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Historical Development Of Ethnicity

Decent Essays

How Historical Development of Policing in the United States Relates to Current Relationships between Police and Different Ethnic and Social Groups
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The effectiveness of law enforcement within communities is mediated by the type of relationships that exist between the police and community members. There should be harmony between the police and the citizens for there to be any meaningful law enforcement. The United States is a highly diversified nation consisting of individuals from different cultures, races, social classes, etc. who live together in harmony. However, there is a problem with regard to policing with some ethnic and social groups enjoying positive relationships with the …show more content…

Many southern police departments such as the St. Louis police emanated from slave patrols (The National Constables Association, 1995). These police departments continued to direct discontent and abuse to people of color many of whom were former slaves and members of the minority ethnic groups. The disastrous precedent role that had been given to the slave patrols managed to seep through the formal police departments and became a precursor for their operations and functions.
The abuses directed towards these minority ethnic and social groups continued through the 1800’s into the early 1900’s. Schlosser (2013) pointed out that the understanding of community during this time was not taken to include certain groups such as the African-Americans and American Indians and so the criminal justice system was mainly used to maintain social order. The criminal justice system, controlled and dominated by Whites, was deeply entrenched in inequality and discrimination against the mulatto slaves, servants, African Americans, American Indians, and other minority groups (Schlosser, 2013). These injustices persisted until the passage of the Civil Acts Rights of 1964 after which they began to decline. The Act prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in voting, public accommodations, public facilities, public education, federally funded programs, and employment (Jacobs et al, 2015). Although the Civil Rights Act

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