Racial Discrimination In Law Enforcement

930 Words4 Pages
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. Critics of policing say that police officers discriminate against minorities because they see them as second-class citizens, stating that many officers are white and drawn from some conservative section of the community. Predisposition, preformed opinions about groups of individuals that may lead to racist attitudes within the police, and socialization are major roles in the formation of racist attitudes within policing. Socialization is the influences of parents, families, peers, and the community in training individuals about the norms, rules, and customs of a locality with an aim to compel