There are many people that oppose my opinion. Many people believe that officers do not use excessive force, that what happens is not police brutality and that these officers are only doing their job. There is no doubt that some are doing exactly that, their job, but when there is an officer that is shooting at a young man several times is unnecessary. This happened to Michael Brown, according to Darren Wilson, the officer that shot him, he fit the description a suspect who had stolen cigarettes. The officer pulled over Michael Brown and his friend. Michael Brown got away and the officer chased after him and many witnesses said that Brown was surrendering to the officer, while others said that Brown was charging toward the officer, either way,…
The 1981 Brixton riots and the Scarman Report were supposed to be watershed moments in the history of the Police force in the United Kingdom, especially the Metropolitan Police. However, subsequent events, in particular the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the police failures in that investigation mean that the Metropolitan Police still has a long way to go to remove the shadow of institutional racism.…
Stephen Lawrence aged 18 lost his life due to a fatal stabbing at a bus stop on 22ndApril 1993 in a racist and unprovoked attack. This was a case which the police were deeply criticised for in respect of their role of responsibility and the reason why the case is so well known is because until now, 10 years on no one has been convicted of his murder (Macpherson Report, Ten Years On, 1999). The real question is: have policing strategies changed since the case of Stephen Lawrence and has the MacPherson report resulted in extinction of institutional racism? Ethnic minorities have always been disadvantaged in some category, if not education, then employment and these disadvantages can change a person’s lifestyle. For example black people are more likely to be stopped and searched whereas Asians are less likely to be stopped. The smallest issues like these have become today’s major problems as ethnic minorities feel they are treated unfairly. Is there a link between the criminal justice system and black people and if there is then how has it been produced? This essay aims to examine whether changes in policing arising out of Macpherson report has resulted in the extermination of institutional…
In the early phase of post-war immigration, there was an assumption that members of ethnic minority groups were no more likely to be offenders or victims than the majority white population. It was also assumed that the criminal justice system treated all ethnic groups fairly. According to a major investigation into police and immigrant relations in 1972 ‘black people were more law-abiding than the general population’ and there was little evidence against Black and Asian immigrants with regards to an increase in crime rates (Layton-Henry, 1992). During the next 10 years, however, relations between the police and the black community deteriorated and evidence mounted of increasing racist attacks.…
Prepare an outline of your newspaper article, speech, or pod cast due in Week Four that examines your selected topic. Include at least one contemporary event as an example to illustrate the main points.…
The social perception of race has systematically changed police-community relations, considering time and time again, black and brown bodies have been perceived as worthless during police confrontations.…
In any field where your job is to provide a service to the public, it is important to have a basic understanding of the people you serve. The same is true for those who work in law enforcement, but because of the nature of their duties, it is an issue for serious concern. The multicultural shift in America means that there is more representation of various minority groups, all of whom have differing historic relations with those in law enforcement, and often times an unfavorable one. Whether these groups are newly represented in American society or have been part of the society for generations, most often there is a history of unfair or unequal treatment under the law that is difficult for parties on both sides of the issue to overcome. This lies at the core of the problems with police-community relations (PCR). In order to serve the public to the best of their abilities, those who 've taken the oath to do so need involvement from the community they represent, a community that seems to be ever…
Supporting social conflict theory, which was created by Carl Marx, helps to us better understand police and citizen interact. In a Study conducted by Holmes et. al, (2008) Holmes and his colleagues realized that race and class together determines how police and citizen interacts. In the same way, Lersch’s (1998) analysis of citizens' complaints showed that people in lower income societies (miniorites) were more likely to file complaints of police misconduct and to “experience more serious acts of misconduct” than those with more power and resources (Lersch, 1998, par. 38). The main function of the police is to keep the status quo of inequality and to assist the powerful (police and/or Whites) to exploit the powerless (Blacks and minorities)…
“I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe.” That’s what Eric Garner said when a police officer killed him for no reason in Staten Island. Garner was accused of selling cigarettes illegally, and in the video taken of the event Garner mentions how the cops have always ragged on him for selling illegal cigarettes. Garner combats the police by saying “I did not sell nothing!” and “Whenever you see me you want to mess with me! It stops now!” Officer Daniel Pantaleo compulsively choked Garne and killed him. He was 43 when he died. This was the first incident that had ample attention brought to it, but there have been many racist police encounters with African-Americans over the years. This incident also opened the issue of African-Americans targeted by police…
People of different ethnic groups in the United States have an opinion of the police that is negative. There are many different reasons why people of different ethnic groups have such a negative opinion of the police. One reason why people of different ethnic groups have a negative opinion of police is they see police officers committing crimes without being punished. Another reason why people of different ethnic groups have a negative opinion of police is that they have no trust for the police.…
At the same time, the government of the US, having passed the transitional stage long ago, is alarmed by the same issue of police brutality against minority citizens. While the Indian government excessively intervenes in the police conduct, in some countries, such as in the US, this is not the case (Chevigny, 2008, p. 1617). Since the country is ruled by the voice of the majority, this group of people has a certain control over politicians. The latter, especially the president of the US, represent the whole society and non specific parts of it, so they tend to address the issues of the whole community, marginalizing the issues of smaller communities such as minority groups (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jul/14/barack-obama-us-racism-police-brutality-failed-victims). For instance, West argues that by attempting to take a position in the ‘middle’, police brutality remains without any political accountability.…
Most people believe that the majority of the perception on police is negative. (Mirsky, 2009, p. 2) A survey conducted in 1999 concluded that more than one-third of United States citizens held positive attitudes toward their local police department. Although this perception is known to stay true till this day the minorities have an alternative viewing on the police. (Thomas & Burns 2005) “Throughout history ethnic and racial minorities have experienced discriminatory practices from law enforcement officials.” Minorities have a lower perception of the police due to the fact that they have more confrontations with police officers. Even though minorities have more confrontation with police officers still doesn’t answer why minorities more negatively perceive police. Another factor that come into play on minorities viewing of the police is the not just the amount of confrontations but, it’s the amount of negative confrontations. (Mirsky, 2009, p. 2) “Latinos and African Americans usually encounter excessive force from police, in addition to racial profiling in jurisdictions with a sizeable minority population.” To sum up the reason why minorities have a more negative reaction towards police is because they feel that police are constantly out to get them. The reason why the police have more contact with minorities is because police presence is a lot more needed in minority living areas. With that being stated it makes sense on why minorities have more interactions with the police. Even though all those interactions aren’t negative the chances of having a negative interaction with police officers increases within the minority…
“Police in America are sworn to protect the citizens, however the last few years citizens been sickened by highly publicized accounts of public servants brutalizing men—and women—in the communities”. Police Brutality has been an uprising topic in the past years, because of the police having the overpower over many black citizens because of assumption of suspiciousness. Once the police feels threatened, they automatically shoot to protect themselves and then assume they did the right thing. Those who oppose the use of use of torture also claim that the laws of the United States protect those suspected of crimes by regulating police interrogation practices to prevent terrorism. However, the US regulations do not claim that if a police assumes that a person is suspicious of terrorism that they should be shot. Police now take advantage of this rule. The precise meaning for police is, “the civil force of a national or local government, responsible for the prevention and…
The extent of police behavior using racial profiling causes complete mistrust between communities and the force. Entire cultures have formed around the abhorrence and disgust towards police brutality and a complete lack of tolerance due to people’s different…
There is evidence once arrested minority groups are more likely to deny the offence, use their right to silence and choose to have legal advice. Phillips and bowling suggests that all these responses to arrest reflect ethnic minority’s opinions of the police. The suspicions with which minority ethnic groups tend to view the police are well documenntated in the number of surveys. If defendants do not admit an offence they cannot escape with a caution because of this, whites who are arrested are more likely to be cautioned and they avoid the possibility of a…