Category: Police

Does The Law Stand For Police Brutality?

The consensus of most people is that people who are facing police brutality are the ones who are “committing the crime” that deserve the punishment. Where does the law stand with what is police brutality and what is not? How does everyone figure out what punishments deserve this?

Well, in America, there are several different categories that fall under the word of “police brutality”, some are: false arrest, intimidation, racial profiling, sexual abuse, etc. Since the definition of police brutality is so broad, it is hard to determine what is and isn’t under that terminology. The most notoriously known category for police brutality are racial profiling. Most of the victims that falls under this category are African-Americans. The most famous event of this was the Rodney King incident where an African-American man fell victim to police brutality that resulted in him getting pulled over during a high-speed chase and beaten. This incident sparked a riot in Los Angeles (1992 Los Angeles riots). Police brutalities are more likely to happen in urban areas because areas like these are filled with more people and activities which can be more likely for crimes to happen. However, this can depend on the city that you live in. Some cities can be well-developed but houses poor and ghetto suburban residents that are riddled with criminal activities. Ghetto areas are a hotspot to gang-related activities, violence, vandalism, and drug-dealing. The laws are of course, are against police brutality and any conduct that the police acts against. Cops, as well as any other members of society are instructed to obey the laws or else face punishment. However, some of those police officers do get away with their crimes unpunished. The police have to be aware of others’ rights and use the necessary level of use of force appropriate to what the situation requires. Some police officers happen to jump the gun or being too trigger-happy and end up over-escalating the situation themselves which results in what we know as, “police brutality”.

Another question a lot of people consider is if the brutality was truly racially motivated, some cases of seemingly racially motivated situations were deemed to be undecided on who was in the right. The problem with that is that there is no solution to the issue of police brutality, police barely ever get convicted of their crimes, as most citizens would. Considering the statistics, it is more likely for a minority who is unarmed to be killed than an unarmed white-person. This is a major threat to minorities and it goes to show that it still has not resolved, considering the methodology of the police force is not working. The issue is not only that there is nothing being done to punish some of those police officers who have done wrong, but also that there is footage and they still do not get punished a lot of times. Some argue that police officers need to spend more time training and demand every department to require passing college before becoming a certified police officer. Eric Garner, a father of six, was arrested for “selling cigarettes without tax stamps”, but Eric argued that he was sick of being harassed and he was not selling cigarettes. The NYPD police officer, Daniel Pantaleo, put Garner in an illegal chokehold, which goes against the policy of the NYPD. This is an example of excessive force; since Daniel denied it, but there was evidence stacking against him, the general consensus would be that he would be indicted for his crime, yet the jury did not, and he got away with the murder of Eric Garner. This is one of many examples of the use of excessive force, and white on black crime. The question of motivation will never be answered, but the general assumption would be that there could have been certain racism involved in the homicide.

The one interesting aspect of this conversation is that cops who target and racially profile African-Americans with the use of excessive force are most likely white, it is hard to find evidence stacking against any other race of police officer, but sadly, it is so frequent that a police officer will kill a U.S. citizen, that it seems to become such a common topic that is discussed in politics. The reasoning behind the amount of killings is that the police usually get off with less than they should, since a lot of the crimes they commit are completely unjustified, but it is so hard to pinpoint a way to make them pay for their actions.

All in all, the examples of police brutality are absolutely riveting and the statistics really go against African-Americans, since police usually kill more unarmed black males than they do white males. The facts are absolutely shocking and it is hard not to look at it from a hard standpoint to try to figure out what the country is not doing right for these circumstances. The main point is that the ideology of America is skewed so the ones with more power have it easier and the facts do not go against that statement.

Ethics And Corruption Of Police Officers

State police have always been a central part of this country, and their mission has remained the same since there conception in 1751. They’re Given their power by the state for which they serve, and are to uphold the constitution of the United States as well as the laws in place at the federal and state level. Police are public servants in the United States meaning their funding comes from taxes. It would be safe to say they have become a universal standard in the modern world. Police, at the beginning of their career, will take the law enforcement oath of honor.

“On my honor, I will never betray my badge, my integrity, my character, or the public trust. I will always have the courage to hold myself and others accountable for our actions. I will always uphold the constitution, my community, and the agency I serve.”

The police badge is a symbol of power and is meant to be a symbol of their respect and hard work for that power. That’s also why their character and integrity is mentioned. In Criminal Justice they teach and warn about The Oath of Silence, which is an unwritten rule that some police will follow, it is defined as the following… “They do not report on a colleague’s errors, misconducts, or crimes, including police brutality. If questioned about an incident of alleged misconduct involving another officer, the officer being questioned would claim ignorance of another officer’s wrongdoing or claim to have not seen anything.” This is where the more human part comes into play, not every man and woman in policing is very principled, letter of the law kind of individual. Which is why Law enforcement comes with a certain degree of controversy because of corruption and brutality that always makes it to the news. This isn’t to say they aren’t passionate or bad at their job; that they don’t take it seriously, it’s just there is a human element. So, the research question for this paper is where do police draw the line, from considering something to be a professional courtesy to it being something they have to report, and at what point is it considered an unethical use of their position.

Background Information

The United States has a very different system for law enforcement, compared to foreign counter parts. In Rise of the Warrior Cop, written by Radley Balko an investigative Journalist, found the US had more than 16000 Law enforcement agencies. Which includes the City police, County Police, state police and federal agencies. The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that police officers do not have a duty to protect any one individual, in fact their only job legally speaking is to enforce the law in general. When the use of force considered appropriate as a response to the behavior of a perp. It is well within their means to do so, this is why generally speaking if the officer doesn’t have a history with on the job accidents, they are usually overlooked. Police brutality was used in the American News as early as 1872, it was reported the police beat of a civilian under arrest at the Police Station. What we know as police today is believed to be developed from the model the French used, dating back to the 17th century. In fact, by around 1910 most countries had adapted to this model of “Modern Policing”.

Sources that will be used are as follows. First, Breaking the blue Wall, it is a personal account of the Hopson vs New Jersey case Witten by Justin Hopson. Hopson refuses to turn a blind eye to a colleague’s unlawful misconduct and is relentlessly harassed, beaten, and threatened by the people he exposed. Rise of the Warrior Cop written by Investigative Journalist Radley Balko talks about how, in recent years, have evolved into something he classifies as grossly Unconstitutional. The War on Cops by Heather MacDonald is about the alienation of police and how these very broad stroke solutions to solve police corruption can effectively do the opposite of what they are supposed to do. To Protect and Serve was written by Norm Stamper, a retired police chief. He discusses the problems with policing and how he would fix them.

The Blue Wall

Blue walls can exist in many forms, all it is referring to is when police choose not to disclose information. Whether or not it is illegal (typically is), it doesn’t matter from a definition standpoint. The author of The Blue Wall of Silence, Alex Quinn, defined it as “The Blue wall around police only when a police officer is the offender. It will be revealed what tactics are used by police to ensure they or a colleague is not arrested. Police officers who abuse their power will often engage in creative report writing, in order to get someone falsely arrested or discredited. These reports are read to attorneys and judges before arraignments, pretrial, trials, and sentencing. The Words written in police reports provide a preconceived notion about the defendant.” (Quinn 7). However, both civilians and other police can encounter walls, even federal agencies. Some law enforcement may slowly develop an arrogance for the position they hold, and can in some cases can think they are above the law. This is why police have Ethical Obligations in a professional setting. With that being said, many law enforcement professionals feel as though the current framework is relatively primitive. With one of them being ex-state trooper, Justin Hopson, who was assaulted and repeatedly harassed for reporting his partner for an illegal arrest. There can be many possibilities as to why officers get this aggressive. What you typically see the Police say on the causes of misconduct in policing, call it a naive explanation that includes psychological, behavioral and background factors. Hopson says that what actually causes people to crack is the unbelievable pressure to conform to the police culture, part of that being the “Code of Silence”. You can see why putting crime on a pedestal when cops do it, could warp their code of ethics. Hopson goes on to say,” I had a romantic idea of law enforcement when I was growing up. I realize that all to clearly now. It was a combination of the good guys I saw on TV, and my father’s own occupational adventures, which cast my perception of the police. I had seen a movie or two featuring ‘police corruption,’ and I figured that kind of thing existed in New York or L.A. but it seemed to awfully melodramatic. Surely police corruption didn’t occur Nationwide.” (Hopson 57). Meaning police, Hopson included, start to think became a cop was naïve. The only difference with Hopson is he was able to get out, according to him most just get pull in further.

Blue Wall Effect on Law Enforcement

Interdepartmental cooperation is required in law enforcement quite often, we have many examples for this in history. In the late 19th century European police agencies undertook cross-border surveillance because of concerns political radicals. Much like when the Prussian police surveilled Marx when he lived in London. The interests of public law enforcement agencies in cross border cooperation in the control of political extremists and ordinary crime were primarily started in Europe, which ultimately led to the establishment of Interpol just before World War 2. There are many examples of cross border policing under private supporters and by public police forces dating back to the 19th century.

Due to a long-term deterioration of the public’s confidence for law enforcement in the United States, body cams started becoming more and more standard issue. Even so the police are permitted to protect private rights in some jurisdictions. To guarantee that the police wouldn’t restrict in the regular capabilities of the courts, some police acts require that the police may only interfere in the cases where defense from courts can’t be attained in time, and where, without interference of the police, the realization of the private rights could be obstructed. Investigative Journalist Radley Balko, believes there is a strong correlation between educated Cops and Ethically challenged ones. “It has become clear that only the educated Law Enforcement are able to competently respond ethical dilemmas. Officers who can efficiently and appropriately work through these dilemmas can be valuable to their community. He can’t rely of his instincts alone, he must also must be knowledgeable in police ethics, moral reasoning, and a clear expectation for conduct in their profession.” (Balko 141). Balko noticed this from his travels all over the US Speaking with numerous police captains, that officer’s physical environment is less to blame compared to their social environment. The implication of ethics is that they should account for each other in all actions, they have commitments to the group. What reflects poorly on one reflects on the rest.

Alienation of Police/Civilians

Law enforcement finds themselves under scrutiny for their uses of power, especially if it is lethal force. Especially, when a cop of one ethnic group injures or kills a suspect of a different ethnic group. In the United States, such occasions sometimes instigate fights and allegations of bigotry against police and accusations that police participate in racial profile. This is further explained in Heather MacDonald in her book The War on Cops and Jeff Roorda’s The War on Police, MacDonald is a bestselling Political Scientist and Roorda is a retired Police chief. Roorda and MacDonald seem to agree the Ferguson Missouri was a turning point. The police department in Ferguson had a history with Racial bias and the shooting of Michael Brown sent the town into civil unrest. The people were afraid to have any kind of encounter for law enforcement because it could get very violent very quick when the individual being addressed by police.

During the pursuit of a suspect, officers can become enraged with adrenaline, which can ultimately affect their judgment in turn, leading to aggravated assault. When in this emotional state it can safely be considered an inappropriate use of force. While Officers have the legal right to decide how they respond/ treat suspects, they may justifiably escalate the situation verbally. However, these efforts to enhance police accountability only reveals that they relied on rules and punishment. Meaning the rule-based systems of accountability seem insufficient if officers hold different values or there is a subculture which nurture values different from the ideals of democratic policing.

The Militarization of Police

Most larger jurisdictions also utilize specially selected and trained seemingly military units armed with military-grade weaponry for dealing with predominantly violent situations beyond the capabilities of a standard patrol officer, this may include serving warrants to dangerous suspects. In the US these units are usually known as SWAT teams. The Constitution of the US states that law enforcement personnel are legally allowed to shoot in any instance that they feel the need to protect their own lives or the life of a civilian or to prevent the suspect from fleeing arrest or a crime scene. In the case, Tennessee v. Garner, it legal to shoot a fleeing suspect only if they could cause injury to civilians, this was to make sure law enforcement couldn’t shoot every suspect that tries to flee custody. Law enforcement should always focus on removing civilians from dangerous people and/or situations, to do this they are equipped with various non-lethal weaponry. Such as chemical agents, concussion grenades and rubber/beanbag ammo.

Criminal Justice Ethics

Criminal procedure law has been developed to control officers’ discretion, so that they do not randomly or unjustly exercise their powers of arrest, search and seizure, and use of force. In the United States, Miranda v. Arizona prompted the use of Miranda/constitutional warnings. In Miranda the court created safeguards against people making self-incriminating statements made after an arrest. The court held that the prosecution can’t use statements, whether exculpatory or inculpatory, all coming from questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way, unless it establishes the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the Fifth Amendment’s right against self-incrimination. Police in the United States are also prohibited from holding criminal suspects for more than a sensible amount of time before arraignment, the use of torture or physical intimidation to extract confessions, using excessive force to get an arrest, and searching suspects’ bodies or their homes without a warrant obtained upon a proof of probable cause. The four exemptions to the constitutional requirement of a search warrant are: Consent, Search incident to arrest, Motor vehicle searches, Urgent circumstances. The large majority of police agencies have adopted the code of police ethics, in a more or less spoken form. But, as I have already mentioned, police ethics is still at relatively still in the beginning of its development.

When you compare law enforcement ethics to medical or business ethics, police ethics is relatively Primitive. There are a few reasons for this, the big one being the misunderstanding of the need for police ethics. The intrinsic value of police officers within this framework is loyalty. Whereas Leadership is either not accountable to anyone or they are accountable only to which ever party in power. It isn’t surprising that police ethics does not have this much given context. Some experts are misled by a notion that as long as police perform their work strictly by the book, they need no police ethics. Advocates of this view also deny police officers the right of discretion. Unfortunately, when one is faced with an ethical dilemma, the laws prove themselves to be insufficient. A lot of effort needs to be put into education and training in ethics, before police officers can be faced with a moral problem or ethical dilemma and make a thought-out decision in an efficient amount of time. It takes time to not make quick decisions based on prejudice or impulsively alone even the mastery of the process of moral reasoning and decision-making does not, by itself, guarantee ethical conduct, nor do all of the situations require moral reasoning and discussion. If police officer experience inconsistent behavior from their supervisors, preferential treatment of some officers and/or citizens, solidarity with, and cover-ups for, the officers who violate standards of their profession. Integrity in Law Enforcement, then, means that a police officer genuinely accepts values and moral standards of policing and possesses the virtues of his profession. That he can consistently act out of his own will, in accordance with the values, standards, and virtues, even in the face of external pressures. Of course, not all police officers have integrity. The argument is that rotating officers helps the detectives to better understand the uniformed officers’ work, to encourage cross-training in a wider variety of skills, and prevent Inner circles from being formed because it can contribute to corruption or other unethical behavior. With technology now civilians can do a whole lot with watching and recording police when necessary.

Police Encounters In India

Introduction

The term “Encounter Killing” is a word used in India since late 20Th century to describe alleged extra-judicial killings by police or armed forces, supposedly in self defence when they encounter suspected gangsters or terrorists. At that time, police used to attack the city’s underworld, and the practice spread to other large cities. Some cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata were at a very high frequency of encounter killings by police. Some of the killings have been controversial and people have alleged that Police created fake encounters as opportunities to kill suspects.

Meaning

Police encounters generally means extra-judicial killing of person who are usually in custody of police by the policeman without following the rule of law. As such in Indian penal code and Criminal Procedure Code, the term police encounter is not defined specifically but there are other provision which states the meaning of police encounter.

Laws relating to encounter

So, in India not only police but every citizen of India has a right of private defence i.e., A man is justified in repelling force by force in defence of his person, habitation or property against one who manifestly intends and endeavours by violence or surprise to commit a felony upon either. The right is recognised in every system of law.

Section 96 & 100 of Indian Penal Code, provide with right to private defence. As per Section 96, no offence is made out if any act is done in self-defence. But it needs to pass the test of Section 99 of Indian Penal Code, which provides that the act should not extend to causing more harm than that is required for the purpose of self-defence. Section 100 provides when the right of self-defence extends to causing death. For an act to fall under this defence, certain conditions need to be satisfied:

1. The accused should be innocent while committing that act;
2. There should be absence of any safe/ reasonable mode of escaping by retreat;
3. There must be apprehension of death/ severe bodily injury; and
4. There should be the necessity of taking life.

Clause 3 of Section 300 of IPC, comes into light which provides that if any public servant/ any person authorized by public servant, exceeds their power to causing death while acting for advancement of justice and which they believe as lawful and mandatory for discharging his duty without any ill intention, then they will not be liable for murder. Section 46(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure; provides a wider power to the person making arrest. It provides that if any person tries to escape arrest, the person making the arrest has power to use all necessary force required for making the arrest.

At the time of arrest, if a person accused of heinous crimes, where the punishment is life imprisonment or death penalty, in such cases, if that person tries to escape from the arrest, police may also kill that accused person if it has no other option of taking him into custody. But, say a person is accused of theft, where According to Section-379, the imprisonment may extend upto three years and not life imprisonment, so in such a case if he tries to escape from police custody, police cannot shoot a person or kill him.

Police encounters when legal and when not?

When the life of the police is in danger and the police have no other option of arrest, they may also kill an accused if he is alleged of heinous crimes and trying to escape from its custody, in such cases police encounter is legal.

Also, if during a police encounter, an innocent person in a mob dies, police is not liable for the same if it has taken all the sufficient precautions during that encounter. Sadly, even if it happens, it gives permission to not only police but every citizen of India that while practicing right to private defence, if a person shoots and if there is no other person besides saving his life, then even if the innocent person dies, law protects that situation.

But at the same time law also protects the right of alleged criminals and prohibits the police from encounter killings. Encounter killings are general exceptions that deal with general conditions of non-imputability or general grounds of exemption from criminal liability.

The legal functions of police authorities are to investigate the case and arrest the offenders of the crime in their legal capacity. In cases where there is extrajudicial killing of persons who are usually in custody, by the policeman without following the rule of law, are said to be police encounters that are not legal or fake encounters. It is staged in such a way, that it appears to be crossfire by the policemen. But law protects such persons from the act of police.

Article 6(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) provides: “Every human being has the inherent right to life. This right shall be protected by law. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his life.” Article 14(2) of the ICCPR, provides everyone accused of a crime to be considered as innocent until otherwise.

The staged/ fake encounters (referred to as instant justice by masses) are against the key constitutional provisions Article 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. Article 14 provides us with Rule of Law which states that Law is supreme. Article 21 provides that every person has the right to life and personal liberty in accordance with the procedure established by law. Right to fair trial is the heart of criminal jurisprudence and the same flows from Article 21 of the Indian Constitution.

Consequences of Encounters

Police encounters are a blot on the judiciary system of our country. There are a lot of incidents in India where these killings are happening and are against the basic principle of human rights in India. The problem with encounters is that, say a criminal was “encountered” today, it was right; everyone applauded the police for doing so. The police might do even more encounters tomorrow, in a streak of more and more encounters, an innocent person will get killed one day. In fact, this has already happened in many cities.

The reporters of India Today went undercover as businessman to the police officers and said that they wanted to get a case of a bank robbery filed against their competitor, so they asked the police to nab an innocent man and “encounter” him in order to trap the competitor in a case and some police officers were ready to gun down an innocent civilian in an encounter for 8 lakh rupees.

It is extremely easy to conduct encounters of innocent people for money, promotion or publicity and this is already happening. Questions have been raised on so many encounters across the country. There are more than 800 cases where the police probably murdered an innocent person, talking about only one state.

This is the reason why the people who formed our constitution, put three pillars in place – Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. If only two pillars would carry out all the work, then they would not have made the third one. All the three pillars keep each other in check and could be called a system of checks and balances. The entire building would crumble even if just one pillar becomes more powerful.

Leading encounter cases in India

The recent case of Vikas Dubey’s Encounter, 2020 made questioned the veracity of the encounter again like many other cases. The incident took place in the early morning of July 10, 2020, where a hardcore criminal accused in recent murder of eight policemen in Kanpur on July 2, 2020 was being taken away to Kanpur from Ujjain by Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force. On the way to Kanpur, a vehicle carrying the accused is said to have been met with an accident wherein the accused tried to flee away after snatching the pistol of the policemen. It is further said that the policemen surrounded him from all the sides and requested him to surrender but he fired. In counterattack, the policemen also fired in which the accused got injured. After being taken to the hospital, he was declared dead. Apart from Dubey, five of his associates have also been killed by the police in reported encounters over the last week.

This encounter under mysterious circumstances have raised many questions on the authenticity of the Uttar Pradesh police’s claims, a lot of people on social media have also alleged that this encounter was faux. But we cannot pass any judgement till the investigation is not completed.

Some of the cases of Real Encounters

1. Bhopal jail encounter,2018

In October 2016, eight people associated with the Students’ Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) allegedly escaped from the Bhopal Central Jail and were subsequently shot dead by the state police.

The probe report stated that the deceased persons were asked to surrender, but, instead, began firing at the police and public. Therefore, the police had to open fire and even after that they showed no intention to surrender, sustained injuries and died on the spot.

At the time, many videos surfaced suggest the encounter was staged.

In June 2018, a one-man judicial commission headed by S.K. Pandey, retired judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, gave the police a clean chit.

2. Batla House case, 2008

The Batla House encounter took place in Delhi in 2008.On 19 September 2008, a Delhi Police special team carried out an encounter in Batla House in Jamia Nagar, where two suspected Indian Mujahedeen terrorists were killed along with inspector Mohan Chand Sharma.

The operation led by Sharma, an encounter specialist, was supposed to only gather information from residents of the area after the 2008 September blasts in Delhi. However, it escalated into a 20-minute shootout.

Many questioned the veracity of the encounter, and claimed it was staged. The National Human Rights Commission also conducted an investigation into the encounter, on a plea filed by People’s Union for Democratic Rights, and eventually gave a clean chit to the Delhi Police.

3. Veerappan Case, 2004

In October 2004, the notorious Veerappan, infamous for kidnapping, elephant poaching and sandalwood smuggling, was shot dead in an encounter by the Tamil Nadu Special Task Force. He had been on the run for a decade was tricked into getting into an ambulance as he needed to visit a hospital in Salem for his eye.

The STF fired 338 bullets at the ambulance, out of which three hit Veerappan. However, it was questioned at the time whether his encounter was staged and actually a cover-up job. But nothing was found out.

Some of the cases of Fake Encounters

1. Manipur extrajudicial killings, 2010

In February 2020, four Manipur policemen, including an inspector, surrendered before the Imphal West chief judicial magistrate in connection with the alleged fake encounter of Irengbam Ratankumar on 1 September 2010.

The case was among more than 1,500 extrajudicial killing by the Manipur Police and security forces. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the CBI, which was investigating the case, submitted a charge sheet against the police personnel in May 2019.

2. Ram Narayan Gupta, 2006

Ram Narayan Gupta alias ‘Lakhan Bhaiya’, who was apparently an aide to gangster Chhota Rajan, was shot dead in 2006 by the Mumbai Police when he was picked up from Vashi and killed in an allegedly staged encounter in Versova.

Following the encounter, a Mumbai sessions court in 2013 sentenced 21 people, including 13 policemen, to life imprisonment for killing Gupta. It also held them guilty of conspiring and kidnapping him. However, the prime accused, encounter specialist Pradeep Sharma, was acquitted.

3. Sadiq Jamal, 2003

In 2003, the Gujarat Police shot dead Sadiq Jamal, claiming to have information that he was planning an attack on Narendra Modi and other top BJP leaders. According to an investigation by the CBI, not only was Jamal shot dead by the police in a fake encounter, but also that the Intelligence Bureau played a role in it.

According to the CBI, Jamal did not match the profile of reports of a plan to kill Modi and others, and his past criminal record only included an altercation in 1996 and arrest for gambling in 2002. Many police inspectors and top IB officials were questioned and later accused in the case of his ‘encounter’.

In 2017, Jamal’s father filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court seeking compensation of Rs 50 lakhs from the state government.

Conclusion

Exercise of power needs to be within the rule of law. Fake encounters are nothing more than mockery of rule of law. It affects administration of the criminal justice system and credibility of the rule of law. In a civilized society, staged encounters can never be an alternative to the process of conviction through trial. Three different branches: legislature, executive and judiciary have been made for different purposes. The existing police officers are extremely overworked, “ The Police in India Report,2019” released by the CSDS, tells us that on an average, a police officer in our country works for fourteen hours a day and 50% of them do not even get a day off the entire week. There should be 2.8 million police officers in our country, but there are merely 1.9 million of them, which means 30% of the posts are still vacant. Speedy trial for a person convicted of serious offences is the need of the hour. People are losing their utmost faith in the judiciary due to several reasons like: years and years taken in conviction of an accused. . Our criminal justice system and police need to go through major changes.

References

1. The Indian Kanoon
2. 2. The Indian Penal Code book by Prof. S.N.Misra
3. The Constitution of India book by Dr. Narinder Kumar
4. The Code of Criminal Procedure book by Prof. S.N.Misra
5. The Policing in India report,2019 by the Centre for the study of developing societies (CSDS)

Understanding Police Brutality and Excessive Force

Abstract

This paper talks about police brutality and excessive force and how it is affecting people perspectives and attitude toward police officer. Police brutality and excessive force has and is a big issue around the United States. Innocent people are being killed or mistreated by officers who don’t respect protocol and who take advantage of their power. This paper also explains body cameras and how they are useful and how race and ethnicity is being targeted at times. The article also explores solutions towards this issue.

Literature Review: Police Brutality and Excessive Force

Police Brutality and Excessive Force has been an issue in the United States that seems like there has been no solution too. The killing of people in this country has become a routine something normal (Francis-Santiago,2016). A police officer should be protecting the people of a city or town and at times it seems like they are doing the opposite of their job. According to Francis-Santiago (2016), In the united states the police kills two people every day. Things like race and ethnicity are a big factor of the choices a police officer make and use their power the wrong way and end up hurting people who are innocent.

Data collected for this research has helped to make this essay and assemble. The research will help understand the reader of what police brutality and excessive force is, and some subtopics that may influence or may help this issue. Question will be answered throughout the essay that help backup what the research. There is a total of four questions that will help the reader understand more about police brutality and excessive force. The questions for this research include:

Question 1

What is Police Brutality and Excessive Force?

Question 2

Are certain race/ethnic being targeted?

Question 3

Are body cameras useful?

Question 4

What can be done to stop this?

What is Police Brutality and Excessive Force?

Police Brutality and Excessive Force is something you hear about almost everywhere. It is a big issue where there is always a story, but what exactly is it? According to Law Enforcement Use of Force (n.d.) excessive force is the application of force beyond what is reasonably believed to be necessary to gain compliance from a subject in any given incident. Lyman, (2016) states that police brutality is extra-legal violence that is willfully conducted by officers who knowingly exceed the bounds of their office. Police brutality happens because of excessive force when a police officer exceeds the force needed to control a person it leads to police brutality where the officer can’t take control of the situation and abuses its power. A police officer is trained and told to only use the amount of force necessary to mitigate an incident, make an arrest, or protect themselves or others from harm (Police Use of Force, n.d.).

In order to know if a police officer was using the correct amount of force the case of Graham V. Conner created a few guidelines to set and end point of what is excessive force and what is not which are known as the Graham factors. The supreme court decided that these are the best things to not second guess an officer’s decision and to see if they exceeded the force that was needed for a certain person. Excessive force cases against the police (2017) states:

In judging whether an officer used excessive force, one must consider, “the severity of the crime at issue, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat to the safety of officers or others, and whether he is actively resisting arrest or attempting to evade arrest by flight.”

To see if an officer follows the Graham factors knowing the officer’s safety is important to see and understand if he or she reacted the right way. As an officer knowing background information on a suspect is important to understand the severity of the situation. It is also important to know if a suspect is a threat to others who are around, the police officer, or himself (Excessive force cases against the police, 2017).

Are Certain Race/Ethnics Being Targeted?

Police officers are criticized to attacking minorities and it looks like it might be a factor to their decisions, and it seems like African Americans are being targeted more. There is anecdotal evidence showing that African Americans are more likely to be subjected to excessive use of force by police than are people of other races (Ajilore & Shirey, 2017). African Americans are what people think of for incidents of police brutality and excessive force. People, who are African-American/Black are twice as likely to be killed by a police officer while being unarmed compared to a Caucasian/White individual. (Lombardo, 2017). There is a high number of African Americans being killed by police. In an interview to an African American male he states, I’m actually afraid too call them why am I calling them for if it’s going to be backfired on me (Francis-Santiago, 2016, Personal Interview). People no matter who they are should be afraid to reach out to police officers who are supposed to be there to help you.

African Americans aren’t the only once being affected by police brutality and excessive force, but according to Downs (2016), among minorities, the rate of police killings for Latinos is second to those of African-Americans. People don’t always talk about other race and ethnicities being targeted. The Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice noted that the number of Latino victims of police killings is 30% above average, and at 1.9 times the rate of whites (Reyes, 2015). Latinos and Hispanics don’t get as much as much attention from the media and people like African Americans, but Hispanics deserve to live and work in communities where the police treat them with fairness and respect. Latino lives do matter and ought to matter just as much as those of other Americans (Reyes, 2015).

Figure 1: https://necpluribusimpar.net/reality-police-violence-us/

The graph shown above show the probability of force being used from a police officer offer towards a race. The audience can see how African Americans/Blacks and Hispanics/Latinos are being targeted more than Whites/Caucasian.

Figure 2: https://thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/

The image above shows a graph of the percentage of kills by police officers that each race White, Blacks, and Hispanics from the year 2015-2017. The audience can see how from the years given the numbers of African Americans/Blacks were being targeted the most and then Hispanics/Latinos and finally White/Caucasian.

Are Body Cameras Useful?

Police officers have been accused of doing the wrong thing and not doing their job right and lately police have been using body cameras, but are they useful and necessary? In an interview to Lawyer Scott Rynecki says, that citizens have a powerful weapon that is not a gun, but a cellphone and a voice and because of the cellphone camera police brutality cases have raised. (Francis-Santiago, 2016). Before cameras people couldn’t see thing to believe them, but as simple as a camera is it can be so useful for this problem. From 2007 to 2013, the percentage of local police departments using in-car video cameras increased from 61% to 68% (Local Police Departments, 2013: Equipment And Technology, n.d).

The increase of body cameras on police officers has been a good thing for the safety of citizens around the United States. Report Show Body Cameras Reduce Excessive Force By Police (2017) states:

“Officers wearing cameras were slightly more likely, by about five to seven percent, to make an arrest or issue a citation based on a call for service. So, they were actually more productive than officers not wearing cameras,” says Dr. Coldren.

Wearing cameras has a lot of potential benefits that can help people and officers both in their own way. Body cameras on an officer can be useful and beneficial for increase civility, quicker resolution, corroborating evidence, and more (Body-Worn Cameras: What the Evidence Tells Us, n.d.).

What Can be Done to Stop This?

Police brutality and excessive force has always been an issue, but its been recently heard of more, but why has this problem gotten bigger and what can be done to stop it? Although the researcher may not have the answer to this completely there is somethings that can be done to decline the numbers for police brutality and excessive force. First Starting with teaching respect to people. Not every cop is doing the wrong thing and if they feel threatened, they have probable cause to use force. Also, have penalizations or consequences towards police officers that are doing wrong to citizens. Not every person that has been killed is a threat to society. Finally, supporting movements that bring awareness. Movements like Black Lives Matter have made a difference and have helped people become more aware of their surrounding and of events that are happening (Alang & Contributor, 2017).

Conclusion

In conclusion, police brutality and excessive force has been a big issue that together as the people of this country can try to make the rate of it slow down. By reading this, the readers, can understand more about this issue and get informed more. The reader can also look at the police officer point of view by an understanding of the procedures that go in to taking action, but without exceeding force. People in general can get more involved in movements like Communities United against Police Brutality or get involved within their own community.

To get more information and a better understanding on police brutality and excessive the researcher conducted a survey to see what other people in the community think about this issue. The audience that was targeted to take this survey were college students of any age. The survey was done via the website Survey Monkey and given to multiple UTEP students from different locations found in the university. The survey included multiple choice and free response question to get a further understanding and see what others though about the issue police brutality and excessive force. Here are some of the questions give un the survey:

Q1. What is Police Brutality and Excessive Force?

________________________________________________________________________

Q2. Are certain race/ethnic being targeted?

___Yes, If so which ones

___No

___Hispanics

___African American

___White

___Other

Q3.Are body cameras useful?

___Yes

___No

Q4.What can be done to stop this?

________________________________________________________________________

Even though the survey targeted different people the results for the survey were almost all the same. Everyone that took the survey agreed that Police brutality and excessive force is when an officer takes advantage of their power or authority. Although they were all explained differently, they all ended up getting to the same. For the second question, multiple choice was given 76.3% of the audience given the survey though that race, or ethnicity are being targeted. 7.8% of the audience said no. They were also asked what race or ethnicity they though were being targeted and the results are as followed 81.5% African Americans, 2.6% White, 76.3% Hispanics, and 13.6% for other. For the third question, people were asked if they though body cameras were useful 86.8% said yes and 13.1% said no. For the final question people were asked what they think can be done. People who took the survey had the same ideas of consequences for the police officers and to bring more awareness.

Reference Page

1. Ajilore, O., & Shirey, S. (2017). Do pass: [#]AllLivesMatter? An Evaluation of Race Excessive Use of Force by Police. Atlantic Economic Journal, 45(2), 201. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s11293-017-9538-6
2. Alang, S., & Contributor, O. (2017, May 12). How to dismantle racism and prevent police brutality. Retrieved from https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2017/05/12/how-dismantle-racism-and-prevent-police-brutality/101481438/
3. Body-Worn Cameras: What the Evidence Tells Us. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/journals/280/Pages/body-worn-cameras-what-evidence-tells-us.aspx
4. Documentary, R. (2016, February 26). Retrieved November 07, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNuDHJEmNlY
5. Excessive force cases against the police. (2017, December 21). Retrieved from https://mccreadylaw.com/blog/excessive-force-cases-police/
6. Law Enforcement Use of Force. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=tp&tid=84
7. Lemoine, P. (2017, December 09). The reality of police violence in the US. Retrieved from https://necpluribusimpar.net/reality-police-violence-us/
8. Lombardo, C. (2017, February 22). Retrieved November 08, 2018, from https://vittana.org/42-shocking-police-brutality-statistics
9. Local Police Departments, 2013: Equipment and Technology. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5321
10. Lyman, M. D. (2016). Police Brutality/Excessive Force. Encyclopedia of Street Crime in America. doi:10.4135/9781452274461.n135 https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-difference-between-excessive-force-and-police-brutality
11. Pages, T. S. (n.d.). POLICE KILLING OF BLACKS: Data for 2015, 2016, 2017, and first half of 2018 – Sociology Toolbox. Retrieved from https://thesocietypages.org/toolbox/police-killing-of-blacks/
12. Police Use of Force. (n.d). Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/officer-safety/use-of-force/pages/welcome.aspx
13. Report Show Body Cameras Reduce Excessive Force By Police. (2017, December 19). Retrieved from https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2017/12/19/257460/report-show-body-cameras-reduce-excessive-force-by-police/
14. Reyes, R. A. (2015, June 09). Police brutality toward Latinos unacceptable (Opinion). Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/09/opinions/reyes-police-brutality-latinos/index.html

How do Powers under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act Disproportionately Affect BAME Community?

It is apparent that the relationship between the police and BAME communities is vastly damaged and this is due to the ill-judged use of policing powers. Police powers remain among the most controversial components of British police force to stop and search individuals in public. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act was first introduced in 1984 as a reform against the perception that the public had lost equity in the English justice system. What was meant to be a legislation to unify police powers and enforce balanced rights of the public has developed into a voluntary power-using system. Police stop and search powers were first introduced in the 1830’s but were not used efficiently until 1984 which came under Section (1) of the Police and Evidence Act (PACE) 1984. The increase use of police stops, and searches was firstly used as an aid to the ‘Swamp 81’ operation which was organised in response to increased reported street robbery at the time.

The use of these powers was disproportionately used on young black men which ultimately contributed to outrage leading to the beginning of the Brixton riots that took place in 1981. Later that year Lord Scarman released his report identifying the Brixton riots as an outburst of frustration and resentment against the police in a sense of social and economic injustice. The Police and Criminal Evidence (PACE) Code of Practice specifies that the primary objective of the power is ‘‘to enable officers to allay or confirm suspicions about individuals without exercising their power of arrest.” The most commonly used powers under Section (1) of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 are Section 23 of the 1971 Misuse of Drugs Act, section 60 of the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, section 47 of the 1968 Firearms Act, and section 44(1) and (2) of the 2000 Terrorism Act. These powers require that the officer be given reasonable grounds for suspicion. The power is indeed an investigative power and should only be used for the identification and prevention of crime however, it is evident that the practice is often misused on individuals who are suspiciously “known” to the police. This is highly significant as this reinforces pervasive stereotypes and racial discrimination.

The core duty of the police is to protect and serve the public by combating crime. The use of police powers must be compatible with legislations on human rights and equality. However, it has become apparent that this often overlooked with certain individuals of the public such as BAME groups. The Metropolitan Police Service had recorded 43,644 searches in May 2020 alone which was 50% more than the previous year, a Scotland Yard official had argued that the increase of searches supported frontline officers tackling violent crime however, it was found that 66.9% of searches conducted were for drugs. This is very important as this addresses the use of police powers that continue to disproportionately affect BAME groups that systematically positions them into the criminal justice system.

The 2018 Youth Violence Commission reported: ‘There is a damaging lack of trust between the police and some communities. This has become a serious barrier to change, including via a “wall of silence” when crimes are committed, and communities do not share information with the police.’ It is arguable that the over-policing of BAME groups is essentially the root of the violence to follow, the heavy handed tactics used to ‘sanction’ BAME groups inevitably make them see the police as lacking in authority and therefore are more likely to participate in self-defence which is often seen as ‘resisting.’ Moreover, the Metropolitan Police recorded a stagering 98,280 stop and searches over the three-month lockdown period of which 79% resulted in ‘no further action’ and only 10% led to an arrest. This included searches mainly focused on BAME communities who were 4 times more likely to be stopped. This is extremely concerning as the excessive use of powers is evidently resulting in unsuccessful outcomes but continues to threaten overall police effectiveness.

Furthermore, there is no doubt that the policing system needs change and that it needs to be a major cultural shift. There have been several debates brought to the government’s awareness and although, there has been a willingness to recognise such concerns, there has not been enough reform action. Interviews conducted by the Criminal Justice Alliance group pointed out that young BAME groups felt “violated” and “assaulted” during their experiences of stops and searches, also describing the police as “jump out gangs.” Many stated that poor communication and taunting attitudes from the police made them feel belittled, confused and upset which ultimately led to distrust in the service.

The government introduced the Best Use of Stop and Search (BUSS) scheme in 2014 to encourage police forces to carry out productive stops and searches for example, collecting more detailed information of searches to establish whether the initial reason for the stop and search has been accurately conducted. The scheme laid out five performance measures – recording outcomes, lay observation, community complaint triggers, reducing the number of Section 60 stops and monitoring the impact of stops. According to HMIC’S annual report on police legitimacy, it was discovered that only 11 out of 43 police forces were complying with all five measures of the BUSS scheme. However, by 2016 the overall number of stops and searches used was 380,000 times in the year which was steady decrease compared to previous years, with over 1.2 million stops and searches in figures.

In conclusion, it is evident that there is a systematic void that needs to be reformed. Without such improvements the increase of police brutality will continue as well as the increase of crime within the BAME community.

Weaknesses And Strengths Of Racial Profiling

“When I got stopped the other day, I wasn’t a cop. I wasn’t a guy who lived in a neighborhood looking for his daughter’s toy. I was a black man, a dangerous black man. That’s all he could see: a threat” (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Terry Jeffords). Racial profiling is a serious problem that targets minorities. The tactic is used by police, and it simply judges a person based on their skin color and not evidence. Racial profiling compromises the very fabric that America is weaved on. With Constitutional laws that protect us as rightful American citizens from any mistreatment of discrimination, racial profiling is still being practiced. While many say racial profiling is an effective police tactic, evidence proves that it feeds into racism, violates the Constitution, demonizes the public, and results in more problems than it solves.

The term “racial profiling” originates from the term “criminal profiling”. Criminal profiling is the identification of a crime suspect based on the criminal’s description provide by a witness. Racial profiling is defined, as stated by the American Civil Liberties Union, as “the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, religion, or national origin.” Racial profiling and criminal profiling are opposites. Racial profiling takes place before a crime is known to be committed or when there is an absence of evidence. “Essentially, criminal profiling asks the question, ‘Who is most likely to have carried out this specific crime?’ while racial profiling tends to ask, ‘Who might commit a crime at some point in the future?’’ (Behnke 8). It connects a person’s ethnic and racial background with the likelihood of them committing a crime. The Amnesty International USA believes that profiling can only be appropriate if “there is trustworthy information, relevant to the locality and timeframe, that links persons belonging to an identified criminal incident or scheme” (Behnke 6). However, today’s racial profiling tactic does not align with these demands. It is merely based off of race, ethnicity, and religion.

Racial profiling directly stems from centuries of severe racism, along with deeply rooted current day viewpoints, continuous discrimination, racial stereotypes, and privilege. It places communities and individuals under a spotlight because of stereotypes. “Common stereotypes in the United States are based on a deeply rooted, historical philosophy of racial superiority and include the perceptions that people of color are less honest, less hardworking, and less intelligent than white people. Black people, particularly black males, are often stereotyped as irrational, violent, hypersexualized, and prone to criminal behavior. Latino Americans often encounter assumptions that they are in the nation illegally to work menial jobs or to profit from ties to drug trafficking. Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent are frequently stereotyped as religious extremists or terrorists” (Behnke 10). The police enforced tactic directly feeds into racism because it targets minority-based communities or individuals as potential threats. Statistics show just how much religion, ethnicity, and racial discrimination are the sole factors police judge by.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The fourteenth amendment meant to assure people of color that they would receive the same protection under the law as whites. Thus, a law that discriminates against people of color is illegal and unjust. The Fourth Amendment in the Constitution states, “ The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” In many cases, police officers have abused their authority and illegally conducted a search without reason and in most cases without even stating any reason to the victim. Before they conduct a search, the officer must state the reason of suspicion and the reason for the search. If the police do not have a plausible or legitimate suspicion of a person, they cannot conduct a search. They become in violation of the fourth and fourteenth amendment.

The American Civil Liberties Union, a nonprofit organization meant to fight for the rights and liberties given by the laws and Constitution, observed a study on the usage of stop-and-frisk, the policing practice of stopping a person to search for weapons or prohibited items as stated by Lexico by Oxford. Between the years of 2010 and 2017 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, it found that in half of their 700,000 police stops, the police did not explain the reason for suspicion as is required by the Constitution of the United States. African Americans were found to be six times more likely than white people to be stopped and searched and less than 1 percent of those searches turned up with contraband. Black and Latino drivers are 20 percent less likely to possess contraband but more likely to be searched (Balko). Racial profiling commonly occurs to many people of all minority groups. Citizens become victims while driving, walking, traveling through airports, shopping, and in the comfort of their own home.

Ever since the horrific event that occurred on September 11th, there has been a substantial increase of racial profiling in airports particularly against those of whom appear to be of Middle Eastern descent. The cases of Sandra and Omar Rana starts off at the Tulsa, Oklahoma airport. Dr. Sandra Rana and her family were at the airport like every other citizen on that day. However, the day turned grim when Omar, her 8-year-old son, was pulled from the line and airport officials dismantled his Boy Scout pinewood derby car. Omar is now targeted at all airports. His mother, Dr. Rana said, “Imagine how I felt when my eight-year-old son was pulled from the line because of his name and I could not go with him. Imagine how he felt when they started to take apart his Boy Scout pinewood derby car in the Boy Scout box. . .. It is now routine for my son, for Omar Rana, to get extra security checks at the airport. He knows it’s going to happen, and he expects it…. But how do I tell my . . . son that it’s okay? He is now ten. He is learning about civil liberties and civil rights. What meaning do they have for him…?” Because of this incident, Dr. Rana no longer wears her hijab, the religious traditional head covering for women in the Muslim culture. She goes on to say, “It’s not just the scarf. I tell my kids, don’t speak Urdu. It’s the Pakistani language. Don’t speak it when you’re on the plane. Don’t take the Quran. We’ve been advised by officials, do not carry any book that’s in Arabic. . .. Don’t do anything that will cause attention to yourself” (Threat and Humiliation Racial Profiling, Domestic Security, and Human Rights in the United States 8). Many more incidents like this occurs every day all over the United States.

The case of Sharon Simmons-Thomas is of an African American newspaper reporter in Harlem, New York. Just months prior Mr. Boyd, the attorney of this case, reported of several stories told by Latinos and African Americans of their discriminatory experience in shopping centers. These citizens, while entering stores, were followed by security guards, falsely arrested, subjected to abuse an embarrassment, and even banned from stores. Mr. Boyd tells Ms. Simmons story, “Last December… [Ms.] Simmons stopped in . . . [a major department store] to do a little quick shopping. When leaving the store, she was apprehended by two security guards. “They wouldn’t say who they were, but they accused me of shoplifting,” she said. The guards refused to look at the receipts Simons had waved in their face. She was handcuffed, paraded in front of other customers, and then escorted to the store’s detention cells, which are just atrocious. “I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life,” she continued. In the detention cells were several other customers being held as suspect shoplifters, all of them people of color. “They ran a background check on me and discovered I didn’t have a criminal record,” she said. Three hours later, after being humiliated by a body search, threatened with physical force and attempts to coerce a false confession, she was freed but without her [purchases].” (Threat and Humiliation Racial Profiling, Domestic Security, and Human Rights in the United States 9)

Human dignity one of the most fundamental needs of a person. Ontario Human Rights Commission, OHRC, declares that “human dignity means being treated with respect and having a sense of self-worth.” Racial profiling damages a person psychologically an emotionally. It makes a person feel less than human and as if they are not respected as a human being. The American Civil Liberties Union writes that police dehumanize citizens by “humiliating and often frightening” them and placing them in “detentions, interrogations, and searches without evidence of criminal activity” (Behnke 9). The OHRC also said, –“For example, a strong justice system requires citizens to have confidence in the fairness of the process; community policing relies on individuals trusting the police and being willing to work with them; and, teachers can only function effectively when they have the respect of their students…However, racial profiling seriously erodes public confidence in these institutions. Numerous submissions described an increased personal or community mistrust of law enforcement officials, the criminal justice system, the education system, customs officials, store and mall security and society in general. One person who was himself a victim of a crime even described feeling “betrayed” by the police.” If the citizens can neither trust the police or the justice system, then there is no benefit and/or overall gain to the practice of racial profiling. If the people cannot trust those meant to protect them, we are separating our society. “Mistrust in the police can decrease citizens will to cooperate and report crimes, implying a risk of inefficiency in police’s ability to fight crime and uphold law and order. Mistrust in the police can also be related to non-transparency, corruption, lack of democratic legitimacy in the police and state authorities in general” (Egharevba 14-16). Because of minorities’ unfair experiences and involuntary contact with the police, they are more unlikely to report crimes in fear of what could happen as is seen in social media and the news. Because citizens loose trust in the authority, many live-in fears which creates a hostile atmosphere. The OHRC released quotes from citizens which read, ‘I do not go to the police when I have a problem. I will not do so in the future, either. However, if there is a problem that absolutely requires police assistance and I can request help on the phone anonymously, so they can’t see that I’m Black, then I will.” Another person said, ‘Profiling does nothing but create distrust and resentment when it is done. This in turn causes a negative backlash in the community. This is part of the reason that the police force gets very little cooperation when dealing with the Black community. If a person does not feel valued by the system, you will in turn see how that person can become a negative force.” An African American said, ‘People are afraid to talk to the police in the Black community… There are good cops, but the bad ones make us mistrustful of all police. It makes it hard for them to solve crime.”

There are far too many stories of police racial profiling that escalates to police brutality, a civil rights violation that occurs when a police officer acts with excessive force by using an amount of force with regards to a civilian that is more than necessary as defined by US Legal. “Consider the testimony of Ms. Nina Paulino of the Santiago Villanueva Justice Committee at the hearings in New York City. Ms. Paulino told us the story of her friend Santiago Villanueva. Mr. Villanueva was from the Dominican Republic, did not speak English, and had dreadlocks; he also had epilepsy. He was in Bloomfield, New Jersey when he experienced an epileptic seizure. When police arrived on the scene, they saw an African American man with dreads seizing on the ground and assumed he was on drugs. Officers harassed Mr. Villanueva and insisted that he speak English. They threw him on the ground and one officer put his knee on Mr. Villanueva’s neck while another placed a knee on his back. Mr. Villanueva stopped breathing and was given oxygen. He reportedly gained consciousness for a short while and was handcuffed in the ambulance the entire way to the hospital where he died. Ms. Paulino says, ‘The police came and saw him and automatically said this man is on drugs, although they had over ten witnesses saying no, he’s epileptic, he’s having a seizure … One of them put a knee on his neck, another on his back, handcuffed him, and took the last breath out of his lungs.” (Threat and Humiliation Racial Profiling, Domestic Security, and Human Rights in the United States 7). There are many other heart-breaking stories such as, “Robert Davis, a retired elementary school teacher from New Orleans, was arrested and brutally beaten by police on suspicion of public intoxication. On the night of Oct. 9, 2005, just a little over a month after Hurricane Katrina, Davis returned to New Orleans to check on his family’s property and went to the French Quarter to buy cigarettes. There, he was attacked by four police officers who said he was belligerent and resisted arrest by not allowing them to handcuff him. The beatings were videotaped by an Associated Press producer, who was also assaulted that night. The officers were either fired or suspended for their involvement, but many of the charges against them were cleared.” A man named Frank Jude was also a victim of police brutality. “In 2004, 26-year-old Frank Jude was viciously beaten by several off-duty Milwaukee police officers as he was leaving a party. The group of men attacked Jude and his friend, Lovell Harris, claiming they stole one of the officer’s wallets that contained a police badge. Harris’ face was cut with a knife, but he was able to get free and run away. Jude was repeatedly punched and kicked, as well as stabbed in the ears with a pen. Even the on-duty officer who was called to stop the fight began stomping on Jude’s head. In the state trial, the jury acquitted the three officers charged. There was a great deal of community outrage and demand for a federal investigation. The federal grand jury convicted the three officers who were originally acquitted but did acquit the fourth officer.” People do not trust the police to protect them because of the record of brutality on the internet and news.

Many may counterargue that racial profiling is a beneficial police tactic used to prevent crime. Although it does allow the police to identify a likely group of suspects, it still does not outweigh all of the dangerous harm caused. “And if the net results are not a constant parade of big-time seizures of contraband but mostly “dry holes” and tiny amounts, there’s no real payoff…Even if we were to overlook racial profiling’s moral, legal, and social flaws, it simply does not work as a law enforcement tactic…policing with racial profiles cannot be said to be a rational response to crime. It is instead a misdirected attack on a difficult set of problems that causes its own damage to innocent individuals, to policing, to society, and to the law itself.”

The statistics of racial profiling do not support the continuation of such a system.

In conclusion, racial profiling is a controversial practice that has many more weaknesses than strengths. Evidence has proven that it dangerously feeds into racism, violates the Constitution, demonizes the public, and causes many more problems than it solves. There is no excuse for the damaged communities and families that have resulted. There is no excuse for a woman to be shot and killed in her own home because of the color of her skin. There is no excuse for a man to be held at gun point because of his race. There is no excuse for an 8-year-old boy being shot and killed for standing in his own yard because he was posed as a threat. There has to be a change.

Works Citied

1. “The Effects of Racial Profiling.” Ontario Human Rights Commission, www.ohrc.on.ca/en/paying-price-human-cost-racial-profiling/effects-racial-profiling. Accessed Jan 2020.
2. Behnke, Alison Marie. Racial Profiling Everyday Inequality. Twenty-First Century Books, 2017.
3. Harris, David A. Profiles in Injustice: Why Racial Profiling Cannot Work. New Press, 2003.
4. Egharevba, Stephen. Police Brutality, Racial Profiling, and Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System. IGI Global, Information Science Reference, 2017.
5. Balko, Radley. “Opinion/There’s Overwhelming Evidence That the Criminal Justice System Is Racist. Here’s the Proof. “The Washington Post, WP Company, 10 Apr. 2019, www. Washingtonpost.com/news/opinions/wp/2018/09/18/theres-overwhelming-evidence-that-the-criminal-justice-system-is-racist-here’s-the-proof. Accessed Jan 2020.
6. Threat and Humiliation: Racial Profiling, Domestic Security, and Human Rights in the United States. Amnesty International USA, 2004.
7. Writers, Staff. “10 Worst Cases of Police Brutality in History – Criminal Justice Degrees Guide.” CriminalJusticeDegreesGuide.com, CriminalJusticeDegreesGuide.com, 1 July 2019, www.criminaljusticedegreesguide.com/features/10-worst-cases-of-police-brutality-in-history.html. Accessed Feb. 2020.
8. “Stop-And-Frisk: Definition of Stop-And-Frisk by Lexico.” Lexico Dictionaries | English, Lexico Dictionaries, www.lexico.com/en/definition/stop-and-frisk. Accessed 24 February 2020.
9. US Legal, Inc. “Police Brutality Law and Legal Definition.” Police Brutality Law and Legal Definition | USLegal, Inc., definitions.uslegal.com/p/police-brutality/.

To what Extent is Police Brutality Related to Crime?

Introduction

To start with, police brutality and crime are widely known as political issues that have a huge impact on the societies. Police brutality is when police members act and use an unnecessary excessive force towards either a group or an individual (1). This eventually leads to the violation of their civil rights. In addition to that, the misuse of police legitimacy in the society will lead to a deficiency or a defected society where people will not turn to police when facing a problem or a situation where police attendance is needed, and this will be both dangerous and toxic to the society where the image of ‘’Society vs. Police’’ will be developed. It is also one of many unaccepted acts of human rights violations.

The theory of crime on the other hand is considered to be an action that constitutes an offence and is punishable by the law, however the increasing in crime rates has various reasons such are environmental surroundings, lack of education, poverty, drug abuse and of course there is a slight link to border crossing and illegal immigration(2). It is also stated that areas with high crime rates threats the safety and security of the area.

I chose this topic based on both my personal experiences and registered statistics researches on the topic, it is a prime issue because the changes that will occur within the society can be extremely threatening to all the groups in the society. Families and individual’s safety, human civil rights, population and working labour, police brutality and crime will be negatively impacting all factors. It is reported that there is a 24 percent increase in rape cases in the past decade, the sexual offences incidents have been on a rise. I will also be looking at reported police excessive use of force towards civilians to have a wider understanding of the case of police brutality. To what extent is police brutality affecting the increase of crime rates? During this engagement activity, I will have interviews with people who have more knowledge about this political issue such as the police and activists, I will also be focusing on reliable statistics from the crime registry page called ‘Brå’ for further information to know about the increased crime rate and if there us links that connect police brutality with increased crime rates.

The Engagement Activity

Throughout my engagement activity, I came in contact with an Eskilstuna municipality police member to understand how it has been going for the past while in the city of Eskilstuna regarding crime. I chose to meet the police because they will be able to provide me with helpful information because of their knowledge and information on both topics. Throughout the meeting with Thomas Bergqvist a member of Eskilstuna municipality police, I asked him questions about this political issue, and we discussed the important factors behind the two topics of Police brutality and crime. Although Bergqvist was hardly in a position to openly criticise his organization, he regardless provided me with valuable insights into the relationship between police brutality and crime. What I learnt after this meeting is that there is a relationship between police brutality and increased crime rates, however, relating these two topics to each other was considered sensitive and challenging, however, Bergqvist tried to be as equitable as he could be and provided me with helpful information I needed, and a wider understanding of the discussed issues (6), and Bergqvist made it clear that the police also tend to seek for legitimacy in the country and it is more certain to achieve because of the use of the hard power.

My second engagement activity was through the internet with a page called ‘Police brutality and ethnic profiling’. This page aims to spread awareness on the issue of police brutality here in Sweden and their ways are considered as soft power approach due to the fact that they do not have the authority to be using hard power. They share videos, images and stories of those who were abused and racially profiled by the police. I was only able to ask very few questions, but they instead provided me with a link of an interview they had with Aljazeera for a better understanding of the issue of police brutality. (7)

Engagement Activity Analysis

my first question was focusing on the high registered crime rate statistics in Eskilstuna which has reached 73.56 percent (3) and he explained that the registered numbers are not stating which type of crimes they are and to generalize that he stated that Eskilstuna is not that dangerous and many of the crimes are just traffic-related crimes. Later on, we discussed the fact that the media has labelled some of the areas in Eskilstuna as the ‘’No Go Zone’’ areas (4) and mentioned that those areas are quite dangerous and unsafe, his reply to that was that the media focuses on minorities and are targeting those who represent those areas in a bad image and he stated that he refuses to label those areas with such a name, he mostly prefers to call them the ‘’Prioritized’’ areas. The issue of drug abuse (5) in Eskilstuna county was also mentioned and I have been told by Bergqvist that there are different ways to deal with drug abusers based on what type of drug they are using. For example, the most abused drug is cannabis and the punishment for those who use cannabis is not as harsh as other drugs and the cannabis intoxicated individual will only have to pay a fine between 1,500sek and 2,500 sek. Other drugs that are more considered more dangerous have different punishments that can reach for jail punishment (6). We then moved on to discuss the part of the issue on police brutality, if we have police brutality and how we deal with it if we have one? His answers to this part of the topic were detailed and he stated that we, of course, have police brutality but it is not quite an issue here in Sweden since the police try to stick to their book of law and they try their best not to use excessive force or unneeded use of power but in some cases when a suspect starts becoming a threat to the police or try to obstruct their job, they will then be forced to take serious action and use hard power. A police member who uses excessive power upon an individual can be suspended from their position for a limited time based on what and how they used their authority upon the suspect. He had also mentioned that a police officer can be punished with a jail sentence if his actions were extremely brutal and have caused an injury or death upon an innocent individual or group but such cases are not common and it is a long procedure that does not occur often. I have then asked Bergqvist on why police officers in Eskilstuna or Sweden wear a body camera like officers in the U.S, and his answer to that was that this technique was recently discussed and will be applied for more efficient outcomes by the police. (6)

For my second engagement, I have asked questions on whether there is a relationship between the rising crime rates and police brutality, and how to deal with such issue if we have one here in Sweden. The page members have told me that they aim to stop police brutality and raise awareness on such an issue because they believe that crime and police brutality are related. Fatima Naib Al Sharkawi (7), one of the members have stated that the police treat a person based on their ethnicity and the environment they live in. for example, the treatment of people who live in the suburbs is not the same as the people who live in downtown or rich areas. And that is a reason why the people who live in the suburbs, or as Bergqvist preferred to call them as ‘prioritized areas’, have low trust in the police because they have built the emotion of hate towards each other. However, she had also mentioned that not all police members treat people the same, where there are examples of police members who visit the suburbs to have contact and do activities with the younger generations to develop respect and trust. She had told me to read the interview she had with al Jazeera, where she discusses the problem of structural racism within the police force and military intervention to fight crime in the suburbs, even though military are not allowed to carry out missions on Swedish soils, the idea was earlier discussed as politicians demanded military intervention to fight crime in the city of Malmö (8).

According to the local news articles, organized crime networks in Sweden have started to expand and spread to smaller towns of Sweden, which one example was the city that I currently live in. Eskilstuna a town in south-east Sweden have started to experience violence and shootings in public areas. Lars Öjelind, a gang expert at the national bureau of investigation states that the violence is related to gangs that are spread among eight different areas in the city, the formed groups were previously related to a bigger criminal organization known by the name of Black Cobra. Öjelind have also mentioned that gangs are reformed in a smaller town such as Eskilstuna because mid-sized towns have a weaker police presence and are unfamiliar with approaching gang violence (9).

A realist could argue that becoming a criminal is a matter of choice of people who had never been properly socialised and that it is also combined with the lack of self-control through poor socialisation in schools, and community will create criminals and crimes, Wilson and Herrnstein. On the other hand, there is hardly any theory that explains the various forms of police misconduct against the civilians, however, a liberal could argue that the issue of police brutality is a mortality issue and after all the reported incidents, the justice system is racially biased and mostly targets ethnic groups (10).

Conclusion

In conclusion, one could argue that to a certain extent, there is a relation between crime and police brutality, but police brutality is not the main or only indicator to the rising crime rates. However, police brutality can be an indicator to identity conflict and security threat. Crime on the other hand is present everywhere, but certain factors as such, poor socialisation in schools, community and the environment can affect the increased numbers of crime in specific cities. Awareness campaigns can be a contributor to the reduction of issues such as police brutality and crime (11)(12).

Police Misconduct Towards Rape Victims In The United States

On September 25, 2010 a young woman went to her best friend’s house for a party after a college football game. After falling asleep on his couch for several hours she woke up to him doing unspeakable things to her. Out of fear, she pretended to remain unconscious. After he was done and had left the room, she grabbed her belongings and bolted for the door. He proceeded to chase after her. Because of the extreme physical pain and shock she was in, she decided to call her mother to take her to the nearest hospital. Even fifteen months after the incident she could not go to the police. This is the true story of Allison Huguet.

Rape has become a growing issue, but as a result, some people have begun to discuss it. Instead of dismissing it. This isn’t extremely common, but there are investigators and detectives that do dismiss, blame or neglect rape victims. In an article entitled, Study Finds Misconduct Spreads Among Police Officers like Contagion it is said that “there have been more than 85,000 law enforcement officers that have been investigated or disciplined for acts of misconduct over the past decade” (Wu). That is roughly 8,000 cases per year. This is a problem that doesn’t just affect rape victims, especially with the rise of police brutality in major cities. Why hasn’t internal affairs been notified that the police system must be reformed?

Women’s Center, Rape Culture is defined as an environment in which rape is prevalent, where sexual violence is normalized, excused, or simply dismissed in the media and popular culture. This ideology underlines that people must begin to talk about how they collectively think about rape. Unfortunately, Rape Culture is still evident to this day. In fact, as Sohaila Abdulalai, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About Rape describes, in India the victims of rape are called “zinda laash” or in other words, living corpses (Abdulali 51). This very phrase emphasizes the very being of Rape Culture: that after someone is raped they are lifeless, virtueless, and useless. The bottom line is that the victim remains the least important factor (Abdulali 51). This is not okay. Women—victim or not—should be valued and listened to no matter what it is they have to say. But in the police system that is not even a thought. According to Jan Jordan, member of the Institute of Criminology and professor of Psychology, Culture, and Gender Studies, American laws, courts and police systems all evolved within patriarchal conditions that were oriented toward the preservation of gender inequalities (Jordan 12). This begs the question, should we presume the alleged assaulters as innocent until proven guilty or liable, or should we presume survivors tell the truth until their accounts have been disproven? (Fielding). The difficult controversial air of whether or not to believe rape victims or alleged rapists is problematic, especially when it affects someones entire life, career or well-being.

Police Misconduct is a major issue in many rape cases, examing what misconduct looks like in the law enforcement environment is neccessary to address the issue. In late 2012, a woman named Erica Kinsman came forward and told her story. She had been raped by Jameis Winston– a big-time college football player for Florida State. They had met at a bar, and on being invited back to Winston’s apartment, he forced himself onto Kinsman. The accusation of a well-known college football player caused a major uproar in the football community, in support of the alleged rapist and on the other hand, the few that supported Kinsman. In a Sports Illustrated article entitled, Don’t Stay in School- Jameis Winston should quit Florida State- and not just the football team, author Michael McCann seems to be on the side of Kinsman, but after a quick glance at the first column it was clear that the writing was littered with rape culture. Why is Winston still enrolled in college? By leaving school, Winston would evade the university’s jurisdiction and lawfully frustrate an investigation that threatens his future (McCann 13). This otherwise harmless sentence outwardly defends and protects the alleged rapist. Jameis Winston raped a fellow student. There was absolutely no discussion of the effects on the survivor–Kinsman–in the article, in fact she was never mentioned by name. Simply called the “accuser” Instead of using more neutral terms, such as presumed victim, the negative conotation of the word accuser sends the message that Kinsman is a liar. The author continues to worry about Winston’s future, Quitting college could have negative consequences for him. It might be interpreted as an admission of guilt (McCann 14). As if others believe this football player raped someone is his biggest problem. The most frustrating part of all is that Fox Sports suggested that the Tallahassee police department and Florida State badly, and possibly intentionally, mishandled the accusation in order to free Winston of repercussions (McCann 13). Even the slight chance of police officers purposely messing up a rape case to protect the alleged rapist is absolutely unacceptable. And most notably, almost a year later, law enforcement declined to charge him (McCann 14). Most do not know that the decision to take a rape case to court is not one of the victims. Again, the victim is the least important factor.

Other major issues on the topic of rape are underreporting and attrition. Rape has been described as the most under-reported crime, with factors contributing to its low reporting rate like the victims fear of not being believed or the lack of confidence in the criminal justice systems (Jordan 3). This causes a problem for the police because they are not viewed in a positive light. Sadly, this law enforcement-community relationship hasn’t been well for many years. In the 1980s, people began to realize the horrible environments within which rape victims were interviewed. As well as the disgraceful interrogatory style of questioning to which they were routinely subjected (Jordan 4). Police have been using unmannerly ways to question rape victims for years and this practice causes rape culture and victim blaming to invade the brains of victims. Until they begin to normalize it. Perhaps this is why reporting rates of rape are so incredibly low. Because of the dark history between rape victims and the police, it is not all a surprise that roughly 90% of rapes go unreported (Jordan 4). Action must be taken in order to reverse the heavy relationship that has built up among many victims and the people they interacted with in police departments. In the United Kingdom, analysis conducted for the Home Office of a large data set indicated that the conviction rate for reported rape cases had been declining, in 2002 reaching an all-time low of 5.6% (Jordan 5). Attrition goes hand in hand with the issue of underreporting. Attrition is the slow weaning out of something. This term applied to rape is one of the reasons why there is such distrust between rape victims and police. A growing trend in rape cases is that of reports of rape just being set aside and forgetten. Victims may see it as pointless to have to relive their rape in telling it to the authorities if their cases will just be ignored or neglected. High attrition rates in rape cases have attracted international concern and criticism in recent years (Jordan 5). It makes the entire situation even worse that many women do not report if they are raped, and when they do their cases are senselessly neglected.

One of the most obvious causes of police misconduct is a lack of training, or simply training police so that they may acquire the knowledge that is unnecessary. Who knows what training hours are spent on, but it certainly is not used properly. The most obvious cause of these issues is “The lack of training in police facilities.”(Abdulali 51). Sometimes it is as if these officers do not possess any basic manners at all. In 2006, in New York a young woman, age 21 went missing and when her mother -Carmichael- called the local precinct she was responded to with a blatant “Your daughter is probably with her boyfriend.”(qtd. in Arinde 6). The officer had no idea whom they were speaking to, they made the easiest assumption and dismissed the problem at hand. They even refused to file a missing persons report. She was told “‘Miss, please do not call this precinct again.”(qtd. in Arinde 6). This type of disrespect and uncaring is the very reason why the people of America have lost faith in law enforcement. Carmichael stated, “I am very displeased at the way police handled my daughters rape and murder and the way my family was treated after she was found.” (qtd. in Arinde 6). Oftentimes we see police as just a collective image of negativity, but in reality police officers are individuals with their own lives. Maybe not all mentally are suited for such a job.

Some of the worst police misconduct cases involve a complete lack of common sense, kindness or humanity. Protocol in these situations is often neglected. In the well-known Central park Jogger case, where five adolsecent boys were covicted of the rape and murder of an adult woman the leaders of the investigation ended up profitting from the boys’ demise. Fairstein and Lederer made extreme errors in the pursuit of the Jogger Five, who knew while they were investigating and prosecuting that the boys were innocent. They were railroaded because of their race and were coerced to admit to a crime they never committed (Tatum 12). This is just one of the examples of gross misconduct in the police system. It is even worse to think of the people that have been put away for years for a crime they did not commit– or worse– put to death. When Carmichael interacted with the local police precinct she was treated unspeakably. Eventually When they found her daughter’s body, the police were nowhere to be seen. After calling the precinct, it became apparent the police wouldn’t be arriving due to understaffing and perhaps negligence, so the family went. (qtd. in Arinde 6). Even the idea of someone’s family going to collect their relative’s disfigured body is horrifying. The police act as a barrier between the family and such experiences, but why can’t they just do their job correctly? It’s truly ironic, The day Carmichael found her child’s body there weren’t more than two cars present; the day Charles Barron, Rev. Sharpton’s office and Carmichael held a protest, there were over 20 police cars (qtd. in Arinde 6). This phrase uttered by Carmichael is filled with disgust, that her daughters life was not valuable enough in the eyes of the police, but when people come together in a peaceful protest that is seen as a crime and police flock at the scene of innocence searching for issues.

Misconduct in rape cases throughout the police system has hurt numerous and will continue to be a burden on the hearts of many. The police system and its mess of misconduct in rape investigations have to be resolved. Change must be enacted before a solution can even be looked at. As Jordan wisely spells out: reporting rates need to rise, attrition rates need to decline, agencies supporting rape victims should be adequately funded, and rape culture and victim-blaming must cease to exist to the furthest extent possible (Jordan 12). If America as a nation can come together despite its differences and improve the police system, people may have their faith in law enforcement restored. But it is rather unlikely that this will happen, as for the public opinion of police as of recently has not been positive. Rape victims do not feel comfortable in the environment of interrogation rooms, the cases they hold dear to their hearts are being set aside and forgetten, and yet, Ameicans continue to frown upon rape victims and blame them for a crime that was comitted against them. This change will not happen today. It will take time.

Thankfully there have been examples of resolution in the past, even if they are few and far between. In the Central Park Jogger case the disgrace of investigators left an everlasting scar on the victims of this grand mistake. In an effort to reverse this, writer in the New York Amsterdam News, William A. Tatum argues that New York city should be sued for millions to compensate for the wrongdoing and the years of life lost to incarceration, the falsely accused could never regain (Tatum 12). Although in other’s eyes millions of dollars may sound like vast sum, the five— Steve Lopez, Aton McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise spent fifteen years of their teenage life into adulthood in prison. The Police Department and those in the case who gave false testimony and false information to the DA in order to get a conviction should pay (Tatum 12). Yet another example of what could possibly go wrong: coercion of minors without a guardian present, false testimony, and false information. These five innocent boys were stolen from their families, thrown into prison, and forced to survive on their own. They will never forget. The five men were compensated with nearly four million dollars for their loss. Not as well-known as the jogger five, Carmichael’s story of mistreatment from her local police precinct in New York, strikes a similar cord of longing for something, perhaps “justice from the 67th precinct” (qtd. in Arinde 6). Who knows what shape or form that may take, but Carmichael is not alone in that feeling.

Maybe America needs to listen in on how other countries are taking action. Abdulali explains that people in India are calling for reform through a written petition to their government. The petition recommended police reforms and other obvious steps like changing training protocol, the report went further and suggested systemic alterations to erradicate rape culture and protect women (Abdulali 51). India set a wonderful example for sparking change in taking charge of the issue of police misconduct. In the mere act of petitioning the government, India was doing more than America put together. The aforementioned document conveyed the ‘nuances of consent,’ as well as the complexities of deciphering the dynamics of choice and power (Abdulali 51). A possible fix for all of the issues surrounding rape is more education of the topic of consent, not only for High School students but also for police officers. It is possible that if people become more knowledgeable they will be able to interpret whether or not consent was given, taken away or even withheld in the first place. These is the basics of consent, and sadly many investigators lack this knowledge.

To spell it out, the nation needs to take a very specific approach to this problem. This is what should be done: Police should be trained to address their biases, according to German Lopez, writer for Vox (Lopez). It is natural for humans to be biased, but denying admitting to these biases can inversely affect how a police officer does their job. Police should be trained to deal with their biases before they become an officer of the law. Next, when police engage in misconduct, there must be more transparency and accountability in the aftermath of it all (Lopez). The public only hears about misconduct cases involving the police when it is a big deal, otherwise it seems as if reports on the issue are non-existent. Out of all 50 states, 23 states do not open misconduct reports to the public–that is nearly half of the country– and the other 15 states have very limited records. (Lopez). Hiding the issue of police misconduct is not going to solve the issue of police misconduct, if anything it will allow it to progress negatively. Police reports should be open to the public so that people may become aware and use the data to improve the police system. Also, people need to set much higher standards to qualify to be a police officer. (Lopez). At the moment if someone wishes to be a police officer, they must at least have a post-secondary degree and 3 years of continuous law enforcement experience. Then, it would take a total of two months to conclude qualification procedure and testing. According to the MN Board of Peace Officers and Training, the testing is on Minnesota criminal code, traffic code and juvenile justice laws. Apparently, the exam focuses on the information Minnesota law enforcement officers need to know for day-to-day operations. This process is not thorough enough. How exactly does knowing the laws of the state one resides in aid in learning the complex issue of rape and consent, or how to treat a victim?

Reforming the police system is incredibly important because it will benefit all. What downside is there to improving the law enforcement system? If police get this right, they could boost faith in cops and their legitimacy in crime fighting (Lopez). If people begin to belive in the ability of police officers again, the reporting rates of rape could rise, inversely, causing the rates of rape to decrease– that is if the police can do their job and pay more attention to the issue. Honestly, rape deserves just as much attention as homicide, or robbery. In the end, someone’s life is forever altered. The trio of the “procedural justice” model: transparency, accountability and community cooperation, as described as a part of how the police system should work, are all imperative to resolving this issue because they signal that the justice system cares (Lopez). Often times rape victims are belittled, called liars, asked disrespectful or degrading questions, and blamed for a crime committed against them. If the police can be transparent in their actions, be accountable for mistakes and cooperation with those involved in rape cases, then it is possible the future is not as dark as it seems for this issue.

Reasons And Effects Of Police Racial Profiling

Introduction

Racial profiling is a form of discrimination which violates basic human rights and contributes to inefficient and ineffective policing. Racial profiling occurs when police stop, question, search or detain a person on the basis of their race. Victims of racial profiling can be severely impacted by this experience (Police accountability 2013). In 2011, a report by the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Revealed that Victoria Police were racially profiling South Sudanese refugees in Melbourne (Run 2013). After an allegation of racial profiling was settled by the Australian Federal Court in 2013, Victoria Police issued a statement pledging to investigate its treatment of ethnic groups (Victoria Police 2013). This research essay will discuss the nature and extent of the problem of racial profiling by police in Victoria and the impacts it has on victims of racial profiling. This essay will also critically discuss the steps that have been taken to address this ongoing problem.

The nature and extent of police racial profiling in Victoria

Racial profiling by police in Victoria has been an issue for many years. Racial profiling occurs by police due to malevolent officers intentionally acting upon preconceived stereotypes and prejudices (Police accountability 2013). Postcolonial scholarship suggests that racial profiling is seen as a product of racist attitudes as a result of an imperial relationship between the conquerors and the conquered. Racial profiling in Australia can be seen as a colonially minded attempt to maintain racial inequality (Run 2013). Due to the White Australia policy institutionalising racism, it may be seen that racial profiling has been embedded within the system and results in racial bias by police officers. Both explicit and implicit bias exists within racial profiling (Run 2013). Explicit bias is a racist belief manifesting as a discriminatory behaviour (Schlosser 2018). The submission documented many instances where police displayed explicit biased behaviour such as using derogatory racist language towards young men of African ethnicity. Implicit bias is where seemingly tolerant police officers unconsciously associate certain ethnicities with violence and or criminality (Clarke 2018).

Most people who experience racial profiling in Victoria do not make a complaint even when it is serious. This is due to the complaints being investigated by Victoria Police rather than a separate organisation or entity. Young people report fear of making their situation worse and potentially becoming a target for local police, as well as having their complaint dismissed and possibly getting further charges as a result (Youth Law Australia 2017). Eminent statistician, Professor Ian Gordon from the University of Melbourne analysed the Victorian Police Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) data and revealed that between 2006 and 2009, Africans in the Flemington and North Melbourne area were two and a half times more likely to be stopped by police than any other minority group in spite of having a lower crime rate (Hayle et al. 2016). This data provides evidence and confirms the allegation and existence of racial profiling within Victoria Police. Qualitative research substantiates the claim and reveals racial profiling has been an ongoing problem across Victoria for many years. A supposedly high representation in local crime statistics was the justification given for such poor policing (Logan 2019). However, the data revealed a significant underrepresentation of the stopped young African Australians in the crime figures. Additionally, Victoria Police have been known to target African youth and operation Molto in 2006 is proof of the targeting of young African men. This shows the nature and extent of the problem of racial profiling by Victorian police (Police accountability 2013).

Impacts of racial profiling on victims

Racial discrimination, in the form of racial profiling, has many detrimental effects on the community who are of an ethnic minority but also effects the ability of the police to practice their role as community protectors (Markwick et al. 2019). If the community loses its confidence and trust in the police, the community are most likely not going to report crimes or get involved in police investigations. Not only does this impede the police in their duties, it also means that vulnerable members of the community become more vulnerable as they sense that they do not have the resources to protect their rights and safety (Young 2013). Racial profiling causes communities to feel disengaged from the broader Victorian community as a result of feeling watched and singled out for mistreatment (Victoria Health 2014). When this occurs, police are failing to uphold the rights of the community and are also contributing to the disengagement of ethnic minorities from society (Police accountability 2013). Racial profiling has many impacts on the people who experience discrimination by police, it can cause isolation, exclusion, disengagement, unnecessary criminalisation, detrimental health and socio-economic impacts. Additionally, it inhibits minority groups from having the confidence and trust to report crimes and seek help from the police. (Police accountability 2013). Racially profiling individuals on the bases of skin colour, race and or religion can cause victims to isolate themselves and disengage from participating in the community which results in the exclusion of those individuals. This exclusion can negatively impact the socio-economic aspect of victims of racial profiling due to feeling undervalued and or unwanted. All these factors can cause and contribute to detrimental health issues a result of police discrimination (Police accountability 2013).

Discussion

After fulfilling a condition of a settlement in the Australian Federal Court regarding racially biased policing, Victoria Police invited community comments and submissions from individuals and organisations to undertake an examination of its Field Contact policy, data collection and cross-cultural training (Victoria Police 2013). After concluding the review process, Victoria Police published the equality is not the same report. The report outlined the findings and presented an extensive set of recommendations and actions to scope, develop and trial a receipting pilot the report identifies a number of improvement opportunities for Victoria Police to implement over a period of three years. This three-year plan to address racial profiling issues within Victoria outlines key commitment across five areas of focus that emerged from consultations and external reviews which included community engagement, communication and respect, Field Contact Policy and process, complain process and cross-cultural training (Victoria Police 2013).

During year one of the three-year action plan, Victoria Police undertook extensive community consultation and discussion to identify community needs. As a result, Victoria Police developed a concept of a receipting pilot that considers the needs of the Victorian Community. This concept was developed to promote transparency and accountability of police interactions with members of the community. This concept provides individuals with tangible evidence of their interaction with police or Protective Service Officers (PSO). This concept will help in discouraging racially biased policing as the community now has the opportunity to hold police officers accountable for any type of racially biased policing. In the second year of the action plan, The Receipting Proof of Concept (RPoC) was tested across four police service areas. The RPoC used a business card method and also a smart-phone application. The RPoC project team implemented a comprehensive internal and external communication strategy, police and PSO training to support this concept. In the final year of the action plan, a summary of the work undertaken by Victoria Police assessed police and community perceptions on the receipting concept. The results of this evaluation revealed a number of findings and recommendations. Mandatory issuing of a receipt to the public was not adopted. The development of contact cards for police officers that may be issued to a member of the community when a request is made. The Receipting Proof of Concept (RPoC) is an extensive body of work implemented to change and eradicate racially biased policing by holding police officers accountable. Extensive training and education were critical to the success of the project as well as providing police with an e-learning package, face to face officer in charge training and comprehensive group training for the use of smartphone receipting technology. However, the findings of the evaluation indicate that the practice of providing a record of contact with police received mixed support. The mandatory issuing of a receipt of contact made people confused and at times concerned as to why they are receiving this record of contact. Issuing a mandatory receipt was seen to be opposing to the value of the receipt and as a result a more flexible approach was introduced. The receipt of contact would be given at the request and discretion of a member of the public. This improved and flexible approach received support and was considered both practical and a positive contribution to an improved policing service (Victoria Police 2013). All these steps have been taken by Victoria Police as well as the community to address the issue of racial profiling within its ranks.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this essay has covered a number of aspects regarding the problem of racial profiling by police in Victoria. This essay discussed the nature and extent of racial profiling by police in Victoria and explored the underlying factors that contribute to this systemic racism (O’Donnell 2019). The impacts racial profiling has on its victims are detrimental and affects both the individual and the community as a whole. This essay also critically discussed the steps that have been taken to address the issue of racially biased policing including the introduction of a Recipient proof of contact approach as well as introducing a face to face training program to improve and effectively respond to the problem of racial profiling. This research essay shows that racial profiling to a certain degree is embedded within the system and has been a major issue for many years in Victoria.

References

1. VicHealth 2014, Findings from the 2013 survey of Victorian’s attitudes to race and cultural diversity, Victorian Health Promotion foundation, Melbourne Australia, < https://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/-/media/ResourceCentre/PublicationsandResources/Discrimination/LEAD-community-attitudes-survey.pdf>.
2. Run, P 2013, ‘Unnecessary Encounters: South Sudanese refugees’ experiences of racial profiling in Melbourne’, Social Alternatives, vol. 32, no. 3, pp. 20–25, viewed 28 May 2020, .
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8. Young, M 2013, ‘Confronting racial bias’, Law Institute Journal: Official Organ of The Law Institute of Victoria, vol. 87, no. 10, p. 6, viewed 28 May 2020, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=lgs&AN=91598039&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
9. Schlosser, M 2018, ‘Scenario-Based Training to Reduce Racially Biased Policing: Understanding Implicit Racial Bias’, Law Enforcement Executive Forum, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 16–24, viewed 3 June 2020, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=i3h&AN=130816397&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
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12. Hayle, S, Wortley, S & Tanner, J 2016, ‘Race, Street Life, and Policing: Implications for Racial Profiling’, Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, vol. 58, no. 3, p. 322, viewed 1 June 2020, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=f5h&AN=116849479&site=ehost-live&scope=site>.

The Peculiarities And Effects Of Racial Profiling In The UK

The Greater London Authority’s analysis of the 2001 Census, ‘World in One City’ found people from 179 different nations living within London and The Guardian Newspaper praised it as ‘the most cosmopolitan place on earth’ (Vertovec, 2007, p. 1024). This resulted in British policy-makers producing a strategy called Multiculturalism, acknowledging the mass scale of immigration from the African Caribbean and South Asia and to implement strategies to ensure equality for ethnic minorities (ibid, p. 1027). However, this essay argues the stereotyping that Back et al explains about ‘Niggers’ relates not only to individuals who are ‘overlooked’, but marginalised (2009, p. 354-355). Referencing the educational performance and crime statistics (ibid), Frantz Fanon quoted ‘Dirty Nigger! or simply, Look, a Negro!’ (ibid, p. 354), believing that when these racist comments are not said ‘you can see it in a gaze or hear it in the solecism of a still silence’ (ibid). With that said there have been times when comments have been considered racist such as Enoch Powell’s ‘River of Blood Speech’ when he called immigrants ‘piccaninnies’, during the mass influx of immigrants to Britain and predicted violence to occur if continued (Youtube, Rivers of Blood Speech). Significantly violence did occur during the Brixton riots caused by racial disadvantage, and hate crimes have recently been exacerbated after the European Union (EU) Referendum.

Racial profiling has been coined as a form of racial stereotyping which exists not only in society but also in organisations and law enforcement agencies (Tanovich, 2004, pp. 908-909). Henry and Tator (2011, p. 66 citied in Chan, 2011) invoke the principle that ‘racism/racial profiling is to be judged primarily by its consequences in creating inequality for certain groups’ (p. 75) and has been acknowledged to exist in the United Kingdom (UK) (Tanovich, 2004, pp. 908-909). Findings have identified racialized characteristics, most notably in Black identities, that arouse police suspicion and led to them being stopped and search on foot and in cars. Factors that are considered suspicious to police officers include gender (male) and location. Officers who implement racial profiling use it as a display of overt racism towards identities that are considered by most people as ‘bad apples’ (ibid, p. 911). Therefore, racial profiling is considered a demonstration of ‘systematic racism’ (ibid, p. 912). Social science literature explains that individuals make assumptions about strangers based on stereotypes connected to the unknown group such as race, this grouping process is termed racialization. When the decision based on race has been made, they change their behaviour based on their cultural understanding. The police use their experience in past events to guide them for future policing which is why the police perceive the usual drug suspect as a young black male (ibid, pp. 913-914). Bou-Habib (2011) argues that racial profiling is unethical, providing the assumption that certain ethnic groups are unable to follow rule and law (p. 34).

The Scarman Report highlighted the discriminatory use of power increased tensions between particular communities and the Criminal Justice System (CJS). In 1999, Black people were 5.9 times more likely to be stopped and searched than White people under powers contained within Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) (Burnett, 2012, p. 96). In 2011, Black people were nearly three times more likely to be stopped and searched under Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 than White people, leading to accusations of increasing ‘racial profiling’ (ibid).Government statics revealed that more mixed-race people were victims of crime last year than white people and white offenders were sentenced to shorter custodial sentences than Black people in 2009 to 2017 (The Guardian, 2019). In 2017/18 there were 277,378 stop and search incidents conducted in England and Wales; furthermore in 2017/18, there were 3 stop and searches for every 1,000 White people, compared with 29 stop and searches for every 1,000 Black people (GOV.UK, March 2019). However, there were 35 arrests for every 1,000 Black people, and 11 arrests for every 1,000 White people in 2017/18 (ibid). Black people had the highest arrest rates in every police force area for which there was data in 2016/17 (ibid). Moreover, it should be noted that the more a certain group is aimed at, the more likely criminality will be revealed. In the UK, legislation allows the police to detain and search individuals whom they suspect to be in possession of stolen goods. Stop and search power in the UK is much broader than the present powers in countries such as Canada (Tanovich, 2004, pp. 913-914). However, while Black people have been able to hold institutions to account for racism, there are still some ‘stubborn’ areas, which explains the increase in calls for stop and search to tackle knife crime (The Guardian, 2019).

The UK government have been seen over the years to marginalise the Black community. Despite the Scarman Report revealing racial disadvantage was the cause of the riots in 1981, Margaret Thatcher responded by condemning them as criminal activity and lawlessness (Small and Solomos, 2006, p. 245), along with rising crime and drug use, an increase in Black youth unemployment, and the ‘Thatcherite assault’ on welfare support (Hall, p. 189). However, while Lord Scarman claimed the police were not institutionally racist, (Small and Solomos, 2006, p. 245) he advised recommendations to improve policing on community and race issues, such as Racism Awareness Training. These proved to be inadequately implemented (Hall, p. 190). Suggesting the issues for the Black community were not taken seriously.

Furthermore, Black people, while having their grievances ignored by the police, have been subjected to many racial attacks such as during the campaign in the 1970s against ‘sus’ laws, and the setting fire of Michael Menson in 1997 (Hall, p.188). It was not until New Labour brought in vital measures to tackle racial discrimination with the Macpherson Report in 1999 (Small and Solomos, 2006, p. 25) conducted by Sir William Macpherson who stated that the police actions during the Stephen Lawerence murder were ‘institutionally racist’ (The Guardian, 2019). Macpherson defined institutional racism as ‘The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate and professional service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin’ identified through attitudes and behaviours which show prejudice towards them (HOC Home Office Committee, 2009, p. 6). This was disputed by the then-Metropolitan Police Commissioner (ibid). This term led to calls for anti-racism and reforms for equality to combat race riots, racist violence and the prejudice that was rife in Britain since the days of ‘no blacks, no dogs, no Irish’ (The Guardian, 2019).

The Home Office’s findings showed that 67 of Macpherson’s 70 recommendations have been implemented fully or in part by the police to combat racial and discrimination (HOC Home Office Committee, 2009, p. 2). Significantly, it led to the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and a change in the law on double jeopardy, which opened up the possibility of a retrial of some of the men strongly suspected to have been involved in the Stephen Lawrence murder, including Dobson, who was convicted (Burnett, 2012, p. 93). The changes have resulted in an improved reporting of hate crimes which has increased to 60,000 incidents a year, and the hate crime detection rate has doubled to 44% (HOC Home Office Committee, 2009, p. 3).

Despite this, Alfred John, the Chair of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), believes the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) continues to be institutionally racist as it continues to fail to recognise discriminatory behaviour in the service. Doreen Lawrence, the Chair of the Metropolitan Black Police Association, citied the stop and search as an example of this (ibid, p. 6). Kapoor (2013) argues that New Labour encouraging ‘Community Cohesion’ can be viewed as a form of racial neoliberalism (p. 1033). In 2010 Prospect Magazine published a report titled ‘Rethinking Race’, which argued that racism was no longer so noticeable, although the increase in tracking required under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 has encouraged suspicion and fear of ethnic groups (ibid, p. 1031). Therefore, creating inclusion and social justice through policy making is unsuccessful (Bhopal, 2018, pp. 4-5).

Lammy Review (2017) is an independent review which was established to ‘make recommendations for improvement with the goal of reducing the proportion of Black, Asian and minority ethnic people (BAME) offenders in the criminal justice system (CJS)’ (p.3). Young Black boys are more likely to be excluded from school and to be arrested as teenagers. However, findings have shown that contrast to a decade ago, fewer young people are offending, reoffending and going into custody. This was helped by the Youth Offending Team (YOTs) established by the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act, to help reduce this problem (ibid, p.4). YOTs were set up to help offenders in the community to start new lives, although in the last 5 years 22,000 BAME children have had their names added to the Police National Database including minor offences which constrain their job opportunities (ibid, p. 5). The 55-page report, ‘Trapped in the Matrix’, highlights the MPSs gang-mapping database, The Gangs Matrix which was introduced in 2012 as ‘highly-politicised response’ to the 2011 London riots. Listing individuals as “gang nominals”, in October 2017, 3,806 people were listed on the Matrix, and 78% of individuals on the Matrix are black. One response from a Met Police officer stated that the ‘gang label’ is ‘disproportionately assigned to Black men and boys’ (Amnesty, 2018). Stafford Scott, from the London Monitoring Group, challenges racism in policing, arguing that the Gangs Matrix is counterproductive and further embeds distrust in, and the legitimacy of, the police (ibid).

Contributors have criticised the effectiveness of police power in tackling all crime, which if it was measured by arrest rate, was a ‘manifest failure’. This view was also echoed by a survey conducted by Black Training and Enterprise Group (Home Office, 2014, p. 9). Furthermore, Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC) inspection into the use of stop and search powers acknowledged that police officers were unable to demonstrate the best approach to use to prevent crime. Also, they could not explain what had been achieved from the use of stop and search (ibid, p. 10). Moreover, it has been acknowledged that stop and searches have created criminal offences, as individuals who are subjected repeatedly to stop and searches are likely to be arrested after becoming enraged (Williams, 2018, p. 7). Williams (2018) argues that the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime Report in 2016 revealed the serious need to combat violence in England and Wales. This however cannot be tackled through the ‘war against gangs’ that has been implemented through the ‘Ending Gangs and Youth Violence’ strategy, as it is largely unsuccessful (p. 27).

Police records for crime statics revealed an increase of 25% for the possession of a weapon offences in the year ending March 2018 compared to the previous year (Home Office, 2018, p. 12), indicating that the powers are effective in certain areas to tackle or prevent crime. Campaign groups have suggested that police officers use the powers in a sensitive manner to tackle ‘serious’ crime and violence as they warn the powers being used for low-level drug possession offences may damage community relations with the police (Home Office, 2014, p. 11). A survey of 4,920 had showed that Blacks were least likely to agree that stop and searches were effective (Home Office, 2014, pp.7- 8). All ages of non-whites showed issues of the discriminatory use of the powers (ibid, p. 9), believing they are deemed ‘deviant’ and are targets of ‘suspicion’ (The Guardian, 2018). Stops and searches under PACE 1984 has been in decline. This is due to the change in policy by MPS and the Home Office to increase the ‘fair’ use of powers (Boultwood, 2018). Furthermore, the government introduced a new scheme in 2014 called ‘Best use of stop and search’ to encourage transparency around how stops and searches happen and to identify the most effective time to use them (ibid).

In every one of the last 5 years, a lower percentage of Black Caribbean people said they had confidence in their local police compared with White people. 2017/18 showed that confidence in police by Black people was 76% compared to 78% for white people (GOV.UK, Dec 2018). Even though BAME make up 14% of the population, they represent 25% of prison population, while over 40% of young people in custody are from BAME backgrounds. This makes a greater disproportionality of Black people than in the United States (Lammy Review, 2017, p. 2). Despite the UK government prohibiting the use of racial profiling, the police have historically applied their power to stop and search citizens from ethnic minority groups (Travis, 2016, citied in 2017, p.549). The Independent Police Complaints Commission provided data of the number of Black citizens that expressed grievances about the police and their unfair tactics of policing towards them. In 2007/2008 a total amount of 5,156 complaints- the MET area received 979 of them. (Yesufu, 2013, p. 291). Black individuals who experience racial profiling are worried about the injustices and insecurity they feel, which leads to bad community relations with the police (Chan, 2011, p. 75). This occurred in London when violence erupted during the Brixton Riots in 1981, the Broadwater Farm Riots in 1985 and the burning and looting in 2011 (Yesufu, 2013, p. 281). This view was echoed by an interviewee explaining that the younger generation who had grown up and were born and raised in Britain, considered themselves British and were ‘not going to take the shit handed out to their parents’ (Youtube, River of Blood Speech). Lippert-Rasmussen explained that non-profiled groups are the cause of the unjust social circumstances that result in a higher offender rate of the profiled group. The social conditions they encounter such as unemployment, result in crime being more difficult to avoid. However, it is noted that the more advantaged in society have failed to alter these social conditions through public policies to tackle these higher offender rates (Bou-Habib, 2011, p. 37).

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Ministerial Council have repeatedly warned of the threat that hate crimes will pose on the security of individuals and to social cohesion, as well as their potential to lead to conflict and violence (OSCE, 2019). The continuance of racial inequalities in the UK were revealed in a report produced by the EHRC, finding an increase in race hate crimes in the last five years (Bhopal, 2018, pp. 9-10), especially after the UK voted to leave the EU (ibid). True Vision saw a 57% increase in the reporting of race crime in the 3 days after the vote, compared with to the previous month (ibid, p. 12). Despite it being a criminal offence under the Public Order Act of inciting racial or religious hatred in a speech or through behaviour (True Vision, 2019), the referendum gave individuals the right to voice prejudices and racism towards minority ethnic groups (Bhapol, 2018, p.12).

The Casey Review (2016) revealed that government has failed to be successful in its policies to get community cohesion. These policies first arose under the Labour Government after the riots in Northern towns. Several academics explained the key to successful integration is through providing economic advantages, a feeling of belonging to a community and to encourage social interaction. However, it has been noted that these issues are largely ignored by past successive Governments’ integration plans. The Coalition Government in 2012 attempted to address this issue with the policy of ‘Creating the conditions for integration’ (ibid, pp. 149-150). Although they had allocated only a small amount of funding towards projects such as ‘Big Lunch’, more is needed to combat this issue (ibid). Furthermore, it was noted that some interfaith work was ‘avoided’ and there was no initiative to tackle individuals that undermined cohesion (ibid).

To conclude, Keith (2005, p. 1, citied in Vertovec, 2007) explains that cities in the 21st century will be challenged by multiculturalism’ (p. 1050). In which statics evidence have shown some of the issues that have arisen are that Black communities are stopped and searched more and are on the National DNA Database and this has increased since 1999. They are also overrepresented in the CJS (HOC Home Affairs Committee, 2009, p. 7). Despite calls for reforms and integration the British government have done little to address these issues and to make the Black community feel included in society. However, while police continue to use ‘race’ as a tactic aimed at certain individuals for crimes, considered to be a ‘manifestation of systemic racism’ and unsuccessful as a preventer of crime, with negative effects on the targeted communities (Tanovich, 2004, p. 933). Which evidently has shown to led to violence over the years of ignorance by the government.

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