Policing is a vital service which helps communities function efficiently and safely. However it is not without flaws. One current issue that plagues the U.S. is that past offenders are not properly re-integrated into their communities. A second issue is that racial bias exist in policing. A third issue is the use of excessive force by the police.
Ex-convicts often have a difficult time being reintroduced to a community. Not only are convicts looked down upon socially; they are also not eligible for welfare, student loans, public housing, and food stamps. There are abandoned not only by their peers but by their government. It is also difficult for past criminals to find employment. A Bureau of Justice study found a small 12.5% of employers say they would consider an applicant with a criminal record. Housing is also difficult to come by for an ex-offender. In Tarrant County of Texas a 2011 homeless survey found 76 of the 410 people surveyed were unemployed because of their criminal record. Such deterring truths encourages ex-offender to return to crime. Some even turn to suicide. The purpose of policing is not only to punish offenders but to correct him/her. This cannot be accomplished if they are denied basic needs such as shelter and employment.
There is a disproportionate amount of minorities in jails and prisons. 1 in 17 Anglo men is expected to serve time in prison during his lifetime, compared with 1 in 6 Hispanic men and 1 in 3 African-American men. It is evident that there is a racial bias in policing. Recently the death of Eric Garner has brought the issue of racial profiling to the public eye. Across the U.S. black people are stopped, searched, arrested and imprisoned at rates higher than people of other races. For example in the city of Dearborn over half of the people arrested in 2011 and 2012 were black. However, only 4% of the city’s population is black. This is an issue which cannot be ignored. We do not completely understand the cause of this pattern. However, we do see the consequences. Racial profiling lessens the public’s trust of the police.
Another issue in policing that has arisen into the public eye from the Eric Garner case is police brutality or use of excessive force. This may be attributed to a lack of adequate police training. The U.S. Department of Justice has found that several police agencies, including Seattle, New Orleans, Portland, Newark and Albuquerque practice excessive force in policing. The department of justice has recommended “…revising and clarifying local policies regarding appropriate uses of force, improving officer training and supervision, and implementing rigorous internal accountability systems…” Use of excessive force also lessens the public’s trust. It is necessary for the police to have a good relationship with the public in order to serve their community in the best way possible.
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The issue of reintegration of ex-convicts into society really caught my attention. While reluctancy to hire an ex-con is understandable from an employers point of view, it puts the former prisoners in a compromising position and makes it very difficult for them to break out of the cycle of crime. This presents a difficult question; how is a problem, so deeply rooted in societal stigmas, resolved? Can employers be forced to hire criminals? Or is it the job of the government to create programs to reintegrate ex-convicts? Reintroduction into society was a matter that was extremely prevalent in the article “Before the Law” about Kalief Browder. The article spoke about the detrimental effects that his incarceration had on his life after prison. His harsh treatment, by inmates and officers alike, created severe psychological issues which made it difficult for him to find employment and placed him in this same cycle of crime. I thought it was interesting that you brought up both the reintegration of ex-convicts and police brutality, because I think the article made a connection between the two. The brutality that some prisoners experience can deter them from actively contributing to society after being released. All of these factors create a viscious web of societal opression for ex-convicts and I am interested to see how you choose to tackle this problem.
Your statement on the problem of disproportionate amount of minorities is extremely interesting. You stated that racial bias is evident and I believe that it’s unavoidable. Racial profiling is definitely a problem to be addressed but we cannot put fewer minorities in jail just because they are minorities. The statistics show us that there are more blacks than whites that are being incarcerated and I feel that we should focus on why more blacks are being caught in action. This might be due to the amount of police in one neighborhood over another or that blacks are being judged in stricter manner. To possibly solve this matter, we could have a system where the race of the defendant remains hidden.
Additionally, I strongly agree on your point of the difficulty ex-convicts have while reentering the community. I also believe that our country lacks a system where ex-convicts have a second chance to redeem themselves and work for the country. To solve this matter, I believe that the government should create a training program for these ex-convicts to learn certain skills so that they may enter the society once again. Also, employment should not only depend on whether they have criminal record or not, but depending on what crimes they committed and the time they spend training and redeeming themselves.
I especially agree with the problem about improper re-integration of prisoners into society. I believe that this is the true fundemental fault of the whole police system. People, and especially youth, who are incarcerated cannot properly become functional members of society. Spending even a few years in such an environment where someone is frequently abused, living in solitary, with no sort of educational stimuli can leave someoone with lasting scars. For example, the article we read on Browder perfectly portrays this instance, where this boy lost two of the most important years of his life in jail. He never finished highschool, was not able to go on to college and have a career like his past peers. Which is why I firmly believe that the system needs to be greatly reformed, because it is clear that such punishments such as jail time instead of making someone a better citizen in fact encourage the opposite. I also agree with the problem regarding the faulty training of police which often leads rash and unnecessarily violent reactions to situations that could be handled differently.