Jack Hitt's A Mother Jones

Studies have shown that an officer is more likely to even just pull over a person of color in higher-crime neighborhoods. In the cities San Francisco, Ferguson, Chicago, Greensboro, New York, and Maricopa, it is found that police officers tend to target individuals who are African American to pull over, but in all of these cities it is found that the white counterparts have a significantly higher rate of holding contraband--goods that have been imported or exported illegally--in their vehicles (Makarechi 1). A law enforcement officer’s decision making can also be influenced by the number of bystanders present. An officer is also more likely to apply force to his/her suspect when in an unnerving setting. For example, an officer will be more on edge when in an alley at night than he/she will be on the side of a highway at

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.

Based on the statistics of NYPD’s 2016 second quarterly reports, 1,862 people in the African American community are stopped versus 342 Caucasians (NYPD second quarter reports, 2016). Consequently, this implies policemen classify “blacks” as delinquent even though they are uninvolved in any unlawful acts the majority of the time. The product of racial discrimination furthers the understanding that the country still does not hold minorities equal next to the other ethnicities. This demonstrates just one example on how the Stop and Frisk law variously inflates negative predigest to further the understanding that “blacks” are synonymous with barbarous criminals.

With blacks being stopped more than half of the time, and Latinos being stopped around 30 percent, its clear why these groups along with other minority groups feel they are being singled out and picked on; in fact, Mayor Bill de Blasio even made a public apology for the policy’s negative impact after the New York Times (2014) claimed that Judge Shira A. Scheindlin described it as “a policy of indirect racial profiling.” It’s reasons like these that encourage people to believe this tactic is inherently corrupt. If police officers are not using clear logic and reasonable suspicion when stopping individuals, it can create a major separation between our law enforcement agents and society and allow for noble cause corruption. While this policy has the ability to create major distrust and dislike for the cops, however, it can also have a very positive impact as well. For example, if officers continue to improve the accuracy of their stops and become more successful in taking weapons off the streets and deterring crime, their communities should begin to back them and also this

Chapter 4 in The Color of Justice: Race, ethnicity, and crime in America, was about the relations between society and law enforcement officers. This has been a major topic, especially in the United States for a long time. The unfortunate statistic that minorities are more likely to encounter being killed, arrested, and victimized by excessive physical force; has been a real issue even in today’s society. However, police departments are trying to combat the way police officers interact with the community; especially those of color. Although steps have been takes there are still some instances where police aggression happens. With all of the issues that arise between certain minority populated community’s police it is evident that conflict

Numbers suggest that, for instance, while Blacks compose six percent of population in St. Clayton city, they represent 57% of overall police arrests. Similarly, the probability of Black arrest in Berkeley (CA) and Madison (Wis) cities is nine times higher than other racial groups compared to their corresponding population. In addition to this, Bureau of Justice statistics report that at the national level, Blacks are two times more likely to be arrested compared to Whites. Concurring with media reports and national statistics institutes’ estimates, empirical studies also report high proportion of minority arrests compared to their representation in the population (Golub, Johnson, & Dunlap, 2007).

Law enforcement officials often confront situations where it’s an almost certainty that illegal activities are taking place despite not having sufficient resources to investigate every possible perpetrator. Research on race and vehicle stops by police show that African American drivers are disproportionately stopped in traffic by police for driving violations (Kowalski & Lundman, 2007). The reason is because law enforcement officials use characterizations or

The largest component of the criminal justice system is the law enforcement. This section includes police officers, sheriffs, and marshals. The discrimination people of color experience start with these authoritative figures. “Seven in ten blacks said that the blacks in their community were treated less fairly than whites in dealing with police.” (Pew Research Center). The intended role policemen/women play is to protect and serve the citizens they represent. Yet, this study reports 70% of African Americans feel they are unequally treated in their communities by these law enforcers. Stevenson also writes about the statistic concerning African Americans and the police, “I found that

In looking at Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD) history with using excessive force, there needs to be a way that hold these police officers accountable to prevent citizen-police tension and create transparency for the public. During the 1990s, 61% of police officers from the LAPD were white and considered aggressive with African American communities which suggest racial tension among the two groups (Suburbanstats, 2017). Eula Love and Rodney King are two victims of

A great deal of society views law enforcement officers as heroic and honorable individuals, whose main purpose is to protect and serve the community. For many officers, this description is accurate, however for others; violence and brutality against innocent citizens is part of getting the job done. For years, minorities have fallen victim to police brutality based on racial profiling, stereotypes and other

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)

Discrimination is a known concept that happens everywhere, yet police and prosecutors are blind to it. Their ways of preventing crime are discriminatory in every sense of the word and they categorize people based on their skin color and where they reside. The disproportionate minority contact with the stop and frisk method is one of the ways that discrimination can be seen. “Code of the Street” and “Law and Disorder in Philadelphia” help dissect why discrimination is not seen by police and their agencies and also how police officers and their administration go about ways of preventing crime. The pressure within the police, community, and courts create inequalities for the individuals going through the Criminal Justice System.

There is recent controversy over police use of force, especially in minority communities such as in African American communities, Hispanic communities, and other publics with large populations of minorities. Increased levels of force among these communities have created challenges for police departments. These challenges include a lack of trust from the community towards law enforcement officers and an absence of respect creating situations that lead to police use of force. There are already various programs in place that attempt to decrease this challenge by educating the public, respecting one another, and giving those who were on the wrong track second chances. A combination of these solutions and the implementation of more of them would decrease the number of contacts between police and minorities that lead to the use of force (Roberg & Novak, 2014).

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.

The law of this world tells one to get rich but kills you when you try to make ends meet, one is told to stand up straight and be loud but sets your skin against you when your pride gets a little too loud. Over the past decade, police brutality has been an extremely controversial issue as it is a serious violation of the basic human and civil rights of American citizens. These actions of severe beatings, fatal chokings, and unjustified shootings have caused an outburst from the minority communities which has made it easy for many to be fooled through the language of persuasion.