Police Officers and Interaction with the Community

[rajbeekie]

Okay, here is my take on police interaction with the community in the US. First of all, most police officers are level headed and do a fantastic job. Some officers are quickly triggered. These need training or be assigned desk jobs.

From the community side the people most likely stopped by the police are those at the bottom of society (drugs, alcohol, poor attitude, thieves, loiterers, etc.) and regular law breakers (speeding, texting, vehicle in need of maintenance, etc.). Part of the former group exists just to PO the police.

Now, since this is their agenda the police have to be trained so they aren't easily PO or triggered. They have to work on their emotional intelligence as they enforce the law. I do have some expertise in emotional intelligence.

Police also have to be better trained to deal with mentally ill people. The dilemma is many mentally ill people are prepared to use force against the police. Mentally ill would also include people with attitudes whose sole purpose is to PO the police.

For the average person when interacting with the police the experience is somewhat unnerving, but it is fine. I have been pulled over twice (speeding and reckless driving) and the officers let me off w/o a ticket. On both times, I felt the tickets would be been earned.

If you liked the reflection, please follow, resteem and upvote. Thanks

Whether one agrees or disagrees with the thoughts and ideas expressed, he hopes they provide a broader foundation for discussion. Dr. Beekie received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Organizational Communication from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN, master's degree in Intercultural Communication from North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, and doctorate in Organization Development from the University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, MN.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajbeekie

Comments

[guyincawgnito]

How do you feel about a recent (Feb 2018) study by the ACLU that claims that minorities are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement officers?

Abrams found that Black and Latino people are more likely than white people to be subject to traffic stops across Milwaukee, including in areas in which the residential population is predominantly white. He discovered that even after controlling for non-racial factors — including crime rates — traffic and pedestrian stop rates in Milwaukee are both more than six times higher for Black people than for white people. He also found that Milwaukee’s rate of drug or weapon discovery from searches during traffic stops is extremely low — occurring in less than 1 percent of such stops — and that Black people are far more likely to be subjected to such searches. (That analysis also controlled for explanations other than race and ethnicity.)

Source: New Data Reveals Milwaukee Police Stops Are About Race and Ethnicity

[rajbeekie]

HI HI, thanks for the reply. It is appreciated. Here is my take.

While the numbers for Blacks and Latinos be higher on a percentage basis, this does not mean Blacks and Latinos are targeted. There are many other variables that influence why an officer will pull someone over.

However, I will agree that all of us have biases and we do act on our biases. Even Black and Latino officers will pull over Blacks and Latinos at a higher rate than whites.

We also have to look at the actual crime rates for the respective groups. The crime rates are higher for Blacks and Latinos than whites.