In 2012, reports found that the US police were vastly disproportionate in the number of racial minorities killed. The population of African Americans in the US is 13%, whereas the Latino population is 17%. Even so, 31% of the African American population are killed by the police, which is disproportionate in comparison to the 17% of Latinos that are killed. The US is one of the few countries in which the right to bear arms is constitutionally protected, however among most developed nations, the US is by far the most violent, majorly due to the easy access to firearms. Thus, my presentation will be exploring: what are the security implications behind the disproportionate use of hard power by authorities on minorities? This case study thus focuses on the global challenge of security, as it directly explores the role and function of authorities protecting communities against individual threats.
In order to show the clear implications behind this use of hard power, we must look at policing from two different perspectives. From a public initiated encounters with the police and a police initiated encounters. Police initiated encounters meaning stops and searches as well as decisions to arrest and charge. A study showed how on the basis of pre existing beliefs about their supposed criminality, black people were subject to extraordinary policing, and
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The Immigration Act of 1971 gave the police and immigration authorities a considerable amount of power to hold and question people who were suspected of being in breach of immigration law such as entering illegally. An Institute of Race Relations report concluded that police officers demonstrated little regard for the civil liberties of minorities. It described racially abusive questioning, violence on arrest and unnecessary armed raids as forms of