When you are driving down the road, and a cop all of a sudden appears in your rear view mirror, do you feel more protected or worried about getting pulled over?  In today’s society people portray cops to be a nuisance on their everyday lives. There is a lack of trust, something that has existed for quite some time, and as of lately is continuing to grow.  In the past couple of years there have been several incidents where police officers have used aggressive force when not needed, resulting in the deaths of citizens. Most of these situations involve minority citizens, which has increased racial tensions.  My step dad, one of the most important people in my life, was a former police officer in Washington D.C., and later became and ATF agent.  Because of this I have always looked up to and admired law enforcement officers.  However, not everyone does, and that’s why these tensions have appeared and are spreading.  If America wants to end racial stereotypes for good, we first need to start with our law enforcement agencies, and problem solve.  In my opinion I believe more diverse police agencies, and community policing would start us off in the right direction, and help gain back trust that police officers so desperately desire.

There have been numerous incidents in the past couple of years that have sparked racial protests throughout America.  One of the most famous cases was the shooting of Michael Brown.  Michael Brown was killed at the hands of a white police officered named Darren Wilson in Ferguson Missouri.  Some people say that Brown assaulted officer Wilson where as others say Wilson was using unlawful force.  Either way Brown was shot and killed unarmed in the streets.  Since Brown was a black man and was killed by a white police officer, many people were upset and angry.  Protests took place in Ferguson for quite some time after (Smith).    

Another huge story that has to do with minorities and police officers is the Dallas shooting of five police officers.  This killing spree was revenge, relating to all of the police brutality incidents in past years.  An ex-military sniper shot five police officers dead, and wounded seven others in Dallas, leaving the country in shock.  The shooter believed that police officers were using unlawful force, and because of this he decided to kill 5 innocent officers.  This is obviously an awful act and really demonstrates how big of an issue these minority tensions are, and how much they can affect our country. Dallas News states “The downtown shooting interrupted a peaceful march in protest of the killings of blacks by police” (Yasmin).  This shows how there are two ways to deal with these issues.  One that is peaceful and hopeful of change, and the other that is violent (Fernandez et al).  Obama even had to call a meeting shortly after this with members of both law enforcement agencies and civil rights activists to help bring each other together.

A New York Times article states that in the meeting Obama said “’There is no doubt that police departments still feel embattled and unjustly accused, and there is no doubt that minority communities, communities of color, still feel like it just takes too long to do what’s right.’” (Julie Hirschfeld Davis) This shows how both sides of the picture have very different opinions about these reoccurring situations.  On one hand police officers are feeling wrongly accused for attempting to protect themselves, and on the other hand, minorities are fed up with being treated unfairly and unequally compared to Caucasians.   Both sides, have very fair points.  Police officers are put into dangerous situations every day and sometimes need to use force to protect themselves, and minority citizens feel as if they are less of people than Caucasians because the way they are treated and portrayed.   Obama shows his concern throughout this source and states how members of both parties need to come together to help resolve their problems.  He realizes this task will take some time and wants every American citizen to try and help out in their communities.   The more people realize these tensions are a serious issue, the quicker they will be resolved.

As mentioned earlier, one solution is making our law enforcement agencies more diverse.  Police communities all over the country are trying to get more applicants, especially from minority citizens.  Some police chiefs are hoping that young blacks will stop protesting and start applying , help fix the problems they see in their communities.  In a PBS article they state “Law enforcement has had some success attracting more minorities.  The share of minority officers nationally has nearly doubled in three decades, growing from 14.6 percent to 27.3 percent since 1987, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.  But that still doesn’t equal the share of minorities in the U.S., at 37.2 percent.” (Jen Fifield).  This is a promising sign that we are moving in the right direction.  However, it also shows how our system is still unproportioned, and how Caucasians are typically the people who apply to become police officers.  

This means that communities that mostly contain minorities, have mostly Caucasians policing them.  When this happens, it becomes hard for police officers to be able to relate to the citizens they are watching over, which leads to a lack of trust.  Then minorities feel as if police are just there to get them in trouble, and control them, when in reality they are there to protect them.  This makes police brutality situations more likely to occur, causing tensions to build stronger. If we have more minorities policing in these communities, then both the officers patrolling those communities and the citizens living in them could relate more.  Causing better police/citizen relationships.  The better relationships we have with law enforcement the less likely we are to have conflicts.

Another topic that relates to diversity in law enforcement and minority arrests, is something called implicit bias.  A recent source states “Implicit bias describes the automatic association people make between groups of people and stereotypes about those groups – stereotypes that even members of the targeted group can internalize.” (Tracie L. Keesee).  Implicit bias takes seconds to occur and most people don’t realize they are doing it when it happens.  It is basically when you make your decision off of a last second stereotype that pops into your head.  Implicit bias can definitely affect police officers, and it may be the reason why they typically arrest and prosecute more minorities. Police officers associate people of color with negative things and automatically think they are doing something wrong.  This is what has started to cause police brutality incidents and has contributed to protests.  If law enforcement is more diverse, the police officers will be less likely to have this implicit bias on people of their own race.  However, it still can happen as the previously mentioned quote states.  Even members in that minority can still associate their race with negative stereotypes, but this is less likely than having a white officer stereotype a minority.  Not many people realize that implicit bias exists and it is important that we realize signs of implicit bias among police officers, and help them before other incidents occurs.

Also something that can lead to better civilian, police relationships is community policing.  Community policing is where police officers live in the communities in which they work.  They get to know their neighbors, and can really start to understand what is going on in their community.  They form relationships and build trust with the people they work for.  An article from CBS said “Asked to describe the single thing that has been most successful for the department, Thomson cited human contact, including having officers walking the beat, spending more time outside of their squad cars and talking to residents about what matters most to them and what has most negatively defined their lives.” (Rebecca Kaplan). Scott Thomson, being the Camden County police chief in New Jersey, understands how powerful community policing can be.  It helps people living in those communities feel more safe and allows them to share their opinions so they can try and make a difference.  The people living in the communities know what’s best for them and the others living in the same area, so why not get their opinions?  It could end up helping out tremendously by reducing criminal activity and improving the lives of the people living there.   Also another benefit of community policing and adding diversity into law enforcement, is that they can go hand in hand with one another.

If a community is mostly minorities, why not have minority officers patrolling and living among them?  They will better understand the circumstances of those civilians and hopefully be able to not only be a cop, but also a mentor to the youth in those communities.  The director of the FBI at a speech given at Georgetown University stated “For instance, data shows that the percentage of young men not working or not enrolled in school is nearly twice as high for blacks as it is for whites.  This initiative, and others like it, is about doing the hard work to grow drug-resistant and violence-resistant kids, especially in communities of color, so they never become part of that officer’s life experience.” (James B. Comey).  James Comey emphasizes throughout the source how important it is to get minority youth started off on the right path.  I believe that community policing would help them out tremendously, and give them people to look up towards, instead of hating law enforcement.  Most minorities end up getting in trouble because they don’t have positive role models, and are surrounded by people who make poor decisions.  This makes them believe that the decisions their family or friends are making are okay and normal, when in reality they are not.  Police officers know right from wrong, and can really help guide children in the right direction.  This will ultimately help reduce criminal activity and hopefully get minority youth focused on school and personal interests rather than criminal activity that will get them in trouble. 

However, there are counterarguments to both suggestions of diversity in law enforcement and community policing.  For starters some people believe that America in general, is anti-minorities, and no matter what law enforcement agent is on duty they will still target and have stereotypes towards people of color (Jones).  This means that even if the officer is black he will still focus most of his attention on blacks and other minorities, just because they are generally associated with negative activity.  Also it is very difficult to get minority citizens to want to apply to become new law enforcement officers.  Most minorities grew up in communities where they hated every cop due to peer opinions, so why would they want to become one themselves?  If you can’t recruit minority citizens to become police officers, then we will continue to have predominately white agencies.  If there is less diversity in police agencies it will be harder to have successful community policing in predominantly minority communities.  It will still be beneficial to have any sort of community policing, but it may not be nearly as effective.

A New York Times article states how community policing has its limits and can be difficult to have in today’s society.  Their main point is that, a single community police officer can’t stop major criminal activity occurring in communities.  They state “If a cop on the beat learns drugs are being sold in a building, he cannot remedy the situation on his own.  What is usually needed is the efforts of a trained undercover officer – a person unknown in the community – to make a “buy” in the apartment.  Only when that is done can the other weapons in law enforcement’s arsenal – search warrants, prosecutions, eviction proceedings –be used.  Simply put, the cop on the beat must be the eyes and ears of law enforcement, but without support from investigative units he will be merely an information booth.” (Robert Morgenthau).  This basically means community policing cannot exist on its own.  There is way too much going on in certain communities, which makes it impossible for just a few police officers to control.  Community policing has to exist alongside other law enforcement groups to obtain its full benefits.  The community police officers should work on building trust and understanding what people feel is wrong with their communities, whereas investigative units should work on bringing down the larger criminal activity.  If the two work together, progress will be made in the community, and hopefully the people living there will benefit.

No country will ever be perfect, but racial tensions in my opinion are unexceptional.  We have made America great by allowing people from all of the world come to this country and let them create better lives for them and their families.  The color of their skin or the things they believe should not affect the way we treat them. The first amendment of our constitution prohibits the making of any laws that relates to religion, which ensure the freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and the freedom of press, but this does not mean we shouldn’t think before we speak or act.  Americans need to become less selfish and realize that everyone come from different backgrounds and struggles.  If we think before we make actions, these racial tensions will fizzle away.  One way to start us off on the right foot is conquering the tensions our law enforcement is facing.  As previously mentioned we should look up to and respect the people that keep us safe.  I truly believe that diversifying our police, and having community policing will help us tremendously, and help gain back trust that we so desperately need.

Diversity is what makes us, as a whole, unique.  If we only have Caucasian police officers there is a higher chance of minority tensions, but if our police officers resemble the people they are protecting, trust will form and become stronger and stronger.  Also community policing may seem difficult to set up, but it will be worth it in the long run.  Right now there are very few good personal relationships with police officers.  The more everyday conversations there are with cops the more personal and better our relationship will become.  In a recent Tedx Talk a former police officer closes her speech with a song she wrote.  Her lyrics read “I cannot do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good that I can do.” (Chelley Seiberit).  These lyrics really hit home with me and show how much, some police officers care.  Yes, not all cops are truly exceptional people, but the ones that think like Chelley truly do make all the difference in the world.  Law enforcement officials and officers are heroes, and will always be in my eyes, and hopefully this opinion will come to many others. 
