Police Discrimination Essay

Discrimination towards ethnic minority continues to find its way in our country. Unfortunately, the subject of racial profiling remains a part of Canada, as officers ignore individual behavior and instead, rely on race in police investigations. According to Katheryn Russell (as cited by Amy Hackney & Jack Glaser, 2013) racial profiling is defined as “The use of race or ethnicity by law enforcement officials as a basis for judgement of criminal suspicion” (Russell, 1998). Racial profiling within our country can be exposed through Canadian history, surveys and interviews from those treated unjustly. All of which stakeholders attempt to remedy for the victimization of the innocent.

There has been a significant body of literature which has attested to the veracity of the argument that black Canadians are victimized via racial profiling. For example, the Commission of Systemic Racism in the Ontario Criminal Justice System found that the majority of black respondents surveyed had been treated unfairly by the Canadian criminal justice system (Wortley and Owusu-Bempah, 2011, p.133-134). Furthermore, Canadian research studies have consistently revealed that blacks are more likely to come into negative police contact compared to Caucasians (Wortley and Owusu-Bempah, 2011, p. 135). Alarmingly, suspected black offenders are also more likely to be shot and experience use of force by Canadian law enforcement personnel than their white counterparts (Wortley and Owusu-Bempah, 2011, p. 138).

This paper provides an overview of the problems facing the police in their efforts to improve relations with minority communities in the United States, as well as a survey of previous research and existing literature on cultural diversity

While some may contend that racial profiling remains an effective police practice for interrogation that is simply not true. Racial profiling has profound social impacts on a number of minorities, particularly the black community, who end up facing many stereotypes which damage their community. For decades, black Canadians have been subjective to some of the most extreme examples of racial profiling and that is often still the case today. In fact, “In a recent survey of Oakville’s Black youth aged 13 to 24, in the Oakville Beaver researchers were told that adults appear to brand them as troublemakers on the basis of “youthful indiscretions” more quickly than they do White kids doing comparable things. Similarly, they believe adults react differently to White and Black youth wearing the same type of clothing: White kids are assumed to be going through a “phase "while Black youth are more likely to be seen as potential criminals” (Arnott, 2003). This survey was done without the names of the victims who said they were scared to speak up against the police. Furthermore this survey proves police culture can further reinforce racial stereotypes through the telling of “war stories” that depict racial minorities as dangerous. This may increase the level of fear or apprehension officers experience when they encounter minorities on the street as a result of generalizations and

"Relations between the police and minority groups are a continuing problem in many multiracial societies. Surveys consistently document racial differences in perceptions of the police, with minorities more likely than whites to harbor negative views." (Weitzer and Tuch, Race and Perceptions of Police Misconduct, 2004)

Toronto police’s carding epidemic continues, despite the recent public outcry to abolish it. Seldom efforts continue at the provincial level. Ontario’s minister of community safety, Yazir Naqvi is yet to understand the public’s issue with carding. This is not about elected officials or the police, but the rights and freedoms of the citizens. The input of the public is important in this process, and to understand carding is prejudice behavior. Carding is a form or racism and it has no place in Toronto.

Existing policies that target the issue of police discrimination in use of force include requiring officers to wear body-worn cameras and requiring them to attend implicit-bias training classes. However, there are some issues with these policies. Body

Appearance among the public is an important factor that Australia and Germany considered when establishing their current police system. Both countries are determined to create a positive image surrounding their police force and avoid the stigma related to police in places like the US. Australian police officers predominately wear a blue uniform, which is consistent across all states,

Like employment discrimination, sexual discrimination is something both male and female officers’ face in the workforce, internally and externally. However, it is the female officer that is the more common victim to this rather than their male counterpart. An example of internal sexual discrimination would be a male officer telling there counterpart that “women have no right being in part of an organization that strongly relies on men to get the job done.” This may also be known as a form of sexual harassment toward a co-worker which is unacceptable in any job. An example of external sexual discrimination would be when a female officer arrives to the scene of a crime and the victim refuses to cooperate with them because of the fact that they were expecting assistance from someone of more masculinity, like a male officer. Ethically, if any of these scenarios were to happen to either gender of law enforcement, the best thing to do once more is set aside all emotions for the time being.

A diverse society has an increase in global contacts and interactions in all areas because there is the police who ensure that every person in the society receives fair treatment, meets their particular needs and does not discriminate on grounds of color, nationality, ethnicity and a person’s religious orientation. However, some issues are at the societal and individual level and also at the power of the organization and may not be controlled by individual law enforcement officer’s own beliefs (Brown, 2013). This paper will exclusively explore how diversity and discrimination are relevant issues in policing and how these issues have changed over time.

Perceptions of what constitutes a qualified police officer have been crafted as a result of numerous television shows and movies. They are often portrayed as heroic, invincible, and possessors of brute strength. While some of these physical attributes are in fact expected and required of police officers, they are not the only ones and at times,

As society continues to fight for the expansion of social diversity in public and private sectors. The community depends on the criminal justice system and the professionals associated with it to set the standard for equality and fairness. Research like what was conducted in this article is necessary as there is need to diversify a law enforcement community that is dominated by the white heterosexual male principles and standards. As our communities become more diverse it is imperative that law enforcement community do the same and replace traditional ignorant and stereotypical behavior with knowledge and professionalism. The studies are vital in providing insight to combat hostility and homophobia directed towards the nontraditional officer

Both police officers and sheriffs have the same stereotypes but when it comes to misconceptions, the sheriffs are viewed differently. All though stereotypes and misconception seem the same, they hold different meanings. Individuals in law enforcement experience a great deal of stereotypes and misconceptions. Yet not all misconceptions and stereotypes of law enforcement employees deal with the treatment of others. And not all officers sit hours on end and consume doughnuts with coffee. In addition, many people confuse T.V with actuality. Not all cases can be solved within an hour and it is not a job where there is constant adrenaline pumping moments. Being able to have family members in a law enforcement career gives such an individual a perfect

When it comes to race within law enforcement, male police officers still question whether women can handle the dangerous situations and physical confrontations that officers may be confronted with, while it is shown that most police women have easily met the expectations of their superiors. Indeed, studies have found that, in general, male and female officers perform in similar ways. In addition, research has found that most citizens have positive things to say about the work of police women (Worden,

Have you ever wondered how our criminal justice system truly works? I for sure have, and was finally able to have a first look into how our police force actually react to real live situations. On Wednesday, 21 September 2016 at 9:00 am, I was able to tag along for about four hours with officer Hutton after signing a special waiver. Although, four hours may not seem like a lot, this experience really opened different point of views and hundreds of questions for me. At the end of this ride along, the goal was to observe who was pulled over and for what reason. Carefully, I observed how Hutton responded to situations. Specifically, the most interesting question that came to mind was, will he be biased towards the public. I would recommend anyone to at least participate a day with an officer. Maybe this will change hundreds of views why policemen do what they do and will change many problems in society. Beaudoin once stated, “Modern public opinion on law enforcement is largely tainted by the work of news media, fictional TV dramas and movies. Participating in an actual shift will provide you with a more accurate perspective on this line of duty.” (2015)