So police keep the balance in the cities as much as they can. Imagine if one day they are all gone. Police work has been becoming harder and harder over the years. “As the degree of race and class conflict intensifies, the police assume a more demanding role both in repressing strikes and demonstrations and in attempting to contain the escalating level of crime” (“Police Militancy”). In Baltimore, in the year 1974, the police were tired of being treated poorly.
Over the last 15 years the our nations prison population has more than doubled. Many things contribute to this rapid increase of convicted felons. This leads to many different thing our country must deal with. Overcrowded prisons, more money to pay by tax payers, criminals with no skills to help them in the real world of life, are just a couple issues that must be dealt with. All of these things affect everyone in our nation.
Police brutality has been a problem within our society for some time now. Due to the many amount of cases, police brutality has shaped a view amongst the lower class that enforcers of the law tend to take advantage of their given power. Seems like police officers feel as if their implementation of the law is a congressional shield against the consequences of violating laws. In most cases of police brutality there is excessive force being used and unnecessary physical force and sometimes even deadly force. Police brutality has impacted our society because it changed the view of local authority; they went from being heroes of our communities to the vigilantes that we watch over our shoulders.
For example, police brutality. One of the main complaints of police brutality is excessive force. Often officers do no know how to distinguish aggressive, necessary force from excessive force. “The Phoenix Police Department is now dealing with accusations that officers stepped out of line and beat up an innocent man. The state’s attorney general is learning about the claims and offering up help in investigating the claims (Fox 10, 2013).” Often claims are brought up in regards to police brutality when an officer is defending his or herself.
Many of the immigrants, not knowing the way America worked, didn’t stray too far from the East Coast and moved into areas filled with people of similar languages, traditions, and beliefs. When they did interact with American citizens the immigrants were typically assaulted verbally and had to deal with many instances of discrimination. However, ward and city bosses realized their importance and began recruiting them fresh off of the boats trying to gain they’re political votes. This tactic began to affect the political scene of the major American cities as whoever gained the most immigrant votes began to gain control. The substantial increase in population due to immigration that occurs during this time goes on to affect the nation in positive and negative ways.
Gang violence is pretty much defined as the rivalry between different groups of people. Before I started researching gang violence I knew that there are gangs everywhere and almost all of them are very violent. When your in a gang it’s pretty much your family. You have to do anything for them. I also knew that gangs appeal to young people because there’s a lot of power that you get.
Racial Bias in the Media Despite historic and continued efforts to overcome racial tension within our nation, in today’s culture we are constantly bombarded with prejudice and discriminatory images and ideas. When turning on the news and glancing through the pages of a local newspaper, ethnic minorities are the central focus of crime stories and are portrayed as the prime source of crime in our nation. Victims of criminal acts who are of an ethnic minority are rarely featured, as Caucasian victims claim the spotlight in the media. This results in racial profiling and racial profiling in the media is a growing concern. According to various media professionals, racial bias is very common.
How large of a role does the media play in portraying police use of excessive force as fair or unnecessary? These are all questions that will be addressed as well as what is being done to about the situation. We begin with the definition of excessive force as provided by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, “excessive force is the amount of effort required by police to compel compliance by an unwilling suspect” (Police Use of Force, 2012). Police will turn to excessive force when an individual is uncooperative. Some argue that the police’s most defining feature is their capacity to use coercive force (Katz & Walker, 2008).
Racism is a huge example. Members of racial minorities bear the brunt of police brutality and excessive force in many parts of the U.S....Reported abuses include racist language, harassment, ill-treatment, unjustified stops and searches, unjustified shootings and false arrests (Randall). African Americans are the ones who usually end up being harassed by cops. “In bigger towns, blacks are more likely to commit violent acts, police officers concerned with self preservation are more likely to use violence when dealing with them” (Kester police
Drug Trafficking in the United States Lillian Gathers ENG122: English Composition II Prof. Lisa Teitlre September 21, 2012 Drug Trafficking in the United States The United States is faced with many problems each day which ranges from a number of different things. In the United States today, the major problem is drugs and drug trafficking within the states. This major issue is tearing the nation and its people apart with crime and drug uses. This problem has continued to grow over the decades. With the lowering the rates on imports from other countries it’s made the trafficking of drugs into the country easier for drug lords.