Police Brutality

By Kaitlyn Lemon, Alicia Edwards, Jalyn Washington Dajah Anthony

Introduction

Police brutality... We know of it, but do we really know about it? It's time for a spotlight on the racial situations that going on in the justice system.

Research Problem

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The problem at hand is that Police and other white superiors are taking advantage of the pedatsool they are on and using it to express how they feel personally.

Research Purpose

The purpose of our research is to bring light to the situation that going on, because yeah they have cases about police brutality but is there really anything being done about it.

Research Question

Why are police officers prejudice against african americans?

Police officers are prejudice against African Americans because they assume that african americans are a threat to society and because officers and other white superiors have a higher pedestal, they used that to express how they feel personally. African American are persuaded as criminals!!

Who’s going to protect us now ?

“Nobody trusts anyone in authority today. It is one of the main features of our age. Wherever you look, there are lying politicians, crooked bankers, corrupt police officers, cheating journalists and double-dealing media barons, sinister children's entertainers, rotten and greedy energy companies, and out-of-control security services”( Adam Curtis). �

Stop The Violence!

“I know that it's hard to believe that the people you look to for safety and security are the same people who are causing us so much harm. But I'm not lying and I'm not delusional. I am scared and I am hurting and we are dying. And I really, really need you to believe me.”

― Ijeoma Oluo, So You Want to Talk About Race

Why Am I Treated Differently?

• African Americans are being treated differently by police when stopped.
• 8% of whites were frisked when stopped
• 85% of blacks and latinos were frisked when stopped
• “In a California study, the ACLU found blacks are three times more likely to be stopped than whites.”(B.Quigley)
• “Since 1970, drug arrests have skyrocketed rising from 320,000 to close to 1.6 million according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S.” (B.Quigley)

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Hard on Black

“In the federal system black offenders receive sentences that are 10% longer than white offenders for the same crimes.”

“The US Bureau of Justice Statistics concludes that the chance of a black male born in 2001 of going to jail is 32% or 1 in three.”

Research Design

Data Collection

• Posters
• Online Survey
• 15- Students
• 8 from survey
• 7 from posters
• Ages 14-17

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Limitations

• Students don't always take the survey serious

Targeted by Police

Have you ever felt targeted by police or law enforcement?

• 40% said Yes

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“The ACLU found blacks are three times more likely to be stopped than whites.”(B.Quigley)

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All over the US, blacks are being targeted. Although the percentage of children that felt targeted by police are less then half. No one should feel targeted by police let along children.

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Encounters with the Police

Survey responses:

Claim

Police judge citizens by their appearance, and assume people of color are probable of carrying guns or drugs.

• 50% of the students we surveyed described their last encounter with officers as bad
• “85% of people with color who are stopped were frisked compared to only 8% of whites according to information provided by the NYPD.”(B.Quigley)
• The information provided by the survey determined that not all police encounters are bad but people with color seem to have more encounters with police than white

Ending Racial Oppression

Although 80% of the people I surveyed think that the solution is created by individuals actions , actually the system itself restricts people from defending themself. The system still put african americans up to plead guilty when innocent .

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How can we stop the racial oppression of black people?

• 80% Individuals create the solution , 20% the system changing.

“The American Bar Association, not a radical bunch, reviewed the US public defender system in 2004 and concluded “All too often, defendants plead guilty, even if they are innocent, without really understanding their legal rights or what is occurring…” (B.Quigley)

Conclusion

Police officers are prejudice against African Americans because they assume that african americans are a threat to society and because officers and other white superiors have a higher pedestal, they used that to express how they feel personally.

• Our project is beneficial to police officers because we need them to know even if they don't like us that all of us are not a threat to them.
• Our project would benefit the future if police would have more unity in the community .

Work Cited

• Five Faces of Oppression
• 14 Examples of Racism in the Criminal Justice System