Racism and Police Brutality

Racism and police brutality have been largely discussed by the public in recent years. Through my research on racism and police brutality in the U.S. I found two reliable sources through the use of Google Scholar. The first, “Racial Profiling and Use of Force in Police Stops: How Local Events Trigger Periods of Increased Discrimination” from Yale University, was written by Joscha Legewie. This journal focused on the rise in police brutality following acts of extreme violence by examining data from police traffic stops.

The second source is a chapter from, “Criminal Justice Theory: Explaining the Nature and Behavior of Criminal Justice” by Robert E. Worden. The chapter I used for my research is, “The ‘Causes’ of Police Brutality: Theory and Evidence on Police Use of Force.” This source tested three separate theories on the relation of police behavior to the use of excessive force.

“Racial Profiling and Use of Force in Police Stops: How Local Events Trigger Periods of Increased Discrimination,” by Joscha Legewie is an analysis of police stops after events of extreme violence.

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The author conducts a series of data analyses to prove that police become more violent and discriminatory after an event of substantial violence. After one of these events, like a riot for example, the pattern of police stops, searches, arrests, and their use of force were observed. One of the experiments was conducted using the data from 3.9 million timed and geocoded stops of pedestrians in New York City, and they were tracked before and after brutal events (Legewie 380).

This analysis showed evidence that specifically black men were most subject to stops, harassment, and arrests under constant police presence. Moreover, black men were most subject to racial profiling. The analysis also supported the argument that specific events of violence drove police to become more discriminatory.

Robert E. Worden wrote, “The ‘Causes’ of Police Brutality: Theory and Evidence on Police Use of Force” to explore the variety of reasons that drive police brutality. One of Worden’s main claims is that non-white suspects are more likely to experience an arrest. Based on his sociological theory, “Police behavior is influenced by social dynamics of police-citizen encounters” (Worden 150). This study established that non-white suspects were more likely to be arrested. After taking an in depth look at police reports, black suspects were reported to be more disrespectful than any other demographic. The statistics also confirmed that minorities are overrepresented among police shooting victims.

The sources chosen for the research on racial profiling were found using Google Scholar. In finding proper sources, credibility is critical in finding reliability. The first source is a journal produced by Yale University, a highly respected university. The author, Joscha Legewie has been an assistant professor in the sociology department at Yale, Harvard, and became a professor at Columbia University after obtaining his Ph.D., with years of experience in sociology. Although, bias can be found in is argument in the sense of confirmation. Other statistics have shown that no race is more subject than others to police violence, but this can also be affected by the place the study is conducted. The second source, written by Robert E. Worden is found to be credible due to his Ph.D. in Political science, and his teachings at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. This source was also from a textbook used in college criminal justice classes, and approved by professors amongst these colleges. Bias can be found in his work because of the numerous approaches he took to prove his argument. His sociological theory proved the racial profiling, but psychological could only prove the general brutality, that was not in relation to race. Both of the authors presented their arguments ethically, by analyzing their observations specifically, rather than only confirming their own opinion.

Works Cited

1. Legewie, Joscha. “Racial Profiling and Use of Force in Police Stops: How Local Events Trigger Periods of Increased Discrimination.” American Journal of Sociology, vol. 12, no. 2, 2016, pp. 379-424., doi:10.1086/687518.
2. Maguire, Edward R., et al. Criminal Justice Theory: Explaining the Nature and Behavior of Criminal Justice. Routledge, 2015.