Department of Criminal Justice California State University - Bakersfield CRJU 330 Race, Ethnicity and Criminal Justice Dr. Abu-Lughod, Reem Ali Justice on the Streets

Unequal Justice: n Cincinnati and the use of police force. 15 AA men have been shot and killed by police in recent years n 2001 April, fatal shooting provoked a riot resulting in property damage and curfews n Suing police dept. because of racial profiling and was investigated by Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice n City entered a consent decree with the Justice Dept., and ACLU and the local Black United Front to reform police dept. in regards to use of force, controlling canine unit and other issues n This also occurs in other cities

n Recent controversial issue is: RACIAL PROFILING n Targeting AA traffic stops DWB n Hispanic reluctant to call police because of immigration status

LONG HISTORY OF CONFLICT n Always conflict between police and racial/ethnic minorities n Major eras of riots , 1943, n Alfredo Mirande “gringo justice” because of conflicting views, culture, etc n Zoot Suit riots in L.A. attacks on Hispanic

n Changing face of America requires more challenge for police n More conflict results, and more translation is required PUBLIC ATTITUDES TOWARD THE POLICE n Whites, Hispanics and AA all have different attitudes toward police n In general they all wanted more police protection n Rodney King beating 1991 caused a drop in police trust n AGE also affects attitude toward police n Young have more negative views because more contact

THE AA COMMUNITY n Report crimes at a higher rate than whites n Victims of crimes n Shot, killed and arrested at a much higher rate n Therefore more police patrol in AA neighborhoods

THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY F Report more property related crimes F Little contact especially if police cannot speak Spanish F Immigration status, know little abut U.S. laws, or lack of language skills

THE NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITY F Their legal status have an effect on police relations F They have different tribes with federal reservations and separate law enforcement agencies F Crime committed depends on jurisdiction, who committed it, etc

F Tribal police only have jurisdiction over crimes (less serious) committed on Indian lands by Native Americans. Otherwise it is the responsibility of the county sheriff F Also complex because they have 5 different types of tribal law enforcement agencies F Budget is tight, lack of personnel and many other problems

THE MIDDLE EASTERN COMMUNITY u September 11 th discrimination against Arabs u Approx 4 million Arab American 2% of population u Racial profiling, problems flying on certain airlines u Hate crimes u Sources of information about possible terrorist groups (FBI interviews)

ENFORCING FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAWS u INS was responsible in the past but then police were given authority after sep. 11 th u Many local police officials rejected that because it will affect their relationship with community residents

POLICE USE OF DEADLY FORCE u 1974 AA 15-year old boy shot and killed after fleeing with a stolen purse containing $10 u Memphis police acted upon fleeing felon rule u parents sued and in 1985 the Supreme Court declared the rule unconstitutional in Tennessee vs. Garner

CONTROLLING THE POLICE u Defense of life rule limiting shootings to those who pose threat to police u Police officers required to fill out a report when using a weapon and will be investigated u POLICE USE OF FORCE: particularly against those of low SES u Most force used is intra-racial u More racial minorities (AA) arrested compared to whites

ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICING OR “QUALITY OF LIFE” u When police officers focus on minor crimes e.g. urinating in public u Some argue that this reduced levels of crime, others argued that this abused police power in harassing individuals RACIAL PROFILING u What is it u Does it really exist

3 different forms of racial profiling n Like the War on Drugs. Targeting AA and Hispanics because of the belief that they are more likely to be engaged in drug trafficking. n Stopping citizens who appear to be “out of place” n Crackdown on Crime. Get tough on crime issues. Stop and frisk.

n NOTE: more AA stopped for routine traffic checks compared with whites n How can we control for that??? n Civil rights groups demand data collection on all traffic stops n Officers report to a dispatch the car they’re stopping and the reason for doing so

n PERF report states that police officers should be courteous when stopping someone and provide a reason for the stop. n The Customs Bureau. Requires reasons for their supervisors before searching someone. AA women were more likely to be searched. After implementing policy, less innocent people were being searched

n STREET STOPS AND FRISKS n Field interrogation (FI). To make people aware that the police is there and aware of their actions n But the Kerner commission found that this created conflict between police and minority. Young AA and Hispanics were singled out

n Problem is that police wanted to use their own discretion n Skolnick argues that stereotyping is built in police officers personality n Randall Kennedy argues that race should not be the sole factor

n Verbal abuse is also a problem in police work, especially when referring to ethnic minorities n Police officers attitudes and behaviors also change depending on the race of the individual (even prejudiced against surnames)

n Education and sensitivity training has contributed to a decline in discriminatory actions and behaviors n Police corruption. Especially in minority neighborhoods. Taking bribes to protect drug trades. Identified by the NY Knapp commission in 1970s, “meat eaters” and “grass eaters.”

n Police community relations (PCR) n Speaking at schools n “ride along” to see policing form an officer’s perspective n Some implemented this but in different forms, community policing, reaching out to minorities, etc

n Police employment practices n During segregation era (1890s-1960s) some cities did not hire AA officers n Employment discrimination occurs in 3 different forms: 1. Recruitment 2. Promotion 3. Assignment to shifts and specialized areas

n Things changed from the 1960s on. More employment of racial minorities n BUT do they really represent their communities. n EEO index shows the percentage of employed minority compared to the entire population n More bilingual officers to deal with citizen complaints

How did society respond to employment discrimination n 14 th amendment to the U.S. constitution: no state shall deny to any person the equal protection of the laws n Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion.

n 1972 EEO Act extended title VII to state and local governments n Discrimination in assignment: AA police officers were not allowed to arrest whites or patrol white neighborhoods

The impact of DIVERSITY n Impact on the subculture of a police department n Good or bad? How do we define diversity?