Censored Story Issues - Essay Example

Censored Story Part The selected topic of interest for the proposed essay is about the failure to track civilian deaths from lethal use of force by police in the US, as well as the need for a database that tracks police shootings. The essay will use peer reviewed articles, including "Reducing police use of force: Case studies and prospects". This article proposes that a framework of data reporting on civilian deaths by police using lethal force should be instituted (Prenzler et al 347). The essay will also use news stories from the Washington Post, one of which is the article "How Many Police Shootings in a Year? No One Knows". This article argues that the US should have a national database that tracks and reports police shootings because the US government tracks practically everything else, including the number of shark attacks on humans (Lowery 1). Finally, the essay will also rely on the Bureau of Justice Statistics website, which tracks and reports arrest-related deaths. Part 2 The topic of interest for the proposed essay involves censorship over the lack of reporting regarding police shootings. A similar issue occurred at Syracuse University, where a sit-in protest by students over the administrations policy was covered by the corporate media but not in its entirety. The general Body of the Syracuse University, which brings together various student bodies from the university, had organized a sit-in protest against the new university Chancellors "Fast Forward" Program (dailycensored.com 1). This program sought to close the universitys advocacy centre, which caters for the needs of students victimized by sexual abuse, while also reducing the number of staff in the psychiatry unit in order to implement cuts in the number of staff. However, although this protest was covered in various media sources, including the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Huffington Post, U.S.A. Today, Democracy Now, these media sources censored the real reason for the protests, instead giving coverage to general issues. Probably the biggest reason why most media sources failed to cover the real reason for the protests was due to the fact that major corporations were involved in closing the advocacy centre, as well as the departure of psychiatry staff from the university. Two major organizations are identified, which are Sassaki Associates and Bain and Company (dailycensored.com 1). Both agencies are interested in taking over the advocacy centres operations, in which Sassaki Associates is to be involved in planning and revitalization in partnership with the university. Bain and Company, on the other hand, seeks to be involved in the management of several university operations. It is highly likely that this is the reason why there was nothing in media reports about the real reason why the students were protesting. Part 3 Rosenwasser & Stephen (p.18) state that, in analyzing any article, it is important to suspend ones judgment and understand the premise of the argument before judging. In analyzing the article on the need for a database on police shootings, it was important not to initially make any judgment on why there were no records on the number of civilian deaths caused by the use of lethal force by police. While the lack of such a database is wrong, there may be administrative issues preventing the tracking and reporting of this data. Analyzing a story also requires that significant elements of the article are defined and related to one another (Rosenwasser & Stephen 20). This article has four main elements, which are that police track police deaths but not civilian deaths, civilian deaths are tracked by private entities at the moment, such a database would involve input from the public, and police agencies can also participate in verifying the occurrence of these fatal incidents. These elements combine to show that there is a need for a national database to track police shootings that involves the public and the police. Rosenwasser & Stephen (p.19) also proposes that analyzing a story should involve identification of patterns of repetition, anomaly, and contrast. Looking for contrasts in the story is important for identifying details that should be paid more attention. In the article, the writer contrasts the presence of a mechanism to track and report police deaths when in the line of duty against the lack of any mechanisms to track civilians killed by police in the line of duty. Civilian deaths as a result of police using lethal force are also repeated throughout the story, drawing attention to the lack of any mechanism to track these deaths. The anomaly noted in this story is that, although police reports do include all deaths to civilians as a result of police action, this data is not tracked or reported by any national agency despite a similar mechanism being available for police deaths. Part 4 The proposed essay will seek to argue that a national repository or database that tracks and reports on all forms and manner of civilian deaths due to the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers in the line of duty. One way in which this argument could be made is that such an effort would help in re-establishing the trust between American civilians and law enforcement officers and agencies. Particularly, in light of the recent unrest about the killing of young minorities by law enforcement officers, there is a need to address the long-standing mistrust between minorities and the police. The fact that establishing such a database would make law enforcement officers more accountable for their actions, especially while on duty, will also be used as a reason why this database should be established. However, there are obviously a number of reasons why the corporate media has been unwilling to report on this anomaly in the reporting of civilian deaths by police, one of which could be pressure from the National Association of Police Organizations. It is easy to see why the National Association of Police Organizations would not want the spotlight to shine on the lack of accountability among police departments across the US, especially with regards to the killing of unarmed civilians. A national database would only increase pressure on police departments to make their officers more accountable, which may harm their morale. However, the essay will argue against this assumption because there is already a record for civilian fatalities, meaning that a comprehensive database would not be an entirely new undertaking for police departments. The only problem with the current database is that it relies on voluntary reporting across police departments, resulting in partial accountability. The essay will aim to proceed on the premise that both civilian and police death counts should account for more or less the same. Indeed, the lack of data on civilian deaths, coupled with the lukewarm coverage on this anomaly by the corporate media, lead people to assume that the government is hiding something. Part 4 This essay will support the idea that a national repository or database that tracks and reports incidents that involve use of lethal force by the police on civilians should be established, while also arguing that the current lack of media debate about the issue only makes the idea more difficult to execute. When I initially decided to pursue this topic for my essay, I consulted mainstream media and discovered that the FBI tracks police shootings that are justifiable, which it then reports, although this data is based on voluntary reporting by police departments and only involves deaths that the departments can justify. On consulting alternative media sources, I learnt that no government agency reports reliable statistics on civilian killings by police, and, where such reports are made; there is no data on the circumstances under which these civilians die. I now understand that a national database on civilian killed by police is significant because it will make police officers and departments more accountable. However, these efforts are unlikely to be covered in corporate media because of pressure from police organizations like the National Association of Police Organizations. Works Cited Bureau of Justice. Arrest-Related Deaths. February 2015. 8 February 2015 . dailycensored.com. Students win small victories in 18 Day Sit-in, Vow to continue the struggle against Corporate Practices at Syracuse University. 26 November 2014. 15 February 2015 . Lowery, Wesley. How many police shootings a year? No one knows. 8 September 2014. 8 February 2015 . Prenzler, Tim; Porter, Louise; & Alpert, Geoffrey. "Reducing Police Use of Force: Case Studies and Prospects." Aggression and Violent Behavior. 18.2 (2013): 343-356. Internet Source Rosenwasser, David & Stephen, Jill. Writing Analytically. Boston, MA: Cengage, 2012. Print. Read More