Courtelenay Pass report

• The issue of police racial profiling is evidently portrayed in the situational report as indicated by the complaints especially among young black men about biasness and excessive, unnecessary force against them
• The representation of the minority groups in the police force is also an issue as per the report where the demographics of agency do not mirror the community since 94 percent in the department consist of white while the only minorities work in support roles.
• An important issue in the situational report is racial bias in criminal justice system, especially perpetrated by police as seen where the police ignore the case of 9 year old African American, a victim of crime which is dismissed as snake bite
• The issue of aggressive war on drug and policing and it impact in reducing drug activity at the street level is prominent in the report. The police engage in aggressive pursuit of drug peddlers and yet drug proliferation and related crimes remain high in the city.
• Police brutality and how it affects the policy community relationship is seen as paramount in this report where killing of suspect in drug trafficking has led to riots in minority community and hence stifling the relationship
• The issue of conflict of interest in crime investigation by police is portrayed by the case of Kayla Williams’s murder

Research questions

Is there racial profiling by the police agency in Courtelenay Pass?

 How does lack of minority representation in the police force affect the functions of the agency in the community?

Does racial bias exist in the criminal justice system against the minority?

Does aggressive war on drug peddling help in reducing drug proliferation and related crimes?

How does policy brutality affect the relationship of the agency with the community and its effectiveness?

How does conflict of interest affect crime investigation by the police agency?

 

Annotated Bibliography

Liqun, C. (2011). Visible Minorities and Confidence in the Police. Canadian Journal Of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 53(1), 1-26. doi:10.3138/cjccj.53.1.1

The researchers in this article examined the issue of minorities’ presence in the police force and how it affects the public confidence in the agency. In the theoretical review, the assessment find outs that democratic society mostly shows confidence in the police force but such sentiments are held equality across the society. Minority groups with few representations in the police have lower confidence that white majority who are well represented. Consistent with this view, multivariate analysis results shows that individuals from visible minority groups hold lower confidence levels that those of visible minorities. Such cases are also replicated in the community context and the perceptions.

Horrace, W. C., & Rohlin, S. M. (2016). How dark is dark? Bright lights, big city, racial profiling. Review of Economics and Statistics, 98(2), 226-232.

 

The article investigates the case the frequencies of black driver being stopped in comparison to the non-blacks. The article involves using a shift in daytime saving time in developing a test for racial profiling by police. The test is also based on the visibility of the driver’s race and the distribution of traffic stops during the day and night. The test is done using location of streetlights in Syracuse sections , NY and the results are seen to be indicate cases of black drivers’ profiling. The specifications of the study  suggests that there is 15 % more chances that black drivers will be stopped during the day than in darkness. 

Katz, L. R. (2016). WHREN AT TWENTY: SYSTEMIC RACIAL BIAS AND THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM. Case Western Reserve Law Review, 66(4), 923-929

The article looks into the recent incidents of police street relations with the African –American communities and especially on the basis of recent killing of Tamir Rice and others .The article also provides an assessment of the available evidence including video of the boy and the toy boy he was playing with. The assessments suggest that such material evidence discredits the claim by police about the culprits attempt to save his life. Viewed against the 4^th Amendment, the author sees the actions of the law enforcement offices as selective enforcement which is against the constitution.

Henry, F., & Tator, C. (2011). Rejoinder to Satzewich and Shaffir on 'Racism versus Professionalism: Claims and Counter-claims about Racial Profiling'. Canadian Journal Of Criminology & Criminal Justice, 53(1), 65. doi:10.3138/cjccj.53.1.65

The article focuses on the critiquing the various qualitative studies that depend heavily on victims experiences on racial profiling. The authors suggest that the focus should be on policing subculture rather than claims. The article alludes to subculture of the police as providing a good environment for racism.

 

Milner, A. N., George, B. J., & Allison, D. B. (2016). Black and Hispanic men perceived to be large are at increased risk for police frisk, search, and force. PloS one, 11(1), e0147158.

 

 The article focuses on social justice and the differential treatment of various demographics in the criminal justice system. The study results shows that Hispanic and black me who are tall and heavy are more likely to be frisked and searched by police.

Cooper, H. L. (2015). War on Drugs Policing and Police Brutality. Substance Use & Misuse, 50(8/9), 1188-1194. doi:10.3109/10826084.2015.1007669

The article aim at exploring the relationship between Wars on Drugs strategies of policing, the violence meted on black people in US and how the policing strategies have failed to reduce domestic drug activity at the street-level. The results show the mutual constitution of racism and policing in US and the policing strategies have provided an environment for police brutality against these minority group.

Coleman, S. (2005). Conflict of Interest and Police: An Unavoidable Problem. Criminal Justice Ethics, 24(2), 3-11.

The article addresses the issue of conflict of interest among the police officers and why this is mostly an unavoidable problem. The article also high lights the need for the police officers to inform their superiors of the existing conflict of interest while handling various cases and how to deal with it.

Higgins, G., Gabbidon, S., & Vito, G. (2010). Exploring the influence of race relations and public safety concerns on public support for racial profiling during traffic stops. International Journal Of Police Science & Management, 12(1), 12-22. doi:10.1350/ijps.2010.12.1.155

The article explores the issues of race relations and safety views on opinion in relation to racial profiling in various traffic stops. The results of the study shows that perceptions on race relations affected public opinion about racial profiling during traffic stops and but safety opinions did not affect the perception.

Ramirez, M. (2015). Racial Discrimination, Fear of Crime, and Variability in Blacks' Preferences for Punitive and Preventative Anti-crime Policies. Political Behavior, 37(2), 419. doi:10.1007/s11109-014-9285-1

The article involves an expansion of research on people’s opinion on crimes and uses data from a national survey among black Americans. The analysis shows the willingness for crime reduction and views on rampant racial discrimination while seeking justice.

Meares, T. L. (2017). THE PATH FORWARD: IMPROVING THE DYNAMICS OF COMMUNITY-POLICE RELATIONSHIPS TO ACHIEVE EFFECTIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES. Columbia Law Review, 117(5), 1355-1368.

The article describes the complex interrelationship between the police and the community, how they work as a safeguard against crime and why it is important to have information on crime. The article also provides a way forward in enhancing the police-community relationship.

 

 

 

 

Literature review

The perception that the minority groups are well represented in the police force enhance the confidence the minority group has on the police agency. Where individuals feel that they are not represented in the law enforcement, they hold low confidence in the police who are mandated to maintain law and order. The issue of racial profiling is present in police force considering that black and Hispanic community members are more likely to be stopped by police officers than those from white community. The above studies provide enough evidence to show the rampart case of discrimination in the criminal justice system against the poor and minority groups in the society. The cases of police brutality while dealing with crime such as drug peddling and abuse results to poor interrelationship with the community involved and this makes it hard for law enforces to effectively perform their duties. The injustices meted on the minority groups and the attempt to claim that the victims were armed goes against the individuals rights spelt out in the 4^th Amendment.  On the other hand, the issue of racial profiling should be studied and addressed from a wider perspective and hence include the role of police subculture and how it provide an environment for discrimination. Through such a consideration , it is possible to decipher the issue of conflict of interest especially when police officers are crime suspects and where the culture encourages their protection by colleagues.