Author Archives: Caroline D. Pena

Posts by Caroline D. Pena

New York City Public Health Problems and Solutions

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Caroline D. Pena

New York City faces may health issues that cause preventable illness and premature death among New Yorkers. These include the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and recognizing and treating Depression. Addressing these health issues is made even more difficult due to disparities in health found in different areas of New York City. New Yorks living in high poverty neighborhoods and ethnic groups disproportionately experience higher rates of preventable illness and premature death. These areas include South Bronx, East and Central Harlem and North and Central Brooklyn, which suffer from limited access to healthy food options, poor housing quality and limited safe spaces for recreation. (Source 1) Many policies have been made to address these problems; however, I believe that it’s important to try to find solutions on a more neighborhood-based level.

New York City is statistically home to the country’s largest population of people living with HIV/AIDS. More than 113,000 New Yorkers are living with

HIV/AIDS and thousands are unaware that they are infected at all. (Source 1) Deaths among people with AIDS have decreased by 45% over the last decade, which is historically low; however, the amount of people infected remains at a high rate.

Fewer African Americans are dying from HIV-related diseases; however, they remain disproportionately burdened by HIV/AIDS as nearly 45% of New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS are black. In 2011, homosexual men accounted for 66% of new diagnoses among those with known HIV transmission risk. (Source 2).

Stress and depression rates in New York City also remain at an all time high. More than 400,000 New Yorkers are affected each year. Treatments are highly effective; however, depression is often undetected and untreated. Only one in three of individuals suffering from depression in New York City receive treatment. Depression is the second leading cause of healthy years of life lost in New York City. (Source 1) In 2012, more than 50% of black and Hispanic adults had untreated serious psychological distress. Younger New Yorkers have higher rates of depression than older. Those in their 20’s and 30’s are affected at about twice the rate of people over 60. Depression is often an illness that is put on the back burner, due to the fact that is purely psychological and its effects are not promptly visible; however it is a disabling and fatal illness and needs treatment. Depression can undermine overall health and wellbeing. It is the leading cause of suicide and affects all aspects of live – work, family, and friendships. (Source 3)

STD and HIV/AIDS rates and depression are two very separate problems that ail New York City and its residents; however, I believe both can be addressed jointly. Community efforts and involvement can greatly diminish the rate at which these illnesses target individuals. In New York City, there is little to no sense of community or togetherness. If community efforts such as neighborhood yoga classes and STD awareness workshops are created, not only is information being released and publicized, a sense of togetherness and unity is also instilled, which is important to have in order to create a network of support in the City.

 

Sources:

  1. A Policy for a Healthier New York City. (n.d.). Retrieved May 6, 2015, from http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/tcny/tcny-5year-report2013.pdf
  2. Fund for Public Health NY. (n.d.). Retrieved May 6, 2015, from http://www.fphny.org/topics/stop-the-spread-of-hiv-and-other-sexually-transmitted-infections
  3. Fund for Public Health NY. (n.d.). Retrieved May 6, 2015, from http://www.fphny.org/programs/recognize-and-treat-depression

Gender Lens on Economic Growth Solutions

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Caroline D. Pena

As recent research has shown, gender issues in the workplace not only affect women, but our economic growth and society overall. Therefore, it is important for us, as a nation, to dedicate ourselves to finding a solution to gender disparity and the gender wage gap. I believe one solution could address the multitude of problems that women are faced with: empowerment

. A major issue that women face is lack of presence in leadership positions and in high-paying and professional careers, such as engineering and academia. Several studies have been done on why these fields are so male dominated and results have shown that women often feel uncomfortable attempting to enter a profession where they have little support and often times, where sexism still exists. Empowering women in the workforce means giving them the comfort and the confidence they need to follow their goals, despite the odds. The importance of empowering women and promoting gender equality in the workplace is documented in “The Business of Empowering Women,” a survey done of 2,300 business executives. It was found that companies that focused on empowering women reported growth within their business. A third of businesses reported that their investments in their female employees resulted in an increase in profits. Another third reported their investments were expected to grow in the short-term. (Source 1) This should give businesses the incentive to take measures not only for women and our nations economic growth, but also for their businesses’ advantage.

The pay gap between men and women has barely budged in a decade. In 2013, among full-time, year-round workers, women were paid 78 percent of what men were paid. Women face a pay gap in nearly every occupation. From elementary and middle school teachers to computer programmers, women are paid less than men in female-dominated, gender-balanced and male-dominated occupations. While higher education is an effective toll for increasing earnings, it has no effect on the wage gap. At every level of academic achievement, women’s median earnings are less than men’s and even in some cases; the gender pay gap is larger at higher levels of education. (Source 2) Faced with all the statistics and data, closing the wage gap seems like a far-fetched dream; however, empowerment may also be the key in this case as well. Surveys have shown that 2.5 times more women than men said they feel “a great deal of apprehension” about negotiating. By not negotiating a first salary, an individual stands to lose more than $500,000 by age 60, and men are more than four times as likely as women to negotiate a first salary. This plays a major role in the wage gap. Women should feel empowered to ask for the salary they believe they deserve and argue for it.

In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly created UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. This was our nation’s first step in accelerating the global goal of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Since then, the “Women’s Empowerment Principles” were created, which outline practical guidance to businesses on how to empower their female employees as well as women in the marketplace and community as well.

In brief, the principles urge businesses to establish high-level corporate leadership for gender equality, treat men and women fairly, ensure the safety of both genders, promote education and professional development for women, implement enterprise development to empower women, and promote equality through community initiatives. (Source 3) I believe that if these principles become engraved in every company and business across the United States, we can see great improvement in our gender disparity problems.

Sources:

  1. Women & Empowerment in the Workplace. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/women-empowerment-workplace-17827.html
  2. The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Spring 2015). (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/
  3. Women’s Empowerment Principles. (n.d.). Retrieved April 28, 2015, from http://www.unwomen.org/en/partnerships/businesses-and-foundations/womens-empowerment-principles

 

Questions for Arielle Kandel

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Caroline D. Pena

1. What do you believe is the biggest issue immigrant women face in New York City?

2. What do you think is the most important program offered in NWNY and why?

Gender Inequality in the United States

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Caroline D. Pena

Gender equality is often identified as a major factor in the economic growth of the United States. This is often illustrated by the participation of women in the workforce. When women are not directly immersed in our labor force, only part of the capable population is utilized and as a result, economic resources are wasted. Gender equality gives women equal opportunities in the work force, allowing them to fill every sector available and applicable to their skills. This leads to an expansion of the labor force and increase in economic productivity. (Source 1).

Despite the data found that shows that gender equality correlates with economic growth of a nation, gender inequality in the American workforce is undeniable. In 1979, women made about 62 percent as much as their male counterparts did; however, as women’s rights and feminism continued to grow and women became empowered this percentage improved. In the 1970s and 1980s, women’s participation grew exponentially, reaching 60 percent in 2000. (Source 1) The equality in pay has increased greatly since the 1970s. In 2013, women were paid seventy-eight percent of what men were paid. (Source 3) This shrinkage of inequality gap might seem like a step in the right direction; however, women’s participation in the U.S labor force has been declining. In 2010, women’s participation in the work force dropped to 46.7 and economics predicted that it would not increase significantly until 2018. (Source 2)

Women’s presence in different sectors of the work force also impact social views and economic growth. Women are mainly present in three main areas: education and health services, trade, transportation and utilities, and local government. They are under represented in professional, scientific and technical services and construction, which are mainly dominated by men. (Source 2) The inequality of the representation of sexes in the work force often leads to occupational inequality, which is the unequal treatment of people based on their gender or race in the work force. Women are also under-represented in leadership positions. In 2009, only 24 percent of CEOs in the United States were women and they earned 74.5 percent as much as male CEOs. (Source 2) Although there has seem to be progress in closing the gender gap in their overall presence in the workforce, the progress in closing the gender gap in leadership presence has been stalled. There hasn’t been much change in the percentage in the past decade. In 2007, companies with three or more women on the Board of Directors averaged 28 times more money in philanthropic donations than those with no women. Companies with 25 percent or more women in leadership positions as Corporate Officers averaged 13 times more philanthropic donations than those with none.

The evidence for the positive impact that gender equality has on our economy and overall nation is overwhelming; however, these problems persist. It is necessary to address these problems if we want the American economy to flourish and grow.

 

Sources

  1. Economic Growth: Gender Equality and Economic Growth. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://sitemaker.umich.edu/sec006group4/gender_equality_and_economic_growth
  2. Gender Inequality and Women in the US Labor Force. (2011, November 23). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://www.ilo.org/washington/areas/gender-equality-in-the-workplace/WCMS_159496/lang–en/index.htm
  3. The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (Spring 2015). (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://www.aauw.org/research/the-simple-truth-about-the-gender-pay-gap/
  4. Fact Sheet: The Women’s Leadership Gap. (n.d.). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/women/report/2014/03/07/85457/fact-sheet-the-womens-leadership-gap/

 

Entrepreneurship: Combating a “Jobless Future”

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Caroline D. Pena

In my previous post I discussed the “jobless future” of our workforce. As technology advances, traditional companies face the issue of being replaced by new alternative and “high-tech” companies, which would cause the loss of jobs. Technological advances also raise the probability of a very futuristic and jobless workforce, in which basic jobs such as taxi drivers and delivery people are done away with. Though there is little to nothing that can actively be done to prevent this, we could find other solutions to generate new jobs to make up for those possibly lost to technology. Entrepreneurship is a powerful driver of innovation, trade and creation. By increasing and promoting entrepreneurship, we can lower the risk of a “jobless future”.

The United States has long been viewed as having among the world’s most entrepreneurial, dynamic and flexible economies. The contribution of startups and young businesses to job creation has been significant over the past couple of years. Most business start-ups exit within their first ten years, and most surviving young businesses do not grow but remain small. However, a small fraction of young firms that do survive show high growth and contribution to job creation. (1) While researching, I came across an article that stated that net job growth occurs in the U.S economy only through start up firms. The article based its findings on the Business Dynamics Statistics, a U.S. government dataset compiled by the Census Bureau, which recorded that on average for the years between 1977 and 2005, existing companies are net job destroyers, losing one million jobs net combined per year. Starting companies on average created 3 million jobs per year.

Advancements in technology do not only have to be viewed as a negative impact on our economy. In reality, these advancements can cause our economy to grow and flourish. I found an article called “Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth: Evidence from GEM data” which correlates technological innovation and entrepreneurial innovation. As more technological advancements are made, more entrepreneurial advancements are made as well. (3) Instead of viewing entrepreneurship as a fighting force against the effects of technological advancements, we could view them as going hand in hand and balancing each other other.

Entrepreneurship has been increasing over the past couple years (3), but in order to combat incoming serious job loss due to technological advances, there needs to be even more start up ventures. In order to do this, I propose introducing teenagers and young adults to the idea of starting their own businesses at a young age. In my high school, I was part of a business program called “Virtual Enterprise” in which my classroom was a business office and my classmates and I all worked together as a start-up business. We learned the ins and outs of running a business and how to create a business plan. From my knowledge on the program, it is only available in select high schools throughout the United States and some colleges. I believe if we implement programs like this and other entrepreneurial awareness programs, we can see a major increase in start-up ventures in the near future and combat job loss.

Sources:

  1. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/jep.28.3.3
  2. http://www.kauffman.org/what-we-do/research/firm-formation-and-growth-series/the-importance-of-startups-in-job-creation-and-job-destruction
  3. http://www.taranomco.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/308.pdf

Questions for Debera Johnson

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Caroline D. Pena

1. Under your leadership, the Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation has helped launched twenty-five design driven enterprises in four sectors: clean energy, fashion, design and design consulting. Which sector would you say you are most passionate about and why?

2. Brooklyn Design & Fashion Accelerator is described as “a hub for ethical fashion and design that provides designers with the resources they need to transform their ideas into successful businesses.” What would you say is the most important resource that you provide to these business and why?

The Future of Work: The Threat of Technology

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Caroline D. Pena

As our current generation matures, graduates from college and moves onto the professional world, we are faced with problems with our position in the work force that were unknown to the generation before us. Job security, company loyalty and making a good living were generally promised in the past, even without a college degree; however, now we face major issues such as advanced technology taking the place of traditional work force systems and laborers, which are the major cause, for what most economists predict, “a jobless future.”(1)

In my opinion, the biggest difference between our generation and those before us is our incredibly advanced technology. Scientists and engineers predict that within two decades we will have almost unlimited energy, food and clean water, advances in medicine that will allow us to live longer and healthier lives, and robots and artificial intelligence that will be able to do tasks for us such as drive our cars, manufacture our goods and do our daily chores. (1) These advances will greatly impact our lifestyles as well as the state of our workforce and how to runs. We have already seen a trend towards alternative-types of companies, completely different than what we are traditionally use to. An example of this is Uber, a car service company and app that was founded in San Francisco, California in 2009. It has only been running for six years but already operates in fifty-three different countries and made more than $1 billion in sales in 2014 alone. SherpaVentures, a venture-capital company, calculated that in 2013 Uber and two other similar car services, Lyft and Sidecar, made $14 million in revenues in San Francisco, which is half of what the established taxi companies made. (2) Another example of this is the upcoming company and app Handy. The company finds its customers self-employed home-helps available in the right place and at the right time. The company provides service in twenty-nine of the biggest cities in the United States, as well as Toronto, Vancouver and six British cities. Much like Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar, Handy has been giving established construction and repair companies a run for their money. Since its founding in 2011, it has raised more than $40 million in venture capital. (2) While these apps and companies are very convenient for consumers, it is causing major issues for companies and laborers. As these companies continue on the rise, they will beat out traditional companies, like taxi services and repair companies, causing many people to lose their jobs.

While traditional companies are in risk of being beat out by these “high-tech” companies, laborers in general are also in risk. One article I found while researching, “We’re heading towards a jobless future, no matter what the government does” by Vivek Wadhwa, painted an incredibly futuristic and “jobless” future:

“Self-driving cars will be commercially available by the end of this decade and will eventually displace human drivers – just as automobiles displaced the horse and bus – and will eliminate the jobs of taxi, bus, and truck drivers. Drones will take the jobs of postman and delivery people … The pesky humans crash into each other, suffer from road rage, rush headlong into traffic jams, and need to be monitored by traffic police … The operating cost of some robots is now less than the salary of an average Chinese worker and unlike humans, robots don’t complain, join labor unions, or get distracted … Robots will take the jobs of farmers, pharmacists and grocery clerks.”

Robots clearly have a great advantage over humans and in times of economic hardship, many companies will choose to “hire” robots rather than humans. While a workforce completely overrun with robots seems like a far stretch, with our continued technological advances it is not impossible.

In 2014, the unemployment rate for the United States was 5.5%. While unemployment rates have been on a relatively steady decrease over the past couple of years, it is still a major issue in our country. With the advancement of technology, some economists predict that we will be faced with another unemployment crisis, one that will be a lot harder to find the solution to. (3)

Sources:

1) http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/innovations/wp/2014/07/21/were-heading-into-a-jobless-future-no-matter-what-the-government-does/

2) http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21637355-freelance-workers-available-moments-notice-will-reshape-nature-companies-and

3) http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate

Policing Solutions

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Caroline D. Pena

Finding a solution that will fix all the problems we can identify as readily wrong with our policing system is problematic. As mentioned in my previous post, I believe that the problems with our police do not lie directly in how the force is run, but in individual officers whose bad behavior catches the media’s attention and gives our overall police force a bad name. There are no laws that we can pass to completely stop problems such as racial profiling, as racism could be considered the root of this specific problem. However, I believe that stricter, more extensive and more reformed police training would be able to militarization of police, lessen police brutality, and abuse of power.

In the 1990s, the United States faced a worsening drug crisis. In response to this, Congress enacted the National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1208 of the NDAA allowed the Secretary of Defense to “transfer the Federal and State agencies personal property of the Department of Defense, including small arms and ammunition, that the Secretary determines is – (A) suitable for use by such agencies in counter-drug activities; and (B) excess to the needs of the Department of Defense.” It was called the 1208 Program. The basic idea behind this act was to make the police force army to fight in the war against drugs. In order for them to act like the army, the U.S had to equip them with military style firearms. They spent around $4.3 billion in firearms and other army like equipment. Now, twenty-five years later, the war on drugs is not as serious as it was before; however, our police force is still being trained and equip as if it is. (1) This militarization is instead being used in situations where extreme force is not necessary. The solution to this problem would be to reduce the amount of this militaristic training and to stress during training that this extreme force is only to be use in appropriate situations.

Police brutality and abuse of power can go hand and hand. Police officers are instilled with the mentality that because they are the law, they are able to get away with injustices. However, this should not be the case. Police officers are allowed to legally use physical force, to the point of murder, against violent and dangerous individuals; however, when this physical force is used in situations where it is not necessary it is considered brutality. (3) As a means of upholding their duties, police have certain privileges, which are meant to be used only in appropriate situations and not to their own personal gain. When these privileges are used inappropriately, this is called abuse of power. (4) The solution to this problem would be to stress during training that brutality and abuse of power are serious and should not be done. Punishment for participating in these practices should be serious and there should be less tolerance and forgiveness for the police officers that are caught. As I stated in my previous post, our police force is not bad overall, it is simply those corrupt police officers that are root of our problems.

The overall reform I would make to police training would be to reduce the degree of militaristic training, or delegate only specific officers to receive this training, focus more on stressing how unethical police brutality and abuse of power is to prospective police officers, and having little to no tolerance or forgiveness towards those police officers that are caught participating in police brutality and abuse of power. While it is almost impossible to target specific police officers, measures can be taken during training to prevent prospective police officers from becoming corrupt.

 

Sources:

  1. http://www.newsweek.com/how-americas-police-became-army-1033-program-264537
  2. http://reason.com/archives/2014/09/02/four-issue-to-focus-on-in-police-brutali/3
  3. http://www.abuseofpower.info/Article_MisusePower.htm

Problems in our Police force: A Need for Reform

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Caroline D. Pena

When reading recent current event articles on the police force in America, one prevalent trend arises: there is serious controversy on the effectiveness and state of our police force. After recent events like what occurred in Ferguson, Missouri, the public’s attitude towards our police forces have soured. Policing is a necessary part of any society in keeping order and enforcing laws; however, it is clear that there is a need for reform in our police forces.

On November 24th 2014, in Ferguson, Missouri, when the grand jury’s decision to not charge a police officer with the crime of shooting an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, riots broke out throughout the country. News shows broadcasted images of burning police cars, crowds choking on tear gas and the looting of stores. Accusations of racial injustice by our policing and jury system echoed throughout much of the public. African Americans suffer great injustice in America. In Ferguson, a small southern town alone, they account for 86% of the random vehicle stops made by police. (1) Looking at a larger scale, throughout America, minorities are subjected to more scrutiny by police officers. A study in Arizona during 2006-2007 showed that the state highway patrol was significantly more likely to stop African Americans and Hispanics than whites on the highways studied, while Native Americans and persons of Middle Eastern descent were more likely to stopped on nearly all highways studied. The highway patrol was 3.5 times more likely to search a stopped Native American than a white and 2.5 times more likely to search a stopped African American or Hispanic. (2) Though there has been a history of racism and racial profiling by police in America, there is a call for this injustice for an end. Solving the problems of racial profiling and racism in the police force call for a reform of politics and policing, which would contribute greatly to racial harmony in America.

Another major issue that has arisen along side with the prominent practice of racial profiling in America is the militarization of police and overpolicing. Militarization of police is defined as “the process whereby civilian police increasingly drawn from, and pattern themselves around, the tenets of militarism and the military model”. (3) The militarization of police has advanced to the point that phrases such as “War on Crime” and “War on Drugs” are reality. There is an incredible increase in the number of heavily armed SWAT teams, even in small towns, the number of brutal raids that often results in killing of innocent bystanders. Over-policing and militarization has grown so extreme that it even small, slight misdemeanors have turned innocent people into criminals. A seven-year old boy named Wilson Reyes in New York was handcuffed and interrogated under suspicion of stealing five dollars from a classmate. Three teenagers in Rochester, New York were arrested for loitering while waiting for a bus. (4) Extreme measures such as instills a feeling of fear towards the police, instead of safety, which is how we should view our police force.

The final major issue with policing is brutality and abuse of power. Because police officers are expected to protect the public and confront violent individuals, they are legally allowed physical, and even deadly, force. When a police officer uses force when it is not called for, or uses more force than is necessary to perform his or her job, and crosses the line into police brutality. In November 2013 in Tullytown, Pennsylvania, a fourteen year old boy was arrested in Walmart for accused shoplifting. The boy’s mother alleged that the police viciously beat her son, leaving him with a broken nose and swollen eyes. He was also tased in the face. A driver who failed to stop at a Walmart parking lot stop sign was pulled over by police officers. The police officers claimed he was “clenching his butt cheeks”, arrested him, issued a search warrant and forced him to undergo an anal probe. No drugs were found. These are just two examples of police brutality, although they can be even more extreme, such as murder.

When discussing the need for reform in our policing, it is important to keep in mind that although there are evident problems with the force, it is not completely corrupt. Not all police officers racial profile or use brutality. Our problems lie in certain police officers. Although the police force is not perfect, it does enforce the law and protect us to a certain degree.

References

  1. The fury of Ferguson. (2014, November 29). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21635012-race-americas-deepest-problem-multiple-small-changes-can-mitigate-it-fury-ferguson
  2. The Reality of Racial Profiling. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.civilrights.org/publications/reports/racial-profiling2011/the-reality-of-racial.html
  3. The Militarization of U.S. Police: Finally Dragged Into the Light by the Horrors of Ferguson – The Intercept. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/08/14/militarization-u-s-police-dragged-light-horrors-ferguson/
  4. Time to be Afraid in America: The Frightening Pattern of Throwing Police Power at Social Problems. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.alternet.org/civil-liberties/time-be-afraid-america-frightening-pattern-throwing-police-power-social-problems
  5. Police Brutality: What is Police Brutality? | Nolo.com. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2015, from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/police-brutality.html

Comments by Caroline D. Pena

"I agree with many of the solutions you proposed, especially the suggestion of eliminating the use of stop-and-frisk. Stop-and-frisk can be considered one of the major driving forces of racial profiling, as well as abuse of power. In my post on policing problems, I compared stop-and-frisk to the use of metal detectors in urban high schools. They were implemented as a safety measure, much like stop-and-frisk, but have had seldom success in making a difference. Instead of making students, or the public, feel safe and secure, they feel unsafe and afraid. You stated that only 10% of stop-and-frisk searches have resulted in an arrest, which shows just how ineffective the procedure is and how much we would benefit from its abolishment. I like how you ended your argument with the statement: “In order for police reform to truly be effective, the ultimate goal for any organization or community should be to understand the underlying factors behind major police problems.” Many of the solutions suggested target very specific injustices and although those specific problems can be addressed, they will have little effect on the overall state of our police force."
--( posted on Mar 3, 2015, commenting on the post Policing Solutions )
 
"The United States does have a major problem with the high rate of incarceration, which leads to many other problems such as the backlog of court cases and poor conditions in jails. Drug possession does attribute to a lot of, in my opinion, “unnecessary” arrests which cause this high rate; however, I do not believe that decriminalizing drugs alone will solely address the incarceration problem. I think that decriminalizing drugs will mainly help decrease the militarization of police, since the main reason our police force has become militarized is to fight in the War against Drugs. Instead of only focusing on the war on drugs as the main solution to high rates of incarceration, we should look at major issues such as abuse of power. Abuse of power not only includes taking advantage of the privileges police officers are given to do their job, such as access to databases and classified information, but also making unnecessary arrests or searches based on bias. Decriminalizing drugs is a step in the right direction when dealing with the problem of incarceration in the United States, but in my opinion, not a solution."
--( posted on Mar 3, 2015, commenting on the post Policing Solutions )
 
"I found it very interesting how you brought up the issue of metal detectors in schools. I addressed the problem of over-policing in my post and I believe that the use of metal detectors is a great example of this. You mentioned how they have been shown to make students feel unsafe and afraid, much like over-policing in general. This also ties in with racial profiling as you mentioned that the use of metal detectors is more prevalent in schools in neighborhoods that are mainly African American, Hispanic and other minorities. This metal detector policy is also doing more harm then good, since they have been shown to not increase safety in schools and cost a lot of money to be installed. Another point you mentioned was the distrust between the police and African American community because of the use of “stop-and-frisk”. I think this is very important to focus on because it is a problem that many people would be quick to identify which raises the question: Does stop-and-frisk do more harm than good? How effective is stop-and-frisk in catching criminals? Is it just causing more harm than help? Perhaps a good solution for this evident distrust would be to do away with stop-and-frisk and other procedures like it."
--( posted on Feb 19, 2015, commenting on the post Problem 1 )
 
"I agree with many of the points you made, especially the fact that “we need to police the police.” However, it is a bit ridiculous that such tight surveillance of our armed forces is necessary, such as equipping cameras on police. Some police do abuse their power and partake in police brutality; however, a lot don’t and equipping every single police officer on duty with cameras to record their shifts would be a waste of money. As for racial profiling, there is little that can be done. As you said, there is little that can be done to change people’s mindsets and values. Racial profiling has been such a historical and persistent issue; there is little that can be done to resolve the issue other than continuous education of police officers on equality, however, that may not even be enough. It’s clear that there is a need for reform in our policing system, but I believe that we should be focusing on the force as whole rather than just specific “bad” officers. Change will come if we target certain problems such as insufficient training and unjust leniency, rather than causing unnecessary tensions as we’ve seen between the NYPD and Mayor de Blasio."
--( posted on Feb 19, 2015, commenting on the post Policing Problems )