Ethnicity and the Police 1

RUNNING HEAD: ETHICITY AND THE POLICE

Ethnicity and the Police
Steven Griffiths CJA344
Maria Uribe-Pizana

University of Phoenix

10SEP11






















Ethnicity and the Police 2


Public opinion of police by different ethnic groups

Today it seems as though local Police Officers are always in the news for an officer
related shooting, or an accusation of police brutality on a law abiding, tax paying citizen. Having my
current profession as a county Sheriff, I have a very high and respectable opinion of any and all law
enforcement officials. Did I always have this opinion? In fact I did not, being young and invincible I
didnt respect, nor did I have a valid opinion about police officers, it wasnt until I decided to grow up
that I did in fact form my opinion on them and their duties in their job. According to a 2009 survey
conducted by the Pew Research Center: Six-in-ten (61%) Hispanics say they have a great deal or a fair
amount of confidence that the police in their local communities will do a good job enforcing the law,
compared with 78% of whites and 55% of blacks. Just under half (46%) of Hispanics say they have
confidence that police officers will not use excessive force on suspects, compared with 73% of whites and
38% of blacks. Given the conclusion of this research topic, it is safe to assume that the Hispanic
community has a high opinion of the police, but still fear that they will be one of the percentages of
individuals who are encountered with excessive force use. In June of 2009 CBS conducted a toll of
African Americans on their opinions of policing, tactics, and overall treatment by police, 41% of the
interviewed blacks stated that they were treated the same as Caucasians, whereas 50% said that they were
treated worse than Caucasians when either encountered or arrested by law enforcement officials. When
the same group of people was asked if they had ever been discriminated against by law enforcement
officials 52% of blacks said that they had been discriminated against, and 48% stated that they had not
been discriminated against. According to the same CBS 2009 poll Overall, 46 percent of Americans say
whites and black and non-white Hispanics are treated equally by police. Thirty-eight percent say whites
are treated better than black and non-white Hispanics. Three percent say black and non-white Hispanics
are treated better than whites. Less than one in five Americans overall 18 percent says they have been
discriminated against by police because of their race or ethnicity. But the percentage of blacks, and non-
white Hispanics who say police have discriminated against them because of race or ethnicity is far higher
Ethnicity and the Police 3

52 percent. Some of the other minority groups including Asians, Arabs, Sheiks, and native Americans
stated that their overall opinion of local law enforcement officials is very high and that out of the group of
4 35% would like to pursue a career in law enforcement, or a similar criminal justice field. Opinions of
police and law enforcement officials mostly stems from the medias coverage of events, and how they are
portrayed in order to boost ratings. Opinions are also formed from personal experiences with police
officers, whether they are good or bad, every encounter adds to the bowl, and it only takes but one
experience point in either direction to forever alter the way that you and other see law enforcement
officials. If you have the attitude that you are only getting pulled over because you are black, or Hispanic,
or Asian, or white, or green then you are always going to think that they are wrong for pulling you over,
not that you are wrong for breaking the law. Every incident carries with it two sides: Am I in the right? Or
is it because Im (insert ethnic group here)?
References
2009 Survey: Ethnic groups and Law Enforcement. (2009). Retrieved from
http://www.pewresearchcenter.com/archives/2009/police/ethnicgroups.html

President Obama Meets with Minority Leaders. (2009). Retrieved from
http://www.cbs.com/poll/obana_2009.html