The issue of race within the police force dates back to the 1967 President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice, which considered the lack of minority officers one of the central problems in policing at that time. Almost 50 years later and
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,
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.
On April 22, 1992, three guilty criminals walked away innocent after committing heinous acts of aggression and assault. They were not punished after brutally beating an African American citizen after a meer traffic stop. This brutal act of racial profiling was forgiven in the name of systemic bias and societal attitudes towards racism and similar issues. The date in question is the day that the verdict of the Rodney King trial was released by the jury. The trial involved Rodney G. King a taxi driver who was pulled over for a traffic violation. After said violation, four nameless officers proceeded to beat the mostly compliant King. The savage act of police brutality was captured on camera. After such a crime, the four officers in question were
“Frequent exposure to media reports of police abuse or corruption is a strong predictor of perceptions of misconduct and supports the belief that is common.” (France-Respers 1). But unfortunately, it also brings me disheartened feelings. Recently, I was on twitter and I stumbled across a video of a young white male who was roughly about twenty to twenty-five years of age who was being handled so aggressively by about six officers while he was NOT resisting. The act itself is disappointing but more importantly I was bothered by the fact that there are many white individuals who fall victim to acts of police brutality but they don’t receive as much attention because they are not minorities (especially as much as african americans and latino’s do). “Deaths of whites at the hands of law enforcement typically receive less attention, even when the case is shrouded in controversy.” (Richardson, 1). This is an issue as a nation, we are fighting for unity among us all so I find it particularly odd that I never hear cases of police brutality against white individuals on the news, but constantly I come across one’s relating to african americans. All cases of police brutality are wrong despite color, race and ethnicity and we all deserve the right to raise awareness of this growing issue! Police
Although we hope our Police force will use their powers for good, but sometimes police misconduct can occur. Often, the police are under great pressure to act as quick as possible, espcially in a murder case and if the murder victime is white, a child, police officer, or prominent. For example, In the 1990’s the case of Rodney King, that not only shows a racist issue within the criminal justice system, but also the issue with abuse from police officers, but changed the country’s views on the LA police force. Twenty- Seven years ago,Rodney King was brutally beaten by Los Angeles police officers. King was intoxicated while driving and the police had caught him speeding, and initally he tried running away from the police, only to be followed by multiple police and a helicopter. The officers then proceeded to drag King out of his car and brutally beat him.This brutality was the first caught on tape by a bystander, the video had shown the officers tazing, kicking, and hitting Rodney with thier batons a little over 53 times. Witnesses had claimed that King was cooperative and never resisted the officers. The video had gone viral of the abuse and after the case being aquitted by an all white jury, the outcome of these actions resulted in what we know as the L.A riots. Another example of police brutality involving an African American, was a case that happened recently on August
Minorities in the community have been subjected to violence by law enforcement in the United States for some time. This violence is called police brutality and it is unacceptable. The job of a police officer is to maintain public order, prevent, and detect crime. They are a part of a dangerous and stressful career that can involve risky situations that must be controlled. Sometimes police are put in situations that excessive force is needed. Some officers use these extreme measures in situations when it is not needed, police brutality should be addressed by testing police for for racial bias, require more training, and use body cameras.
Why are people always convicted on something they only have circumstantial evidence on? I believe that there is many more ways for a jury to find out if a person is guilty or not and circumstantial evidence is one of the main things they use. Most of the time people get blamed for something they didn’t do and they don’t even have all the evidence to prove that one is guilty. So then they end up going to jail for a crime they did not commit.
What are the causes of wrongful convictions? Criminal law examines why there are many wrongful convictions and the causes to them. Theories has shown that wrongful convictions have revealed disturbing fissures and trends in the criminal justice system. Other theories indicates that an overlapping array of contributing factors has emerged; from mistakes to misconduct to factors of race and class. The state’s obligation to do more to correct wrongful convictions is in proportion to the rate at which they are currently allowed to occur. But our knowledge of the frequency of wrongful convictions is inevitably limited. The criminal standard of proof is demanding, but absolute certainty is unachievable and not required (Hammer 2014). Some risk of
The biggest issue within the Criminal Justice system is the large number of wrongful convictions, innocent people sentenced to die for crimes they did not commit. People are put in prison for years, even executed for false convictions. This affects not only those put in prison but friends and family of the accused. Wrongful convictions aren’t solely a tragedy for those directly involved either. It weakens the faith the public has for the justice system as well as poses safety issues; when innocent people are put away, the real criminals are still out there. Luckily, it is known what causes wrongful convictions and how to fix them.
Within the criminal justice system, there are two competing models: the crime control model and the due process model. These two models were constructed by Robert Packer and each represents a particular school of thought. In managing crime, there is the individual i.e. the suspect and there is the society. The due process model is seen to focus on the suspect whereas the crime control model focuses on the society. This paper analyzes these two models and based on the rate of crime in the society, makes recommendations as to which is the best model in criminal justice.
The media makes the severity of the situation much worse. In some instances, a situation is represented in way that conveys a case as deceptive. Police misconduct, in this situation, is preposterously distorted. For example, the scene one sees on television may be completely inaccurate. In the article Unpacking Public Attitudes to the Police: Contrasting Perceptions of Misconduct with Traditional Measures of Satisfaction, Miller states, “…research found that people's fear of crime was related to crime content in the newspapers they read…”( 6). Furthermore, citizens fear crimes being committed along with the officers that battled the crimes. While the media’s outtake may sometimes be truthful, the situation is worsened on
The law is well settled that each and every incriminating circumstance is required to be clearly established with supporting evidences and also the chain of events should be complete in such a manner that the only conclusion which could be drawn is guilt of the accused and no other hypothesis against the guilt is possible. The Supreme court also didn’t hesitate in giving death sentence to the murderer only because the case relied on circumstantial evidence. The general rule is that it is admissible in a court of law but they are required to be cautious when a case solely relies on circumstantial evidence. All the facts should be closely examined and it must be looked at
In this case, Dookhan cases appear to account for a mind-boggling 25 percent of all of the drug litigation that led to convicting in the seven constituency that uses the Hinton State Lab during Dookhan’s incumbency. Yet, Dookhan was let go on parole only because this was the first time prosecutors ad the list of all the defendants affected by the case. Annie Dookhan was convicted on drug charges from fabricating thousands of test results. For someone to face such a light sentence for ruining countless lives with falsification of many different evidences is seen as a disgrace. Falsification of evidence leads straight to convictions but there are many other ways one can become convicted in our criminal justice system(Lithwick,2016).
Police harassment, use of excessive force and/or deadly force is destroying police-minority community relations. The consistent abuse of power by police within the same communities often raises question of protection of life and liberty. While it is hard to determine the exact extent of police abuse, it is evident though streams of media reports, protesting, and the occasional riot, that many in society fear, that police abuse of power has become the norm and that the abuse is violating their basis human and civil rights. This paper briefly discusses relatable events that can be understood by most, as to why police actions of abuse have caused protest and riots, especially in the minority communities, where the overgrowing concerns by the public is that police abuse of power has shifted from