The introduction of slavery in the 1950s and 1960s
Introduction
Police and community relations has been a point of discussion. Various factors have impacted on the relationship between police and civilians. These factors include geographical location, race, gender, and personal experience. There have been differences between African and American communities in the past years because of racism. These papers try to review the effects of police brutality.
Racism
The introduction of slavery in the 1950s and 1960s
according to Embrick (2015) has led to the increased brutality associated with race. He further suggested that the urge to control and portray blacks as weak and inferior confirmed the white supremacy. The main analogy was to keep them in order, and under social control, however, this turned to be criminal injustice against blacks. Racial bullying, brutality is still a phenomenon to the present. Even after the end of slavery, blacks remain a target of white supremacy in the United States. Embrick (2015) suggested that that the present-day brutality emanates from institutionalized racist foundations, which were initially developed to deter Blacks, and other minorities from progressing academically, socially, or economically. He further affirms that there have been constant reports of injustices experienced by the blacks from police forces across the nations. According to Embrick
(2015) the recent killing of Blacks by law enforcement officers nationwide without justifiable cause showcased the lack of respect for the lives of the blacks in the united states, which is grounded in historical racism and marginalization of blacks.
Excessive force
In the United States, there is no trust of law enforcement officers among Blacks due to perceived beliefs by that Blacks are of less value and therefore are readily dispensable. Similarly, the existing long-held view of the dominant group has a preoccupation with population control over the behavior of the minorities. This could relate to the increased incidents of police brutality and the deaths of blacks in the perception of maintaining the social and behavior of minorities (Crump et al., 2015).
Police perceptions
The use of police force is appropriate and justifiable only if it’s used to accomplish police duties. The set rule of the use of a firearm is that in case the police are trying to protect his life or another life that is in stake (Crump et al., 2015). The practice of excessive physical force is assumed to be police misbehavior and can be termed as acts of police brutality from the legal perspective.
Most often, when there is shooting there is always the presence of a weapon which justifies that the police were in danger, and he was trying to protect himself. Nonetheless, when deadly physical force is exercised by law enforcement agents who have shot the blacks,most police officers end up reporting that they felt threatened or experienced a sense of fear as the reason for discharging the weapon (Crump et al., 2015). Also, individuals were perceived concerning their behavior. For example, those who were stopped or arrested and were drunk were seen to be negative and considered to be illegal, hence faced disciplinary measures from the police.
According to Najdowski et al. (2015), there is extensive research on how blacks are perceived. It is believed that members of this group are violent and are generally criminals, which accounts for the racial differences in the outcome of the judicial system in comparison to other groups in the United States. Additionally, the perception of blacks as hostile and aggressive according to psychological research adversely affects the way people view, make judgments, and think about them. This subconscious interlink between blacks and criminal activity could change how law enforcement officials react when facing criminal encounters with Blacks. James et al. (2016) suggested that police shot Blacks because of threat perception failure.
Black Perception
Another reason why police brutality continues to escalate is because of the Black experience in society. It is possible that after encountering all the negativity and biasness fro the police the Blacks may react in a manner which aligns with perceived stereotypes held on subconscious and conscious level, this might make blacks responding in a way that the law might deem deceptive, thereby increasing the chances of innocent blacks being viewed as exhibiting guilty behavior by police officer. A survey was done by Najdowski et al. (2015) between 49 Blacks and 184 White Americans regarding the extent to which they were disturbed by the probability of being seen unjustly by law enforcement officials. The result showed that blacks were the majority.
Perception of those at the low socio-Economic Levels
Another way of affirming police brutality is by looking at the Black experience in society. From a sociological view, the police are more brutal towards the poor, young, and not people from the high class. This makes police brutality to be perceived as an indicator of social structure divide among race and social class in the United States. Furthermore, police from lower-income neighborhoods, there is a possibility of danger, which could be seen as a decrease in the policy security level.
Police Training
During training, the cadets encounter deadly situations, and they are also trained in using force. The training is mainly purposed to desensitize the cadets from psychologically resisting the use of deadly force in a real-life setting. This training is a defense mechanism against fatal encounters. However, the practice does not include the real-life consequences that result in mortality and wounding a suspect.
Possible solutions
Police brutality affects an individual and the society but mostly the blacks. This situation can be controlled. This can be enhanced through proper police training that entails reasoning and stopping before acting when under circumstances of danger. Additionally, research has shown that learning and understanding various groups in society. Additionally, community police training is vital as it can lead to better relationships with the community members and minimize perceptions of threats.
Conclusion
Police brutality continues to increase because the officials in command tolerate it. The focus has mainly been o police officers as opposed to the real deal who are the administrative officials. Minorities always experience the consequences, especially Blacks. This can be improved through the identification of the causes and trying to resolve them.