Guest views are now limited to 12 pages. If you get an "Error" message, just sign in! If you need to create an account, click here.

Jump to content

  • CRYPTO REWARDS!

    Full endorsement on this opportunity - but it's limited, so get in while you can!

Eric Holder: US Justice Department to launch study of racial bias among police

umbertino

By umbertino,
in Off Topic posts

 Share

Recommended Posts

umbertino Grand Master

umbertino

Posted
Posted

Attorney general says shooting of Michael Brown in Ferugson underscored the need for three-year initiative

 

 

  • Associated Press in Washington
  •  
  • theguardian.com, Tuesday 16 September 2014 19.36 EDT

 

 

The Justice Department has enlisted a team of criminal justice researchers to study racial bias in law enforcement in five American cities and recommend strategies to address the problem nationally, Attorney General Eric Holder said Tuesday, broadening its push to improve police relations with minorities.

 

The police shooting last month of an unarmed black 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri underscored the need for the long-planned initiative, Holder said in an interview with the Associated Press.

 

He said the three-year project, which will involve training, data analysis and interviews with community residents, could be a “silver lining” if it helps ease racial tensions and “pockets of distrust that show up between law enforcement and the communities that they serve.”

 

“What I saw in Ferguson confirmed for me that the need for such an effort was pretty clear,” Holder said.

 

The five cities have not yet been selected, but the researchers expect that the cities will offer training to officers and command staff on issues of racial bias.

 

The 9 August shooting death of Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson spotlighted longstanding concerns about diversity in policing. The Ferguson police force is overwhelmingly white even though the suburban St Louis city is roughly 70% black. A 2013 report by the Missouri attorney general’s office found that Ferguson police stopped and arrested black drivers nearly twice as often as white motorists, but were less likely to find contraband among the black drivers.

 

Holder, who visited Ferguson last month to meet with Brown’s parents and with investigators, said he was struck by the number of complaints he heard about traffic stops and the concerns from minorities about being treated unfairly during encounters with the police.

 

“The reality is that it certainly had a negative impact on people’s view of the effectiveness and fairness of the police department,” Holder said.

 

The Justice Department in April announced that it was soliciting bids for a racial bias project that would collect data on stops, searches and arrests. On Thursday, the department will announce that it will provide $4.75m in grants to a team of researchers from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City, Yale University, UCLA and the Urban Institute.

 

In their writings, the researchers who have been invited to cities including Chicago and New Haven to address violence there have stressed the importance of a forum for minority communities to air grievances about law enforcement. Their work seeks to identify and curb hidden racial biases that can inform a police officer’s decision about whom to consider a likely suspect and when to fire a weapon.

 

“Studies show that if people think that they are treated fairly by the police, that matters almost more than what the result is,” Holder said. “If you get stopped for a traffic stop and feel that you are treated courteously and fairly, you are much more likely to accept the fact that you got a speeding ticket.”

 

Both the FBI and local authorities are investigating the shooting for potential criminal charges, and the Justice Department is running a separate civil rights probe into the practices of the entire Ferguson police force. Holder said the FBI-led investigation into the shooting was moving along with good cooperation from the community.

 

 

44aa5851-778b-4806-9fc1-45004e15f9e6-460

 

US attorney general Eric Holder speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. Photograph: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

 

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/16/eric-holder-justice-department-racial-bias-study-police

Link to comment
Share on other sites
sxsess Newbie

sxsess

Posted
Posted

Really guys?

 

We all know that only "White" folks are predjudice. Black, Brown & Yellow are the victums!

 

WOW Do I need to educate everyone? Ask CNN, Headline News, and Hollywood! LOL

So true brother. We need to stand together. After we are the majority! And yes I'm white if you couldn't tell

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.


  • Testing the Rocker Badge!

    Take This Quiz

  • Live Exchange Rate

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.

  I accept