Preview

Sociological Theories On Police Brutality

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
767 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sociological Theories On Police Brutality
As sociologist suggests there are is still no clear explanation on police misconduct, however, there are some sociological theories that many scholars believe can lead to police brutality. Have listed some theories, I believe that allows us to take a deeper look into police brutality. Conflict theory, predicts that members of minority groups are more likely to be victims of police brutality(Starr 2015) thus allowing the widening of the black community distrust of the police department.. Let's take a deeper look into the, suggestions of conflict theory by analyzing data. As noted in “Community policing is not the solution to police brutality. It makes it worse,” written by Starr, “ we examine the general population to consider the relative …show more content…
We can take into consideration the Laissez Faire racism theory. Involves persistent negative stereotyping of African Americans, tendency to blame blacks themselves for their shortcomings(Bobo 2011). We can see Laissez Faire racism theory played out in the media. Heightened by the sense of blacks being criminals. As noted in “What's going on ? Rising tide of police brutality,” “The scapegoating of Black and Brown people as criminals, and the low regard with which society places these lives, allows police brutality to take place.” Moreover, the framing as African Americans as criminals, can serve as a net for police officers to use as the reasons why excessive force was necessary. The police department, blames the victims for the officers having to use excessive force. The framing of the victim as criminal nonetheless, has been the narrative of many police involved shootings. We find a study conducted by Plant & Peruche (2005) which provided information into why some police officers within the department view black males in particular as criminals. As described by Chaney and Robertson(2013) in the article “ Racism and Police Brutality in America”, “Black males in particular, are caricatured as aggressive and criminal, police are more likely to view black men as a threat which justifies the disproportionate use of deadly force.” The framing of blacks as criminal black …show more content…
We must converse the theory of institutional racism. As described by Gallagher in “Rethinking the Color Line,” Institutional racism is a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutions.” This theory also frames the disparities within our criminal justice system, thus allowing us to gather information as to why police brutality in seeing more prominent within the African American

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    The cause of police brutality is rooted back to the antebellum slavery era. For the past several centuries, there has always been high tension between blacks and whites. This tension towards one another came from the antebellum era. In the antebellum era, it was common for blacks to be enslaved by whites. White patrollers, or law enforcement, were on guard for blacks and capture any fugitives that attempted to escape from their owner. The patrollers often commit brutal punishments towards the blacks such as beating, lynching, and multination. Patrollers was left unpunished and their despicable actions quickly forgotten. In the book Police Brutality An Anthropology, it addresses:…

    • 225 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is much debate in the United States surrounding the causes of police brutality. Missing from this debate is the question of what types of individuals choose to become officers of the law. Are these individuals prone to behave in a violent manner once placed in positions of authority? Do some police officers possess a psychological profile that encourages such behavior? Further, what role does group socialization play in the issue of police violence against Blacks and Browns? Research suggests that authoritarians, individuals that favor strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom, self- select into police work. Criminologists, psychologists and other social scientists have found that authoritarianism is a by-product…

    • 390 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the image, the words are both strong and direct, “I’m going to kick your ass” is bigger, bolder and is at the top of the image. The second part of that sentence, “and get away with it” is at the bottom and is slightly smaller. The image also has the words “public” on the left hand corner and “service” on the right hand corner at the top. It also has “serve” and “protect” at the bottom corners of the image. The image is implying that white policemen can get away with beating up an innocent person. This is usually aimed at black and brown people. It shows that police brutality has been a problem in our society, not just of today, but in the past couple of centuries. The image has only three different colors which are used in a way that symbolizes that it has been around for a while now and nothing has changed. The image was made in 2007 and was reposted online by the creator Shepard Fairey after the Michael Brown case.…

    • 1094 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The biggest issue that is arising in America today within police agencies is police brutality. “Police brutality is the use of excessive and/or unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians” (The Law dictionary). Throughout this paper police brutality is discussed an analyzed to conclude its causes and effects. In order to conduct this paper numerous online articles have been examined to produce statistics on this sensitive topic. These articles are written by creditable sources specifically detailing police misconduct. Although there are laws to help eliminate unlawful actions by law enforcement, but with power some of those laws are over look when it comes down to those in society who have a badges behind their…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    One well-known researcher in particular has been highlighted for his ample research on race as a determinant of attitudes from African-Americans toward police. He was one of the first researchers to explore this topic. His theory was that African Americans’ difficult past has led them to believe that there are active unethical practices within the justice system today, and that this belief leads to their generally unfavorable attitude toward police. In many of his findings, he observed and compared the differences between the attitudes of African Americans and their Caucasian counterparts when it came to dealings with law enforcement. What he found was that many of the African American subjects were…

    • 1337 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    “You can't separate peace from freedom because no one can be at peace unless he has his freedom” (Malcolm X). Police officers are to take risks and suffer inconveniences to protect lives, defend civil liberties, secure the safety of fellow citizens, and they endure such risks and tolerate such inconveniences on behalf of strangers. Policing is one of the more noble and selfless occupations in society. Making a difference in the quality of life is an opportunity that policing provides, and few other professions can offer. A public affirmation of adhering to an Oath of Honor is a powerful vehicle demonstrating ethical standards. Yet there are the few that go against…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    You’ve heard about it, read about it, and maybe even seen live footage on the news. What is it? Living in the United States, a lot of cases in today’s society are Police Brutality. Police Brutality remains the most critical and divisive human rights violation in the United States of America. We are supposed to trust the police to protect us, not take advantage and abuse the power, we, the people, have invested in them. The immoderate use of police brutality continues because police don’t know how to de-escalate, most cops face no disciplinary threats, and because there are no clear policies on using force. This makes it feasible for officers who do commit brutality and human rights violations to abscond their punishment and repeat their offences.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Institutional Racism Institutional racism is the concept of race and the idea of a racial hierarchy playing a large role in the creation and maintaining of certain institutions. For instance, in the criminal justice system, a system dominated by white men, the power lies in those who wish to keep it. Thus these men are more likely to incarcerate and profit off of those they are afraid of, in this case other races, and try to dominate over them, entrenching the system in racist ideas. Institutional Racism is what leads to the large number of ethnic and racially diverse prisoners, as well as the incredibly fast growing number of female african americans being put to jail.…

    • 545 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Police brutality is major problem in our country today.They have many things we could do to stop police brutality. Any race can be a victim of police brutality. Based on racism police brutality play a huge role in society. Also how much it is costing taxpayers for the police actions. In serval difference cities such as Los Angeles,New York,Chicago,Detroit,Atlanta,Indianapolis, Boston,New Orleans, Minneapolis,Philadelphia,Portland,Providence, Washington D.C. and San Francisco. This is the fourteen cities where police brutality take more place. I would also mention several cases in different cities of police brutality Rodney King , Treyvonn Martin and Micheal Brown. Also what is police brutality and how it effects society and how social media…

    • 118 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Brutality And Racism

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages

    This first source is a scholarly source titled Probing the Epidemic of Police Murders by Steve Martinot. The article focuses on police brutality and racism by exploring different incidents that occurred in recent history, incidents similar to the Trayvon Martin incident or the most recent Michael Brown incident. In each one, it talks about what actually occurred in the incident, how police tried to cover up their actions, and then focuses on how the media or government focused on the impact of the incident on the white individuals that were involved instead of the black individuals or other racial groups that were involved. It also talks about the history of police brutality and the need for police obedience when it comes to violence.…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the year 2015, 400 plus years after slavery, America still struggles with the thought of racism amongst African Americans. To name a few, African Americans experience racism through racial inequality, racial profiling, and police brutality. The Black Lives Matter Movement in particular brought the attention to police brutality in America. Known to be the new Civil Rights Movement, Black Lives Matter was created because of the injustice amongst people of color when it comes to police killings. According to the Guardian, blacks killed by police this year were more than twice as likely to be unarmed as were whites. The Guardian also said wrote 32% of African-Americans killed were unarmed while 15% of whites and 25% of Latinos did not have weapons. These statistics are scary but true. Which brings the question of why? Why are police killing our unarmed black men and women? Why should African Americans trust an institutionalized American system that was never meant to protect black people? I personally believe police brutality stems from the history and origin of American policing and because of bias and malice driven white cops. More importantly, is the black community haunted by historical beliefs, practices, and stereotypes that once deprived them?…

    • 1664 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    is America is now seeing the true colors of most cops. The cops now-a- days are beating,shooting and asking questions later. In the present day, police think its alright for them to assault or kill a person. Police brutality has to end for three reasons: it's getting worse, cops are getting away with it and America is just going down hill.…

    • 474 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    There are a number of stressful situations that a police officer is put into daily, and how a police officer handles these situations can determine their future for many years to come. Police brutality can be caused by several factors whether it be subconscious or on purpose (Lee). However, these situations are not always black and white. In the heat of the moment, officers can shoot on impulse to protect themselves, and to make sure they get back to their families (Lee). There could also be issues on both sides of the gun, whether it be not enough sleep, or an impulse disorder, or some other disorder, a police officer’s main goal is to stay alive, and to protect themselves and fellow officers. It is believed that it is so engrained into officer’s…

    • 1263 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    This generation is one of the most unkind, inhumane, insensitive generation yet. Bullying, abuse, and brutality are common. Our generation needs to be more compassionate, and less unforgiving.…

    • 410 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nearly 51 percent of individuals in a study conducted in Philadelphia, believe that police are more likely to use excessive force against black or Hispanic suspects than white suspects. Minorities are more likely to be victims of police brutality. Not only are minorities treated poorly but also numbers of minorities are sent to trail for non-violent crimes because of discrimination (Racial Discrimination).…

    • 285 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays