When thinking about hot political issues, racial profiling, along with police discrimination, are at the top of the list. With the help of social media, our news networks have started to rely on what is recorded by civilian bystanders to report their news. The news outlets today seem to rely on social media to get their facts. Cassandra (2015) states that “Videos of police officers hurting and brutally handling people have gone viral and the media has pointed out how bad it has become” (para. 4). The question here is, do the news outlets verify this information before they broadcast it? If not, they run the chance of broadcasting a video that has been edited to show just part of the issue and not the full story. In doing that, they tarnish the reputation of the police force unintentionally. The reverse is also true, if what the video shows is the full story, and it isn’t shown, then they run the chance of being seen to favor the police over the citizens. Due to this I believe that the media should always do their own investigation before airing the information. Just like in the Michael Brown case, everyone jumped to conclusions and alleged a lot of things before the investigation was even started.
Details of the Incident
In August, 2014 an officer involved shooting took place in Ferguson, Missouri. The victim was an 18-year-old, black man and the suspect was a white Ferguson Police Officer. The facts of the case start with the victim and a friend are walking in the neighborhood in the street when the police officer stopped and told them to get off the road onto the sidewalk. The officer drove away then backed up to the two individuals and called the victim, Michael Brown, over to the vehicle. There was an altercation that resulted in a shot being fired, Brown and his friend ran off and the officer, Darren Wilson, pursued. After running a short distance, Brown spun around, then moved back towards the Officer, who discharged 12 rounds, hitting Brown seven or eight times. All of this took about three minutes and resulted in the death of Michael Brown. (Adamson, B. 2016, para. 16).
Get Help With Your Essay
If you need assistance with writing your essay, our professional essay writing service is here to help!
Essay Writing Service
Many people think that Mr. Brown was shot because due to his ethnicity, not for attacking a police officer, who in turn had to defend himself. Officer Wilson testified to the Grand Jury for about four hours, along with several different witnesses, including two different Medical Examiners (ME). One of those ME’s was an independent hired by the victim’s family. Both ME’s came to the same conclusion, that supported the testimony of Officer Wilson, that Mr. Brown was trying to take possession the officer’s gun during the altercation in the vehicle, after the chase, Brown spun and rushed the officer. (Cassell 2014, para. 13). As a result of the testimony provided, the Grand Jury did not indict the officer.
Racial Profiling
There is a perception that police forces are largely discriminatory. This is a hard perception for police forces to overcome. There are many factions that like the status quo the way it is, and will do what they can to keep racial tensions at the height they are at right now. Weitzer, & Tuch, (2005) indicate that “While most blacks and Hispanics want more law enforcement,1 leaders within the minority community often criticize the police in public, which may reinforce whites’ impressions that minorities are trying to interfere with crime control. In a nutshell, white skepticism of charges of police wrongdoing may be partly rooted in their attachment to the law-and-order status quo; minority perceptions of misconduct, on the other hand, may reflect their desire to gain better treatment from the police” (p. 1011) When there are certain factions in each group trying to lead by deception, and criticize the other side for their beliefs, those that follow and respect their leadership are more likely to fall in line with their way of thinking without researching to make sure that what they are saying is true or not. Legewie, (2016) states that “Events strengthen cohesion within the police department and invoke the notion of the police versus black youth. Police increase the use of force against minority groups to mitigate (perceived) threat, retaliate against the offending group, and preserve social order.” (p. 380). The same can be said when talking about the cohesion among the minority groups. This will not change until those on each side come together to figure out what the real issues are and deal with them.
Recommendation to reduce Racial Profiling and Discrimination
Where there are biases, whether perceived or real, there will be the notion that racism is the crux of police injustices. Yes, there is a lopsided amount of minority arrests contrasted to other racial groups, but this may not be due to racism, but more likely due to in the moment, situational, decisions that drive police officers to react. Keesee (2015) states that “Implicit bias describes the automatic association people make between groups of people and stereotypes about those groups—stereotypes that even members of the targeted group can internalize. More than three decades of research in neurology and social and cognitive psychology has shown that people hold implicit biases even in the absence of heartfelt bigotry, simply by absorbing messages from the media and world around them.” (para. 3). So, what steps can be taken to combat bias found in police departments?
Raise awareness of implicit bias among police leaders and officers
Transform the conversation between police and the community
Put policies in place to limit the impact of bias (Keesee 2015).
Everything needs to start from the top down. If the those who are in charge cannot lead by example, then nothing will work. Get out in the community to promote diversification and cohesion, work with community leaders, raising awareness and cultivating community policing. Show the community that policing is about the crime & discipline not racial biases.
Conclusion
Racial Profiling has been a crook in the policing community since its inception. The fact that leaders in all communities denigrate the other side does not help matters in the least. All communities need to come together to find a way to work through our differences and come up with a way to promote the cohesiveness that we have been needing to find for many years.
References.
Adamson, B. (2016). Article: “Thugs,” “Crooks,” and “rebellious Negros”: Racist and racialized media coverage of Michael Brown and the Ferguson demonstrations, 32, Harv. J. racial & ethnic just. 189. Retrieved from https://advance-lexis-com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/document/?pdmfid=1516831&crid=e8170b53-968c-4dc5-a5e6-f7714c827bca&pddocfullpath=%2Fshared%2Fdocument%2Fanalytical-materials%2Furn%3AcontentItem%3A5P8M-X380-00CV-007P-00000-00&pddocid=urn%3AcontentItem%3A5P8M-X380-00CV-007P-00000-00&pdcontentcomponentid=143837&pdteaserkey=sr0&pditab=allpods&ecomp=bfyk&earg=sr0&prid=643b779b-83ec-4727-865d-12da2b59b904
Cassandra, M. (2015). Police Brutality: through the Media. Retrieved from https://www.hastac.org/blogs/cassandramaria/2015/12/09/police-brutality-through-media
Cassell, P. (2014). The physical evidence in the Michael Brown case supported the officer [updated with DNA evidence]. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2014/11/28/the-physical-evidence-in-the-michael-brown-case-supported-the-officer/?utm_term=.ce3e2725edbe
Chan, J. (2011). Racial profiling and police subculture. Canadian Journal of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 53(1), 75–78. https://doi-org.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/10.3138/cjccj.53.1.75
Keesee, T. (2015). Three ways to reduce implicit bias in policing. Retrieved from https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/three_ways_to_reduce_implicit_bias_in_policing
Weitzer, R., & Tuch, S. A. (2005). Racially biased policing: Determinants of citizen perceptions. Social Forces, 83(3), 1009-1030. Retrieved from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1&sid=a6905444-e1ff-40c6-a1f8-7329556c6886%40pdc-v-sessmgr01
Essay Writing Service Features
Our Experience
No matter how complex your assignment is, we can find the right professional for your specific task. Contact Essay is an essay writing company that hires only the smartest minds to help you with your projects. Our expertise allows us to provide students with high-quality academic writing, editing & proofreading services.Free Features
Free revision policy
$10Free bibliography & reference
$8Free title page
$8Free formatting
$8How Our Essay Writing Service Works
First, you will need to complete an order form. It's not difficult but, in case there is anything you find not to be clear, you may always call us so that we can guide you through it. On the order form, you will need to include some basic information concerning your order: subject, topic, number of pages, etc. We also encourage our clients to upload any relevant information or sources that will help.
Complete the order formOnce we have all the information and instructions that we need, we select the most suitable writer for your assignment. While everything seems to be clear, the writer, who has complete knowledge of the subject, may need clarification from you. It is at that point that you would receive a call or email from us.
Writer’s assignmentAs soon as the writer has finished, it will be delivered both to the website and to your email address so that you will not miss it. If your deadline is close at hand, we will place a call to you to make sure that you receive the paper on time.
Completing the order and download