Essay on Police Influence on Society

Words: 984
Pages: 4

Police Influence on Society
Policing has come along way the In the United States. Resources such has vehicles, radios, and computers have made policing much more efficient. Although policing has advanced, history of policing has had a huge impact on the current relationship between African Americans and police. Tension between African Americans and police existed throughout the history of policing and still exists within policing today. Policing history is divided into the political era, reform era, and community era. The political era and the reform era of policing have influenced the current relationship between African Americans and police (McNamara & Burns, 2009). The issues of these policing eras have been the foundation for the
…show more content…
This era cause tension between Blacks and the police. Because officers were not properly trained to deal with certain situations, such as protest, they resulted in using violence as a way to control the situation. This perception of police still exists in today’s society within the Black communities. The perception of officer discriminating against Black, being racist, or using excessive force against Black is a frequent topic in today’s society. The Oscar Grant case is a good example of an officer lack of training resulting in the use of excessive force. Oscar Grant was shot by a while Bart police officer. This shooting caused uproar in the community. Many people protested as a result of the shooting. The relationship between police officers and the African American community continues to be distant and filled with tension. The image that African Americans have of police officers as a result of the reform era, has been passed down from generation to generation, by the knowledge of knowing about incidents of the past or just personal perceptions passed down from family and friends (Brunson, n.d.). Although training has been implemented into the training curriculum of officers, there are still officers who react as a result of their own biases and perceptions. And for these reason the relationship between African American and police officers will continue to be filled with tension and distrust.