To Combat Racism in Law Enforcement, Start Young
Katheryn Russell-Brown is a professor of law and the director of the Center
for the Study of Race and Race Relations at the University of Florida. She is
the author of"The Color of Crime."
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
When I teach about issues of race and crime, I have my university students write down the
stereotypes1and images most associated with race and gender. Over the past 22 years, my
students’ depictions of black men have been overwhelmingly negative — “criminal,” “violent,”
“thug” and “drug dealer,” are typical offerings. Only after Barack Obama became president did
students begin to offer positive stereotypes for black men.
The problem with racism in law enforcement is part of our larger problem with racism. As early
as elementary school, young children begin to internalize the belief that black men represent
crime and deviance2— what I refer to as the "criminalblackman." Our children’s racial attitudes
take shape based on their formal and informal exposures to race, including the adult
conversations they overhear, dinnertime talk, schoolyard pronouncements, classroom discussions
and nonverbal communications that express chagrin or disgust at news stories involving blacks.
These entrenched images only deepen with time. Unchecked, individual racism becomes fullblown and deepens institutional racism3.
You can graduate from high school in this country without taking a single class that focuses on
history and race. A high school diploma can be earned without any knowledge of slave patrols,
black codes, the KKK, race riots, lynching, sundown towns, the Tuskegee syphilis experiment,
redlining, white flight, freedom riders and mass incarceration.
This educational void has consequences for law enforcement, especially when we consider that
there is little to temper the widespread media images that link black skin and crime. These images
are on daily display in the news, morning and evening. What’s more, because of segregation
patterns in housing, most whites do not have substantive daily interactions with blacks — they
“learn” about blacks through the media. In one study, police and civilians participating in video
simulations were more likely to associate blacks with criminality. In another study, which also
used video simulations, participants were more likely to "see" weapons in the hands of blacks
(when none existed) and more likely to shoot black suspects than white suspects (and to shoot
them more quickly). This combination — pervasive4 images of black deviance, lack of historical
knowledge, implicit bias5 and a firearm — is lethal.
Law enforcement collectively represents what we think about crime and who we perceive as the
real criminals. Diversity training for officers, which is only required in some states, is a minimal
back-end approach. Integrating racial history into the K-12 curriculum, creating opportunities for
meaningful student interactions across races and increasing teacher diversity would be
meaningful ways to combat racism.
Let’s teach and talk about race early and often. Let’s insist that what happened in Ferguson stand
for more than another name in the mind-numbing body count of unarmed black men killed by the
police.
1
Stereotype - a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of
person or thing.
2
Deviance - the fact or state of departing from usual or accepted standards.
3
Institutional Racism - a pattern of social institutions - such as governmental organizations,
schools, courts of law, etc. - giving negative treatment to a group of people based on race.
4
Pervasive - spreading widely throughout an area or a group of people
5
Implicit Bias - prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with
another, usually in a way considered to be unfair that is not expressed directly.
In Assessing Police Racism, Note Racial Disparity1 in
Criminal Activity
Alfred Blumstein is a University Professor and the J. Erik Jonsson Professor of Urban
Systems and Operations Research at the H. John Heinz III College of Public Policy
and Management of Carnegie Mellon University.
SEPTEMBER 1, 2014
I wish it were otherwise, but I am concerned that racial tension associated with crime and
law enforcement will be with us for a long time. We should try, through better selection
and training, to purge any vestiges2 of racism from all those involved in law enforcement,
and I have little doubt that we have seen progress in those areas. Nevertheless, as long as
there is racism in the society, some of that will always seep through.
That problem is exacerbated3 by the disproportionate4 involvement of minorities in
serious crimes. According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports, the per capita5 arrest
rate for robbery of blacks is about 7.3 times that of whites and about 5.9 times for
murder. It would be hard to attribute all of that to racial profiling.
Those crime differences lead to more intensive police attention and patrol presence in the
poorer minority communities, increasing the possibility of excessive6 responses or even
reasonable responses being interpreted as excessive.
Stop-and-frisk patterns can become excessive and too often crudely and insensitively
administered. But even if done carefully and with sensitivity, such intrusions would
disproportionately show up in the poorer minority neighborhoods because that is where
the presence of guns in the street pose the greatest risks. All that interaction with great
potential for conflict can easily lead to greater hostility between those two worlds,
increased risk of misinterpretation on both sides, and potentially lead to escalating
tensions and hostility.
Political balance with appropriate concern for minority needs has happened in most of
our cities. Recruitment of minorities into police forces should contribute to greater
understanding and sensitivity to community concerns. All of this is going on, especially
in cities, and that has undoubtedly contributed to a reduction in the rate of hostile or
insensitive police actions toward minorities.
But untoward7 incidents will occur as a result of fear or panic on one side or another,
and that will demand a rapid and honest response from leadership on both sides. That
doesn’t always happen, and the consequence is most likely a hostile response on at least
one side if not both - a further escalation of the tensions.
1
Disparity - great difference
Vestige - a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists
3
Exacerbate - to make a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling worse
4
Disproportionate - too large or too small in comparison with something else
5
Per Capita - per unit of population; per person
6
Excessive - more than is necessary, normal, or desirable
7
Untoward - unexpected and inappropriate or inconvenient
2
Bias1 Is Universal. Awareness Can Assure Justice
Neill Franklin is the executive director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.
He was a narcotics officer and a commander of training with the Maryland State
Police and the Baltimore Police Department.
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2, 2014, 12:13 PM
We all have biases. Skin color, sex, even height, weight and hair style – these all play a role in
how we perceive others. Our minds are constantly picking up on things of which we are not
consciously aware and using those evaluations to guide our behavior. Malcolm Gladwell has
called this phenomenon “thin-slicing,” and in general, the ability to rapidly assess the situation
around us has been advantageous from an evolutionary standpoint, when the ability to quickly,
autonomically2 assess the threats around us could make the difference between passing on our
genes to the next generation and getting speared by an enemy too easily trusted.
The problem is, stereotypes3 in the media and the way our society is structured have skewed the
calculation of how we assess threats. From slavery to Jim Crow to the war on drugs, we have
criminalized and demonized young men of color to such an extent that a pair of baggy jeans and
oversized shirt is sometime mistaken for probable cause4.
I understand how deeply ingrained5 this cultural training can be; even as a black man, I have at
times found myself subject to these same prejudices. When I was a cop, I’d see a young black
man in a certain neighborhood, and suspicions would start running through my head. “Is he a
drug dealer?” “Is that really his car?” These thoughts came unbidden6, yet they were there. That
doesn’t make me a racist – it makes me human. The key isn’t to feel guilty about our biases –
guilt tends toward inaction. It’s to become consciously aware of them, minimize them to the
greatest extent possible, and constantly check in with ourselves to ensure we are acting based on a
rational assessment of the situation rather than on stereotypes and prejudice.
This is particularly important for law enforcement officers who, as agents of the state, have a
particular responsibility to ensure we treat the communities we serve fairly. Power plus prejudice
is a deadly combination in a democratic society, and we need to train law enforcement in how to
spot implicit bias7 before it affects their actions. Such programs are currently being considered in
San Francisco and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office and should be instituted across the
nation. We also need strong civilian review boards, with subpoena8 power and the ability to issue
binding decisions, which signal to officers and communities alike that charges of bias are taken
seriously and will be faced transparently9 in partnership with the community.
We all have biases. What matters is how we act upon them.
1
Bias - prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another,
usually in a way considered to be unfair.
2
Autonomic - occurring involuntarily or unconsciously; automatic
3
Stereotype - a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of
person or thing.
4
Probable Cause - reasonable grounds for making a search, pressing a charge, etc.
5
Ingrain - firmly fix or establish a habit, belief, or attitude in a person
6
Unbidden - without having been commanded or invited
7
Implicit Bias - prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with
another, usually in a way considered to be unfair that is not expressed directly.
8
Subpoena - a written command ordering a person to attend court
9
Transparent - open to public examination.
Better Training, Transparency1 and Accountability
Could Tackle Racial Bias2
Kami Chavis Simmons, a former federal prosecutor, is a professor of law at
Wake Forest University School of Law.
Updated September 2, 2014, 12:15 PM
Most police officers fulfill their duties with professionalism and integrity. But the purity of one
individual officer’s motives is not the real issue in the post-Ferguson debate. Rather, there is a
broader concern about systemic3 issues that contribute to racial disparities4 within our criminal
justice system.
Poor urban communities with high concentrations of minorities, are policed in an entirely
different manner than other areas. Local law enforcement officials are keenly aware of the
political disenfranchisement5 within these communities and frequently use forceful tactics such
as raids and indiscriminate stops and frisks that do not exist in more affluent6 communities.
Evidence demonstrates that police disproportionately7 stop, search and arrest blacks and Latinos
when compared with their white counterparts. These contacts with the police are the portal to the
criminal justice system and may explain minorities’ disproportionate incarceration rates. Yet our
current legal principles make it difficult to address implicit8 racial bias. Claims of racial
discrimination are nearly impossible to prove in court without evidence of intentional
wrongdoing.
Racial bias, whether explicit9 or implicit, does not have to remain an intractable problem in
policing, and there are several ways to make it better. First, although the Fourth Amendment
prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures, the Supreme Court interprets this principle in a
manner that allows stops based on reason and does not require officers to inform citizens they
have a right to refuse to consent to an officer’s request to search. Local officials, however, are
free to provide greater protection than the Constitution demands and can develop rules that
restrict the arbitrary discretion10 of police officers and better inform individuals of their rights.
Second, police departments should implement structural reforms that address aspects of an
institutional police culture that tolerate and sustain bias. Emphasis on training, supervision and
appropriate discipline for the small number of problem officers raises the professionalism of the
entire department. Requiring dash cameras, and collecting and publishing information on stops
and searches will increase transparency and accountability.
Finally, local police departments must abandon militarized police tactics that antagonize residents
and create partnerships with community members that empower them to help keep their
communities safe.
1
Transparency - open to public examination
Bias - prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another,
usually in a way considered to be unfair.
3
Systemic 4
Disparity - great difference
5
Disenfranchise - to deprive someone a right or privilege
6
Affluent - wealthy
7
Disproportionate - too large or too small in comparison with something else
8
Implicit - not expressed directly
9
Explicit - expressed directly
10
Arbitrary Discretion - a decision that is made wrongfully due unsound reasons.
2