Political Discussion on Police and Crime

This national topic of crime along with social problems connected to police behavior and tactics, has been an ongoing discussion for years. For those people who happened to be descendants of slaves, let’s be honest, and other minorities, the view of policing in America has stood in contrast to other population groups in America.  Since the Obama presidency, the rise of left-wing organizations like Antifa, Black Lives Matter, and proponents within the national government there has been a push to re-imagine policing across the country.  The country endured the “American Spring,” where we saw large cultural centers and city capitols, literally burning to the ground, as protesters across the country acted out through open violence towards citizens, looting, arson, and other outlandish acts as police departments and authorities were handcuffed to arrest, detain, deliver public safety.  From that backdrop the pursuit of labeling this change of policing dynamics can be framed because politics has played a critical role in this national push to reform policing.

 

National Policing Polling

It is believed by some voices, mainly liberal, which means politicians in democrat leaning states that the police are out of control.  They generally use the incidents of some homicides committed by police officers where the victim is an African American.  Often police stops and racial profiling, or policing in urban communities is utilized to underscore how police attitudes towards blacks is unjustified, and contributes to desire to, in radical views, alleviate police altogether, but at minimal employ social workers instead.  The ACLU is one organization that is behind the reimagining ideology, along with a group of congresswomen known as the “The Squad.”  If you are familiar with the Watts Rebellion/Riots, the ACLU might sound familiar.  They have the view that police are mostly aggressive against people of color, and blacks in particular. (Romero, 2020)  The problem per the ACLU is more than just violence against blacks, it is training, policies, and procedures.  This concept of original sin is the leading condition behind treatment, in reference to slavery, as it shows in exerting social power and control over Black people. (Romero, 2020)  All the way from Jim Crow until modern times and George Floyd, this has been acted out on a national level, the maltreatment of minorities by state, local, and federal authorities.  Many black communities will speak openly about events involving intrigue and murder by the federal government involving Black leaders like Rev. Martin Luther King, Malcom X, Fred Hampton, and on and on.  Thus, there is considerable resentment in this community at the deepest levels when the news reports another black person has been killed by police.  The mistrust cannot be wiped away so easily.  In general, this deep sentiment is what fuels the call for reimagining policing in the country.  It is more a social response than a procedure recall.

We know, as statistics bear out that there are more than 10.3 million arrests per year, according to the FBI, with a minute percent of those being violent crimes.  In the 1970’s in response to the drug epidemic, the government created the Rockefeller Laws [New York], which disproportionately imprisoned minorities.  Mandatory sentencing was created for drug dealers and addicts, and some called theses sentence guidelines draconian. (Mann, 2013)  Consequently, policing had an enemy and scores of poor blacks were arrested, prosecute, and given harsh sentences, while their counterparts in the white communities receives lesser sentences because drugs was a criminal issue.  The stigma of blacks being criminals has been a pervading residue since slavery, the black codes, Jim Crow, and down to modern times.

Despite all that, the fact is that nearly 2/3 of the country believes that having a national police force is a horrible idea.  That figure includes minorities. (Nguyen, 2020) For many it comes as a surprise when they discover that minority communities are some of the most vocal when it comes to have a police force to provide security, and though there are clear violations of rights in cases involving blacks, the overwhelming feeling is that communities need to be safe and the service of the police in the community is highly valued.  This dispels the ideology of some radical organizations that purport to represent the black community’s desire to disband police departments altogether.  In fact, most blacks [a high percentage], in general, do not support Black Lives Matter as an accurate representation of black views on policing, despite the horrible events that have happened in black communities.

Furthermore, polls indicate that 55% of Americans, Democrats (61%), and Independents (62%) are against the creation of a national police.  You can clearly see that eliminating sate and local police to create a national force is extremely unpopular with Republicans polled at 62% against this idea.

 

The Sway

As the statistics revealed, this push for federal control of policing is very unpopular and the community that should be the most supported, the black community, is against it as well.  So why does this discussion pull in so many people?  I believe that the main catalyst is the news media. Priming and framing of police and lead stories in print and visual media plays a huge part in developing an image in the psyche of the country.  Most of the national media is controlled by left wing outlets which push an agenda of police abuse and crime as a threat to the public.  On the one hand criminals need to be punished, but on the other hand crime is the outcome of social injustice.  Perception becomes reality when it comes to how the police are portrayed in community confrontations, and that framing persuades the national opinion, which is the desired result of certain lobbyists, politicians, and powerful forces in the media. (Kim Fridkin, n.d.)  It is no secret that outlets produce negative stories because they apparently believe this creates public interest, but it is irresponsible to inflame the passions of the public in this fashion.  This is an excerpt to illustrate this point:

“Officers in Newiss’ (2022) study state that news outlets tend to report mostly the negative incidents involving police officers, as these stories are more likely to interest the public. News outlets are powerful in this regard, as Graziano (2018) conducted a review and found that exposure to negative news about police officers is highly related to the public’s attitudes related to law enforcement. Weitzer and Tuch (2004) also reported that people who heard about negative police behavior on the news believed that police misconduct occurred more frequently than those who did not engage with news media.” (Terrizzi, 2022)

This shows how the media can control, to a certain degree, how the public views policing, and it also underscores the importance of accurate reporting and true dissemination of information.  If the public is misled or guided to a desired response that is manipulation and can lead to serious consequences down the line.

 

The Politician

As we started this writing referencing happenings in the country when protests were inflamed by media, organizations, and politicians, including the Speaker of the House, the current Vice President, men and women in Congress and the Senate, we understand the power of leaders in the country to challenge the status quo as they seek to fundamentally change the country.  Calls to reform the police have solely been made by left wing proponents, lobbyists, liberal organizations, and politicians in the Democratic party.  A slogan that has become synonymous with this movement is “Defund the Police.”  The House produced a Justice in Policing Act to reform police after the George Floyd and Breonna Taylor incidents. (Kesslen, 2020)  Might I say that both incidents, though tragic, are not viewed in the same light throughout the black community.  Most blacks understood George Floyd not to be some saint, and Breoona Taylor to be involved in illicit activities.  This did not justify their deaths by any means, but the people who used them as a social trophy and means to an end were considered insulting.  In addition, when the President Biden declared George Floyd has done more for race relations than Rev. Martin Luther King, that was extremely offensive to the black community, and for black politicians to sprout that without checking the administrations lack of sensitivity only underscores the length that politicians will go to reach a desired result.

Under this defund movement politicians promote legislation to strip police of certain rights, stating that current police methods don’t work.  The reform that they hope for is not just defunding, but a complete restructuring of policing across America.  It is noted that politicians cannot control state police organizations, but by using the media as a tool, they intend to create a national conscience makeover that will cause people to be dissatisfied.  That response will enable them to create legislation empowering the federal government to assume police powers, and fundamentally change policing for the future.  If you have thought it, yes that means becoming a national police state, which is frightening to the average person that understands.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, policing will always have issues because it is not a perfect science, and there are no methods that ensure all encounters will not have randomness.  This is a fact of life.  For this reason, it might be better to discuss how we can improve policing, create stringent hurdles for choosing the best candidates, and discharging deviant individuals who abuse the office.