Bias In The Police Force Essay

Bias in the Police Force

As Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. Police brutality continues to be one of the most controversial issues in America today. Unnecessary shootings, excessive use of force, and violence towards blacks especially have caused recent uproar in our country and call attention to our justice system. There is no doubt that police have used excessive force in certain situations however is bias present in the police force? Through research, statistics are examined about the presence of bias in the police force and if it plays a role in the recent police brutality.

The definition of bias is prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a

In recent news, police are being heavily criticized for their amount of force used being motivated by the race of the victim. Here are some statistics. Black people make up 13% of the U.S. population and white people make up 64%. Also black people make up 40% of the prison population whereas white people only 39%. This means that even though there are five times as many white people than there are blacks in the United States, blacks still make up more of the prison population. However, this does not necessarily mean that black people commit more crimes. This is where bias comes into play. Studies have shown that if a black person and a white person each commit a crime; the black person has a greater chance of being arrested than a white person. If a police officer works in a predominately and they arrest a majority of black people, does that mean they are racist? Police officers work in divisions and surveillance the same areas everyday therefore they become acquainted to the behaviors of certain neighborhood and make decisions based off past