Procedural Justice In Aggressive Police Practices

Portions of the population may perceive the police to be oppressors. In addition, there is a perception that victims of police brutality often belong to relatively powerless groups, such as minorities, the disabled, the young, and the poor.[6]

In a review from a book that Holmes and Smith published, the importance of stereotypes is underlined. Drawing to some degree on theories that see police violence as the result of “threats” that police officers experience during encounters in minority neighborhoods, the authors suggest that the idea of threat is in large part based on prevalent stereotypes. These stereotypes are not just employed by police, but are also used by members of minority groups. Whereas police often experience heightened anxiety and fear responding to calls in minority neighborhoods, minority residents experience similar emotions when confronted by police. Minority members often perceive police to be highly biased and to resort quickly to violence.

Police discrimination can occur when the majority of a society perceives a minority group as refusing to endorse the majority’s values. Although difficult relationships between police and minorities remain a problem, police are progressively aware of such problems and have taken comprehensive steps to solve them. The community policing changes were motivated in part by the desire to reduce conflict with minorities. However, progresses can happen only in citizens in which there is police responsibility. Without responsibility, complaints about police actions may be met with severe retaliations, including the killing of accusers by police officers. Racial and ethnic minority perceptions that the police lack impartiality and legitimacy, based largely on their interactions with the police, can lead to suspicion of the

There are numerous concerns based on the quantity and content of stop and searches which are often influenced by institutionalised racism (Home Office, 1997). Studies suggested that the police maintain a belief that black people are prone to be involved in violent crimes (Reiner, 1989). Therefore leading to black individuals routinely falling victim to police stereotypes and overgeneralisations (Bowling and Phillips, 2007). Police interviews have suggested that police perceive certain ethnicities to be involved with certain crimes, one interview suggested that if police are alerted of a robbery, 90% of the time they will assume it is involving a black individual (Quinton et al, 2000). Despite that there is evidence suggesting that racial disadvantages will cause an increase in young blacks to be involved with crime, suggesting that these suspicions are justified (Waddington et al, 2007). Furthermore, there is little research suggesting that police enforce their prejudices when working on the streets, thus suggesting that racial views are a result of police canteen sub-culture (Waddington, 1999).

Many black communities throughout the U.S. have a complete lack of trust in law enforcement due to the dangers of being profiled, and this lack of trust is mainly active in the poor black communities. Many of the individuals of black communities feel this type of distrust because when police are present in these communities, they are viewed as an “occupying force coming in from the outside to rule and control the community” (Washington). More times than not racial profiling has often led to police brutality, all the more reason why there is no trust between those that reside in black communities, and police officers.

Brent Staples’ essay, “When the Paranoids Turn Out to be Right,” acknowledges the issues of racism and racial profiling committed by police. In “Fist, Stick, Knife, Gun,” Geoffrey Canada also expresses views on this issue when he asserts that police fail to protect and serve individuals in poor neighborhoods. Staples contends, “Among the day-to-day acts of discrimination that shadow African Americans, none are more stressful or dangerous than those committed by police, some of whom treat black people as criminals until proved otherwise.” (Staples. 380) Although statistics show that the looming presence of narcotics and violence is more prevalent in urban neighborhoods, police should apply the same effort to protect individuals in these

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.

Subsequently, it leads to their over-policing. This concept revolves around the notion that police do their jobs ‘too well’ and uses excessive force in confrontations with certain groups (Porat, 2008:416). It is ultimately the personification of racial profiling. Wortley and Bempah’s study (2011:397) shows that racial profiling is a grave problem that black Torontonians face, as 57% respondents believed that it is a major problem. This statistic is reinforced in the same study as 47% of blacks perceived their encounters with police as unfair, in contrast to just 12% of Whites (Wortley & Bempah, 2011:400). They were not given a thorough or specific reason for their stops, as they reported that they faced hostility and disrespect in their encounters.

A perception that police target members of specific ethnic or racial groups creates a deep divide between the police and the communities we serve. But as an officer who has spent a lot of time patrolling the city's streets, I just don't think the perception is accurate (Dutta

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.

This argument helps reinforce the author’s claim logically, by stating that since most African Americans are racially profiled against, they tend not to trust the police. The author later backs up this claim by stating that, “African Americans are policed differently” (The Times Editorial Board 3), causing them to have mistrust towards law enforcement. The amount of racial profiling committed has driven a wedge between the African American community and the

In Brian Withrow's article on driving and race-based profiling, we get insight on the potential theory on why some races, usually the minorities, are shown with racial bias and discrimination. A brief description of what race-based policing is, how the practice was measured, and how it compared to recent studies are included within this article. The author's main argument is that beneath the appearance of racial bias and profiling, there are more factors in play other than that of one's race or ethnicity that determines how and if someone should be investigated. One finding that Withrow came across was that the population of a beat correlates with the patrol deployment within a city since the demand for police resources are not equal throughout

The Toronto’s Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy allows officers to put Black people, specifically Black males, under more intense police watch. The Ontario Human Rights Commission in their report on systemic racism acknowledged the existence of severe racial bias against blacks throughout the justice system (Toronto Star 2013). The social construction of black criminality coupled with the denial of certain rights can further debilitate effects of racially discriminatory practices against blacks. By referring to minority groups as criminally inclined and certain neighbourhoods as high-priority, police can target racialized neighbourhoods thus avoid being labelled discriminatory. It is clear from our findings that differential police practices

Social identity is a theory which explains how people develop a sense of belong and membership to a group. Individual’s social identity is part of their self-concept which derives from their knowledge of their membership of a social group together with the emotional significance attached to that membership (Forsyth, 13). People are influenced on the group they belong to. Belonging to the in-group makes a person feel good because they belong somewhere in this group and allows them to feel important. The out-group is where people feel to be, they do not belong to a group and have feeling of exclusion and are often times treated more harshly than someone who belongs to the ingroup. This bias of favoring the ingroup relative to the outgroup leads to false impressions being made and stereotypes forming. Stereotypes help us navigate the world around us by providing a quick representation of what we think a person is like. This does not mean our perceptions are always correct and occasionally, this quick mental shortcut can get us into trouble. For example, the film 12 Angry Men stereotyping was rampant among the jury. When a stereotype is used it can cause a disruption of procedures. Instead, of inspecting all the evidence with an objective eye a bias can allow for systematic