in police. Cops are exploiting our weak laws against it,” by Ranjana Natarajan, explains where law enforcements are using excessive force on a black male, named Eric Garner. In “Racial Profiling in Preschool,” by Editorial Board, expresses how black adolescents are given harsher punishments than others. Based on the analysis of strong textual evidence and the conducted research, it is clear that racial profiling is an unnecessary policing strategy because there are many possibilities such as unjustified deaths, the isolation of individuals, and irrational accusations.

A major issue that has been at the forefront of the topic of race in America is racial profiling. This practice of targeting individuals based on the individual’s race is not new and has been in use for many many years. However it has recently come to national attention with the killing of unarmed black teenagers by police officers. The issue of racial profiling not only highlights the lack of equality in America but the issue of policemen using excessive force when dealing with criminal activity.