Module 8: Policing Racialized Communities
Lecture and Reflection Question:
Reflection: reflect upon the events that led to widespread Black Lives Matter protests across North America using material from the class. Focus on legitimacy of police, presumptions of compliance, and sociological dimensions of the problem.
Final (midterm II) question to keep in mind
1. "Policing practices and visibility often influence public perception of security, particularly in urban areas. Using the concepts of 'police visibility,' 'symbolic visibility,' and 'force,' critically assess how police presence impacts both crime prevention and the public's sense of safety in different socio-economic communities. How might this visibility contribute to or detract from the legitimacy of police in these communities? Consider relevant sociological theories, such as Weber’s theory of the state and the relationship between the police and marginalized communities."
2. "Police corruption has been analyzed as more than just a 'few bad apples' problem, reflecting deeper structural issues within law enforcement. Drawing on the theories of police corruption discussed in the course, such as Kleinig's ethical framework and the 'Dirty Harry problem,' critically evaluate the factors that contribute to police corruption. Discuss how these factors might vary between different police departments and social contexts. In your response, explore how the structure of policing, discretionary power, and public expectations shape the prevalence of corruption and the challenges in preventing it."
Lecture 8 Notes: Policing Racialised Communities
Those who are exploited do not find government (and police as a form of government) as legitimate
The legitimization of state and police is what allows police to perform and enforce its actions in a liberal democratic society - BUT this makes one critical assumption that CANNOT be met. This assumes we live in a homogenous society where consent to governance is given by almost all members of society.
“Government becomes illegitimate when their power upon us is not enforced by consent” - Amir.
i.e. this means that it becomes illegitimate when it no longer represents the people.
“when police can no longer presume compliance, it means that their actions are no longer legitimate.” - Amir
Civil disobedience within a philosophical framework is a legitimate response to an illegitimate government”
in our society there are communities and subcommunities that do not find government legitimate, so they also don’t view the laws and police as legitimate as a result. For example, the Indigenous of Canada may feel this way and have historically demonstrated so through the Oka Crisis.
groups like black communities, LGBTQ+ communities, indigenous communities, etc.. may not find police to be a legitimate institution, so the assumption of compliance breaks down.
Even if you believe police is legitimate, it doesn’t matter. the members of these communities need to believe police to be legitimate or else they are still legitimate in their eyes, and possibly illegitimate as a whole
the sentiment that “innocent people have nothing to worry about” is not true at all. countless times innocent people have been beaten, killed, or falsely arrested and interrogated at the hands of police.
people in these communities get double victimized. they get victimized by bad people within the communities and also get victimized by the police and the system.
and if police are viewed as illegitimate by these members, police cannot do its job. police cannot work without the presumption of compliance, which causes a divide in the community and creates discord between all members of society and the systems within it.
even if cops are good and enter these communities with good intent, because the community members have lost faith in the INSTITUTION of police, they don’t show trust in police officers (as they uphold the institution), which causes the police officers to act as enemies cuz the community treats them as an enemy.
this is a failure of our government
“It is not the job of the community to trust the government; it is the job of the government to serve the community and gain the trust of the community” - Amir
“excessive use of force by the police is due to the breakdown of the assumption of compliance”
ETHICAL IMPLICATION: its something that is hard and a tall order to fix, as adding females within policing or racial minorities or other minority groups doesn’t cause these individuals to change the police force for the better, but rather has the police force change these individuals for the worst. if the police institution acts as this pit that consumes all of its members within the police culture, how can the culture be changed. The culture NEEDS to be changed because this culture is one of the very factors that perpetuates the belief of illegitimacy within the police and its lack of correction plants thoughts of illegitimacy in the government as a whole.
Interview w/ Ruth Goba
Ruth says that legitimacy is critical within black, ingenious, and Muslim communities as they likely don’t view police as very legitimate right now.
Ruth also says that the SIU was made to address police misconduct and provide a level of transparency for society. This sadly is NOT the case as many of the individuals working at the SIU are former police officers so the SIU is no longer independent from the police force and illegitimate as a result.
Ruth says many people in these communities (especially black communities) fear calling the police in instances, as they face a significant risk of harm when calling the police.
without legitimacy the police cannot function properly
AMIR says that police illegitimacy is not only detrimental to that particular group that doesn’t deem police as legitimate, but also all members of society as a result (because they have to deal with and accommodate the fact that the police are illegitimate in specific communities)
like if your neighbours are having a domestic dispute but your neighbours are black, you’d fear possibly calling the police for help as it may be more detrimental than trying to help yourself or find others to help.
Amir mentioned the example of how his neighbour and his girlfriend were having a dispute, but they were black so amir and the other neighbours did not know if they should call the police. he stated that it would have been easier to call the police, but due to their illegitimacy, he didn’t want to perpetuate further harm to their neighbour, so they sought to find the neighbour's parents to help resolve the situation.
Ruth mentions how many services are cut, and further budget is given to the police in order to superficially fill these cut roles, and then ppl suffer as a result cuz the police are not trained to provide these services.
“the police are not trained to deescalate.. at least not properly” -Ruth
instead of putting the money into social services like social housing, we end up having people become homeless and then we send the police in who criminalize the homeless. - ruth
police ARE trained to kill. that’s why they are trained to shoot in the chest instead of the leg - Ruth
“black police officers in the united states are twice as likey in the united states to shoot a black suspect than a white suspect” - Amir
This is particularly due to the fact that black police officers are more likely to police black neighbourhoods.
women who become cops are more likely to adopt a hyper-masculine ideology and personality (in both their actions and thoughts) - Amir
Ruth says in order to stop systemic oppression and systemic issues like this, you need to stay hyper-focused and vigilant so you can spot wrong actions, call them out immediately and demand change.
“from the top, there has to be a real commitment to not penalizing those who stand up for what is right” - Ruth
Ruth also says that when people try to stand up for what is right and point out flaws, depending on the culture of the workplace it is either dealt with or it is swept under the rug. When it is swept under the rug, the person is then penalized for raising that concern.
Ruth says that you can legislate consequences but you can’t legislate attitudes.
the only reason people started wearing a seatbelt is because the fines got so heavy for wearing one, the consequences were too heavy. but when a cop shoots someone dead, the consequence is suspension WITH pay. this will never change the attitude of police culture.
perhaps if the consequence of killing someone was far greater, it would force a change in how police operate and are trained, whichwould further in time begin to reform the attitude of police officers and change the culture, or at least an aspect of the culture.
Documentary: The Skin We’re In
“There’s no domain in Canadian life where racism and anti-black racism doesn’t exist”
We can see influential members of the public like the Toronto Sun journalist who was interviewed on the news promoting racist and damaging ideology that further perpetuates oppression and a division between marginalized communities and government.
when Desmond Cole asked members of a black community what their experiences with local police have been, they said that they act passively friendly (by waving and smiling) but have not had actual conversations with the community members.
She also said that they’d setup a roadblock on the one street that enters and exits the community, where the ask for insurance, licence, and put up resistance in the community. the girl said it instills fear.
When Desmond Cole was in a community circle, one lady mentioned how the racism and differential treatment of the black communities leads to intergenerational trauma that perpetuates the division.
Desmond Cole said that many critique black communities for saying that they’re pushing for too much too fast, but he said he would never be apologetic for that.