The work of law enforcement is crucial to public safety, and people rely on the police to protect them. However, it is also true that in the United States, not all people feel equally safe in the presence of police officers. Recent protests throughout the country following the death of George Floyd once again brought the topics of police violence against black people in the United States. Police brutality diminishes people’s trust in law enforcement and affects the relationships between the police and citizens, which reduces opportunities for collaboration and communication. At the same time, racial discrimination is a crucial human rights issue that must be eradicated from the justice system. With a significant number of cases involving race-based police violence over the past years, it is evident that the topic should be explored and addressed in order for the United States to improve public safety and policing. Hence, the topic chosen for the Unit 7 project is “Police Violence Against Black Americans.”
There are three main areas to why this topic was chosen for the project. Firstly, it relates to the current situation in the country. The killing of George Floyd resulted in massive protests all across the country and internationally, with an increasing number of people voicing their concerns and indignation over the racially biased behavior of police officers. Secondly, race-based police brutality affects many people in the country, impairing public safety and causing deaths and injuries. According to Lyle and Esmall (2016), black men comprise 40% of people shot by the American police annually despite constituting only 6 percent of the U.S. total population. In many cases, the victims are unarmed and do not present a significant threat to officers, and thus violence is unjustified. Thirdly, some scholars suggest that, despite the persistence of the problem in America, it is possible to develop and implement effective solutions (Peeples, 2020). Consequently, research on this topic can help to identify the reasons for police brutality against black people and find ways to address them, thus contributing to the work of law enforcement in the United States.
Viewing the topic from a historical perspective allows making important connections between the current issue and the history of racial relations in America. Smiley and Fakunle (2016) suggest that the reasono why black people are disproportionately killed and injured by the police can be traced back to slavery in colonial times. Black populations’ fight for freedom and civil rights was a threat to white supremacy, and thus black people were portrayed as dangerous and hostile (Smiley & Fakunle, 2016). The continued demonization of the black population fueled negative stereotypes, which support racial tensions to this day and cause biased officers to view black civilians as threats. For this reason, assessing the topic from a historical perspective offers a way of explaining the problem of race-based police brutality in America, which could help to develop useful solutions.
Overall, police violence against black people in the United States is a critical topic in the modern context that affects the lives of many people and impairs the effectiveness of law enforcement. Although the problem has strong historical roots, scholars suggest that it is possible to eradicate it, thus enhancing public safety. For the upcoming research project, it would be useful to examine the historical perspective on the topic in greater depth while also exploring possible solutions that would reduce race-based police brutality.
References
Lyle, P., & Esmail, A. M. (2016). Sworn to protect: Police brutality–A dilemma for America’s police. Race, Gender & Class, 23(3-4), 155-185.
Peeples, L. (2020). What the data say about police brutality and racial bias — And which reforms might work. Nature.
Smiley, C., & Fakunle, D. (2016). From “brute” to “thug:” The demonization and criminalization of unarmed Black male victims in America. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 26(3-4), 350-366.