Police deal with different races every day. They’re not racist; they’re careful. Now, they’re under fire for cracking down on laws. But research shows civilians aren’t at risk; the police are. There are people dying in the hands of cops, and cops lives end in the hands of people. Certainly, there wasn’t always this much controversy, and there is no way to explain the outbursts in these new generations of law enforcement. Facts and research prove the theories are wrong. Despite the current debate about racial bias within law enforcement, research shows that police are no more likely to treat civilians differently because of race.
Past in the law Enforcement. Police and civilians have not always had a poisonous relationship. The term ‘police brutality’ was first used in 1872, when a report on the beating of a civilian under arrest. At this time no one know what happened and if the civilian did something terribly wrong, but everyone was raged when they found out it was an unnecessary beating. The police have ever since been under fire for using excessive force upon citizens. It is claimed that, “It could change everything because you’re dealing with life and death… Unfortunately, decisions are made in split-seconds because that’s how quick your life can be taken” (NewsOne). Afterall Police have always killed people, it’s not a new trend. However the fact the cops have started punching and body slamming people to the ground is different. Quite honestly, we don’t hear about the blacks getting shot anymore and it is not because they stopped shooting but the fact were so used to hearing about it. The outbreaks before are no less important than now, and the uprising amounts of people who either risk their lives to come at police officers or officers intruding into their territory are rising. It’s a matter of life and death at every traffic stop now, and it could be anyone who doesn’t go home that day.
The debate of law enforcement and race. Studies have been done on this topic fall in line with findings by the National Bureau of Economic Research and based on shootings in major police departments in Texas, Florida, and California. Research reported that police officers are more likely to pepper-spray, handcuff, tase, or point a weapon at a black person during an encounter than they are to anyone else due to caution. Police use weapons as a backup plan. Not like they are waiting to use it on someone, but need it to be prepared if needed. There is some confusion on how American police use their power more than police in other countries, however the evidence is ignoring the fact that we also have much higher rates of crime than those nations. In fact, 9% of black individuals who were killed by police during their arrest were not attacking at the time of the killing.
However in most, and almost all police shootings, the participants were not listening or reached for something without permission. In these cases weapons were found in the car within reach. Police have shot black people, no doubt about it. That is saying it was not just for fun there was a valued reason for the reactions due to negative actions. Furthermore, as an example a young man’s brutal death at the hands of the police is found justified in a court of law due to his “suspicious” appearance: a black hoodie and his hands in his pocket. Police stereotype people from past experiences just like anyone else strolling down the street. Therefore everyone gets treated as someone who will attack. Therefore everyone gets treated like they might attack, the precaution is always there. However blacks are more likely to have more officers, meaning more guns. Police and citizens are acting out with no way to explain it.
Race doesn’t change the way police treat civilians. Hence, ´When African Americans and Latinos are stopped and questioned by police, they are no more likely to be killed or seriously injured than are white people drawn into similar encounters with the police, says a new study(Healy). People of different races are not like to be shot unless they are disobeying laws and a threat to people around them. According to the Police-Public Contact Survey (Produced every three years by the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics). The survey asks more than 60,000 people about their interactions with the police. According to the results the statement they made was “Who is killing these black victims? Not whites, and not the police, but other blacks, the police have much more to fear from black males than black males have to fear from the police”. Black people are not afraid of the police, but the police are afraid of different races because of past experiences and the impulsive acts out on police.
Granted the new findings in this research shows that police officers are no more likely to fire on an unarmed black person or on an unarmed white person(Healy). The probability of a police officer dying on the job is greater than the probability of any race getting harmed by the police. This is because people are more likely to act out now than ever before, blacks and latinos in particular. As a result the research done in studies it does not matter the skin color of the police officer, black are just as likely to kill as white, but it is the civilian who goes against order putting everyone at risk (Healy). There is proof that non white officers kill both black and Latino at higher rates than white officers.
Minority police officers tend to be assigned to minority neighborhoods as therefore have more contact with minority suspects who can bond better than white officer could. The police departments put minorities on jobs in minority towns just so the civilians feel a bond and won’t feel at danger, man different company choose this as a way to keep the minorities from thinking they are at danger (Jacobs). Meanwhile the date shows that Two-thirds of unarmed people of any race killed by police had been in the process of a disruption. Fourteen percent were in domestic violence, ten percent were committing a robbery, 20 percent a burglary (including vandalism), and 21 percent assault on another civilian. However, they are called by other public members worried for their own safety and know the other person is in the wrong and want it to stop. Police don’t just go and chase black people waiting for their mistake.
Despite the current debate about racial bias within law enforcement, research shows that police are not more likely to treat civilians differently because of race. Police haven’t always been violent with their civilians. Police deal with different races every day every, and every time they get a call its a risk of life or death. The law enforcement officers are not racist; they’re careful and need to be ready for anything. They are now under fire for cracking down on laws people seem to neglect and are getting called nazis for trying to keep the community safe.
