Law Enforcement Agencies in the US - Essay Example

Under-representation of African-American officers in Law enforcement agencies in US Law enforcement agencies are one of the critical segments of any administration. Right persons at the right places are essential for enforcing the law and order in the country smoothly. ‘Intergroup racial conflicts can cause serious costs on police organizations. Managerially it can damage morale, create divisions in the organization and can distract the attention of mid level and upper management from attaining long term department goals’ (Kenney & McNamara, p.188) Intergroup conflicts can effectively reduce the output of the law enforcement organizations and it is an accepted fact that most of the law enforcement agencies are reluctant in appointing African- American officers in their organizations because of their concern over such intergroup conflicts. Discipline is the main requirement, of a law enforcement organization and the introduction of more African-American into such organizations may result in conflicts between the African-Americans and the Americans which will damage the discipline in the organization. African-Americans have a strong belief that their community is discriminated in America because of the racial issues. An officer who experiences discrimination within his organization may behave rudely against the white community while enforcing the law and order. The feeling of isolation will force them keep an aggressive nature against the white people. Apart from English language, foreign language proficiency is a must for the employees of a law enforcement agency. Most of the African-American may not have good proficiency either in English or in any other foreign language which prevented the agencies from appointing more people from these communities into the organization. MS-13 gang – drug trafficking and international membership MS-13 gang (named after La Mara a street in El Salvador and 13 th street in Los Angeles) is one of the most dangerous and organized criminal groups in America. It is an international criminal group with roots in El Salvador, Mexico, and Honduras like countries. This group originated in El Salvador in order to participate in their civil war and when the war approaches to an end they shifted operations to the nearest country, Honduras. Honduras government has adopted strict measures to control their activities which forced them to move to Mexico. “The Mara Salvatrucha gang (MS-13) moved into the Los Angeles area in the late 1980s as immigrants from El Salvador began arriving in the city” (MS13 Gang), MS 13 gang members often put numerous tattoos on their body and also wear blue and white colour clothes (colours of El Salvador flag). This gang is violent in their activities and have no fear in slaughtering innocent public. They often take revenge upon those people who inform the police about their activities. Drug trafficking is the main revenue source for them. They have identified many commercial routes in America which is suitable for their drug trafficking activities. Quiet often they steal drugs from medical stores also. “Three months ago in Madison, Wis., local police and FBI investigators arrested three suspected MS-13 members who allegedly were involved in stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of over-the-counter medicines from 22 Walgreens drugstores throughout the Midwest” (Johnsons). Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has already warned the public about the dangers of MS-13 gang and asked the public to report about their activities without any hesitation. Indian community crimes and community policing “The rate for American Indians (124 violent crimes per 1,000 American Indians) was more than twice the rate for the Nation (50 per 1,000 persons)” (Greenfeld &Smith, p.1) The Indians in America are both the culprits and victims of violence. Involvement of alcohol, drugs, and weapons are used in the criminal activities by and against the Indians. In fact, the Indian community in America is involved in criminal activities more than any other ethnic group as per the statistics available. “In the United States from 1992 to 1995, American Indians and Asians were the only racial or ethnic groups to experience increases in the rate of abuse or neglect of children under age 15” (Greenfeld &Smith, p.15) Only the half of the actual criminal activities has been reported to the police by the Indians because of they feel that most of the criminal activities are too minor and related to private matters. “Each year about 150 American Indians become murder victims” (Greenfeld &Smith, p.19) This figure also represents one of the highest when considering the overall murder activities in different ethnic groups in America. At times, Indians are victims also of criminal activities by the white Americans. The growing unemployment problems in America and the present economic crisis are some of the reasons for the criminal activities against the Indians. Indians are holding reasonably good positions in American employment sector which is the main reason for the provocation. Community policing is widely used in order to tackle the criminal activities more effectively. The rationale behind "community policing” is to improve the quality of life in communities by preventing immediate neighbourhood crime. Community policing is a better option for both the Indians and the Americans since it provides an opportunity to solve the problems in a partnership manner between the community and the police. The increased involvement of the community in solving criminal activities will be helpful for the police. Nature of Asian crimes Many of the Asians staying in America feel overwhelmed, frustrated, depressed, and even angry as they were unable to find a suitable job in America because of their lack of language skills or the increased academic demands from the employment sector. Thus they will engage in criminal activities which are hard to investigate and prosecute. Most of the Asians keep their money at home only because of their distrust over the banking sector. The criminals will be motivated by the above fact and often engage in activities like stealing money from such Asian homes. The victims are reluctant to approach the police because of the fear and threat from the Asian gangsters. Distrust over the police force is another reason for preventing the Asian community from reporting the criminal activities. Nobody, even the eye witness may not appear in the court as a witness in order to run the court procedures smoothly. Since America is a secular democratic country any special actions in order to investigate criminal activities against the Asians may lead to protests and human right violation issues. For example, for a while in the mid-1990s, many police departments in southern California set up special "Gang Task Forces" that specifically targeted Asian youth gangs. Their tactics included harassing any group of young Asian Americans who they thought might be affiliated with gangs. The police also took "mugshot" photographs of these Asian Americans, without their consent and as if they were in a police lineup, and kept the photos on file as "possible" gang members. The police justified these actions by claiming that it was very hard to differentiate and distinguish between Asians. These tactics led to a storm of protest, several lawsuits, and criminal investigations for civil rights violations against these police departments. Such methods were eventually ruled unconstitutional and were stopped (Asian American Gangs) Backlash experienced by Arab Americans in the United States since 9/11 Backlash in the form of crimes, discrimination, and devastating government initiatives is the result of 9/11 as far as the Arab community in America is concerned. 9/11 has changed the American social life drastically and the attitudes of Americans towards the people of Arab origin have changed considerably. Americans looking the Arabs with suspicious eyes and every action of them will be scrutinized thoroughly. In American airports, the Arabs are experiencing severe discriminations after the 9/11 incident. All the Muslim people are undergoing thorough analysis before allowing them to enter into the aircrafts or landing in America. The former Indian president and the renowned nuclear scientist Prof.APJ Abdul Kalam is the last prominent person who has been victimized in the label of security check ups by the Continental airways at Delhi airport and also in America. “In a breach of protocol, former president APJ Abdul Kalam, who is exempted from security checks due to his status, was frisked by an American airline at the international airport here before boarding the aircraft. The incident took place on April 24 at the Indira Gandhi international airport when Kalam was travelling to the US. He was treated like an ordinary passenger” (Kalam frisked by American airline at Delhi airport) Labelling of the entire Muslim community as terrorists is not a good sign for the international co-operation especially under the present age of globalization. Discriminations in any form under any circumstances may not be acceptable to the current civilized society. Goods and the evils are there in all the religions and communities and it is foolishness to segregate an entire community because of the increase in global terrorism. We have to go into the roots rather than the surface in order to counter the terrorism effectively. Backlash against a particular community may not bring anything good to the global peace and co-operation. Relation between Black metal scene and Neo-Nazism, White Power, hatred of Jews and people of colour etc Black metal scene was a group of black metal supporters which originated in the early 1990’s consisting of teens and youths. National Socialist Black Metal (NSBM) is a term used to promote Nazi beliefs and doctrines to the public through the lyrics composed by black metal artists. Black metal is famous for their antichristian ideology. They believe in satanic activities (Evil activities) and considered the “Satan” as their God and saviour. They never believed in religion and inspired many other similar movements in America like the Neo-Nazism, White Power, hatred of Jews, people of colour etc. Most of the human beings are dominating type basically because of their intellectual dominance over other living things. Moreover, they want to behave like free birds. Constraints in any other form will not be acceptable to such free thinking human beings. The rules and customs of the religion always serve as a barrier for them to live like a free bird. They never believe in equality principles. They are more aligned towards the animal behaviour in which the dominating one always conquers the weaker ones. For example, Neo Nazism and White Power are symbols of dominance. Though, Nazism and its ideologies were rejected by the world after Second World War, it has several supporters even now. White Power also represents the authority of white people over blacks. Nobody wants to be ruled by others; but everybody wants to rule others. “Today, most Whites are very self-absorbed, not only with financial accumulation, but even more with societal position or image. In this state of egoism, they can be easily manipulated and controlled by simple compliments or ego-strokes to their position, authority, identity, status, education, or intelligence” (Turner) References 1. Kenney Jay& McNamara Robert P., Police and policing, Praeger, Westport Connecticut London, Retrieved on 27 July 2009 from http://books.google.com/books?id=_4JtoRlBNTQC&pg=PA189&dq=Underrepresentation+of+African-American+officers+in+Law+enforcement 2. MS13 Gang, 2009, Retrieved on 27 July 2009 from http://www.altereddimensions.net/crime/MS13Gang.aspx 3. Johnson Kevin, 2006, MS-13 gang growing extremely dangerous, FBI says USA TODAY-01/05/2005, Retrieved on 27 July 2009 from http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-01-05-gang-grows_x.htm 4. Kalam frisked by American airline at Delhi airport, 2009, Retrieved on 27 July 2009 from http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_kalam-frisked-by-american-airlines-at-igi-airport_1275959 5. Greenfeld Lawrence A. and Smith Steven K., 1999, , American Indians and Crime, US department of justice ,Retrieved on 27 July 2009 http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/aic.pdf 6. Asian American Gangs, Retrieved on 27 July 2009 http://www.asian-nation.org/gangs.shtml 7. Turner Jost, White Power: Weve Got It! Retrieved on 27 July 2009 http://www.stormfront.org/white_power/whitepower.htm Read More