Racism in Law Enforcement Term Paper

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Multicultural Law Enforcement

Racism in U.S. Law Enforcement

There is much controversy with regard to race and the Criminal Justice System, as many are inclined to believe that people belonging to particular racial groups are more likely to suffer from discrimination as a result of their skin color. Police officers are instructed in order for them to gain a complex understanding of moral values and ethics and this makes it possible for them to learn more about differentiation and the degree to which discriminating a person can affect the respective individual and society as a whole. Many believe that in some cases stereotypes are people's only ability to differentiate between a potential criminal and an innocent person. However, the chances to go wrong are particularly high and it is thus essential for each police officer to refrain from targeting particular groups simply because they have the same skin color as a particular criminal.

Officer Octavio Villalobos of the Kansas City, Missouri provided the best response when it comes to the discussion involving policing and racism: "You don't have to look like the people you police, you just have to care." (Keesee & Nila) Taking this into account, one can understand the pressure that police officers are subjected to as a result of their role in society. These people have to constantly consider their backgrounds, their impartial position, and the backgrounds of people they interact with.

General discrimination

Although stereotypes are often the cause for tragedies, the discussion of policing institutions having problems as a result of the way they behaved toward particular minorities is particularly old. Belonging to a minority automatically exposes an individual to discrimination from a wide range of people. While discrimination is somewhat common in some circles, matters are much more complicated in situations involving police officers. Their very jobs require that they put across objective attitudes with regard to all individuals they interact with.

While people are traditionally accustomed to believe that employing different techniques when dealing with different communities can be considered discrimination, things can actually be completely different. In some cases it would be in a police officer's best interest to be well-acquainted with cultural values promoted in areas that he or she is policing. This can make it possible for him or her to use the correct channels when dealing with individuals living in these respective areas and to thus perform their duties as effectively as possible.

Officer Villalobos and his partner, Officer Matthew Tomasic, typically interact with a Hispanic community in Kansas and need to make sure these people are safe. Over the years the two officers formed strong connections with the community and they were able to earn people's trust by making them see how they were focused on apprehending criminals and discouraging criminal behaviors rather than on judging people on account of their skin color. "The result of their work is unusual and worthy of study, but the astounding part of the story is the personal transformation the officers experienced that changed their attitude toward the community they police; their role as police officers in a diverse society; and, most fundamentally, how they view themselves personally and professionally." (Keesee & Nila)

Earning the trust of particular minorities in the U.S. can be especially difficult when seen from the perspective of a police officer. The masses are accustomed with the media world bombarding them with stories of police officers labeling individuals on account of their race color. As a consequence, people are hesitant to cooperate with the police -- this making it even more difficult for policing to be effective in certain regions. In order to be able to earn the community's trust, a police officer would have to concentrate on making people identify with his goals. Individuals virtually have to reach a point where they perceive policing as a concept that makes their world safer instead of thinking that they will always risk falling victim to discrimination as a consequence of their skin color.

The U.S. is a very diverse place and one is likely to come across individuals from all parts of the world as a result of travelling across the country. Although it has a great deal of advantages, this diversity also makes it increasingly difficult for law enforcement officers to be able to connect with each group on an individual level. "Law enforcement officials -- those whose professional ideal is to protect and serve people equally from all backgrounds -- must face the challenges and complexities of a diverse society." (Shusta et. al. 3) In situations when police officers are unacquainted with the cultural particularities of a certain community, they risk not being able to provide proper assistance with individuals belonging to that respective community.

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At the same time as they might be unable to use the correct channels in order to connect with a community, police officers themselves also risk being harmed in the process of dealing with this group.

Bias as something inherently human

As much as people like to believe that they are impartial, it would be impossible for someone to claim that he or she is always refraining from judging others depending on their particularities. The way that people are brought up means that they are always going to judge others in order to try to understand them. Even with this, when a person is a police officer judging others can be much more complex of a process. A law enforcement officer needs to analyze all aspects of a person in order to attempt to determine if he or she is a criminal. Especially when that person is in an area where crimes are happening with an increased frequency, the police officer needs to employ diverse means of making sure that he or she apprehends all criminals.

Police officer philosophy

Being an U.S. police officer means that a person needs to become able to be comfortable when interacting with people from all backgrounds. Similarly, he or she must employ a particular level of professionalism when dealing with these people -- so as to enable them to see him or her as someone they can rely on.

By becoming aware of the environment he or she is going to work in, and by learning how to develop a set of attitudes that are likely to make him or her better at their job, a law enforcement officer can eventually instill trust in other people and can thus work at his or her best abilities. Cultural competence is an important factor in this process, as it is one of the principal ideas that a police officer in the U.S. needs to consider.

Although the U.S. is a place where numerous cultures have come together and where minorities gradually become majorities and vice-versa, hate crimes are very common, with racism being among the principal problems in the country. While having to prevent such crimes from happening, police officers themselves need to refrain from putting across attitudes that might be perceived as racism.

As much as someone would like to generalize, it would be impossible to generalize when it comes to people -- there is always going to be someone likely to act in disagreement with rules typically associated with the group that he or she is a part of. A good example of this involves four police officers in Florida who were filmed while performing a series of activities that can be classified as racist. Although these respective activities cannot be considered crimes, the Fort Lauderdale Police department wanted to emphasize its attitude with regard to such behavior and fired all four officers as a result (Campbell). Such actions demonstrate that the Criminal Justice System is particularly sensitive about such occurrences and that there is zero tolerance with regard to racism put across by law enforcement officers. Furthermore, it is obvious that the justice system in general wants to detach itself from all ideas related to racism.

Controversy and people's distrust in police officers

Episodes such as the one involving four Florida police officers putting across racist behaviors are among the primary concepts that make it difficult for the population to actually trust law enforcement officers. In particular areas things are critical due to the high level of crime and because particular non-white communities are more likely to be unprivileged. Baltimore, for example, is a place where the difference between white and African-American neighborhoods is very visible and where racism is often encountered in situations when racial groups interact with each-other. "When I go to Baltimore, on the East Coast, I'm dealing with 1950s-level black-and-white racism. It's taken a step back. Everything's either black or everything's white, and we're dealing with that as a community." (Batts in Fenton) This proves that people are not the same all across the U.S. And that matters are critical in particular areas.

Tools to fight racism

Racism is a very complex idea and in order to be able to fight it people would have to also focus on things like….....

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