...[Students name appear here] [Professor’s name appear here] Racial Profiling Date appears here Racial Profiling History is replete with examples of people that have differentiated between themselves and others that are different in any which way. This abhorrent discrimination between two human beings has not become a relic of the past; rather it still persists in our modern society in some form or the other. The United States of America is no stranger to incidents where these objectionable incidents are recorded widely, and it is not just relegated to poor neighborhoods and other similarly shady areas. Rather, it has become a permanent feature in the corporate world, Government and other similar places where these sorts of differentiations would be least expected. One community that has always been constantly repressed is the African American community. Their forefathers were brought to America’s shores as slaves, in times when slavery was still tolerated. To this day, many people in America still consider them as alien to their land. This of course leads to a host of problems across America that shows up when African Americans across the country are questioned about their fortunes. This sort of discrimination is often encouraged by many people that rather disturbingly have a lot of authority and power in making and implementing laws. Their argument is that discriminating and acting against the Black community is a viable way of making sure that Crime is kept in check. ...
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...Public/Police Relations: An Intractable Conflict? David A. Mercury damercury1921@gmail.com (416) 333-7523 Public/Police Relations: An Intractable Conflict? Purpose of this Paper The purpose of this paper is to determine whether the conflicts described, between the police and the Afrikan Canadian diaspora [sometimes referred to as the Communities] and the Original Peoples communities and other racial minorities, can be defined as being intractable. If so, the exploration of possible approaches to resolve these conflicts is beyond the scope of this paper. It is my hope and intention to conduct this exploration in later works. What is an Intractable Conflict? The Oxford International Encyclopedia of Peace, defines intractable conflicts through a discussion the common features. First, [emphasis added] intractable conflicts are protracted, persisting for a long time. Second, [emphasis added] they are waged in ways that the adversaries or interested observers regard as destructive. Third, [emphasis added] partisans and intermediaries attempt, but fail to end or transform them. Conflict intractability, however, is not a fixed dichotomous feature; conflicts vary in their degree of intractability. The degree to which the three defining features are manifested varies and changes, and they are best treated as dimensions of conflict. . . . Even duration is not a fixed characteristic of a conflict. The beginning of a conflict is often contested, with one side pointing back...
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...unknown Seq: 1 5-JUN-09 8:30 Racial profiling and searches: Did the politics of racial profiling change police behavior?* Patricia Y. Warren Florida State University Donald Tomaskovic-Devey University Massachusetts, Amherst Research Summary Scholarly research has documented repeatedly that minority citizens are disproportionately stopped, searched, and arrested relative to their baseline populations. In recent years, policymakers have brought increased attention to this issue as law-enforcement agencies across the United States have faced allegations of racial profiling. In the 1990s, the politics generated by accounts of racially biased policing placed heightened pressure on law-enforcement agencies. However, to date, few studies have explored whether the increased social and political scrutiny placed on police organizations influenced or changed their general pattern of enforcement among black and white citizens. Using data in the search and citation file from the North Carolina Highway Traffic Study, this research specifically examined whether the politics generated by the media coverage of racial profiling and racial profiling legislation in North Carolina influenced the search practices of officers of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol’s drug interdiction team. The findings suggest that media accounts and the passage of new legislation were particularly powerful influences, which thereby reduced racial disparity in searches. Declines in...
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...Racial & Ethnic Short-Answer Questions (15) Should reparations be paid to the descendants of victims of slavery? • Some reject the decision made in the Bakke case that providing a remedy for the effects of racial discrimination is unconstitutional. They argue that the idea of reparations is rooted in international law. • Affirmative Action is inadequate, the ‘Maafa’ (meaning disaster, i.e., slavery) is a crime against humanity, and therefore compensation is required. • In the past 50 years apologies and financial compensation has been given to a wide range of groups, including survivors of the Jewish holocaust (as well as descendants of the victims), Japanese-Americans who were imprisoned during the Second World War and native Americans who had their land illegally seized in the USA. • African Americans have been demanding compensation for slavery since the end of the American Civil War. Immediately after the abolition of slavery, the demand was for 40 acres and a mule to ensure they would not be dependent on their former slave-owners. Then, between 1890 and 1917, there was a movement to lobby the government for pensions to compensate for their unpaid labour under slavery. Since 1989, Congressman John Conyers Jnr (Michigan) has introduced a bill every year to study the case for reparations. Each of these initiatives has been largely ignored by the political establishment. • Reparations would ensure full recognition of the scale of the Maafa and, at the same time...
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...allowing drug usage and distribution to run rampant which can cause the society and the neighborhoods around the areas to become unsafe. Alexander discusses how there is no way around this issue and dismantling the system of mass incarceration is the only resolution; however if these poor neighborhoods were funded with government money, drug abuse can potentially become lower or even be stopped. Alexander is also discussing how a handful of reforms cannot be a solution to the problem. She argues that all the financial grants that are given to police departments for drug arrests and racial profiling should be halted. She believes that by halting the funding and supplies of mass incarceration are only scratching the surface of social reform. She believes there must be a change in the culture of law enforcement. By stopping mass incarceration Alexander believes that, that is the first step in racial integration. The costs of stopping mass incarceration are high for the government and prison systems. By stopping their reimbursements, drug related crimes may...
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...These stops are not the minor inconveniences they might seem to those who are not subjected to them. Rather, they are experiences that can wound the soul and cause psychological scar tissue to form. And the statistics show that these experiences are not simply disconnected anecdotes or exaggerated versions of personal experiences, but rather established and persistent patterns of law enforcement conduct. It may be that these stops do not spring from racism on the part of individual officers, or even from the official policies of the police departments for which they work. Nevertheless, the statistics leave little doubt that, whatever the source of this conduct by police, it has a disparate and degrading impact on blacks. But racial profiling is important not only because of the damage it does, but also because of the connections between stops of minority drivers and other, larger issues of criminal justice and race. Put another way, "driving while black" reflects, illustrates, and aggravates some of the most important problems we face today when we debate issues involving race, the police, the courts, punishment, crime control, criminal justice, and constitutional law. A. The Impact on the Innocent The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, and specifies some of the requirements to be met in order to procure a warrant for a search. Since 1961--and earlier in the federal court system--the Supreme Court...
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...explicitly with our children,” Thompson’s mother said. “They just happen to be black.” It seems officers have yet to adopt the old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” into their line of work. Many people favor a type of policing system which allows cops wide authority to get up close and personal with people they deem “suspicious,” as in the example above. A lot of the supporters just so happen to be white, but there are also may supporters who are residents of the “urban” areas who believe their community is in need of this type of monitoring. Does that make “order-maintenance” policing any less problematic? When there are people from both sides at hand in favor of it, does that mean we disregard the underlying flaws, allowing racial profiling exist among the already deteriorating slums of America? I believe inner-city residents who support an order-maintenance system within their neighborhood fail to realize that they don’t usually end up benefiting from it. No matter how much evidence there is proving this style of policing works, or how much support it has, the order maintenance policing system is unfair to those, specifically...
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...Supreme Court, on May 18, 1896, by a seven-to-one majority (one justice did not participate), advanced the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws. Plessy v. Ferguson was the first major inquiry into the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment’s (1868) equal-protection clause, which prohibits the states from denying “equal protection of the laws” to any person within their jurisdictions. Although the majority opinion did not contain the phrase “separate but equal,” it gave constitutional sanction to laws designed to achieve racial segregation by means of separate and supposedly equal public facilities and services for African Americans and whites. It served as...
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...Florida v. George Zimmerman Abstract Our group chose to do the highly debatable case regarding George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin. Based on the various parts from group members, it would seem we have both sides of the case so there will be discussion from either point of view. Our paper is not going to sway the reader in either direction, but simply state the facts for each side and give an overview of the case from our perspective. Introduction Within the last year, our country has seen one of the most high-profile murder cases unfold. This case is none other than the State of Florida v. George Zimmerman, for the charges of second-degree murder of Trayvon Martin. It took the State roughly two weeks to file an affidavit that stated Zimmerman profiled and confronted Trayvon Martin then shot and killed him when Martin was doing nothing wrong (Colby, Hamacher, & Emmanuel, 2012). This case became a highly political case as well as a racially invoked case. There are always two sides to every case and with that being said, this case could be pulled very far in either direction based on any given individual’s beliefs. George Zimmerman entered a not guilty plea with “stand your ground” as his defense for the charges filed against him. This case did go to trial where 10 jurors, 6 main and 4 alternatives; all female. Background Information George Zimmerman was involved with his local neighborhood watch program. He frequently walked with his dog while doing his nightly...
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...Abstract All eyes are fixated on the country which boasts of the highest levels of democracy and the ‘champion’ of human rights in the world. The United States of America is at a critical stage in its historical development poised between political regression and economic decomposition. The year 2014 was marred with a myriad of African-American shootings, incarceration of protesters and other deplorable acts of police brutality. It is my view in this paper that these incidences are much more profound and anchored in historical aspects the most astounding being racism and oppressive legislation proffered since the days of slavery and Black oppression. I will deliberately use the ‘Black and White’ epithet so as to traverse my arguments. The years in between the Occupy Wall...
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...According to the Miriam-Webster dictionary, affirmative action is defined as “an active effort to improve the employment or educational opportunities of members of minority groups and women” (Miriam). Many people feel that affirmative action is necessary to either counteract injustices or ensure the advancement of certain minorities. There are four justifications generally pointed out by affirmative action exponents. These are racism, poverty, diversity, and the problem of underrepresentation. Supporters point out that many blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans live in substandard housing, go to substandard schools, and live in crime ridden neighborhoods. They also claim that they are targets of daily racism, hindering their chances for advancement. Proponents point to small numbers of these minorities in certain desirable jobs (i.e. CEOs of corporations and high elected office) as evidence of underrepresentation of minorities and a need for diversity both in the workplace and in higher education. There are a number of different levels of affirmative action, including quotas, preferences, and outreach, in lessening order of severity. Quotas, also called “set asides”, deal with having a definite amount of jobs or college spots reserved for a particular group. For example, if a university admits 1000 students every year and sets aside 150 seats that are open to blacks only, this is considered a quota. A perfect illustration of a quota would be the 1977 Supreme Court case...
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...Author Bio Gemma Halliday is a teaching assistant in the School of Law Enforcement and Justice Administration at Western Illinois University, where she has commenced study on a Master of Science in Kinesiology and exercise science. She holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Criminology) from Bond University Australia, where she was awarded undergraduate outstanding academic achievement. She is a recent graduate of Western Illinois University with a Master of Arts in Law Enforcement and Justice Administration, and was made a member of both Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key International Honor Societies. Ms. Halliday has worked with and studied criminal justice issues in Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Her current research interests include transnational sex and drug trafficking, and police fitness testing and standards. LEJA 518 - Issues paper: Police discretion. Gemma L. Halliday Western Illinois University “Enforcing the law without fear or favor” (Goldstein, 1963, p. 141). The very nature of police work is extremely complex in today’s society. Police officers play an important role comprising of many different tasks concerning; actually enforcing the criminal law, performing order maintenance and other miscellaneous services. It is through these duties and services that police are constantly intersecting and interacting with the community on a daily basis. Thus,...
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... * Racial Harassment * A Word about Color * The Reconstruction Civil Rights Acts * 42 U.S.C. Section 1981 * 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 * 42 U.S.C. Section 1985 * Management Tips * Summary * Chapter-End Questions Opening Scenarios SCENARIO 1 An employer has a “no-beard” policy, which applies across the board to all employees. A black employee tells the employer he cannot shave without getting severe facial bumps from ingrown hairs. The employer replies that the policy is without exception and the employee must comply. The employee refuses and is later terminated. The employee brings suit under Title VII on the basis of race discrimination. Does he win? Why? Why not? SCENARIO 2 Two truck driver employees are found to have stolen goods from the cargo they were carrying. The black employee is retained and reprimanded. The white employee is terminated. The white employee sues the employer for race discrimination under Title VII. Who wins and why? SCENARIO 3 A black female employee is terminated during a downsizing at her place of employment. The decision was made to terminate the two worst employees, and she was one of them. The employer had not told the employee of her poor performance nor given her any negative feedback during evaluations to enable her to assess her performance and govern herself accordingly. In fact, there were specific orders not to give her any negative feedback. The employee sues for racial discrimination...
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...Brutality against minorities? A research paper submitted advocating the issues among police agencies in North America. This paper analyzes the protocol that determines the appropriate procedures for a safer community for the victimized minorities through use -of- force incidents. HSB4U1 December 11/12/2015 Summative Report Mrs. Kim By: Julianne Silva Table of Contents Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………Pg. 3 Chapter one: Police Issues American CCPSA Fixing Problems…………………………………………………………Pg. 4 America’s Flawed System……………………………………………………………………Pg. 6 Controlling the Police…………………………………………………………………………Pg. 7 Chapter two: Police Solutions The Debate over Body Cameras…………………………………………………………….Pg. 9 Changing Policies and Regulations...……………………………………………………….Pg. 10 Chapter Three: Community and Behaviour Police Subculture……………………………………………………………………………….Pg.12 Impact on Minorities…………………………………………………………………………….Pg.12 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….Pg.14 Works Cited………………………………………………………………………………………Pg.15 Appendix A: Julianne Silva Survey Summary………………………………………………..Pg.17 Appendix B-1: ………………………………………………………………………………….... Appendix B-2……………………………………………………………………………………... Introduction One of the most controversial topics in police enforcement throughout history has been the issue between racial minorities and the misconduct of police officials. Throughout North America, high incidents involving police use of force has led racial minorities...
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...criminal justice system. Racism is actually discrimination against a group or individual based on color, social and financial status. It is something that occurs more than we notice. Many scholars believe that racism play a more important role in targeting and sentencing process in the criminal justice system and this is something which should not happen in any country no matter what. In order to understand the role that racism plays in the criminal justice system we must, first, look at the role that it plays before the criminal reaches the day of sentencing in the court. There are various publications that speak on profiling and actuarial methods which unwillingly get people into the system. Though these are two major components of the discriminatory acts that exist within the criminal justice system, it does not actually begin with these institutionalized methods. It is the laws and crime control policies that create discrimination in the system. It has been witnessed that in some instances these laws and policies are set in favor of the white people and in opposition to the black ones. In this paper, a detailed discussion has been done on the racial disparities in criminal justice system along with its adverse effects to the community. Moreover, this paper also contains the strategies that would help to avoid racism and maintain equality and righteousness. What is meant by Racism and Prejudice? When racial...
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