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. Although some people may challenge that diversifying police officers will not make a difference in the relationship with communities, police departments mirroring the diversity of communities may mend tension. Notably, the lack of minorities in law enforcement derives from distrust between minorities in communities and law enforcement. In detail, with more policing predicaments emerging, such as police brutality over the recent years, minorities have been more hesitant to join police force due to their …show more content…
Additionally, the lack of minorities in law enforcement come from trust issues between police officers and their community. Although, some people may believe that creating a more diverse workforce within the law enforcement world have little effect between police and their community, having a police department reflect the community is a stepping stone in mending tension. All in all, lack of representation has many solutions that police departments can incorporate that can provide the youth of America a role model be inspired
Police should be recruiting military veterans and adopting the army 's sensitivity training so officers are more understanding when it comes to the people they swore to protect. Sensitivity training teaches officers how to deal with people from different religions and cultures. Perkins continues on saying that there is a divide between the local law enforcement and their communities. To help further the idea that the police department and their communities are separate, Perkins links readers to The Race Gap in America’s Police Department by Jeremy Ashkenas which presents data and statistics that show that no matter how diverse an area is, most of the police is white. However, Perkins also realizes that most police departments do not have the
“...Much of the recent crime increase threatens the vitality of America’s cities–and thousands of lives–it is not, in itself, the greatest danger in today’s war on cops. The greatest danger lies, rather, in the delegitimation of law and order itself’ (Mac Donald). In the book “The War on Cops: How the New Attack on Law and Order Makes Everyone Less Safe,” published in the year of 2016, author Heather Mac Donald provides credible evidence to expand on her viewpoint of our country’s current criminal crisis. In addition to “The War on Cops, Mac Donald has written two other books. Her works “Are Cops Racist?”
James Queally and Joe Mozingo on the article “Feds fault San Francisco police for violence against minorities and recommend 272 reforms” explains how law enforcement is racially biased towards minorities. Queally and Mozingo support their claim by mentioning the rise of police brutality against Blacks and Latinos and describing the type slurs used when law enforcement are referring to minorities amongst their fellow colleague. The authors’ purpose is to show the reader the type of way law enforcement is unfair to people of color and different cultures. The authors write in a serious tone to those seeking to end police brutality.
Introduction Theoretical assumptions about diversity and contact theory inform the view that a more ethnically diverse criminal justice system will reveal a broader range of voices that can shape and influence policy and attitudinal changes for the better. The focal point of this essay is on the law enforcement branch of the criminal justice system. It makes the argument that diversity in the police force can help reduce levels of racial and ethnic bias as well as disproportionality to the extent that diversity is able to change or influence the occupational and institutional structures that create these disproportionalities. To make this claim, this essay will first show that there are indeed disproportionate outcomes in policing and attempt
When it comes to the perceptions of the criminal justice system and the role that the police play in society, blacks and whites live in different worlds. African Americans do not receive equal
All throughout America, individuals are taught at a young age that police officers are always the “good guys.” Police officers are painted to be trustworthy, honorable, and advocates of justice. This idea is often displayed in the media through television shows, movies, and news specials. For some, this idea still holds truth, however there are many, particularly individuals of color, whom would quickly disagree. Numerous persons of color have been subjected to racial profiling by officers resulting in stops, searches, and false accusation of crimes.
When it comes to the topic of police reform, many agree that our country is long overdue for it, however the questions is how exactly do we, as a nation, go about changing one of the most rigid power structures that exist in the country. While some believe that reform must come from within the individually flawed police departments, others argue that the entire criminal justice system needs an overhaul. An analysis of Ta-Nehisi Coates essay “The Myth of Police Reform” reveals that the complex issues of police shootings of minors (especially African Americans) and how difficult it may be to change these problems. In “The Myth of Police Reform” the author exemplifies the use of logos, ethos and pathos therefore making the argument effective.
There’s evidence that supports mixed races who work in their communities. They get along better and receive more respect from minorities. A police department that is diverse receive less trouble, gain more information, and they understand citizens better. Diversity provides an opportunity for more public jobs, more understanding, less white police brutality, and more effective supervision of minorities. For a while, policing in America remains a white-male dominated industry.
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.
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.
The authors suggest that interventions aimed at reducing implicit biases and racial anxiety may be effective in reducing the incidence of police use of force against minority groups. They also emphasize the importance of addressing the connections of race and other social identities in understanding police behavior. As the article that was previously mentioned research has discovered that people of color tend to be “stopped, searched, arrested, and convicted of crimes, even when controlling for factors such as crime rates and other demographic characteristics” more than white individuals (Spencer). This goes on to show the logical reasoning behind the existence and impact of racial profiling and discrimination in the criminal justice system. Much of this information is gathered from academic resources provided on the school library website or from other educational institutes.
The police power ought to be an impression of the community. Thus, if a community has a substantial amount of African Americans, there ought to be a proportionate number of African Americans on the police force. Be that as it may, cops of any race soon wind up plainly bored on the off chance that they work in high crime rate areas. The police typically just interact with the most noticeably bad looking of the community, the general population they capture. What's more they are presented to some terrible occasions murder, assault, and kid manhandle.
An occurrence observed by the population of Los Angeles, California conveys the existence of racism and police brutality. According to The Polls-Trends: Racial Differences in Attitudes Toward the Police, “…three quarters of blacks, but only 38 percent of whites, continued to view police brutality as a common occurrence” (Tuch and Weitzer
I know there are diversity issues in departments all over the United States. So with that in mind, I would say departments could start putting out campaigns, similar to the military, to get minorities and females encouraged to work with their agencies. Also, we are seeing a high number of officers that are starting to retire; it may be time that departments start hiring more diverse personnel.
Random sample surveys were conducted in Seattle, Washington by telephone, which asked citizen’s various questions concerning their feelings towards police. These questions included their level of happiness in regards to police problem-solving, their views on police hassling citizens, and if they had ever experienced, or perceived to experience racial profiling or bias by law enforcement (Wu, 2014). Of all the citizens that took part in the survey, 64% of African Americans felt that racial profiling was a problem inside their neighborhoods, 28% of Asians, 20% of whites, and 34% of Hispanics agreed (Wu,