- by Dash Oliver
Oakland, California has had the infamous title of being the most dangerous city in the United States. A recent study showed that blacks are stopped and searched more often than any other racial group in the city, making up 62% of the total stops. With this, one could understand the tensions between the Oakland Police Department and the community. These results may lead one to question if the police can repair the relationship between the community and themselves. The police recognize the crime rate of the community and are working to establish better monitoring in Oakland.
Although blacks make up only 28% of the city’s population, they make up the majority of the stops by police in Oakland even though they were no more likely to be found with illegal possessions than any other racial group. Interim Police Chief Sean Whent says the department is, “committed to working toward an Oakland that ensures equal opportunities, protections and successes for all”. This study, however, would make it difficult for the community to believe this. In his lecture, Interim Assistant Chief Paul Figueroa explained that the department must find a way to use resources most efficiently to show that they can lower the homicide rate. He believes that targeting areas and people that they know engage in violence. Guns, he says, is key to lowering the overall crime rate in Oakland. However, stop and searches would suggest that the Oakland police profile blacks, even though they are no more likely to have illegal possessions. These individuals who are stopped may not even be involved with violent activities, yet must face the reality of racial profiling, hindering the relationship between the police and the community. As civil rights attorney John Burris says, “It’s disappointing, but we’ve always suspected this to be true”, showing that the Oakland community is not blind to this problem.
Furthermore, the Oakland Police Department shows that it wants the police to be more integrative with the community. Whent says, “We want the police to be representative of the community”, while Mayor Jean Quan says, “Not enough Oakland kids are applying” to the police academy. Figueroa was raised and Oakland and said he was motivated to help his community. However, low Oakland native graduation rates from the academy could be signs of the lack of trust between the police and community. City leaders understand that natives may have negative interactions with the police, and that “appealing to the younger demographic may be an uphill battle”, thus making recruiting Oakland kids more difficult. Figueroa says that in order to build this trust, the police will have to give a voice to the community, cannot be so secretive, and make the relationship collaborative.
Overall, the Oakland Police Department has a difficult task in building a relationship with the community. Members from the department show a desire to improve relations and give equal opportunity for all ethnicities for protection. Unfortunately, these types of studies of racial profiling will hinder this trust and may continue to create tension between the two parties, leaving questions to whether this can be established.
Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Blacks-stopped-more-often-in-Oakland-data-show-5345500.php
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/crime-law/study-raises-questions-about-oakland-police-stops/nfK3x/
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/2-investigates-opd-looks-recruit-younger-native-of/nd5FZ/
Oliver,
ReplyDeleteI found your post really interesting! I agree that the relationship between the police and the community is very important because it can reduce racial profiling and reduce the rate of police stopping individuals who are probably not even involved in violent activites. While reading this post, it reminded me of myself getting patted down every time at the airport because I appear to be muslim and racial profiling post 9/11.
Mandeep Thind
Your blog post brings up an interesting question on whether or not the police can repair the torn relationship between themselves and the community, and I agree with you that it will be an uphill battle. With the racial profiling that is going on against African Americans, as well as the discrepancies between the department’s goals of equal protection and actions of discrimination, it will most likely take a huge push toward community policing in order to solve any of this. Perhaps the police department should take some lessons from “Cops, Teachers, Counselors,” especially the final story about a police officer who lived up to his promise of throwing a small parade after the team’s football team succeeded in the Super Bowl. Small gestures such as these might be the only way to reverse the impression in young men’s minds that the police can’t be trusted.
ReplyDeleteJonathan Berry-Smith
Well, first off, I was not aware that Oakland has the highest crime rate out of any United States city. One aspect I found interesting about the post was your ability to draw attention to how precincts are unable to build trust when they are stopping and targeting certain demographics based on pervasive cultural stereotypes. We know the statistics behind stop and frisk practices and how often minorities are stopped in comparison to their white fellows. The question I have, as well as many others, is why are black citizens consistently being stopped if as you write, “they were no more likely to be found with illegal possessions than any other racial group”? A vicious cycle has formed where cops target minorities and justify this stereotyping with “objective” data-driven decision making meanwhile, minorities know they are being targeted and this resentment leads to a palpable loss in legitimacy. I also appreciated the focus on the relationship, or lack thereof, between Oakland’s police department and the community and how this gap effectively makes it more difficult to recruit individuals from Oakland into the Oakland PD. - Chelsea Goddard
ReplyDeleteThis post is very interesting because it presents a problem that may or may not be able to be fixed. The relationship between the Oakland police department and the people in Oakland has tension, but because of racial profiling it might not be able to be smoothed out. I like how you presented facts from the articles you chose as well as information from our guest speakers. When Interim Assistant Chief Paul Figueroa talked to our class about the relationship with people in Oakland, it seemed like it was hindered but definitely in the process of being fixed. However, the facts about racial profiling are problematic. How are people supposed to just forget about the negative stereotypes used against them? A productive relationship is not impossible, but it will definitely be a struggle and take time and forgiveness. -Brooke Arthur
ReplyDeleteI really liked your point about the lack of native Oakland citizens joining the police force. You mentioned the importance of hiring locals to legitimacy and trust between the community and the police. Another crucial aspect of hiring natives that Professor Musheno discussed in class was the potential for minority officers to act as agents of institutional reform. Because so many minorities experience first-hand the negative effects of unequal stop and frisks, they become powerful forces for change within the department. I think they would be more effective at enacting change within the department because the department would be more willing to listen to fellow officers than outside influences.
ReplyDeleteChristine Prior
It is a dilemma as Zimring says in the cbs sf local article on high rates of stops that there is no evidence of the police using anything besides intelligence-led policing but the data reveals how disproportionately the African American community is stopped. As one classmate mentioned in another article in discussion section, statistics can often be interpreted as racial profiling and never really show a complete picture of how effective police strategies really are. The interest of the police to rebuild their legitimacy and relationship with the Oakland community conflicts with the data shown through their policing practices. The next generation of citizens in Oakland need to believe the police isn't going out to stop them.
ReplyDeleteShiwei Chen
I like your article because it brings up the point in which the police is doing one thing, yet they say that they are trying to do something else for the community. They say that they are looking to change their ways to get the community involved yet they are stigmatizing the community members. In relations to the statistics given about the incarceration rates of Blacks in Oakland, it is very closely related to the statistics nationwide, such that they are about twenty five percent of the United States Population, yet they make up almost half of all incarcerated inmates. Speaking of recruiting from the community, my uncle, a college graduate and member of the community applied but got denied. If only community members who know how the city works and who it is made up of, then the policing would be more legitimate for it would be more understanding of the community, its needs; in hopes of working together to lower crime rates altogether.
ReplyDelete-Sureyma Gonzalez
I really like this post because it illustrates not only the dynamic of relationships between law enforcement and the community, but also the difficulty in integrating the two. Whenever any city has such a strong reputation, like Oakland, it is extremely easy to view the Police Department as a completely separate institution from society. However, it could prove to be extremely beneficial to see the two as a unit. More specifically, the police department should be seen as a safety net within the community. If it functions WITHIN the community instead of "against" it or "along side" it, then society as a whole would function in support of eliminating these stereotypes. I also agree that an effective method in making this happen is through integration and broadening of the officer body itself. Bridging the gap between officers and society could prove to be extremely beneficial.
ReplyDelete-Kim Newton
Your post outlines the problem of the divide between the Oakland community and the Oakland Police Department very well, but one that that I would like to note is that your post as well as the articles that you cite actually manifest the lack of voice of the Oakland citizens that you mention. There is little to no mention of what community comments on the matter are; the only quotes that have names attached to them are those of police officers. This is not a criticism of your post, but rather an observation of the extent to which Oakland citizens have been deprived of a say in the policing of their own community.
ReplyDelete- Chey Iwamoto
I like how this post raises the issue of democratic policing and the problems that the lack of democratic policing brings. The absence of trust from the community and lack of understanding between law enforcement agencies and population leads to the miscommunication and even further criminalization of the targeted groups of population. It seems like strategies used within the approach of community policing could solve some of the problems that were brought up in this post.
ReplyDeleteAlexander Solodovnikov
I like your blog because it shows that there is no trustful relationship between the Oakland police and the community. It is really sad that there is no enough people from the community want to become police officer. I think, if more people from the community, the people who understand the community and its people, become the police, it will be a great icebreaker. This blog also proved Slansky’s point. He mentioned that it is very difficult for police to gain legitimacy or trusted from the community; instead of focusing on technological development, the police should put legitimacy on the first priority. In the case of Oakland, it is obvious that the police should put legitimacy and gaining the trust from the community and the minority race as their first priority.
ReplyDeleteSnasui Iwamoto
I’ve always found it incredible that a minority group is the group that is stopped the most by the police. This brings us back to racial profiling and institutionalized racism in today’s society. Like you said if the Oakland police department is trying to become closer to the black community or just the community of Oakland in general the police force needs to be representative of the community of Oakland. More Oakland natives need to apply for the force and be apart it in order for the force to be closer with the community.
ReplyDelete-Jarred Boone
The Oakland Police Department has a standing history of distrust in the community. If it really wants to break that streak then it will need to be more inclusive in its ranks. The population of Oakland needs to step up and apply if they want to see change in the community and the Department needs to be truly ready to accommodate them.
ReplyDelete-Alejandro Castellano
Interesting blog post. I have a friend who is originally from Oakland and we had a conversation about the Oakland Police Department and where its resources should be concentrated on. When Interim Chief Figueroa said that he was upset to see Oakland as one of the most dangerous cities in America, it sparked a conversation of what the main source of danger was. Lowering the homicide rate was one factor. Another factor was having police officers have a better relationship with the community. I think that lowering the homicide rate would be beneficial to the city of Oakland because it can bring trust within the community and hopefully control gang activity. However, it is sometimes hard for people to trust police officers especially when people feel they have been targeted and profiled. I think that the main resources should be focused on community policing. Police officers need a better relationship in order to build a sense of trust within their community.
ReplyDelete- Jordan Ho
I agree that it is difficult to recruit people who don't feel that the police are legitimate. However, the police academy application process itself is also a challenge for potential recruits. It is a long process with several fitness and academic tests and they are often difficult, especially for someone who grew up in a city like Oakland where the public schools have many students who never even acquire basic ninth grade reading and comprehension.
ReplyDeleteDash, Your blog points to the complexity, almost tightrope like situation, the OPD is in with the need to reduce gun violence and at the same time, end crude forms of profiling. The Ceasefire project now underway should not be seen as the same as stop and frisk, though it could evolve away from a strategy of careful targeting based on intelligence evolves into a crude game of relying on informants and wiretapping. I wonder how Sergeant Joshi's approach to policing in Oakland influences your assessment of the OPD?!
ReplyDelete