Janeva Walters
April 30, 2016
CRJ 204 1400
Professor Ronda
In Part One of Cops see it differently, Chief Flynn from the Milwaukee PD says that “at the level of cop working in neighborhood, race is irrelevant. It’s just people.” He argues that police in his city are not biased against Black residents, but rather that the majority of crimes happen in neighborhoods that are overwhelmingly African American. What evidence is presented in the episode to counter Chief Flynn’s perspective?
The point that Ed Flynn intends to convey here is that the high number of cases registered against black people is not something that must be evaluated through racial a perspective, as a matter of fact, the majority number of crimes happen in areas that have a
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The presence of implicit bias in the police department can further be manifested from the fact that during the years 2007-2011 police shot around 104 people out of which 11 deaths could not be justified even by the officials of the police department themselves. Further aggravating the gravity of the situation is the fact that eight out of these 11 unjustified deaths that took place were of unarmed black people depicting the state of implicit bias in the police …show more content…
Also, it is significant to mention here the documentary film manifests and highlights the issues of racism and racial stereotyping from a drug perspective and the ways in which it helps in helps in building certain perceptions related to black people and their involvement in drugs or other associated criminal activities.
Another important thing learned from the documentary film that I would like to outline here is that for the first time a documentary based on drugs, crime and law enforcement actually places its plot and central idea on the ways in which law enforcement agencies develop their work approach, perceptions and actions that they take against people involved in drugs and the overall decision making process that accounts for their action.
Furthermore, the documentary film also very clearly and effectively highlights the different psychological dimensions that influence the ways in which cops and people in the Special Forces take their decisions when it comes to differentiating people on the basis of their color and hence resulting in sometimes regrettable
Police brutality and office involved shootings have sparked national debate and created a strain between police officers and citizens. Recently, there have been more home videos that display acts of aggression by police officers. These police officers often use excessive forces or a condescending tone towards people of color which is why there needs to be a better way to mend police and civilian relationship. People should be able to trust the police in their communities rather than fear them.
There is no question that police brutality, when it occurs, is one of the most egregious violations of public trust that a public servant can commit. Police officers, those individuals taxed with protecting the public from danger, should never be in a situation where they pose a threat to the public. Furthermore, there is no question that police brutality occurs. Moreover, generally when there are allegations of police brutality, there has been some type of underlying violent incident. In addition, while issues of brutality may seem clear-cut to a disinterested observer, it is critical to keep in mind that law enforcement officers are not presented with textbook examples of the appropriate or inappropriate use of force, but real-life scenarios involving quick decisions. There are many arrest and non-arrest scenarios where officers need to use force to protect self or others; and the degree of force required may be greater than what a disinterested observer would assume. Another recurrent issue in debates about police brutality is that racial bias appears to be a motive behind police brutality. When one considers that minorities are disproportionately likely to be arrested and convicted of crimes, one would expect to find a disproportionate number of minorities among those alleging police brutality. Therefore, while acknowledging that police brutality, when it occurs, is a serious problem, the reality is that most
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)
Over the years, there have been numerous cases of African-American men being shot and killed by white police officers. According to many of these police officers, it was just a rapid decision to pull the trigger. Correspondingly, implicit biases have resulted in these ideologies, making African-American men seem more violent than white men. In fact, there are many studies that demonstrate how police officers are affected by implicit biases. For example, a study had college students play a computer game where the objective was to shoot dangerous armed
As difficult as their job may be, and as big a toll as it may take on them emotionally, it is important to bear in mind that police officers are normal human beings with normal brains and mental processes. Consequently, they are prone to make the same stereotype-biased judgments the rest of us are. Because they are often operating under conditions of uncertainty, high discretion, and stress and threat, the pervasive stereotypes linking Blacks and Latinos with violence, crime, and even specifically weapons are likely to cause them to make misattributions in seeking to disambiguate the intentions and behaviors of citizens. This can lead to racially disparate rates of stops, searches, arrests, and use of force. Several interventions that aim to reduce bias or discriminatory behavior at the individual level warrant further investigation in the policing context. Nonnegative intergroup contact is especially promising given its strong evidence base and that it could be achieved through
Throughout the last one hundred and fifty years, there has been a history of tension and conflict between the police and minority communities in the United States. In principle, the police exist to enforce the law and protect all citizens regardless of race or ethnic background, yet police departments across the country have been repeatedly accused of targeting and harassing racial minorities, and of failing to root out racist attitudes and practices within their ranks. In recent years, high profile cases such as the beating of Rodney King in Los Angles and the assault on Abner Louima in New York have only served to heighten concerns over the mistreatment of minorities by the police, resulting in widespread calls for major legal and institutional reforms. The recent shootings of Michael Brown, Ezell Ford, Eric Garner, and Terrance Crutcher underscore the danger Black men and boys face when they cross paths with law enforcement officers. In the absence of a coordinated national strategy, state and local police departments have largely been left to develop their own solutions to the problems of policing minority communities and improving cultural sensitivity amongst their officers. Many departments have sought to reform recruitment and selection policies in the hope of attracting greater numbers of minority applicants, while others have instituted diversity training and education programs aimed at improving police understanding of minority cultures and communities. To date, however, these efforts have yielded mixed results. Some departments have achieved notable successes, but on the whole, relations between the police and minority communities across the country remain strained. of cultural diversity and the police.
Police shootings are unfortunate events but whenever there is a shooting, the topic of race emerges. Police shootings have always been the highlights on news channels and there is always the racially biased narrative that keeps repeating itself yet no one seems to dispute this narrative. However, did you know that studies show a police officer is eighteen and a half times more likely to be killed by a African American male than an unarmed African American male is to be killed by a police officer? In fact, a recent “deadly force” study by Washington State University researcher Lois James found that police officers were actually less likely to shoot an unarmed black suspect than unarmed Caucasian or Hispanic suspect in simulated threat scenarios. Some would argue that there are still police shootings all over America and they occur when police officers
For the past few years there has been an ongoing debate surrounding the issue of racial profiling. The act of racial profiling may rest on the assumption that African Americans and Hispanics are more likely to commit crimes than any individual of other races or ethnicities. Both David Cole in the article "The Color of Justice" and William in the article "Road Rage" take stance on this issue and argue against it in order to make humanity aware of how erroneous it is to judge people without evidence. Although Cole and William were very successful in matters of showing situations and qualitative information about racial profiling in their articles, both of them fail at some points.
A young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. An elderly woman is fatally shot in her home for her relation to a suspected criminal. A married man with two toddlers is choked to death after a minor traffic stop by an officer who later claimed that his unarmed victim was wielding a gun. These people all have a few commonalities: the color of their skin, their presumed guilt at first sight, and their ultimate unjustified death administered by the law force. These are not uncommon occurrences. Due to the staggeringly disproportionate rate of African-Americans killed by the police, and the underlying rampant racial profiling, police brutality towards blacks in America must be called to light.
Eric Garner. Keith Lamont Scott. Philando Castille. Michael Brown. Do you know who these people are? I am Arianna Dwomoh, a ninth grade at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh, NC. I want to write to you about how racial profiling/ bias is a large part of police shootings and arrests lately as most victims are unarmed people of color. Over the past couple of years, cops have shot and killed unarmed or innocent black men and boys. This shows light upon the worrying racial differences in how police use force. For those who critique the police, the numbers show that it's not just higher rates of gun ownership and violent crime that explain the higher number of police shootings in the US, compared to other countries. Maybe, it's the nonchalant
As a police officer, the major objectives are to maintain order, enforce the law, protect one’s property, and to save lives. In addition, police are divided into two roles based on how they perform their duties. The two roles of a police officer are a public servant and a crime fighter. A police officer whose role as a public servant is to serve all types of people, as well as criminals. Public servants regularly provide advice and make judgments as to the degree of risk they should take with the public. Many decisions involving risk are relatively easy to make, but others are complex and significant consequences (Kernaghan and Langford, 2016). These risks may involve using force and the consequences could be media backlash or a potential termination. Public servants abide by the oath and uphold the integrity and honor of the organization as an officer. Also, public servant officers like to play it safe because they like to be known as ordinary citizens who like to go home to their
Mac Donald (2008) looks at the idea that cops over arrest blacks and ignore the crimes that whites commit. However, the races of criminals that are reported by the victims do in fact match arrest data. According to a research study as far back as 1978, “a study of robbery and aggravated assault in eight cities found parity between the race of assailants in victim identifications and in arrests--a finding replicated many times since, across a range of crimes” (Mac Donald, 2008, p. 15). It does not make sense to think why crime victims would be biased in the reports they give to the police.
In the article, “Shooting of Philando Castile”, on Wikapedia.org, Officer Jeronimo Yanez comes face to face with his own implicit bias when pulling over African American, Philando Castile and his passenger when believed to be matching the description of a local robbery occurring moments before. Officer Jeronimo Yanez made a personal discretion on the African American when suspecting he was reaching for a gun when asked to pull out his license and registration. Officer Jeronimo was alerted “Castile told the officer he was licensed to carry a weapon and had one in his pants pocket” (“Shooting of Philando Castile”). Officer Jeronimo Yanez takes it upon himself to follow through and shoot Philando when fearing he was reaching to pull out a gun, ultimately resulting in the fatal injury of Philando Castile. Suddenly, implicit bias clouded Officer Yanez discretion leading him to make a split decision. In this case, and in an overall aspect in the criminal justice system and it is an individual’s moral responsibility to take control and either except the bias or take an alternative route and do something about it rather than ignore
These days, police are often stereotyped as aggressive, corrupt beings. The growing hatred for police officers widens the divide between citizens and law enforcement, causing tension and intensely aggressive feelings on both ends. The recent shootings of young African-American men have also added to the societal hatred of law enforcement. Through media exposure, these shootings have been portrayed as cruel, often times revealing the victim to be an unarmed man.
Racial Bias are a direct correlation to police violence against African Americans, stereotypes perpetuated by social constructions and media representation along with individual prejudice help by police officers view African Americans as a threat especially African American men. Police trust this ideology of “threat” to assist in their use of excessive force against African Americans to comply. (Tyler, 2011; Tyler et al., 2015, Skinner, Haas,2016).