Urban Policing

Law enforcement and minorities have long been the focus of the criminal justice injustice within the United States. African Americans, Arab Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans are a number of communities in the United States along with Caucasian or non-minorities as a whole, which make up a large portion of the United States. Racial discrimination has been a large factor the criminal justice system has been plagued with for many years. In the book Just Mercy, authored by Bryan Stevenson, Stevenson details his life’s work to help those who were wrongfully convicted and biased towards in sentencing. A big part of the book is related to racial discrimination among officers. Analytically I will be looking at the question of whether the relations between the police and minority and non-minority communities differ. I will look at number of factors related to traffic enforcement practices, use of force and arrest of minorities and non-minorities in determining if there is any differences among police community relations.

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,

The authors examine whether or not minorities (young black youths) are stopped more often than non-blacks: black and white youths behaviors are inspected to determine if police officers are stopping youths because of illegal or deviant behavior, or because youths are being racially profile due to their skin color. Hayle et al, claims officers attention is attain by older black individuals, however young black teens are stopped to due higher crime rate. This claim can be accurate due to young teens being mischievous, but racial profiling is still ostensible in adulthood. Black males are racially targeted by officers because, therefore racial profiling should be illegal because mistrust is developed when the color of your skin exposes you to

In the twenty-first century, it seems that the media produces many stories on police brutality, the majority of which surround African-Americans. This is not just coincidence as the majority of citizens in the United States of America that are faced with police brutality are African-American. Prejudice in the force has been an issue for hundreds of years, but just now, with the advancement of technology, has the issue reached citizens across the country in heaping amounts. Whether through unconscious bias or open racism, the violence shown to black citizens across America by precincts and the justice system in general is a widespread issue that needs to be

Abstract In this research paper, I will attempt to break down the relationship between African Americans and the police departments in their corresponding major cities throughout the U.S. The main city included in this study will be Los Angeles, but the research would be conducted in many other places as well. Many factors can strengthen, weaken, and influence a relationship of any kind. Along with analyzing the relationship between African Americans and police departments, this paper will attempt to analyze how images and media can be used to show the relationship between the two groups.

Cochran, J. C., & Warren, P. Y. (2012, May). Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Differences in Perceptions of the Police. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 28(2), 206-227.

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

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

African Americans are highly diverse group and a part of this diversity is police profiling, equal rights and discrimination. Individual versus society, blacks, for example are more likely than whites to report having negative interactions with police, to be exposed to media reports of police misconduct, and to live in high-crime neighborhoods where policing may be contentious—each of which increases perceptions of police misconduct. Relations between the police and minority groups are a continuing problem in the United States and other multiracial societies.

For decades our country has witnessed many cases of police brutality, which has become a controversial topic among communities and in the media. Police Officers are faced with threatening situations daily that could cost them their life, forcing them to make quick decisions, expecting the worst and hoping for the best. It is evident that there is a tremendous amount of expectations placed on our police enforcement. Although conducted almost 20 years ago, the New-York based survey, “Young Adults and Public Spaces,” is still very relevant in today’s society. The study was used to record the experiences of New York youths with adult surveillance in their community. The majority of the sample was African American or Latino, and female (Fine, Michelle, et al.).

"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)

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)

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.

It has been consistently shown in research that minorities are more likely to be mistreated by the police compared to other people (Dunnaville, 2000). Recent incidents have seen the police use excessive force on people and mistreat minorities. As such, the legitimacy of the police has been put under scrutiny and questioned. Many communities in the United States have demonstrated in reaction to recent incidents of police misconduct and excessive use of force. The people have lost trust in the police because of these issues. The police force has been accused of mistreating people, sexual harassment, violent and careless arrests among people particularly the minorities. As demonstrated in the movie ‘Policing the Police’ police officers are seen mistreating people for instance the scene where the police sexually harassed a teenager by touching sensitive areas. Community members are not willing to trust or work with the police to fight crime. As such, it is critical for the police agencies and department to make improving police-community relationship a top police priority. Policies should be developed that will strengthen the mutual trust between the police and the community. This relationship is critical because the police depend on information from the community to fight crime in the society.