Race/Ethnicity as the Defining Characteristic of Policing in the U.S (original) (raw)

2018, Race, Immigration, and Social Control

Race/ethnicity is arguably one of the most influential characteristics of social affairs in the U.S. Various forms of racism and racial inequality, such as residential and school segregation, discrimination in employment and access to public services, and profiling in law enforcement and disproportionate minority contact in the criminal justice system, have placed tremendous burdens on racial and ethnic minorities since the early days of American history. The last several decades have witnessed some noteworthy advancement in the social, political, economic, and educational rights and social status of people of color and noticeable changes in the operation of the criminal justice system clearly resulting from the civil rights movement. Some researchers argue that the importance of racial background is diminishing in the daily lives of Americans (Wilson, 1987), including in predicting citizen evaluations of the police (Jesilow, Meyer, & Namazzi, 1995). Others, however, contend that racial inequality remains ordinary rather than aberrational (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). Racial minorities, especially in urban high crime areas, continue to have strained relationship with the police (Walker, Spohn, & DeLone, 2003), and the persisting social distance between Whites and Blacks continues to allow the nation to be 2 Race/Ethnicity as the Defining Characteristic of Policing in the U.S.