Driving While Black - Essay Example

Driving While Black Driving While Black Recent years the question of racial profiling by police becomes an issue of the day for American citizens.Racial profiling or "Driving While Black" policies followed by police cause great public concern as direct violation of human rights and law in general. Criminal Justice System is concerned to protect society by punishing those (the accused or defendants) who have committed crimes against the state. On the one hand, the main role is to find solutions and methods to reduce number of crimes and negative behavior patterns that pose a threat to the public. To reduce crimes rates and create safer environment police takes extreme measures in order to protect population from criminal actions and offenders. On the other hand, extreme safety measures result in abuse of members of minority groups. The question of "Driving While Black" is important because it touches human dignity and rights of thousand of people suspected in drug dealing or other crimes because of their race. To eliminate the rate of possible crimes, criminal justice system is aimed to pay a special attention to these groups. Lack of police resources affects citizens more directly and to a greater practical extent than previously. Recent trends and statistical results unveil that police measures result in violation of human rights through police misconduct towards minority groups. The problem is that black population regarded "presumptively criminal based upon their race" (Kennedy, 1999). Rising crime has emphasized the control role of the criminal law among other factors, have contributed to a heavier workload for the civil law. Although, "One common complaint about racial profiling is that using race (say, blackness) as one of several factors in selecting targets of surveillance is fundamentally and necessarily racist" (Kennedy, 1999). The problem of "Driving While Black" policies is evident because more and more black people are pulled over without cause. For instance, "During the trial it emerged that on a 26-mile long stretch on the southern part of the New Jersey Turnpike minorities accounted for 46 percent of the drivers stopped, even though they were only 15 percent of the speeders" (Cockburn, Clair, 1999). Some critics of these policies feel that the law has still not adapted to changing conditions, nor understood the nature and needs of contemporary society. Recent well-publicized miscarriages of justice have caused embarrassment to the police, government and judiciary, and increased public concern about the quality of police functions (Weitzer, 1999). Similar misgivings are also felt about the expense and operation of the civil law system. A federal lawsuit United States v. Weaver has given police more freedom for racial profiling. Although, it stipulates certain patterns and norms when "blackness" can be regarded as "a signal" for that could be legitimately relied upon in the decision to approach and ultimately detain the suspect" Kennedy, 1999). Taking into account facts presented by Weitzer (1999) and Harris (1987), it is possible to say that use of "Driving While Black" may be regarded as quite reasonable under certain circumstances. These researchers underline that the main crime patterns that are deemphasized include murders, sex offenders and gang activity. These crime patterns are influenced by behavior patterns of black offenders and could be reduced in all groups mentioned above. Also, police intervention activities are directed against gang activity and drug dealing as "driven forces" to criminal behavior typical for black population. To be effective police should employ different range of activities and cover different groups of potential offenders, and black people represents a big group of suspects. In any case, it is important to emphasize that "blackness" is not regarded as "a signal" of criminal behavior. Studies found that: "Residents of both the white and the black middle-class neighborhoods were less likely to perceive or experience police abuse in their neighborhoods than were residents of the black lower-class neighborhood" (Weitzer, 1999). These facts show that class location is more important for police then racial differences and it is impossible to say about "blackness" as the only cause for illegal stops. On the other hand, rights are particularly difficult to operationalize in legal politics if the object of these rights is to protect indigenous identity. Since rights language is usually attached to the idea that individuals should be protected, it tends not to work well when applied to collectives. It also gives rise to conflict when a collective asserts its rights over individuals who also make rights-based claims. For the black population the 'escape' from blackness is marked by violence, a violence of distance and disavowal. It is not surprising, therefore, if leading Black intellectuals attack the notion of racial democracy and seek to provide a new narrative which offers a central place to those of African descent. In spite of theoretical investigations and background, in practice police misconduct is still an issue of the day for thousands of black drivers. For instance, in some cases police violate rights of black citizens and "pull over black people driving expensive cars". In October of 1997, police stopped a black and held him for more than an hour. Policeman explained that the driver is suspected in stolen a car, but "this story was false. The black driver was driving a new Jeep Grand Cherokee. The stolen vehicle was a Honda" (Cockburn, Clair, 1999). This episode vividly depicts that the enslaved African became a 'citizen' as stated under the law, but he also became a 'nigger', cornered from all sides. This was made apparent in the ways in which ethnic identities were subsumed, and still are, within and between economic identities, a political-economic class identity with the ethnic referent made invisible. Peoples designated by their labour-power both within discourses of the right and the left. Criminal law does not allow to suspect minority groups without valid reason, although such practices take place around the country. Even if some researchers state that: "there is little information on such stops" (Weitzer 1999), it is impossible to avoid public concern and suites against "Driving While Black" policies. For instance the study provided by Harris (19970 presents substantial information stating that: "Police will not subject all drivers to traffic stops in the way Whren allows. Rather, if past practice is any indication, they will use the traffic code to stop a hugely disproportionate number of African-Americans and Hispanics" (Harris, 1997). The police should operate under codes of practice, which lay down strict procedures for suspects, although these codes are not perfect and do not encounter all possible situations faced by patrol offices. If the government does not accept strict laws which help police to determine potential offenders, the police will be faced with increasing number of suits against "Driving While Black" policies and violation of privacy rights. The adversarial nature of recent polices can result either in the conviction of innocent people or the guilty escaping conviction. The system should allow the questioning of suspects and establishing of facts to be carried out by professional impartial policemen. "Driving While Black" policies should be exterminated and strict code of police ethics should be developed in order to protect innocent citizens from criminal actions. In any case, confrontation between "Driving While Black" policies and law takes a form of ethical war. To avoid this unpleasant misperception police should adopt strict ethical policy in order to regulate controversial questions concerning human dignity and honor. It does not means that black population should be granted special rights or low ethical standards, but strict regulatory legislation will helps to maintain high standards and prevent unfair actions. References 1. Cockburn, A., Clair, J.S. (1999). Driving While Black. Retrieved from http://www.counterpunch.org/drivingblack.html [Accessed 25 Mar 2006] 2. Harris, D.A (1997) "Driving While Black" and All Other Traffic Offenses: the Supreme Court and Pretextual Traffic Stops". The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology. 87 (2), 544-582. 3. Kennedy, R. (1999). Suspect Policy. The New Republic v221, 11-12, pp30-5, S 13-20 4. Weitzer, R. (1999) Citizens' Perception of Police Misconduct: Race and Neighborhood Context. Justice Quarterly, 16 (4), 719-846. Read More