Andrea Wright
Jessica Dagoglou
RACE AND POLICE
Specific Purpose: To make my audience aware of the close relationship between racism against African Americans and the police today.
Thesis Statement: It is my wish to share what I have found out about racism in the police department, and the different policies and standards found to be used when interacting with African American citizens in comparison with other races.
INTRODUCTION
Attention material: Minority citizens such as the African Americans are constantly, arrested, searched, and policed (Correll et al., 2007). This is done at a higher rate than other citizens such as the whites. The criminal justice has had extensive research that supports this argument. The way white people are handled is significantly disproportionate to the way African Americans are treated (Dixon et al., 2008). Also, the decisions to stop and frisk in the United States are seen to be influenced a lot by the race of the race of the suspected offenders.
Credibility material: Driving is often seen as an act so simple, such that about all people more than sixteen years of age engage have a driving license. Most people never even have to put the color of their skin in mind when driving. Sadly, though, many face serious consequences just for driving. Recently, the term “Driving While Black” has become popular (Warren et al., 2006). It refers to the racial profiling in America by law enforcers. Black people are frequently stopped, searched and questioned by police officers just because of their race.
Thesis statement: It is my wish to share what I have found out about racism in the police department, and the different policies and standards found to be used when interacting with African American citizens when compared to the other races.
Preview: It is important to consider the aspects of decisions to shoot, decisions to stop, prejudice, bias, and racial profiling.
(Transition: First, let us review what the studies say about racism in the police department in the United States.)
BODY
A lot of research has been done on police racism and it verifies that the rights of the African Americans are violated more than those of the Whites.
The Decision to Shoot and kill: Research shows that during confrontations, the race of the suspect plays a big role in the decision by the police to shoot (Pettit, 2016).
The Decision to Stop and frisk: It has been revealed by studies that the race of an individual is significantly used by officers in deciding on whether or not to stop and frisk (Plant, & Peruche, 2005).
(Transition: Let us now know more about the way racism is manifested in the police department.)
In the United States, racism by law enforcers that began in 1900 takes different forms (Bayley, & Davis, 2015). Some common one are;
In North Carolina, a group of Stanford researchers ran two tests to uncover prejudice among police ranks. One of the tests is referred to as benchmarking, which compares the search rates among people of different racial backgrounds; while the second test is known as “hit rate” measured the number of searches that yielded the discovery of lethal weapons, illegal contraband, and drugs. The findings unearthed strong entrenchment of racial prejudice in the police ranks. “Police searched 5.4% African Americans, 4.1% Hispanic Americans but only 3.1% Whites and Asians were searched during stop and frisk (Andrew, 2016).” Nonetheless, despite the intense searches on black and Hispanics, the study discovered that there was a high chance of uncovering contraband when whites were stopped compared to African Americans and Hispanics.
Statistical evidence indicates a strong correlation between police searches and racial bias; where the intense search is done on African Americans and Hispanics compared to their white and Asian counterparts.
In the same study conducted by a Stanford group of researchers on police traffic stops, the findings indicate a possibility of racial profiling when police stop non-whites. The finding indicates that “police were more probable to search African American and Hispanic suspects more rigorously, than when Whites and Asian motorists are stopped (Andrew, 2016).” Interestingly, those rigorous searches meted on African Americans and Hispanics are less likely to uncover guns or drugs, which essentially narrows to racial profiling (Andrew, 2016).
CONCLUSION
Summary statement: In conclusion, people from minority communities are arrested, searched and policed more than whites. Extensive research in the criminal justice system supports the view that police discretion and application of law is more often affected by the suspect’s racial orientation. There is a significant divide between the ways men of color are treated by the police in relation to whites.
Concluding remarks: Without a doubt, the problem of racism against the blacks in America is rife today. Communities, the police departments and the government as a whole should acknowledge that this is a real problem and come up with ways to resolve it.
REFERENCES
Andrew, E. (2016). Stanford researchers develop a new statistical test that shows racial profiling in police traffic stops. Stanford News. Retrieved from http://news.stanford.edu/2016/06/28/stanford-researchers-develop-new-statistical-test-shows-racial-profiling-police-traffic-stops/
Bayley, D.H.; Davis, M.A.; Davis, R.L. (2015). Race and Policing: An Agenda for Action. National Institute of Justice, Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety.
Correll, J., Park, B., Judd, C. M., Wittenbrink, B., Sadler, M. S., & Keesee, T. (2007). Across the thin blue line: police officers and racial bias in the decision to shoot. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(6), 1006.
Dixon, T. L., Schell, T. L., Giles, H., & Drogos, K. L. (2008). The influence of race in police–civilian interactions: A content analysis of videotaped interactions taken during Cincinnati police traffic stops. Journal of communication, 58(3), 530-549.
Pettit, E. (2016). One trigger finger for whites and another for blacks: what the research says on race and police shootings. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 62.41. A6
Plant, E. A., & Peruche, B. M. (2005). The consequences of the race for police officers' responses to criminal suspects. Psychological Science, 16(3), 180-183.
Warren, P., Tomaskovic Devey, Donald., Smith, W., Zingraff, M., & Mason, M. (2006). Driving while black: Bias processes and racial disparity in police stops. Criminology, 44(3), 709-738.
