McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Police in America Chapter Twelve Police-Community Relations

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Definition of Police Community Relations Police-community relations refers primarily to relations between the police and racial and ethnic minority communities.

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Different racial and ethnic groups  African Americans  Hispanics/Latinos -More likely to experience police initiated contact -Largest racial or ethnic minority group by Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Central and South America  Native American –Higher crime rate on reservation –Tribal police  Asian Americans –Vietnam, Cambodia are newest immigrants

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Definitional Issues  What is Race?  What is Ethnicity?  What is a Disparity?  What is Discrimination?

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chicago Police Dept. Human Rights & Resources Policy “Members (of the Chicago police department) will not exhibit any bias or prejudice against any individual or group because of race, color, gender, age, religion, disability, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, parental status, military discharge status or source of income. Members will not direct any derogatory terms toward any person in any manner.”

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Public Opinion and the Police Racial and Ethnic differences – –Significant differences of different racial and ethnic groups – –Majority of African Americans and Hispanics have a favorable attitude toward the police Attitudes about police use of force – –60% white favorable – –33% black favorable – –42% Hispanic favorable

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Public Opinion and the police  Vast majority of Americans have a positive attitude toward the police.  Racial and ethnic minorities consistently rate the police less favorably than whites.  A majority of African Americans and Hispanics gives the police a generally favorable rating.  Young people rate the police less favorably than older people.  Poor people, less educated people, and crime victims tend to rate the police lower than others.  There are significant differences in opinions about the police among different cities.

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Dimensions of Trust in the Police  Priorities  Competence  Dependability  Respect

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Police Field Practices Deadly Force –Source of major conflict between minorities and police –Changed significantly over last 40 years –Does current disparity between African Americans and whites shot and killed represent systematic discrimination? Use of Physical Force –Most common complaint by minorities –Use of force continuum –Police use force more often against  Criminal suspects  Male suspects  Black males  Drunk and antagonistic  Physical resistance

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Police Field Practices Arrest –African Americans more than whites relative to their percentage in the population –Arrests of blacks more likely declined for prosecution than whites –Drug offences Traffic Stops –Driving while black –Driving while brown –Driving while female –Field interrogations and searches –Being out of place –Conflicting evidence

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Police Field Practices Verbal Abuse and ethnic slurs –Rodney King incident Canine Units –Higher incidence of dog bites Delay in Responding to calls –Family disturbance Abuse of gay men, lesbians, and transgendered persons –Abuse and disrespect

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Enforcement of Loitering & Vagrancy Laws  Often used in a racially discriminatory manner  Chicago’s Anti-gang law

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Racial Profiling Traffic Enforcement –Collecting Data –Interpreting Data Agency Policies –Do they work? Explaining Disparities –Minority involvement in crime and drug trafficking –Police presence

McGraw-Hill © 2005 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Administrative practices Handling Citizen Complaints –Whitewash officer conduct? –Hispanic Americans less likely to file complaints Employment practices –Racial and ethnic minorities underrepresented in departments Improving police-community relations –Creating special police-community relations units –Training for officers