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Racial discrimination in the United States
Discrimination in the u.s justice system
How the police effect racial profiling
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Police officers are not racist; they are doing their job.. The case of Abner Louima is a case when police were racist. Louima was a security guard at a nightclub when a fight broke out. He intervened and broke the fight up although when police arrived, he was arrested not the brawlers. Once at the station, he was forced to strip in public
Police officers are trained to use their discretion in line with statistics or perceived statistics. It is often perceived that people of certain races are more likely to be guilty of crimes, and this concept factors into why the police made the choices that they made during this investigation. While this is illegal to do, it is still very hard to prove it in
It is stated in the article What It’s Like to Be Black in the Criminal Justice System that “black drivers are also more likely to be pulled over and less likely to receive a reason for being stopped” . It is the police's job to protect all American people, meaning no matter what skin color, and many are abusing the power they are given to do that by specifically going after Black Americans
From early studies of police departments and law enforcement agencies, their culture is described as authoritarian, cynical, distrustful, elitist, homogeneous, macho, misogynist, monolithic, pessimistic, suspicious, insular, socially isolated and highly resistant to change. Relationships between police officers and the communities they are sworn to protect and serve is often times tense and difficult to maneuver. Police departments can implement an effective mechanism for change as "fish rot from the head first. "
Police officers are always looking for a target and they end up finding the perfect person to penalize. For example, many people are usually shocked when they find out that the reason they were pulled over was not, in fact, against the law, and end up penalized. In my opinion police officers should really focus on stopping crimes such as rapes, robbery, murders etc. Those crimes should have high penalties, but crimes such as speeding, driving without a license, carrying a small amount of drug should not equal the same prison time for a major crime for ethnic minorities. Therefore, unreasonable suspicions, pre-texts used by officers and jail time are things that play a huge role regarding the criminal justice system that affects the way ethnic minorities are
Another form of discrimination is police brutality to black minorities. Black minorities in the United states of america are beaten, violated and murdered by officers of the law that sword to protect and serve them. Police brutality is an issue that needs to be stopped. One example of police brutality was the incident regarding Michael Brown. Michael Brown was a 18 year old African American that was fatally shot by a white officer by the name of Darren Wilson.
As our law enforcement, people would think they should be able to trust them, but that is not always the case. Law enforcement treats minorities differently than whites making minorities feel the tension when they encounter each other, studies and polls show the evidence, and black cops working in law enforcement can see how white cops treat them. Minorities feel that law enforcement approaches them differently than whites because of their skin color. Minorities feel when approached by law enforcement, they
The police treat people of color differently than whites. It 's like the Jim Crow Law is happening all over again. Police would rather mistreat people of color instead of giving them equal opportunity when it comes to the law. In the Boston Globe article
Pattern of Discrimination in Police Agencies Discrimination in police agencies is a big problem in this country. This discrimination comes in different forms and names. The three mains types are Institutionalized discrimination, Contextual discrimination, and Individual acts of discrimination. These patterns of discrimination can occur because that’s the way it has always has been done or because of the situation. Ethnic groups pose problems for police agencies including language barriers and their prior contacts with law enforcement.
Stereotyping and discrimination have led to increased violence between police officers and other races in the last couple of years. African Americans are looked at as gangs that should be feared; muslims are considered terrorists; mexicans are thought to be illegal immigrants. Racial profiling causes lesser opportunities everywhere including airports, stores, and even your own home (Racial Profiling 2015). Many times that African Americans are murdered in police shootings they were causing no threat or harm to the officer involved. These stereotypical opinions not only stop people from being able to take opportunities, but they often result in violence.
We are brainwashed by what the news shows us. Now every time we see an incident with a police man and a minority we automatically think racism. Police officers are scared to protect civilians because they are afraid of losing their jobs. Many police officers are suspended and fired for getting in a tussle with a minority.
One of the greatest challenges law enforcement are facing is providing effective policing for minority communities. Some factors that prevent minorities from gaining access to justice or being taken advantage of certain criminal justice services are language barriers, racial stereotyping, and cultural differences. Since the 30 's and 40 's, and even during the 60 's, civil rights activists damaged the police-minority relations in the United States, believing that police only interest are protecting white communities. A big explanation of why there 's a poor police-minority relations in the United States is racism on the part of the individual officers. Many minorities in the United States have continued to complain about being treated more harshly than whites and the Department of Justice believes that racial profiling and police discrimination will continue to be a big problem.
Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen” focuses on race through different stories and experiences. Racial profiling in particular is detailed on page 107 of the book. Many people have been and continue to be racially profiled by the police, with minority groups being the most profiled. Racial profiling does not take into consideration that a person might be innocent but instead focuses on skin color as a way of trying to catch criminals. Racial profiling of innocent individuals takes a toll on their psyche and makes them believe that no matter what they do, they will be deemed guilty until they can prove they are innocent.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, departments that serve less than 2,500 people are 84.4% white and departments that serve millions are 53.4% white (as cited in Fifield, 2016). Notably, Over the years, a lack of diversity within law enforcement has become a pertinent issue. Notably, the underrepresentation of minorities within law enforcement influences the relationship between communities and law enforcement by engendering distrust with law enforcement. To say nothing of, underrepresentation of minorities have had many people question whether departments mirror a diverse community. Nevertheless, with that being said, underrepresentation of minorities have generated tension and distrust between communities and law enforcement and many believe that police department need to mirror the race composition within their cities.
Throughout history, disputes and tensions between law enforcement officials and communities of minorities have endured hostility and violence between each other. Racial profiling has become a “hot topic” for researchers as well as for politicians and by now it is likely that most citizens are at least aware of the common accusations of racial bias pitted against law enforcement (Cochran & Warren, 2013). Communities of color are being discriminated against and racially profiled by white police officers for any suspicion of criminal activities. It has been widely assumed by policy makers and citizens alike that allegations of racial profiling are mostly associated with the policing practices of white officers and their treatment of racial and ethnic minorities (Cochran & Warren, 2013). Also, individuals of minority descent will certainly recognize that they are being racially profiled during a stop that is being conducted by a white police officer.
