How Law Enforcement Agencies around the Country are Institutionally Racist
There is sufficient evidence that the law enforcement agencies around america are institutionally racist towards minority groups in large cities. Several high and low profile figures (both white and black) in the media have had many experiences with law enforcement personnel that have reflected the idea that law enforcement agencies around America are institutionally racist.
The article "The Concept of Institutional Racism", by Dr. Vernellia Randall from the University of Dayton School of Law, gives a detailed and informative report on how and why law enforcement agencies in America and the UK are institutionally racist against minority groups in urban areas. One of the possible explanations for this institutional racism is that “Police work, unlike most other professional activities, has the capacity to bring officers into contact with a skewed cross-section of society, with the well-recognized potential for producing negative stereotypes of particular groups. Such stereotypes become the common currency of the police occupational culture, and that if the predominantly white staff of the police organisation have their experience of visible minorities largely restricted to interactions with such groups, then negative racial stereotypes will tend to develop accordingly.” Additionally, since the majority of the crime in major cities occurs in the same areas where the minority groups are, that explains why the quote makes logical sense. The predominantly white police force in large cities are more actively patrolling and arresting people in the crime-ridden areas of the cities, which so happens to be the same areas where the minorities live. However, the article also states that as a result of the increased police presence around minority communities in large cities, in a sense of redundancy police racially profile these minority groups because members of these groups are more often than not committing the most crimes in the areas where the police patrol, leading to a higher percentage of minorities being arrested than the majority (whites), and this often leads to the police (and the rest of the community) discriminating against these groups. Additionally, due to this supposed racism law enforcement personnel are far more likely to arrest minorities (specifically African Americans) for various crimes in major cities across America (see the graphs below for further information).
The article "The Concept of Institutional Racism", by Dr. Vernellia Randall from the University of Dayton School of Law, gives a detailed and informative report on how and why law enforcement agencies in America and the UK are institutionally racist against minority groups in urban areas. One of the possible explanations for this institutional racism is that “Police work, unlike most other professional activities, has the capacity to bring officers into contact with a skewed cross-section of society, with the well-recognized potential for producing negative stereotypes of particular groups. Such stereotypes become the common currency of the police occupational culture, and that if the predominantly white staff of the police organisation have their experience of visible minorities largely restricted to interactions with such groups, then negative racial stereotypes will tend to develop accordingly.” Additionally, since the majority of the crime in major cities occurs in the same areas where the minority groups are, that explains why the quote makes logical sense. The predominantly white police force in large cities are more actively patrolling and arresting people in the crime-ridden areas of the cities, which so happens to be the same areas where the minorities live. However, the article also states that as a result of the increased police presence around minority communities in large cities, in a sense of redundancy police racially profile these minority groups because members of these groups are more often than not committing the most crimes in the areas where the police patrol, leading to a higher percentage of minorities being arrested than the majority (whites), and this often leads to the police (and the rest of the community) discriminating against these groups. Additionally, due to this supposed racism law enforcement personnel are far more likely to arrest minorities (specifically African Americans) for various crimes in major cities across America (see the graphs below for further information).
Several high-profile figures (both white and black) on many well-recognized American news programs have had many experiences with law enforcement personnel that have reflected the idea that law enforcement agencies around America are institutionally racist. The video below shows several television personalities recalling their experiences (both outrageous and uncalled-for) with institutionally racist law enforcement personnel.
Although the video is biased towards the plights of minorities at the hands of the police, it does highlight the fact that even today, in a democratic society with no more segregation or racial inequality, law enforcement agencies, who mind you are supposed to be protecting minority groups from racism and upholding racial equality, are being institutionally racist towards minorities.
According to the GOP (Republican Party) there is no longer any racial bias in the criminal justice system in America. If this is supposed to be true, then why do 68 percent of African Americans believe that is is? A recent poll engineered by Gallup.com (right) asked Americans of various ethnic backgrounds is they think the American criminal justice system is biased against African Americans. According to the poll, 68% of African Americans, 40% of Hispanics, and 25% of Whites asked thought the justice system is biased against African Americans. This poll isn't the only evidence showing that there is institutional racism in the criminal justice system. According to the following charts, African American males are nearly six times more likely to be arrested for some crime in their lifetime than a white male would be. The same holds true for African American women, who are also nearly seven times more likely to be arrested during their lifetime than a white woman would be. Additionally, there are four times as many African Americans incarcerated in Mississippi than there are whites per 100,000 people.
The following video shows two men, one white and one black, trying to break into their own car on busy street corner in a major city. The video is a real-life example showing that institutional racism is present in the criminal justice system, and how the public responds (or don’t respond) to the "carjacking".
Through all of the videos, charts, and graphs concerning this issue, it's very hard not to deny the fact that the American criminal justice system is institutionally racist.