Race In Policing

The topic of this paper is the South Carolina Department of Corrections. This agency was selected due to the authors’ current major of Criminal Justice. While attending classes at Tri-County Technical College I have covered many aspect of the criminal justice system as a whole along with the area of corrections. Although I am familiar with the topic, this will be in depth to the South Carolina Department of Corrections and how this agency interacts within the state government. The goal will be to apply an insight to corrections as a whole, how these state departments functions, and provide research on the details for this agency.

Alexander, M. (2010). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New

“...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?” of 2003 and “The Burden of Bad Ideas: How Modern Intellectuals Misshape Our Society” of 2000 contain ideas similar to those expressed in “The War on Cops.” The powerful stance Mac Donald takes on certain themes expressed throughout “The War on Cops” direct the reader’s understanding towards the flaws of America’s governmental systems, revealing the backstory and complexity of racism and criminal justice behind our “war on cops.”

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.

When it comes to racial profiling by the police in the criminal justice system, African Americans are more often racially profiled than any other race in America today. This has become a problem because not ever black individual is a criminal and not every criminal is black. Therefore, there needs to be some sort of resolution to this epidemic. “By analyzing data from 4.5 million traffic stops in 100 North Carolina cities, Stanford researchers have found that police in that state are more likely to search black and Hispanic motorists, using a lower threshold of suspicion, than when they stop white or Asian drivers” (Andrews, E., 2016).

In Michelle Alexander’s book, “The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness,” Alexander addresses a topic that many may not know is happing. Alexander addresses the racism towards people of color by using the legal system as a tool to legally segregate people of color as well as poor whites. Alexander touches upon the way politicians use the war on drugs as an excuse to build more jails to incarcerate poor people of color. She also talks about the way police use racial profiling.

The performance of a police officer is always under a microscope especially when it comes to dealing with people from another race. There is also the idea that police officers use racial profiling to conduct and solve many of the crimes that are happening in their neighborhood. The racial profiling aspect is very sensitive and it can be difficult to determine if in reality it is happening because this is coming from someone else 's perception.

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. In the Coloradoan’s article entitled, “Profiling happens right here in Fort Collins,” Steven Rodriguez expresses his frustrations and personal experiences with being racial profiled by police officers

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.

Regarding to racial profiling and the multiple perceptions that go along with it, the issue refers to the use of race as the answer in police decision making. More importantly, let’s look into the public’s perception of profiling through the classification of race, class, and personal experience. Weitzer and Tuch (2002) conducted this study to stretch this issue that has grown over the recent years and has touched based on the classifications mentioned earlier. Their major findings from surveying the respondents’ attitudes contributed towards the citizens’ hostility with the police. Basically, the classifications that were most affective to the citizens in their findings were race and personal experiences. They have constructed three tables with substantial evidence hinting at different

“Racial profiling is a highly salient issue in black communities” (Wilkins and Williams, 2008, pg. 654). Consequently, police officers racial profiling has diminished the relationship with minorities and “communities in the coproduction of public safety and order” (Wilkins and Williams, 2008, pg. 655). In their study, Wilkins and Williams (2008) found that for each month in 2000, the data yield a sample size of 96 in the difference between the percentage of stops in the division consisting a black driver and the percentage of the black driving-age population (pg. 658). For example, in May 2000, the data yield 7% of the vehicle stops in the Northern division involved black drivers, while only 1% of the driving-eligible population in that division was black, in which producing a racial disparity measure of 6% for that month (pg. 658). Based on the finding, Wilkins and Williams determined that the structure and processes of an organization can affect the representation provided by the bureaucrats working there. In addition, the statements collected from the individual interview discussions with African American police executives and officers suggest that the pressure to conform to the organization or to achieve the goals of the organization weighs heavily on black officers and affects their attitudes and ultimately their behavior.

The article “Do American cops have a race problem? Or a class problem?” written by Damon Linker in 2015, identifies why there seems to be a high number of African Americans being fatally shot. In just over seven months over 500 people have been killed at the hands of the police. To put all this into context in the United Kingdom the police have killed 52 people since the year 1900. The U.K. is not drastically less prone to violent crimes, however it is a much smaller country. He himself states he lives in an upper - middle - class suburb of Philadelphia, and has never witnessed any type of violent crime. He goes on by stating all of his friends who have lived all over the country also have never been exposed to such crimes. The key variable

Racial Profiling and the disproportionate use of police force are controversial political issues. Debates on racial bias in policing continue to reverberate across the country making headlines, aside from the importance of the debate on racial profiling and police use of force, such events create intergroup conflict, foreground stereotypes and trigger discriminatory responses. A serious issue in today’s society is the rising tension between the police force and the community which has developed through racial profiling and police brutality. In New York City, the controversial “stop, question, and frisk” policy was endorsed by some as essential for reducing crime rates (MacDonald 2001) and challenged by others as racially biased with a heavy burden placed on affected individuals and communities (Fagan et al. 2010).

In the 1990’s the United States experienced a great drop in crime rates all across America (in cities, suburbs, exurbs, and rural areas). The decline in crime was unexpected, large, and it was widespread geographically and demographically. Many researchers attempted to explain why crime declined in the 1990’s, but it was proven to be a difficult task. According to Zimring (and most other researchers) there are three commonly cited explanations for the crime drop. These are; the criminal justice efficacy, demographics, and economic factors. Researchers examined the Criminal justice efficacy particularly how better policing and increased imprisonment may have lowered crime rates. They also examined demographic shifts, particularly how smaller

In suggesting this method, I incorporated a firm belief in officers creating an increased ability to understand and engage with the diverse array of people that they are paid to serve and protect when a significant amount of knowledge and comprehension of cultural diversity is provided to them. Furthermore, I articulated that this approach would have a positive impact as it would reduce inequality within the criminal justice system and aid officers in their willingness to deliver justice to people from all walks of life. While the textbook did not confirm my approach was correct, I still feel as though a more thorough educational process would help to alleviate this specific social problem. In addition, this chapter did reaffirm my assumptions about many minority groups being subjected to institutionalized racism within the criminal justice system. This facet of the system was unveiled in the discussion on “carding” and the textbook provided a few answers to this problem, including a recount of the police board passed resolutions that manifested in April 2013. Further, the textbook drew attention to community-police liaison organizations and events to help reduce the divide