| Chapter 4
Racial
and Ethnic Issues
By
Melissa Moore
Allegations
of Race-Based Police Abuse
The question of whether police abuse people of particular races
is linked with the whole issue of racially biased policing, but
can be investigated with a slightly different set of data.
Researchers link evidence of racially biased policing to inappropriate
use of force. Often, bias reflects a fear of or at least a lack
of comfort and familiarity with people of other races that shows
itself in the application of stereotypes.
Ron Davis of NOBLE says that stereotypes lead to fear, which encourages
officers to move more quickly to use force.
NOBLE suggests implementation of early warning systems for problem
police officers that include such triggers as high numbers of citizen
complaints, high numbers of use of force incidents, high numbers
of arrests for "resisting an officer," high numbers of
arrests that are not prosecuted because of problems with detentions
or searches and negative attitudes toward programs that improve
police-community relations.
Much of this data can be gathered by reporters, either on specific
officers who have come to the reporter's attention or on all the
officers in an agency. How much information is available on citizen
complaints and use of force incidents will likely be controlled
by state public records laws.
If police officials withhold this information, it might be worth
considering letting the public know what is being withheld from
them. Also, get on-the-record comments from the mayor and the city
council about the police agency's decision to withhold this information.
These elected officials may be more sensitive to public demand for
this information.
Don't forget to look on the "other side" of police work
– the courts. Defense attorneys, or even prosecutors, know
who the problem officers are. Court and arrest records can provide
insight into which officers have unusually high numbers of cases
that don't get prosecuted or counts of "resisting." That
may not be enough on its own to make a story, but it is a sound
way to follow up on complaints from the public to the newspaper
about particular officers.
Look for patterns of lawsuits against the city involving particular
officers and check to see if your government has an agency that
can settle claims even before lawsuits are filed. Sometimes a "risk
management" or similar office can write a check to a complainant
who has not even filed a lawsuit. If they are paying out the public's
money, the public should have access to that information.
Reporters can learn some of their most important lessons about
the racial attitudes of police by just listening. How do police
officers talk about people of other races when those people aren't
around? This can provide tremendous insight into the quality of
policing people of those races will receive.
Be careful not to judge an entire department by the comments of
one or two officers, but do monitor what you hear and look for patterns
of racial insensitivity that run unchecked throughout the department.
What does the department do to help officers work with people of
other races or cultures? Are there officers versed in all the languages
spoken in your community? Failure to respond to the changing needs
of a community may be worth a story comparing the agencies in your
area to others that have responded to similar needs. Benchmarking,
or comparing your agency to others that have excelled in a particular
area, is a terrific way of letting readers know what is possible
for an agency to accomplish. Just be careful to make it a fair comparison.
The tiny Walker, La., Police Department is not going to have the
same computer analysis capabilities as New Orleans. It shouldn't.
It doesn't need them. But New Orleans may need the same capabilities
as Houston or Miami or Los Angeles.
Discrimination
Within Law Enforcement
Sir Robert Peel, an Englishman regarded as the father of modern
policing said, among other important tenets of police work that
"police, at all times, should maintain a relationship with
the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the
police are the public and the public are the police."
Do departments you cover "look like" your community?
If not, why not? Are minorities being aggressively recruited and
hired?
PERF addressed some of these issues in its publication about racially
biased policing. It suggested recruiting through historically black
colleges and universities, military channels, current minority officers,
the religious community and from other fields. If the agencies you
cover have not succeeded in attracting minority candidates, check
to see whether they have tried these avenues.
What about racial issues within the law enforcement agencies you
cover?
Many departments have been under the supervision of courts because
of their failure to hire minorities. Is that true in the agencies
you cover?
Look for lawsuits against your department by its officers. Look
at who is making decisions, who is part of the command staff.
If your department promotes officers based on test scores, look
at the scores. Are there issues of fairness in testing that need
coverage?
This is an area where sourcing inside the department may be both
difficult and crucial. Look for organizations that exist for minority
officers and try to attend their meetings or at least meet their
leaders. What issues do they think the media should be examining?
Discipline is always a good source of information, if reports
are available under your state's public records laws. Are officers
of different races disciplined approximately the same way for the
same conduct? These comparisons can be difficult because few situations
that require discipline are identical, but general conclusions may
be determinable.
In the absence of someone within the department willing to complain
on the record about these problems, if they exist, getting the story
may be impossible. But if someone does complain, some of these areas
can help flesh out the story.
How a department treats its own is often a good indicator of how
it treats the public and vice versa.
Continue to
the next page in "Chapter 5: Covering Crime and Its Victims"
>>>
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page in "Chapter 3: Racial and Ethnic Issues"
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