“Anything Can Happen With Police around”: Urban Youth Evaluate Strategies of Surveillance in Public Places”
Almost daily, we turn on the news shows or tune in to our favorite radio stations and become engrossed in what is surely becoming a war against poor people, beginning with the battle against the blacks. It’s like watching a horror movie that never ends, or a foreign film with no closed caption quotes. How does one expect people to understand and how does one expect to be understood? Over the last year, America has lost several young men and women due to poor policing and or racial discrimination leading to racial profiling from a system everyone knows was built on institutional racism.
“Anything Can Happen with Police Around,” Urban Youth Evaluate Strategies of Surveillance in Public Places. This article was pulled from the Journal of Social Issues, and it addresses a growing discomfiture with minorities and law enforcement. The title itself identifies this oxymoron, as one should always feel safe with police and other members of law enforcement present. This article does not seek to address any specific issue or lend blame to any particular person or nationality. The Article presents the outcomes of multiple studies used in urban communities to evaluate strategies of surveillance.
The article sheds light because it gives examples of evidence that the city’s authoritative figures are causing friction with the youth in their society. A study by (Norris, Fielding, Kemp
Gaines, L. K., & Kappeler, V. E. (2014). Policing in america (8th ed.). (S. Decker-Lucke, Ed.) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America: Anderson Publishing. Retrieved January 2017
Many black communities throughout the U.S. have a complete lack of trust in law enforcement due to the dangers of being profiled, and this lack of trust is mainly active in the poor black communities. Many of the individuals of black communities feel this type of distrust because when police are present in these communities, they are viewed as an “occupying force coming in from the outside to rule and control the community” (Washington). More times than not racial profiling has often led to police brutality, all the more reason why there is no trust between those that reside in black communities, and police officers.
Young adults pass perception on everyone they encounter. Law enforcement organizations are prime subjects to their perceptions. During my twenty years of service as a New York City Police Officer, I have encountered daily hassles, uncooperative behavior and hostile behavior. In essence, a general lack of no respect for police authority. I interacted with young adults in various capacities from minor to felonious crimes, domestic disputes, rowdiness and other calls for service that may alter their opinion of police. The purpose of this study
There are numerous concerns based on the quantity and content of stop and searches which are often influenced by institutionalised racism (Home Office, 1997). Studies suggested that the police maintain a belief that black people are prone to be involved in violent crimes (Reiner, 1989). Therefore leading to black individuals routinely falling victim to police stereotypes and overgeneralisations (Bowling and Phillips, 2007). Police interviews have suggested that police perceive certain ethnicities to be involved with certain crimes, one interview suggested that if police are alerted of a robbery, 90% of the time they will assume it is involving a black individual (Quinton et al, 2000). Despite that there is evidence suggesting that racial disadvantages will cause an increase in young blacks to be involved with crime, suggesting that these suspicions are justified (Waddington et al, 2007). Furthermore, there is little research suggesting that police enforce their prejudices when working on the streets, thus suggesting that racial views are a result of police canteen sub-culture (Waddington, 1999).
As difficult as their job may be, and as big a toll as it may take on them emotionally, it is important to bear in mind that police officers are normal human beings with normal brains and mental processes. Consequently, they are prone to make the same stereotype-biased judgments the rest of us are. Because they are often operating under conditions of uncertainty, high discretion, and stress and threat, the pervasive stereotypes linking Blacks and Latinos with violence, crime, and even specifically weapons are likely to cause them to make misattributions in seeking to disambiguate the intentions and behaviors of citizens. This can lead to racially disparate rates of stops, searches, arrests, and use of force. Several interventions that aim to reduce bias or discriminatory behavior at the individual level warrant further investigation in the policing context. Nonnegative intergroup contact is especially promising given its strong evidence base and that it could be achieved through
While some may contend that racial profiling remains an effective police practice for interrogation that is simply not true. Racial profiling has profound social impacts on a number of minorities, particularly the black community, who end up facing many stereotypes which damage their community. For decades, black Canadians have been subjective to some of the most extreme examples of racial profiling and that is often still the case today. In fact, “In a recent survey of Oakville’s Black youth aged 13 to 24, in the Oakville Beaver researchers were told that adults appear to brand them as troublemakers on the basis of “youthful indiscretions” more quickly than they do White kids doing comparable things. Similarly, they believe adults react differently to White and Black youth wearing the same type of clothing: White kids are assumed to be going through a “phase "while Black youth are more likely to be seen as potential criminals” (Arnott, 2003). This survey was done without the names of the victims who said they were scared to speak up against the police. Furthermore this survey proves police culture can further reinforce racial stereotypes through the telling of “war stories” that depict racial minorities as dangerous. This may increase the level of fear or apprehension officers experience when they encounter minorities on the street as a result of generalizations and
The concept of hypercriminalization specifically leads Rios to question how punishment, surveillance, and the criminal justice system affect minority adolescent males. Additionally, Rios wanted to know how the roles of authority figures such as police, school teachers, parents, and probation officers influenced or hindered adolescent male’s lives. For the study, Rios decided to shadow and conduct in-depth interviews with forty adolescent males, both Latino and African-American between the ages of fourteen and seventeen at the time of recruitment, from neighborhoods around Oakland, California. Additionally, Rios observed and informally interviewed seventy-eight other adolescent males that were friends or acquaintances of the boys Rios selected to study in-depth.
There is recent controversy over police use of force, especially in minority communities such as in African American communities, Hispanic communities, and other publics with large populations of minorities. Increased levels of force among these communities have created challenges for police departments. These challenges include a lack of trust from the community towards law enforcement officers and an absence of respect creating situations that lead to police use of force. There are already various programs in place that attempt to decrease this challenge by educating the public, respecting one another, and giving those who were on the wrong track second chances. A combination of these solutions and the implementation of more of them would decrease the number of contacts between police and minorities that lead to the use of force (Roberg & Novak, 2014).
The text, “Anything Can Happen With Police Around,” examines the several studies that have been constructed about the countless views and interactions with the police, also taking into account the more detailed interactions with the police in a matter of race or gender. These studies have included the importance of how school surveillance, youth perspective, the general public’s perspective, attitudes toward the police and even sexual harassment from police towards females impact the lives and experiences of those around them. Throughout the years, there has been a growing concern of the criminal justice system to secure problems, from troublesome youth to the increasing crime rate that has had an effect on urban cities throughout the nation. Statistics show, from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention website, that from the year 2009 to 2014 the crime rate has steadily increased by 6%. The studies constructed, have detailed responses and experiences of both the minority and majority races that have had encounters with the police or those of higher authority. The perspective of the youth has brought an increasing amount of attention to those concerned about the matter. This survey was created to engage the youth and allow them to express how they felt towards those in higher authority, in a sense of both a safety issue and safety concern. According to the many topics discussed most viewed the adults as untrustworthy, but leaned towards their parents,
Cooperation from members of the public is important in order for police officers to effectively fight crime within the community. In order to obtain cooperation from members of the public, police officers must gain their trust and confidence. It has been known that African Americans and Hispanics have lower levels of trust and confidence in police because of racial disparities and racial profiling. This paper will discuss the public opinion of police by different ethnic groups and how racial minorities hold lower levels of trust and confidence in police.
Showing youngsters at youthful ages could diminish the details of reprobate in the United States. Children and adults knowing how to communicate with officers can be even more a train activity or instructing about having regard for authority. Understanding the historical backdrop of policing can enable many individuals to comprehend the distinction amongst workplaces and the group in the
When the majority of a community complies with the police it not only enables the police to focus on those breaking the law, but it also establishes a relationship with the community and gains their help in aspects such as identifying wanted suspects. It is when a community believes the police are being effective in their work that they are more likely to be willing comply. In a study conducts to gain insights on how people view the police’s legitimacy, they are asked numerous questions to find out why they feel they should comply with the law and if they agree or disagree with statements such as “I respect the police”. The way people feel about the policed is often largely shaped based off their previous interactions they have had with police. When someone comes into contact with police and they act in a professional manner the experience is more likely to be positive and leave a positive impression of the police on the community member.
Most individuals can identify a police officer by their uniform, which subconsciously conveys power and authority. People with a presence of a police officer tend to hide or stop any illegal, deviant activities, because of the sudden worry of getting caught. Canada is a place of numerous cultures, and ethnicities that fused together to create a strong sense of multiculturalism, but depending on the background and social status of the individual the police
It has been consistently shown in research that minorities are more likely to be mistreated by the police compared to other people (Dunnaville, 2000). Recent incidents have seen the police use excessive force on people and mistreat minorities. As such, the legitimacy of the police has been put under scrutiny and questioned. Many communities in the United States have demonstrated in reaction to recent incidents of police misconduct and excessive use of force. The people have lost trust in the police because of these issues. The police force has been accused of mistreating people, sexual harassment, violent and careless arrests among people particularly the minorities. As demonstrated in the movie ‘Policing the Police’ police officers are seen mistreating people for instance the scene where the police sexually harassed a teenager by touching sensitive areas. Community members are not willing to trust or work with the police to fight crime. As such, it is critical for the police agencies and department to make improving police-community relationship a top police priority. Policies should be developed that will strengthen the mutual trust between the police and the community. This relationship is critical because the police depend on information from the community to fight crime in the society.
In recent years, society has heard cases of police brutality at an increasingly shocking rate, thus creating a sense of distrust among communities towards police officers and other authority figures. As the first line of defense against crimes such as home invasions or crimes against persons, police officers are expected to be an ally towards victims; however, it seems that society is now viewing officers as the perpetrators of crimes as opposed to the protectors. This has already posed an issue because community members are choosing not to seek police help when needed, and when they do decide to seek help, forgoing police assistance results in being uncertain of where else to go.