tag:theconversation.com,2011:/nz/topics/police-brutality-25475/articlesPolice brutality – The Conversation2024-03-13T12:06:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2241702024-03-13T12:06:02Z2024-03-13T12:06:02ZCorrupt, brutal and unprofessional? Africa-wide survey of police finds diverging patterns<p>Africans generally have a low regard for the quality of policing on the continent. Perceptions of police misconduct, corruption and brutality are widespread, according to a new survey by <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/">Afrobarometer</a>. The independent research network surveyed 39 countries between 2021 and 2023. </p>
<p>Our survey offers <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/PP90-PAP6-Africans-cite-corruption-and-lack-of-professionalism-among-police-failings-Afrobarometer-26jan24.pdf">new evidence</a> of how Africans experience and assess their police. It shows people often have to contend with demands for bribes from police officers. But assessments varied by country: in some, police were said to be helpful.</p>
<p>Afrobarometer currently surveys 39 of Africa’s <a href="https://au.int/en/member_states/countryprofiles2#">55 countries</a>.</p>
<p>As researchers at Afrobarometer, we have published on <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/pp88-brutality-and-corruption-undermine-trust-in-ugandas-police-can-damage-be-undone/">police professionalism</a> and other <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/publication/pp37-are-africans-willing-pay-higher-taxes-or-user-fees-better-health-care/">government institutions</a> for several years. </p>
<p>Our analysis also reveals that negative perceptions of police professionalism and corruption go hand in hand with low public trust in the police, poor marks on government performance, and citizens’ sense of insecurity.</p>
<h2>Encounters with police</h2>
<p>While some citizens seek assistance from the police (to report a crime, for example), others might only encounter the police in less voluntary situations, such as at a checkpoint or traffic stop or during an investigation. Across the 39-country sample, only 13% of respondents said they had requested police assistance during the previous 12 months. Three times as many (40%) reported encountering the police in other situations.</p>
<p>Among respondents who asked for police assistance, more than half (54%) said it had been easy to get the help they needed. More than three-fourths found it easy in Burkina Faso (77%) and Mauritius (76%), though no more than half as many said the same in Malawi (37%), Madagascar (37%) and Sudan (33%). </p>
<p>Many respondents reported a police practice that was less than helpful: stopping drivers on the road without a valid reason. On average, 39% of Africans said the police “often” or “always” stopped drivers without good reason, in addition to 26% who said they “sometimes” did so (Figure 1). The practice is particularly widespread in Gabon (68% often/always) and Kenya (66%). In contrast, fewer than one in five respondents in Ethiopia (18%), Cabo Verde (16%) and Benin (16%) had this complaint.</p>
<p>Both seeking police assistance and being stopped on the road may be a prelude to being asked for money. Among respondents who said they had asked for police assistance during the previous year, 36% said they had had to pay a bribe, give a gift or do a favour to get the help they needed (Figure 2). This proportion reached astonishing levels in Liberia (78%), Nigeria (75%), Sierra Leone (72%) and Uganda (71%).</p>
<p>Similarly, among citizens who encountered the police in other situations, 37% said they had to pay a bribe to avoid a problem. Liberia (70%) again ranked worst, joined by Guinea (66%), Congo-Brazzaville (65%) and Uganda (64%).
Seychelles and Cabo Verde performed best on both counts (1%-4%).</p>
<p>Considering how many Africans personally experience having to bribe the police, it may not be surprising that on average across 39 countries, the police were more widely seen as corrupt than civil servants, officials in the presidency, or any other public institutions or leaders the surveys asked about. Almost half (46%) of respondents said that “most” or “all” police officials were corrupt.</p>
<h2>Police brutality</h2>
<p>One of the harshest criticisms levelled against some police officers was that they used excessive force in their interactions with the people they were meant to serve and protect. </p>
<p>As Figure 3 shows, almost four in 10 respondents (38%) said the police “often” or “always” used excessive force in managing protests or demonstrations. Another 27% said they “sometimes” did so. Only 29% said the police were “rarely” or “never” guilty of brutality in their handling of protesters. The perception of frequent police brutality against protesters was most common in Gabon (64% often/always) and was widespread in some countries that are scheduled to have national elections this year, including <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/three-dead-senegal-protests-over-delayed-presidential-election-2024-02-11/">Senegal</a> (60%), Guinea (51%) and Tunisia (45%).</p>
<h2>Police professionalism</h2>
<p>Do these popular perceptions add up to a police force that is seen as professional?</p>
<p>Only one-third (32%) of respondents said the police in their countries “often” or “always” operated in a professional manner and respected the rights of all citizens, while 32% said they “sometimes” and 34% said they “rarely” or “never” did (Figure 4).</p>
<p>In just five countries did more than half of the respondents think their police usually acted professionally: Burkina Faso (58%), Morocco (57%), Niger (55%), Benin (54%) and Mali (54%). Senegal ranked sixth, at just 50%. Fewer than one in five respondents saw police as usually professional in Sierra Leone (19%), Eswatini (19%), Kenya (18%), Congo-Brazzaville (17%) and Nigeria (13%).</p>
<h2>Significance of findings</h2>
<p>These findings raise questions about the quality of policing on the African continent, highlighting notably negative experiences and evaluations of the police in many – but not all – countries. For example, in Burkina Faso, Morocco and Benin, police scored relatively well across multiple performance indicators. </p>
<p>More broadly, our findings point to broad cross-country patterns of how police professionalism, integrity and respectful conduct are correlated with more positive citizen attitudes towards the police. </p>
<p>African governments looking to change the unfavourable public perceptions of the police – and of government performance in the fight against crime – might take a closer look at which dimensions of police performance matter in their country, and which better-performing police forces might have solutions to share.</p>
<p><em>All graphics have been redacted from showing 39 countries to 10 because of space constraints.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224170/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Matthias Krönke works for Afrobarometer. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Thomas Isbell works in International Development Cooperation. He is affiliated with Afrobarometer. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Makanga Ronald Kakumba is a researcher in the Afrobarometer Analysis Unit. He is affiliated with Uhasselt University. </span></em></p>Negative perceptions of police professionalism and corruption go hand in hand with low public trust in the police, poor marks on government performance, and citizens’ sense of insecurity.Matthias Krönke, Researcher, University of Cape TownThomas Isbell, Consultant, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2166712023-11-09T14:08:42Z2023-11-09T14:08:42ZGhanaians don’t trust the police. A criminologist on what needs to be done about it<p><em>The relationship between Ghanaian citizens and officers of its police service is a tenuous one. Recent <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/survey-resource/ghana-round-9-data-2023/">reports</a> by the research network Afrobarometer show a decline in trust between citizens and officers amid complaints of harassment and bribery. There have also been <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/9/22/ghana-police-arrest-49-as-high-cost-of-living-triggers-street-protests">accusations</a> of the police being used by the political hierarchy to stifle dissent by force during protests. The Conversation’s Godfred Akoto Boafo speaks to criminologist <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/justice-tankebe-579992">Justice Tankebe</a> about the reasons behind the breakdown in trust and ways to improve it.</em></p>
<h2>Do Ghana’s police serve the interests of citizens?</h2>
<p>We can think of these interests in terms of people’s expectations of policing. My <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1745-9125.2012.00291.x?casa_token=INNkhWFO_ZcAAAAA:2fK2oO-IL0kjTq80ptljt3OkL6FHzWX107uJKb5n36mWULN5Qv1oZeLZ-rpssekYoWmQPT76YeabH-g">research</a> has identified four dimensions of these interests. </p>
<p>First is the effective use of police authority to protect citizens from violence and threats to their constitutional rights. Fear of crime is a reasonable indication of police effectiveness. Data from <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/countries/ghana/">Afrobarometer</a> shows that, in <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/AfropaperNo34.pdf">2002</a>, 16.8% of Ghanaians feared becoming victims of crime at their homes. This declined to 9.2% in 2012 but has now <a href="https://www.afrobarometer.org/survey-resource/ghana-round-9-data-2023/">risen</a> to 24.6%. </p>
<p>The second dimension is lawful police conduct. Police officers do not serve this interest when they engage in illegal practices such as robbery, unlawful killing of civilians or bribery. A recent <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Publications/2022/GHANA_-_Corruption_survey_report_-_20.07.2022.pdf">survey</a> funded by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime showed that 53.2% of Ghanaians who interacted with police officers paid them a bribe. </p>
<p>Thirdly, policing serves the interests of Ghanaians when it treats people equally. Simply put, people’s social class, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or political affiliation should not influence the decisions of police officers. </p>
<p>Finally, policing must listen to citizens, explain decisions to them, treat them with respect and care for their wellbeing. Fair treatment communicates symbolic messages about a person’s social standing and inclusion; hence it matters greatly to citizens. A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10439463.2019.1636795?casa_token=lLDS6YkQKysAAAAA%3AXkzh0nvzEzSoWaqE7EbUwgVceZH8ko9DjBZmrUw2j8DR5-WzOG9T3YNFE0K2vM7jhax0bria8B2e">survey</a> of Ghanaians shows a little over half of them think the police treat them fairly. </p>
<h2>Why are the police struggling to serve Ghanaians?</h2>
<p>The first reason is the colonial roots of the Ghanaian police, which continue to show in three ways:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>police officers expect people to accept decisions without question </p></li>
<li><p>officers are subservient to elites, who have undue influence on police work</p></li>
<li><p>the police are not sufficiently accountable to local communities. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Some officers try to curry favour with politicians in the hope of future advantages such as promotions. This is exemplified in the leaked audio of an <a href="https://citinewsroom.com/2023/10/leaked-tape-ill-be-vindicated-after-parliamentary-committee-probe-cop-mensah/">alleged plot</a> to replace Ghana’s police chief, which is now the subject of a parliamentary investigation. </p>
<p>Beyond the colonial legacy, <a href="https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/I-have-sent-over-1-000-people-from-my-constituency-to-security-agencies-govt-companies-Kennedy-Agyapong-1086103">political interference</a> means there’s a risk of unsuitable people being recruited to the police. They may lack the appropriate motivation and ethical inclination. The adequacy of training and the quality of supervision are also doubtful. The absence of credible accountability structures also limits scrutiny of how officers behave. </p>
<p>Finally, the behaviours that supervisors model to frontline officers can affect how they interact with citizens. For example, a <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1748895812469380?casa_token=hJs2udKv6gUAAAAA%3Aq5AyvRoxyV6LETdlVElSm3QorxqtSKpB1-_p5C1-xfiLdr6e_oZZvhRNrjD4ZPwg34ruqxO-bNTE&journalCode=crjb">survey</a> found that officers who felt their superiors treated them with disrespect and partiality were less committed to fair treatment of the public. </p>
<h2>What are the consequences for democracy?</h2>
<p>Police scholar David Bayley has <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3054129">argued</a> that the quality of policing is an important measure of democratic governance. A country cannot claim to be democratic if the police arbitrarily arrest people, humiliate them, suppress political dissent, and exceed their legal mandate.</p>
<p>When citizens lose faith in democracy, they become tolerant of military interventions. So efforts at democratic consolidation must pay attention to the state of the police. Indeed, some scholars argue that this may help <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=sInqr5ILPE8C&oi=fnd&pg=PR9&ots=_GhR888aCk&sig=K1cbO5_d9JgjsBbg_Cve6QBhw1Q&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=internal%20security&f=false">save democracy</a> from the threat of the military taking control. </p>
<p>This matters greatly in a sub-region of increasing political instability and terrorism threat. </p>
<h2>What reforms are required?</h2>
<p>First, there is a need for ideological re-orientation. The Ghana police <a href="https://police.gov.gh/en/index.php/mandate/">say</a> their mandate is to “prevent and detect crime, to apprehend offenders and to maintain public order and safety of persons and properties”. This is indistinguishable from their colonial mandate. Unsurprisingly, police tactics are militaristic and prioritise order over the democratic rights of citizens. </p>
<p>A democratically oriented police service would view its mandate as creating conditions for citizens to enjoy their constitutional rights. It would ask: “how can we facilitate protests and protect protesters?” rather than “what reasons can we find to prevent a protest?”.</p>
<p>The second area for reform is police accountability. Ghanaians have limited information about the internal accountability mechanisms, such as what happens to complaints filed against police officers. <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/criminology-as-a-moral-science-9781509965342/">Research evidence</a> shows the lack of appropriate signals from the Ghana Police Service deters officers from reporting unethical colleagues.</p>
<p>As I have previously <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-drives-police-violence-in-ghana-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-105813">argued</a>, the Ghana Police Service needs independent democratic oversight. </p>
<p>Thirdly, reforms are required to insulate the police from political capture. Ghana’s constitution grants the president the right to appoint the police chief. The president also effectively controls the promotion of senior officers through the police council. The same processes as those used in recruitment into civil service should be considered. Yet this is unlikely to make a difference unless police officers are fully committed to their democratic mandate. They must maintain ethical relationships with politicians and other elites who seek to capture the state for their personal interests. </p>
<p>Finally, there is a need to develop a culture of <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/670819">evidence-based policing</a>. This requires a closer relationship between the police and academics who have the methodological tools to support the police in evaluating the effects of their interventions.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/216671/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Justice Tankebe does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The very low public trust in the Ghanaian police suggests a crisis of legitimacy.Justice Tankebe, Associate Professor of Criminology, University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2124232023-09-08T12:25:10Z2023-09-08T12:25:10ZPhiladelphia police rarely release body camera videos − here’s why it happened in the fatal shooting of Eddie Irizarry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546768/original/file-20230906-27-fxewci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C26%2C6000%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">About 68% of Philadelphia police wear body cameras, but the footage is rarely made public.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/philadelphia-police-officers-carry-metal-barricades-as-news-photo/1504681837">Michael M. Santiago via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>After weeks of public pressure, Philadelphia police on Sept. 8, 2023, released <a href="https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/eddie-irizarry-police-bodycam-charges-philadelphia/3640947/">body camera footage</a> capturing the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Eddie Irizarry by police in August.</em> </p>
<p><em>The Conversation spoke to <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=los44hoAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">Jordan M. Hyatt</a>, associate professor of criminology and justice studies and the director of the Center for Public Policy at Philadelphia’s Drexel University, to explain the rules controlling when the public gets to see body cam footage – and how Philadelphia’s legal framework compares to other places in the U.S.</em> </p>
<h2>How long have Philadelphia police been using body cams?</h2>
<p>The department began using what are more formally known as “body-worn cameras” as part of <a href="https://billypenn.com/2022/03/06/philadelphia-police-12-year-old-killing-thomas-siderio-body-cameras/">a pilot program in 2014</a> – about seven years after <a href="https://www.policeforum.org/assets/BWCCostBenefit.pdf">the cameras first became available</a> <a href="https://americanpoliceofficersalliance.com/police-use-body-worn-video-brief-history/">in the U.K.</a> However, their use in Philadelphia did not become <a href="https://whyy.org/articles/philly-reaches-12-5m-deal-taser-maker-police-body-cameras/">widespread until 2017</a>. Even now, only about 68% of all officers wear one, according to numbers provided by the Philadelphia police. </p>
<h2>Who decides when this video is made public?</h2>
<p>The district attorney’s office has the final say regarding any video release while there is an active, potentially criminal investigation. Officer Mark Dial <a href="https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/eddie-irizarry-police-bodycam-charges-philadelphia/3640947/">surrendered to police on Sept. 8</a> and faces <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/philadelphia-officer-shot-eddie-irizarry-car-surrenders-police/story?id=103027894">murder and other charges in the shooting</a>. Earlier, the police commissioner had indicated her <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/crime/eddie-irizarry-shooting-mark-dial-officer-philadelphia-police-20230823.html">intent to fire him for insubordination</a> after a 30-day suspension.</p>
<p>Videos of police encounters with the public are <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=42&div=0&chpt=67A">not considered public records</a> at the state level. <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2017&sessInd=0&act=22">A change in Pennsylvania law passed in 2017</a> prevents the release of these recordings under <a href="https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/RTKL/About.cfm">right-to-know</a> processes. </p>
<p>In deciding to release footage, the Philadelphia police and district attorney <a href="https://www.pccd.pa.gov/criminaljustice/advisory_boards/Documents/BWC%20Policy%20Recommendations%20Commission%20Approved.pdf">try to balance state</a> and <a href="https://www.pccd.pa.gov/criminaljustice/advisory_boards/Documents/BWC%20Policy%20Recommendations%20Commission%20Approved.pdf">federal</a> rules with the wishes of the victim and their family, the need to preserve the integrity of videos as evidence in a criminal trial, ongoing investigations and public safety concerns.</p>
<h2>Can a resident of Philadelphia ask for video to be released?</h2>
<p>Yes, but the process can be slow and is rarely successful. A <a href="https://www.openrecords.pa.gov/RTKL/PoliceRecordings.cfm#:%7E:text=A%20written%20request%20must%20be,%22delivered%22%20by%20certified%20mail">detailed request</a> must be submitted within 60 days of the incident either in person or by certified mail. The requesting party must also pay the costs associated with the request.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2017&sessInd=0&act=22">State laws</a> and <a href="https://www.phila.gov/open-records-policy/">local regulations</a> require the law enforcement agency to first decide if a video can be released and provide an explanation for any denial. Decisions can be <a href="https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2017&sessInd=0&act=22">appealed to the Court of Common Pleas</a> – a judicial process that can take quite some additional time.</p>
<p>That is not to say that body camera footage is never released, but it is <a href="https://whyy.org/articles/why-is-it-still-so-hard-to-see-police-bodycam-footage-in-pennsylvania/">exceedingly uncommon across Pennsylvania</a>. The Irizarry video is <a href="https://www.axios.com/local/philadelphia/2023/08/23/philadelphia-police-body-camera-footage">only the second</a> such video released in Philadelphia.</p>
<p>The first video released showed <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8897219/Bodycam-footage-showing-fatal-police-shooting-Walter-Wallace-Jr-released-week.html">the police-shooting death of Walter Wallace Jr.</a> <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8897219/Bodycam-footage-showing-fatal-police-shooting-Walter-Wallace-Jr-released-week.html">in 2020</a>. That video also came out after an intense public outcry. </p>
<h2>Why has the Irizarry case drawn so much attention?</h2>
<p>Initially, the Philadelphia police declined to release the Irizarry footage, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/eddie-irizarry-video-philadelphia-police-officer-shooting-kensington-family-news-conference/">citing the ongoing investigation</a>. And, at first, District Attorney <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/eddie-irizarry-mark-dial-philadelphia-police-shooting-video-released/">Larry Krasner</a> agreed to withhold it.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546757/original/file-20230906-19-w0a39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A gray-haired white man wearing a suit and a blue tie looks into the camera" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546757/original/file-20230906-19-w0a39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/546757/original/file-20230906-19-w0a39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546757/original/file-20230906-19-w0a39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546757/original/file-20230906-19-w0a39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=770&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546757/original/file-20230906-19-w0a39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=967&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546757/original/file-20230906-19-w0a39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=967&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/546757/original/file-20230906-19-w0a39.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=967&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner leaves a TV studio on Aug. 24, 2023, after discussing the release of the body camera footage from the police officer who shot and killed Eddie Irizarry.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/district-attorney-of-philadelphia-larry-krasner-is-seen-news-photo/1636123422?adppopup=true">Gilbert Carrasquillo/GC Images via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But a home security system also captured video of the incident, and the homeowner released it to the Irizarry family’s attorney about a week after the shooting. It seems to show Dial <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0xjpvDWlmM">opening fire</a> almost immediately after arriving at the scene. </p>
<p>Shortly after this third-party video came out, and amid increasingly visible protests, Krasner allowed Irizarry’s family to view the official footage and promised to release it to the public. On Sept. 8, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/08/us/mark-dial-eddie-irizarry-shooting-charges/index.html">Krasner made good</a> on that promise.</p>
<h2>Is Philadelphia’s record for releasing footage unusual?</h2>
<p>The approach in both Philadelphia and Pennsylvania is fairly common. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.policeforum.org/assets/BWCCostBenefit.pdf">2018 survey by the Police Executive Research Forum</a> found that 17% of police departments never release videos. Like Philadelphia, nearly 80% can withhold them if they will be <a href="https://www.policeforum.org/assets/BWCCostBenefit.pdf">used as evidence or in a personnel matter</a>. </p>
<p>Philadelphia’s approach is broadly similar to other large cities, including <a href="https://www.nyc.gov/site/nypd/about/about-nypd/equipment-tech/body-worn-cameras.page">New York</a> and <a href="https://mpdc.dc.gov/node/1143942">Washington, D.C.</a> Unlike jurisdictions in <a href="https://www.psp.pa.gov/contact/Pages/REQUESTING-AUDIO-AND-VIDEO-RECORDINGS-FROM-THE-PENNSYLVANIA-STATE-POLICE.aspx">Pennsylvania</a>, however, these cities allow for the online submission of requests to view video footage under relevant open records laws, potentially speeding up the process.</p>
<h2>Why don’t all of the city’s police wear body cameras?</h2>
<p>The program is widespread; however, cameras have not yet been issued to the <a href="https://districts.phillypolice.com/districts/15th/">15th district</a>, highway, traffic, airport, narcotics strike force, neighborhood services and SWAT teams, according to the police department. Additionally, cameras are worn only by uniformed officers; undercover officers, for example, are exempt.</p>
<p>One of the biggest limitations to the adoption of body cameras nationwide has been the cost, which includes training, equipment and <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/1/24/18196097/police-body-cameras-storage-cost-washington-post">data storage</a>. In Philadelphia, <a href="https://www.axios.com/2023/02/27/philadelphia-police-body-camera-footage-not-reviewed">the program has cost US$20 million</a> over the past decade, according to Axios. </p>
<p>Despite the large price tag, <a href="https://bfi.uchicago.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/BFI_WP_2021-38.pdf">some research suggests</a> that every $1 spent on body-worn cameras results in about $5 of savings by cutting down on complaints, including those that lead to lawsuits from citizens.</p>
<p>Zooming out, the use of body cameras has become commonplace in the U.S., with <a href="https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/research-body-worn-cameras-and-law-enforcement">80% of large police departments adopting their use by 2018</a>. While the associated costs are a significant hurdle, especially for smaller municipalities, <a href="https://bja.ojp.gov/funding/opportunities/o-bja-2023-171562">federal support has increased</a>.</p>
<h2>Advocates hoped body cameras would reduce violence by creating more transparency about police interactions with the public. Have they had that effect?</h2>
<p>A review of all the rigorous, available research on the topic in 2020 found that body-worn cameras were associated with <a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1112">decreases in the number of citizen complaints</a> and an increase in the quality of criminal investigations. Research findings on the effects on the use of force, arrests and assaults are more mixed, making drawing broad conclusions difficult.</p>
<p>In Philadelphia, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/0734016818814895">recent studies suggest</a> that body cameras can reframe the role of police, emphasizing their position as community guardians. Additional, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11292-019-09383-0">high-quality research suggests</a> that Philadelphia police officers wearing cameras had about 38% less use-of-force incidents and made 39% fewer arrests compared to officers not wearing cameras. Earlier <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/07418825.2016.1198825">studies in the city</a>, however, found that body cameras had no effect on arrest rates or compliance but did reduce complaints. </p>
<p>It remains an open question whether opening up public access to the video captured by these cameras would increase positive outcomes.</p>
<p><em>Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect the release of the video and charges brought against Officer Mark Dial.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212423/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jordan Hyatt does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The public’s right to know often gives way to concerns about privacy, public safety and protecting evidence.Jordan Hyatt, Associate Professor of Criminology and Justice Studies, Drexel UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2091132023-07-20T08:13:51Z2023-07-20T08:13:51ZNigeria’s new police chief faces structural challenges - 5 key issues to tackle<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/537773/original/file-20230717-248129-zjsaf2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Nigeria's new police chief must continue to enforce discipline within the police. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/police-officers-stand-as-supporters-march-to-campaign-for-news-photo/1243642462?adppopup=true">Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images </a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu <a href="https://tribuneonlineng.com/tinubus-ex-cso-egbetokun-appointed-acting-igp/">named</a> a new inspector general of police on 19 June 2023. He appointed the deputy inspector general, Kayode Egbetokun, to replace Usman Alkali Baba, whom former president Muhammadu Buhari had <a href="https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/453508-updated-buhari-appoints-new-acting-inspector-general-of-police.html?tztc=1">appointed</a> in April 2021. Egbetokun will serve in an acting capacity pending his confirmation by the senate in accordance with Nigeria’s constitution. In this interview with The Conversation Africa, participatory policing expert Lanre Ikuteyijo suggests an agenda for the new police chief.</em></p>
<p><strong>What are the major issues confronting the new police inspector general?</strong></p>
<p>The major issues are police accountability and transparency, professionalism within the police, inter-agency collaboration and police welfare. Further, he must review police activities leading to the 2020 <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58817690">#ENDSARS protests</a> against police brutality and then follow up with the reforms promised after the protests. The Buhari government <a href="https://www.channelstv.com/2021/01/01/fg-committed-to-five-endsars-demands-buhari-woos-youths-in-new-year-speech/">promised</a> mental evaluation for new police recruits, improved welfare for policemen, disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and legislation for community policing. </p>
<p><strong>How should he tackle these issues?</strong></p>
<p>He must continue to enforce discipline in the police like his predecessor. Some erring officers were <a href="https://punchng.com/police-dismiss-18-officers-in-three-months/">reportedly dismissed</a> during the era of Baba Alkali, which gave some semblance of accountability. Police activities are supposed to be regulated through both internal and external mechanisms. The internal regulatory mechanism must be strengthened to make officers carry out their duties responsibly. Lack of discipline has been <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272121016_The_Image_of_Nigeria_Police_Lessons_from_History">identified</a> as a contributor to ineffective law enforcement.</p>
<p>He must also ensure the professionalisation of the police. At present, police services are commodified: some elites and celebrities have more police protection than some entire communities. There have been <a href="https://punchng.com/police-summon-orderly-carrying-vips-food-ex-envoy-denies/">reports</a> of some police officers performing domestic chores for elites. He must stop this by ensuring regular training of officers to improve their sense of duty and self-esteem. </p>
<p>He must also promote collaboration among the security agencies in the country. The police are the most visible among the agencies and are constitutionally responsible for the maintenance of law and order. However, the realities of contemporary security challenges, including the rise in banditry, kidnapping and cybercrime, have made it <a href="https://www.thedefencehorizon.org/post/synergy-police-army-nigeria">necessary</a> for the police to have cordial working relationships with other security agencies. There should be a seamless relationship between the police, the armed forces and other paramilitary agencies. These include <a href="https://interior.gov.ng/nigeria-security-and-civil-defense-corp/">Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps</a> and <a href="https://immigration.gov.ng/">Nigeria Immigration Service</a>. I’ve <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272121016_The_Image_of_Nigeria_Police_Lessons_from_History">highlighted</a> ways to achieve this in some of my <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272407936_Community_Partnership_in_Policing_The_Nigerian_Experience">past research</a>.</p>
<p>He must also take the welfare of the police seriously. Issues needing attention include housing, promotion, medical, children’s education, pensions and gratuities of retired police officers, as well as the care of families of officers who died in active service.</p>
<p>Some of the <a href="https://nairametrics.com/2020/10/12/breaking-endsars-president-buhari-promises-extra-judicial-killings-investigations-police-reform/">promises</a> the government made after the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58817690">#ENDSARS protests</a> are yet to be fulfilled. The new inspector general should ensure the steps taken by his predecessor are completed. The main demand was for better salaries and welfare of police officers. Another demand was to ensure justice for those maimed by some members of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad, and compensation for their families. All those arrested during and after the protests but to whom no crime has been traced should be released and compensated as well.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-police-work-under-terrible-conditions-what-needs-to-be-fixed-179852">Nigeria's police work under terrible conditions: what needs to be fixed</a>
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<p><strong>The immediate past police chief faced some of these issues too. Why are they recurring?</strong> </p>
<p>Most of these problems are structural and were there even prior to the tenure of the past police chief. The solutions will therefore require deliberate actions on the part of the police management. It will take a willing police chief and a ready president to bring about the changes. </p>
<p>It’s a good start that Mobile Police Force personnel attached to ex-governors, former ministers and lawmakers have been <a href="https://punchng.com/ig-withdraws-mobile-policemen-from-ex-govs-ministers-vips/#:%7E:text=This%2C%20the%20IG%20said%2C%20was,from%20VIP%20escort%2Fguard%20duties.">withdrawn</a>. The government too must have the political will to drive police reforms.</p>
<p><strong>What agenda did the last police chief follow and how successful would you say he was?</strong></p>
<p>The last police chief came to power on the heels of protests, essentially against police brutality and for a change of guard among the service chiefs. He started by addressing some of the issues raised by the public. Some errant officers were publicly disciplined. He also tried to implement the increment in salaries of police officers as well as other conditions of service (the level of actual implementation or success is yet to be determined). He addressed other issues such as promotion and uniforms. I will say he did not succeed in bringing about reformation, but he laid a foundation on which his successor can build to ensure that Nigeria has a better and more professional police force.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/nigerias-police-few-promises-of-reform-have-been-kept-a-year-after-endsars-protests-170028">Nigeria's police: few promises of reform have been kept a year after #EndSARS protests</a>
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<p><strong>What new things would you recommend for the new police chief?</strong></p>
<p>He should work towards the digitisation of the police. This of course will require training and retraining of officers to equip them with modern, smart and virtual policing skills. </p>
<p>More work should equally be done to promote a healthy police-civilian relationship. The public relations department has a lot of work to do in this regard. Innovative public engagement via social media platforms and regular town-hall meetings with stakeholders could be introduced too.</p>
<p>The reward system should also be as effective as the improvement in the discipline witnessed in the last few months. There are several dedicated, outstanding and gallant police officers across the country who are giving their best to ensure the country is safe, true to their calling. These should be rewarded to serve as both specific and general motivations.</p>
<p> </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209113/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lanre Ikuteyijo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Nigeria’s new police chief needs fresh ideas to confront old challenges.Lanre Ikuteyijo, Senior lecturer, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2090942023-07-11T17:01:14Z2023-07-11T17:01:14ZNew report suggests there’s no real effort to end racial profiling in Montréal<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536409/original/file-20230709-4906-1lvz4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1958&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A police cruiser is shown in a Montréal park in September 2020</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/new-report-suggests-theres-no-real-effort-to-end-racial-profiling-in-montreal" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://montreal.citynews.ca/2023/06/22/montreal-police-spvm-street-checks-racial-profiling-second-report/">A damning new report</a> on racial profiling in Montréal suggests the city and its police force have given up on fighting the problem.</p>
<p>An update to a 2019 study, <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/montreal-police-chief-rejects-street-check-moratorium-despite-racial-profiling-data-1.6452248">the report</a> — authored by three independent researchers hired by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) — found that rates of racial profiling were either the same or higher than four years earlier, with Black, Indigenous and Arab people still particularly susceptible to being stopped by police. </p>
<p>As such, the report points to problems not just with the SPVM, but with the city administration that has long promised to curtail racist policing practices.</p>
<p>The problem of racial profiling can be <a href="https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/robyn-maynard-police-violence-legacy-of-racial-and-economic-injustice">traced to the beginnings of policing</a> in North America, but it has nevertheless acquired more public attention in the last 10 to 15 years. </p>
<h2>Montréal’s history of racial profiling</h2>
<p>In Montréal, a city with <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/a-timeline-of-police-violence-against-people-of-colour-in-montreal">a long history of protests against police racism and violence</a>, the police killing of Fredy Villanueva in a city park in 2008 sparked widespread demonstrations. It did so in part because it occurred in the midst of a campaign of incredibly racist policing in an area in the city’s north-east.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman weeps into a handful of tissues." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536413/original/file-20230709-27-vczmod.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Lilian Villanueva, mother of Fredy Villanueva, reacts to the coroner’s report on the death of her son at a news conference in 2013 in Montréal. Villanueva was shot and killed by police in a park in Montréal in 2008.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz</span></span>
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<p>An <a href="https://pdf.lapresse.ca/lapresse/charest.pdf">internal report by the SPVM</a> revealed that police had stopped as many as 40 per cent of young Black men in the north-east neighbourhoods of Saint-Michel and Montréal-Nord in 2006 and 2007. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.cdpdj.qc.ca/fr/publications/profilage-racial-et-discrimina-1">lengthy and damning report</a> on racial profiling by the Québec Human Rights Commission followed in 2011, while a series of shorter reports appeared over the next five years.</p>
<p>While these protests and reports challenged the SPVM, the task of combatting racial profiling ultimately belongs to the governments that oversee the police, especially the city of Montréal. </p>
<p>The city’s first major response to the increasing criticism of the SPVM was to hold <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02722011.2020.1831139">a major public consultation</a> on racial profiling in 2017. The consultation provided a venue for a wide range of community organizations, activists and researchers to call for police reform.</p>
<p>Among these demands were calls to strengthen police oversight and discipline, abolish arbitrary police stops and partially transfer police spending to community-based safety initiatives.</p>
<p>The city balked at these demands, but took the unprecedented step of calling on the SPVM to produce an analysis of police stops by racial group, a key indicator of racial profiling. The SPVM agreed to the demand and soon hired the three independent researchers to provide a report. </p>
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<img alt="A protester in a parka holds up a sign decrying racial profiling by police." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536410/original/file-20230709-19-9362vb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">People attend a protest in Montréal in February 2021 calling for justice for a Black man who was wrongfully arrested by police and jailed for six days.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
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<h2>Action soon?</h2>
<p>In a sense, the city kicked the can down the road. Concrete action, Montréalers were told, would await a more detailed assessment of the problem, but there would be action soon. </p>
<p>In the meantime, a new city administration took power as Valérie Plante was elected mayor and her Projet Montréal won a majority of seats in the November 2017 election. Following the election, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/montreal-police-report-fail-address-racial-profile-1.4416461">Plante said</a> combating “social and racial profiling” would be a priority of her administration.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A dark-haired woman gestures with her hands as she speaks into a microphone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536408/original/file-20230709-191791-djethv.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Montréal Mayor Valérie Plante speaks during a news conference in Montréal in August 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
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<p>The analysis of police stops promised in 2017 was finally completed in 2019. Known as <a href="https://spvm.qc.ca/upload/Rapport_Armony-Hassaoui-Mulone.pdf">the Armony Report</a>, the study found that Black and Indigenous people were more than four times as likely than white people to be stopped by police, while Arab people were twice as likely to be stopped. </p>
<p>Looking at gender, the report also found that Indigenous women were 11 times more likely to be stopped than white women. </p>
<p>With the assessment complete, it was time for the city to act. Rather than listening to community demands, however, the Projet Montréal administration invested its hopes in a new police stops policy. </p>
<p>The policy, introduced in July 2020, stipulates that police stops must not be discriminatory and must be based on “observable facts” that justify the stop. The policy was widely criticized at the time as it simply reiterated the anti-discrimination provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. </p>
<p>Many (<a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/opinion-new-montreal-police-policy-wont-stop-racial-profiling">including myself</a>) also observed that police could always find “observable facts” to justify a stop motivated by other, discriminatory criteria.</p>
<h2>Backing the police</h2>
<p>Since 2020, Plante’s administration has repeatedly touted the police stops policy as a strong antidote to racial profiling. For example, Plante cited the policy in February 2023, when she was called to testify in a class-action lawsuit against the city and the SPVM for racial profiling. </p>
<p>Pointing to the policy, <a href="https://www.noovo.info/nouvelle/action-collective-pour-profilage-racial-temoignage-de-la-mairesse-de-montreal.html">she testified</a> that her team was “very proactive and works very hard on racial profiling.”</p>
<p>This narrative, already disputed, was fully discredited when the updated report on racial profiling was released in June 2023.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Black bald man gestures as he speaks." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=386&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536412/original/file-20230709-27-tqncm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=485&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dan Philip, president of the Black Coalition of Québec, responds to a question during a news conference in Montreal in 2019 after a judge authorized a racial profiling class-action lawsuit against the city.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson</span></span>
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</figure>
<p><a href="https://spvm.qc.ca/upload/02/Rapport_final_2e_mandat.pdf">It found</a> Black people are now 3.6 times more likely to be stopped by police than white people (a modest decline from 2019), Arab people are 2.6 times more likely to be stopped (a modest increase), and Indigenous people are now six times more likely to be stopped (a major increase).</p>
<p>If anyone was expecting a mea culpa from the city about its meagre efforts to combat racial profiling, they were disappointed. Plante, who said she was shocked by the 2019 report, has yet to comment publicly on the new findings. </p>
<p>Her colleague Alain Vaillancourt, the city Executive Committee member responsible for the police, simply <a href="https://www.ledevoir.com/societe/793501/malgre-un-rapport-extremement-critique-le-spvm-maintient-les-interpellations-policieres">said he supports the city’s police director</a> and feels “comfortable” with his plan to change the “culture” of the SPVM. </p>
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<p>The city’s response to racial profiling seems to have entered a new phase. After delaying action in 2017 and implementing a toothless new policy in 2019, the city seems content to leave the problem in the hands of the police director and abdicate its role in overseeing the police on behalf of the population. </p>
<p>In a city with a long history of protest against police racism and violence, this stance is unacceptable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/209094/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ted Rutland does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Montréal’s response to a new report on racial profiling shows little appetite for change.Ted Rutland, Associate professor, Geography, Planning and Environment, Concordia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2088762023-06-30T14:32:23Z2023-06-30T14:32:23ZFrance riots: when police shot a teenager dead, a rumbling pressure cooker exploded<p>Riots broke out in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris, following the lethal police shooting of a 17-year-old boy <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66052104">named as Nahel M</a>. An investigation into his death is ongoing but the situation has already triggered protest and anger. Whatever the investigation concludes, the incident forms part of a complex, deep-rooted problem in France. </p>
<p>It raises the memory of the violence that spread across the city’s suburbs in 2005, lasting more than three weeks and forcing the country into a state of emergency. Many of the issues behind the unrest back then remain unresolved to this day and have potentially been aggravated by ever worsening relations between the police and the public. </p>
<p>During my extensive fieldwork in the suburban estates of <a href="https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-16103-3">Paris, Lyon and Marseille</a> I have seen and heard first-hand the grievances that are now being cried out on the streets of Nanterre. </p>
<h2>The suburbs and poverty</h2>
<p>Certain suburbs of large French cities have, for decades, suffered from what has been labelled the worst <a href="https://www.google.com.co/books/edition/_/APjN-RQuW-sC?hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjg-Kr50-n_AhUFTTABHUkpCmkQre8FegQIDhAG">“hypermarginalisation”</a> in Europe. Poor-quality housing and schooling combine with geographical isolation and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Multi-Ethnic-France-Immigration-Politics-Culture-ebook/dp/B000SEGHXM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2GOZNEHZ7C1J7&keywords=multiethnic+france&qid=1688082329&s=books&sprefix=multiethnic+fran%2Cstripbooks-intl-ship%2C148&sr=1-1">racism</a> to make it virtually impossible for people to stand a chance at improving their circumstances. </p>
<p>Evidence has long shown that people living in poor suburbs can expect to face discrimination based on the very fact of living in those suburbs when they <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270757362_Discrimination_based_on_place_of_residence_and_access_to_employment">apply for a job</a>. Even just having a certain name on your CV can rule you out of employment thanks to <a href="https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_protect/---protrav/---migrant/documents/publication/wcms_201429.pdf">widespread racial discrimination</a>.</p>
<p>Discontent among young people in these places has been brewing for decades as a result. The first riots of the kind currently happening in Paris took place in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/book/10.1002/9780470712788">Lyon</a> as far back as the 1990s. </p>
<p>And yet, outside moments of crisis, there appears to be practically no discussion by French leadership about how to tackle the problems that drive so much anger in the suburbs. </p>
<p>President Emmanuel Macron presents himself as committed to <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/en/france/article/2023/06/13/macron-s-shift-from-start-up-nation-to-reindustrialization_6031051_7.html">re-industrialising</a> France and revitalising the economy. But his vision does not include any plan for using economic growth to bring opportunity to the suburbs or, viewed the other way round, to harness the potential of the suburbs to drive economic growth. </p>
<p>In two presidential terms, he has failed to produce a coherent policy for solving some of the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/can-emmanuel-macrons-banlieues-plan-reach-the-poor/a-43841633">key problems of the suburbs</a>.</p>
<h2>Police brutality</h2>
<p>Police brutality is a topic of great concern in France at the moment, beyond the Nanterre incident. Earlier this year, international human rights organisation the Council of Europe took the extraordinary step of directly lambasting the French police for <a href="https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/manifestations-en-france-les-libert%C3%A9s-d-expression-et-de-r%C3%A9union-doivent-%C3%AAtre-prot%C3%A9g%C3%A9es-contre-toute-forme-de-violence">“excessive use of force”</a> during protests against Macron’s pension reforms. </p>
<p>Policing appears stuck in an all-or-nothing approach. In a recent interview I helped conduct for a documentary in the suburbs of Marseille, residents pointed to successive cuts to community based police officers, based in the estates, as key reasons for increases in tension between the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpLq5YbNmvE">population and the police</a>. Protests, meanwhile, are met with <a href="https://www.euronews.com/video/2023/06/29/watch-tear-gas-fired-at-people-protesting-over-the-police-shooting-of-a-teenager-in-france">tear gas</a> and <a href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/04/25/france-pension-protests-police-violence-macron-europe/">batons</a>. </p>
<p>Successive governments have used policing to control the population to <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Police+Reforms+in+France%3A+40+Years+of+Searching+for+a+Model&oq=Police+Reforms+in+France%3A+40+Years+of+Searching+for+a+Model&aqs=chrome..69i57.264j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8">prevent political turmoil</a>, eroding the legitimacy of law enforcement along the way.</p>
<p>And yet, the police are extremely <a href="https://time.com/5852764/french-police-protest/">hostile to reform</a>, a stance that is aided and abetted by their <a href="https://jacobin.com/2022/06/french-police-unions-lefebvre-darmanin-crime-nupes-election">powerful unions</a> and Macron himself, who needs the police to <a href="https://theconversation.com/macrons-mercenaries-police-violence-and-neoliberal-reform-in-france-77979">crush opposition to his reforms</a>. </p>
<h2>Macron vs Sarkozy</h2>
<p>Former president Nicolas Sarkozy is infamous for inflaming tensions during the 2005 riots by referring to the people involved as <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5010930">“scum”</a> who needed to be pressure washed from the suburbs. Macron, too, has been repeatedly criticised for striking an arrogant, tone <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220410-macron-centrist-reformer-dogged-by-accusations-of-arrogance">during his political career</a>, making numerous gaffs including suggesting an unemployed worker only needed to <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/emmanuel-macron-9-greatest-gaffes-blunders-french-president/">“cross the street” to find work</a>. </p>
<p>However, his consiliatory response to the death of Nahel could not be further removed from Sarkozy’s stance. He has called the killing <a href="https://www.euronews.com/2023/06/29/french-police-protesters-clash-after-macron-calls-police-fatal-shooting-of-teen-inexcusabl">“inexcusable”</a> and held a crisis meeting to seek a <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12246303/Emmanuel-Macron-holds-crisis-meeting-riots-sparked-cop-execution-17-year-old.html">solution to the crisis</a>. </p>
<p>A trip to <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/macron-seen-dancing-at-elton-john-gig-as-riots-raged-across-france-12912193">see Elton John perform</a> while the riots occurred was perhaps not advisable and comments about young people being “intoxicated” by video games were somewhat misguided, but Macron has at least tried to calm tensions and not inflame them. </p>
<p>A key problem for him, however, is the diffuse, de-centralised nature of the protestors. There is no leadership to meet and negotiate with, and there are no specific demands that need to be met to defuse the tension. As in 2005, the riots are occurring spontaneously, sometimes estate by estate. </p>
<p>That makes escalation very difficult for the government to stop. And it underscores the need for a far more wide-reaching, thoughtful response to tackle the entrenched, decades-old problems of poor social prospects and police brutality in the suburbs of French cities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208876/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joseph Downing does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>I’ve interviewed disaffected people across French suburbs. Their anger has been mounting for years.Joseph Downing, Senior Lecturer in International Relations and Politics, Aston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2052602023-05-10T18:37:12Z2023-05-10T18:37:12ZHow colonial racism fuels Saskatchewan’s criminalization of Indigenous men<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524962/original/file-20230508-19-kitsc0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C431%2C2396%2C1164&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Margaret Verna Umpherville, mother of Boden Umpherville, reacts during a news conference in Saskatoon in April 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/how-colonial-racism-fuels-saskatchewan-s-criminalization-of-indigenous-men" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://saskatoon.ctvnews.ca/a-sask-man-injured-in-a-violent-arrest-has-died-family-says-1.6372389">Boden Umpherville, a 40-year-old Indigenous man, recently died</a> following a brutal altercation with Saskatchewan’s Prince Albert Police Service during his arrest. </p>
<p>Twenty-five days before his death, police stopped the vehicle Umpherville was in, alleging it had been reported stolen. But <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/prince-albert-police-sirt-saskatchewan-umpherville-1.6819054">according to CBC News</a>, three other people were in the vehicle at the time, including the registered owner, who stated they had not reported the vehicle stolen.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/prince-albert-police-sirt-umpherville-1.6823509">Witness video obtained by the CBC</a> shows six police officers surrounding the vehicle and using stun guns on Umpherville multiple times. One officer used pepper spray, and at least one other officer appeared to hit Umpherville before police dragged him out of the vehicle to arrest him.</p>
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<h2>Media coverage</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/government-structure/boards-commissions-and-agencies/saskatchewan-serious-incident-response-team">Saskatchewan’s Serious Incident Response Team</a>, the civilian-led organization that investigates incidents where someone is injured or dies due to police actions or while in custody, says investigators found a loaded handgun at the scene. </p>
<p>In addition, the provincial court in Prince Albert said <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/boden-umpherville-vigil-prince-albert-police-1.6828328">a judge had issued a bench warrant for Umpherville on Jan. 5, 2023</a>, after he failed to appear in court. The charges have been stayed.</p>
<p>The reported facts so far point to alleged lethal force by law enforcement but also imply that Umpherville deserved such brute force because of suspected criminal activity.</p>
<p>It’s a narrative his brother, Darry, is resisting when he tells the media: “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/boden-umpherville-vigil-prince-albert-police-1.6828328">My brother should be in jail, not a casket.”</a></p>
<p>The deaths of Indigenous men involving law enforcement and custody in Saskatchewan are often ignored or dismissed by broader society based on the presumption that these men <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0008423906060215">endangered themselves due to their lifestyles</a>.</p>
<p>This justification leads to silence when it comes to demands for police accountability by the general public. In fact, the six officers involved in Umpherville’s death are back on active duty and treated as innocent until proven guilty. </p>
<p>That’s the opposite situation for the average Indigenous man in Saskatchewan who is often assumed guilty and has to prove he doesn’t deserve to be treated with brutality.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man in a white T-shirt and black ball cap speaks into a microphone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524977/original/file-20230508-19-levlds.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524977/original/file-20230508-19-levlds.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524977/original/file-20230508-19-levlds.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524977/original/file-20230508-19-levlds.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524977/original/file-20230508-19-levlds.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524977/original/file-20230508-19-levlds.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524977/original/file-20230508-19-levlds.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Darry Umpherville, brother of Boden Umpherville, speaks during a news conference in April 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Living the reality</h2>
<p>One of the authors of this article — Randy Morin, a Nêhiyaw man and assistant professor in Indigenous Studies at the University of Saskatchewan — lives this reality every day. </p>
<p>He recalls a particularly telling incident about a decade ago when he was pushing his groceries out to a store parking lot in Saskatoon to load into his new Honda Civic. As he started to unlock his vehicle, the shrieks of a nearby woman startled him so he turned to see what was wrong. </p>
<p>It took him a moment to realize the woman was yelling and pointing at him. </p>
<p>She thought that, as a visibly Indigenous man, he must be stealing his new vehicle. When Morin was younger, the assumption of his criminality led to his being routinely stopped by Saskatoon police.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524951/original/file-20230508-245278-tk6y3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A T-shirt reads I am just jogging." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524951/original/file-20230508-245278-tk6y3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524951/original/file-20230508-245278-tk6y3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=609&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524951/original/file-20230508-245278-tk6y3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=609&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524951/original/file-20230508-245278-tk6y3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=609&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524951/original/file-20230508-245278-tk6y3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524951/original/file-20230508-245278-tk6y3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524951/original/file-20230508-245278-tk6y3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=766&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Randy Morin has imagined this kind of message on his T-shirt might ease suspicion when he goes out for a run.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Randy Morin)</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Today, he takes pains to avoid unwanted suspicion in public. An avid jogger, he allays the fear of others with friendly greetings and being clearly dressed in jogging garb — but others almost always jump out of his way in fear or bristle in anger towards him. </p>
<p>Morin notes: “I am thinking of making a T-shirt and writing on it ‘just jogging’ to let others know that is all I am doing. I am not running away from a crime or from the police.”</p>
<h2>Murderous ‘starlight tours’</h2>
<p>April 2023 also marked the death of <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/darrell-night-died-starlight-tour-1.6818232">Darrell Night</a> at 56 years old.</p>
<p>Night is the Indigenous man who reported that Saskatoon police officers dropped him off at the city’s edge on a freezing night in January 2000 during <a href="https://gladue.usask.ca/node/2860">an infamous police practice known as “starlight tours</a>.” His story of survival led to investigations into the freezing deaths of three Indigenous men in the same area, including 17-year-old Neil Stonechild, prompting an <a href="http://www.publications.gov.sk.ca/freelaw/Publications_Centre/Justice/Stonechild/Stonechild-FinalReport.pdf">inquiry into starlight tours</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A patch of pavement with the names of victimized Indigenous people drawn in chalk, including Neil Stonechild." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524976/original/file-20230508-197326-ooj56b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524976/original/file-20230508-197326-ooj56b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524976/original/file-20230508-197326-ooj56b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524976/original/file-20230508-197326-ooj56b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524976/original/file-20230508-197326-ooj56b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524976/original/file-20230508-197326-ooj56b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524976/original/file-20230508-197326-ooj56b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A man cleanses the area with sage as the names of Indigenous people victimized by the criminal justice system are written on a sidewalk during a protest in Victoria, B.C., in March 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/darrell-night-who-exposed-a-dark-underside-in-saskatoon-policing-has-died">Commenting on his ordeal years later</a>, Night pointed out he did nothing to deserve the attempted death sentence, ensuing nightmares and lifelong fear of the police.</p>
<p>Blaming individual Indigenous men for the violence they experience prevents us from seeing how those experiences are interconnected and rooted in a systemic and social culture of racism and colonialism. These issues <a href="https://equityhealthj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12939-021-01500-8">have been studied in-depth</a> but strangely remain unquestioned by the general public and policymakers.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/watchdog-report-into-rcmp-investigation-of-colten-boushies-death-confirms-police-racism-158507">Watchdog report into RCMP investigation of Colten Boushie’s death confirms police racism</a>
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<h2>Making a difference</h2>
<p>A Saskatchewan-based report that’s almost 20 years old from the <a href="https://library.usask.ca/gp/sk/j/justicecommisionnationsmetis/volume1.html">Commission on First Nations and Métis Peoples and Justice Reform</a> noted that numerous entities had focused on the over-representation of Indigenous people in the criminal justice system. </p>
<p>The 2004 commission asked: “After some 30 or so previous commissions, how can we make a difference?”</p>
<p>The report’s answer in Cree was: <em>Opintowin</em>, which aims “to encourage an environment in which all people want to lift each other up as we develop as a community.” </p>
<p>The commission noted that creating such an environment requires fundamental change beyond “simple tinkering with the system” or a singular focus on policing. The same is still true in 2023.</p>
<p>As for Morin, his ideal environment is quite simply one where people do not feel threatened, inconvenienced or scared by the mere sight of him — but instead, actually see him.</p>
<p>Like Umpherville, Morin and all Indigenous people shouldn’t have to fear police who are meant to protect them but instead are still, far too often, acting as judge, jury and executioner.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205260/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Indigenous people shouldn’t have to fear police who are supposed to protect them but instead still act as judge, jury and executioner.Kathy Walker, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Studies, University of SaskatchewanRandy Morin, Assistant Professor of Indigenous Studies, University of SaskatchewanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2014432023-04-18T19:37:41Z2023-04-18T19:37:41ZData shows that police-involved deaths in Canada are on the rise<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520307/original/file-20230411-16-wv178s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C8%2C5964%2C3961&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman holds a sign during a demonstration calling for police accountability in Vancouver in May 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fatal encounters with police <a href="https://trackinginjustice.ca/analysis-increase-in-deaths-and-racial-disparities/">are on the rise in Canada</a>. The number of civilians dying in incidents with police when force is used has steadily increased since 2000. This is leaving families and communities with little support or recourse for accountability. </p>
<p>We are members of the <a href="https://trackinginjustice.ca/">Tracking (In)Justice project</a> documenting and analyzing police-involved deaths when force is used in Canada. Tracking (In)Justice is a partnership of academics and advocates who aim to shed light on police violence to help inform calls for accountability, transparency and changes to policing. </p>
<p>Gathering this information gives us the ability to ask new questions, such as why some police forces kill people more frequently than others. It also allows us to inform policy designed to address issues of police accountability.</p>
<p>There have been <a href="https://www.ccja-acjp.ca/pub/en/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2021/08/Full-Report-PUF.pdf">longstanding calls for police and governments to collect and share data</a> about incidents where the use of force caused civilian injury and death. Journalists, academics, civil society groups and victims’ families have been engaged in this work for a long time. </p>
<p>However, no centralized, updated data set exists that tracks deaths and provides information about the person, location, implicated police service, type of force used and many other contextual details. Much of what we rely on to understand these cases are “official” documents like <a href="https://wayback.archive-it.org/16312/20210402050708/http:/www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/police_oversight_review/">police or oversight body media releases</a>, that contain limited details and only tell a one-sided police narrative.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519093/original/file-20230403-18-obe9t8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C40%2C2968%2C2142&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A police officer wearing a protective vest with RCMP written on their shirt sleeve." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519093/original/file-20230403-18-obe9t8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C40%2C2968%2C2142&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519093/original/file-20230403-18-obe9t8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519093/original/file-20230403-18-obe9t8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519093/original/file-20230403-18-obe9t8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=437&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519093/original/file-20230403-18-obe9t8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519093/original/file-20230403-18-obe9t8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519093/original/file-20230403-18-obe9t8.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=549&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There have been longstanding calls for police and governments to collect and share data about incidents where the use of force caused injury and death to civilians.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan</span></span>
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<h2>Tracking fatalities</h2>
<p><a href="https://trackinginjustice.ca/analysis-increase-in-deaths-and-racial-disparities/">Our preliminary findings</a> indicate that use-of-force incidents are on the rise, with the highest number occurring in 2022. Some of this long-term trend may be due to increased access to information about police-involved killings and deaths. But access to information alone does not explain the striking increase in recent years.</p>
<p>According to Tracking (In)Justice data, there was an average of 22.7 police-involved deaths between 2000-2010. In comparison, an average of 37.8 people died every year between 2011-2022. That represents a 66.5 per cent increase.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521709/original/file-20230418-26-45xpwq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A chart showing police-involved deaths between 2000-2022 increasing from around 20 in 2000 to around 70 in 2022." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521709/original/file-20230418-26-45xpwq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/521709/original/file-20230418-26-45xpwq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521709/original/file-20230418-26-45xpwq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521709/original/file-20230418-26-45xpwq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=366&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521709/original/file-20230418-26-45xpwq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521709/original/file-20230418-26-45xpwq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/521709/original/file-20230418-26-45xpwq.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=460&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A chart from Tracking (In)Justice showing the number of police-involved deaths when force was used per year between 2000-2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://trackinginjustice.ca/analysis-increase-in-deaths-and-racial-disparities/">(Tracking (In)Justice)</a>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Shooting deaths also appear to be occurring with greater frequency. Tracking (In)Justice documented 704 deaths in Canada from 2000 to 2022 where police force was used. The data includes deaths from police shootings and instances where a person died after being subjected to other types of police weapons (e.g. tasers) or physical interventions (e.g. restraints). </p>
<p>This data was compiled by accessing publicly available information from media and official reports. The data includes information related to the victim, including name, age and race when known. It also documents the location of death, involved police and the highest level of force used.</p>
<h2>Tracking racial data and shooting deaths</h2>
<p>Following <a href="https://www.ohrc.on.ca/sites/default/files/TPS%20Inquiry_Interim%20Report%20EN%20FINAL%20DESIGNED%20for%20remed_3_0.pdf#overlay-context=en/news_centre/ohrc-interim-report-toronto-police-service-inquiry-shows-disturbing-results">longstanding patterns of inequity</a>, there are persistent racial disparities within the overall increase in police-involved deaths when force is used. </p>
<p>According to the data we’ve collected, Black and Indigenous people are killed at disproportionate numbers relative to their population size. According to the <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221026/dq221026b-eng.htm">most recent Statistics Canada census data</a>, Indigenous people make up 6.1 per cent of Canada’s population and Black people comprise 4.3 per cent.</p>
<p>Tracking (In)Justice data shows that 112 of the deceased were identified by police or other authorities as Indigenous, and 54 were identified as Black since 2000. These numbers represent 16.2 per cent and 8.1 per cent respectively. More than 240 people were identified as white. However, it should be noted that a significant number of unknowns exist, as race is often not reported on public documents. </p>
<p>Racial disparities are further reflected in the numbers specific to police-involved shooting deaths. People identified by police or other authorities as Black represent 8.7 per cent of the total number, while people identified as Indigenous represent 18.5 per cent. </p>
<p>Together, Black and Indigenous people comprise around 10 per cent of the population in Canada, yet account for 27.2 per cent of police-involved shooting deaths when the race of the victim has been identified.</p>
<h2>Deaths by jurisdiction and police service</h2>
<p><a href="https://trackinginjustice.ca/analysis-jurisdiction-and-force/">Most provinces and territories</a> have seen increases of 30 per cent or higher in police-related deaths since 2010. </p>
<p>Overall, Ontario has the most deaths at 224, followed by British Columbia at 141, Alberta at 121, Québec at 115, Manitoba at 38 and Saskatchewan at 29. The remaining provinces and territories have experienced nine or fewer deaths since 2000. New Brunswick and Nunavut experienced one death each between 2000 and 2010, followed by a spike of seven deaths each between 2011 and 2022. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520601/original/file-20230412-26-s79oqg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A Toronto police cruiser parked on a roadside" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520601/original/file-20230412-26-s79oqg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520601/original/file-20230412-26-s79oqg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520601/original/file-20230412-26-s79oqg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520601/original/file-20230412-26-s79oqg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520601/original/file-20230412-26-s79oqg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520601/original/file-20230412-26-s79oqg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/520601/original/file-20230412-26-s79oqg.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">At the municipal level, the Toronto Police Service is implicated in the greatest number of deaths.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives</span></span>
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<p>Three police services — Toronto, Peel and Montréal — were implicated in two-thirds of the deaths of Black-identified people. The RCMP is implicated in more than half of Indigenous deaths, at 57 out of 112. Some of this long-term trend may be due to increased access to information about police-involved killings and deaths. But access to information alone does not explain the striking increase in the past three years. </p>
<h2>Calls for accountability</h2>
<p>Tracking (In)Justice is a living data set and a work-in-progress. We are actively working to expand the data, including identifying whether the person killed was labelled by police as a “<a href="https://www.ciddd.ca/documents/phasetwo/police_encounters_with_people_in_crisis.pdf">person in crisis</a>.” This is a problematic and ableist category, which may give us insight into the ways people labelled with disabilities are impacted by police violence. </p>
<p>The data also does not include incidents where police were present, but force was not necessarily used, such as during falls, vehicle crashes or deaths in custody. </p>
<p>What is also missing is the impact on families when their loved one is killed by police. When someone has a family member killed, they cannot access <a href="https://www.victimsfirst.gc.ca/serv/vsc-svc.html">victim services</a>, as the loved one is not considered a victim. They may never know the name of the person responsible for killing their loved one and may have to pay out-of-pocket legal fees in their efforts to seek justice. </p>
<p>Family members may also never get access to coroner’s reports, oversight investigation reports or even their deceased family member’s belongings. They are often unjustly provided little assistance to navigate systems in their pursuit of justice. </p>
<p>There is increasing attention being brought to bear on police violence and racial injustice in the Canadian criminal justice system. Our project’s findings support long-standing calls for accountability, transparency and scrutiny of police conduct in Canada. Much more work still needs to be done.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201443/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Crosby receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alexander McClelland receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and Canadian Institutes of Health Research. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tanya L. Sharpe receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the Anti-Racism Directorate, Ministry of the Solicitor General.</span></em></p>There have been longstanding calls for police and governments to collect and share data about incidents where the use of force caused injury and death to civilians.Andrew Crosby, Postdoctoral fellow, School of Planning, University of WaterlooAlexander McClelland, Assistant Professor, Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Carleton UniversityTanya L. Sharpe, Associate Professor, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Founder & Director of The Centre for Research & Innovation for Black Survivors of Homicide Victims, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2037672023-04-18T12:19:39Z2023-04-18T12:19:39ZKenya should decriminalise homosexuality: 4 compelling reasons why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520830/original/file-20230413-14-r1pv5c.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Activists agitate for equal rights for all in Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Kenya has recently seen the <a href="https://kohljournal.press/health-and-freedom">increasing visibility</a> of sexual and gender minorities. However, this has been met with <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/3/15/how-an-lgbtq-court-ruling-sent-kenya-into-a-moral-panic">a growing backlash</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4uGzjZIzM8">Religious</a> and <a href="https://ntvkenya.co.ke/news/gachagua-on-lgbtq-those-are-satanic-beliefs/">political leaders</a> have been spreading homophobic and transphobic rhetoric. This has happened with the <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2015/09/28/issue-violence/attacks-lgbt-people-kenyas-coast">tacit approval</a> of a law enforcement apparatus that’s supposed to guarantee the right to equal protection. </p>
<p>The continued criminalisation of same-sex sexual relations among consenting adults in Kenya worsens social disparities and inequalities. It fuels socioeconomic and health vulnerabilities. </p>
<p>It <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308163037_Freedom_Corner_Redefining_HIV_and_AIDS_care_and_support_among_men_who_have_sex_with_men_in_Nairobi_Kenya">deprives members of these minority groups</a> access to education, a livelihood, and basic services like housing and healthcare. Criminalisation pushes <a href="https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/18012125/Thesis.pdf">sexual and gender minorities to the margins of society</a>. Research has shown that sexual and gender minorities are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308163037_Freedom_Corner_Redefining_HIV_and_AIDS_care_and_support_among_men_who_have_sex_with_men_in_Nairobi_Kenya">consistently targeted</a> for unfair dismissal from jobs or business opportunities. </p>
<p>The decriminalisation of same-sex relations among adults would lead to four positive outcomes: inclusive development for economic growth, improved health outcomes, the safety and security of sexual minorities, and an acceptance of diversity and equality. This view is based on our <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Emmy-Kageha">research on social exclusion</a>, with a focus on <a href="https://kohljournal.press/health-and-freedom">sexual and gender minorities</a>.</p>
<h2>Inclusive development for economic growth</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/afr/brief/social-inclusion-in-africa">Social inclusion</a> is the process of improving the conditions for individuals and groups to participate in society. Social exclusion based on sexual orientation leads to lower societal standing. </p>
<p>This often leads to poorer outcomes in terms of income, human capital endowments and access to employment. People who are discriminated against tend to lack a voice in national and local decision making. </p>
<p>Decriminalisation of same-sex sexual relations would help address institutionalised stigma and discrimination. It would enhance access to equal opportunities by eliminating barriers to employment and other livelihood opportunities.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/lgbti-refugees-seeking-protection-in-kenya-struggle-to-survive-in-a-hostile-environment-182810">LGBTI refugees seeking protection in Kenya struggle to survive in a hostile environment</a>
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<p><a href="https://pure.uva.nl/ws/files/18012125/Thesis.pdf">Research</a> shows that sexual and gender minorities with access to income opportunities support their families financially. This is true even in cases where families aren’t accepting. People who are educated can also compete effectively in the job market. The exclusion of minorities, therefore, means <a href="https://open-for-business.org/kenya-economic-case">the loss of a workforce and their contribution to economic development</a>. </p>
<h2>Better health outcomes</h2>
<p>Social exclusion contributes to poor health among sexual and gender minorities. In 2020, <a href="https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/2021-global-aids-update_en.pdf#page=6">1.5 million people</a> were newly infected with HIV. Those <a href="https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/2021-global-aids-update_en.pdf#page=23">most vulnerable</a> to infection include people who inject drugs, transgender women, sex workers, men who have sex with men, and their sexual partners. </p>
<p>These key populations accounted for <a href="https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/2021-global-aids-update_en.pdf#page=23">65% of HIV infections</a> globally. In sub-Saharan Africa, they accounted for <a href="https://www.unaids.org/sites/default/files/media_asset/2021-global-aids-update_en.pdf#page=24">39% of new infections</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://open-for-business.org/about">Open for Business</a> is a global research coalition that seeks to address the backlash against the LGBTIQ+ community. In a <a href="https://open-for-business.org/kenya-economic-case">2020 report</a>, the group estimated that discrimination against sexual minorities costs Kenya up to Sh105 billion (US$782 million) annually in poor health outcomes. </p>
<p>Decriminalisation enhances access to healthcare. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17441692.2018.1462841">Our</a> <a href="https://kohljournal.press/health-and-freedom">research</a> shows, for example, better health such as decreased new HIV infections in societies that adopt laws that advance non-discrimination and decriminalise same-sex relationships. </p>
<h2>Enhancing safety and security</h2>
<p>In 2014, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted <a href="https://achpr.au.int/en/adopted-resolutions/275-resolution-protection-against-violence-and-other-human-rights-violations">Resolution 275</a>. The resolution expresses grave concerns about increasing violence and other human rights violations – including murder, rape and assault – of individuals based on sexual orientation or gender identity. </p>
<p>Safety and security are some of the <a href="https://www.article19.org/resources/kenya-murder-lgbtq-activist-urgent-reform/">biggest challenges</a> facing sexual and gender minorities in Kenya. The country has seen an escalation of <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/3/15/how-an-lgbtq-court-ruling-sent-kenya-into-a-moral-panic">negative rhetoric and violence</a> targeting sexual and gender minorities, and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64491276">related organisations</a>. Hate speech, verbal and physical abuse, sexual violence and police harassment <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/uganda-lgbt-hatecrime-idUSL4N3584J1">have increased</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/justiceforsheila-highlights-the-precarious-lives-of-queer-people-in-kenya-183102">#JusticeForSheila highlights the precarious lives of queer people in Kenya</a>
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<p>In Kenya’s coastal city of Mombasa, for instance, sexual minorities <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-03-16-gay-people-fear-for-their-lives-escape-mombasa-over-planned-demos/">fled</a> recent <a href="https://twitter.com/citizentvkenya/status/1636702221743079425?s=20">homophobic street protests</a>. A <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/334681176_Are_we_doing_alright_Realities_of_violence_mental_health_and_access_to_healthcare_related_to_sexual_orientation_and_gender_identity_and_expression_in_East_and_Southern_Africa_Research_report_based_on_">2019 report</a> on the experiences of the <a href="https://ccprcentre.org/files/documents/INT_CCPR_CSS_KEN_44420_E.pdf#page=6">LGBTIQ+ community in Kenya</a> found that 53% have been physically assaulted and 44% sexually assaulted. </p>
<p>The criminalisation of same-sex sexual relations among adults contributes to a climate of violence and discrimination. Moreover, criminalisation supports the perpetrators of violence who take the law into their own hands. </p>
<h2>Acceptance of diversity</h2>
<p>Sexual and gender minorities are socially excluded because of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/homosexuality-remains-illegal-in-kenya-as-court-rejects-lgbt-petition-112149">criminal label</a> the law imposes on them. This affects their self-acceptance and mental health. </p>
<p>Homophobic acts are widespread even in countries where <a href="https://theconversation.com/sam-smith-how-queerphobia-and-fatphobia-intersect-in-the-backlash-to-the-im-not-here-to-make-friends-video-199437">same-sex relations are legal</a>. However, decriminalisation helps facilitate some level of acceptance among minority groups and within wider society. </p>
<p><a href="https://ualr.edu/socialchange/2013/01/13/impact-of-the-decriminalization-of-homosexuality-in-delhi-an-empirical-study">Studies</a> <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9293432/">have found</a> that decriminalisation reduces societal violence. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>Same-sex relations, or sexual and gender minorities, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/43904926">aren’t new</a> <a href="https://www.arcados.ch/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/MURRAY-ROSCOE-BOY-WIVES-FEMALE-HUSBANDS-98.pdf">in Africa</a>. They aren’t a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332192031_An_Exploratory_Journey_of_Cultural_Visual_Literacy_of_Non-Conforming_Gender_Representations_from_Pre-Colonial_Sub-_Saharan_Africa">foreign ideology</a>. </p>
<p>Social exclusion constitutes perhaps the most serious challenge towards attaining sustainable and inclusive development. The criminalisation of same-sex relations among consenting adults in Kenya’s penal code exposes the weaknesses of the constitution in ensuring inclusivity. The law must, therefore, be changed. </p>
<p>Repealing criminalisation clauses is an important step toward reducing stigma, violence and discrimination. It would certainly open a new chapter in the lives of sexual and gender minorities.</p>
<p>There’s also an urgent need to make sexual and gender minorities visible. Awareness campaigns can help debunk perceptions that they are “anti-religious” or “un-African”. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-does-the-bible-say-about-homosexuality-for-starters-jesus-wasnt-a-homophobe-199424">What does the Bible say about homosexuality? For starters, Jesus wasn't a homophobe</a>
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<p>There’s an equally urgent need to identify all forms of discrimination against sexual and gender minorities under domestic and international laws. This will help address the root causes of inequalities.</p>
<p>Decriminalisation of same-sex relations is imperative. It will help address widening disparities, inequalities in society and the gaps in social integration.</p>
<p><em>Nicholas Etyang, a senior policy advocacy officer at the African Population and Health Research Center, is a co-author of this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203767/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lucy Wanjiku Mung’ala is affiliated with Hivos, where she works as the strategy and impact lead - gender equality, diversity and inclusion. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emmy Kageha Igonya does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The criminalisation of same-sex sexual relations among consenting adults in Kenya worsens social disparities and inequalities.Emmy Kageha Igonya, Associate research scientist, African Population and Health Research CenterLucy Wanjiku Mung’ala, PhD Researcher, University of AmsterdamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2035802023-04-16T07:18:52Z2023-04-16T07:18:52ZFrom advertising blackmail to physical threats, Kenya’s journalists are under attack – but they must also regain public trust<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/520468/original/file-20230412-16-78wq4n.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Journalists take cover during March 2023 protests in Kenya. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Boniface Muthoni/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In recent months, Kenyan journalists have been <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/editorials/stop-this-unwarranted-affront-to-media-freedom-4167720">harassed</a>, <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/blogs-opinion/editorials/denounce-this-blatant-attempt-to-muzzle-media-4170448">intimidated</a> and <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/journalists-attacked-as-anti-government-protests-continue-in-kenya-/7030753.html">attacked</a> by government officials, politicians and members of the public. George Ogola, a professor of media industries, explains the impact of these attacks on media freedom in Kenya.</em> </p>
<h2>What are the major emerging threats against media freedom in Kenya?</h2>
<p>Kenya’s media face threats from both state and non-state actors as <a href="https://theconversation.com/moi-and-the-media-how-kenyan-journalism-suffered-under-his-iron-heel-131681">repressive practices of the past</a> reemerge. Government and opposition politicians are actively undermining media freedom in the country. This isn’t entirely new. But the threats have taken a new dimension as they are publicly defended – even boldly justified – by some of the perpetrators. These threats are economic, political and physical.</p>
<p><strong>Economic squeeze.</strong> In what it claimed was a measure of austerity to curb government spending – but which was interpreted as a deliberate attempt to muzzle media criticism – the previous government established a media buying agency, the <a href="https://ict.go.ke/directorate-of-government-advertising-agency-gaa/">Government Advertising Agency</a>. All government advertising is now channelled through this agency. </p>
<p>Critical media were and are now regularly “punished” through the <a href="https://rsf.org/en/government-orders-state-sector-withdraw-advertising-standard-group-media">withdrawal of government advertising</a>. In the run-up to the August 2022 elections, one of President William Ruto’s senior policy men <a href="https://twitter.com/DavidNdii/status/1552249429406744576?s=20">warned the media</a> that they were best advised to look for advertising elsewhere as it would not be business as usual with state advertising.</p>
<p><strong>Political threats.</strong> The <a href="https://theconversation.com/william-ruto-vs-kenyas-media-democracy-is-at-stake-190780">emerging systematic media repression</a> has also taken the form of brazen political threats from within the senior ranks of government. In what seemed like a well-calibrated attack by the ruling coalition, several politicians accused the media of being a “<a href="https://twitter.com/Aaroncheruiyot/status/1632672857040846850?s=20">cartel</a>” which needed to be “crushed”. These alarming sentiments were <a href="https://twitter.com/KIMANIICHUNGWAH/status/1633125734473674752?s=20">shared by the ruling party’s majority leader</a> in parliament. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/william-ruto-vs-kenyas-media-democracy-is-at-stake-190780">William Ruto vs Kenya's media: democracy is at stake</a>
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<p>More draconian threats have included alleged plans to shut down media houses and the internet. Against the background of <a href="https://theconversation.com/mass-protests-in-kenya-have-a-long-and-rich-history-but-have-been-hijacked-by-the-elites-202979">opposition protests</a> in the country in March 2023, the Kenya Media Sector Working Group claimed the government had intended to <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/journalists-call-out-govt-over-alleged-plan-to-shut-internet-media-over-azimio-protests-4182216">shut down the broadcast media and the internet</a> ahead of a planned demonstration. The president <a href="https://ntvkenya.co.ke/news/ruto-on-plan-to-shut-down-mainstream-media-internet/">denied such plans</a>.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Raila Odinga called on his supporters to <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-03-21-uproar-over-railas-call-for-boycott-of-the-star/">boycott the Star newspaper</a>, a local daily, accusing it of bias. Even though he later withdrew the order, the disregard for the principles of media freedom was apparent.</p>
<p><strong>Physical assaults.</strong> In what seemed like a return to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/daniel-arap-moi-the-making-of-a-kenyan-big-man-127177">repressive 1980s</a> during Kenya’s struggle for political pluralism, journalists were physically assaulted by the police and demonstrators in recent mass protests. Incredibly, the inspector general of police described the risk of assault as part of journalism’s “<a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-04-04-it-wasnt-deliberate-koome-tells-media-over-attacks-during-demos/">occupational hazards</a>”. </p>
<h2>What does the law say about media freedom?</h2>
<p>Kenya has a relatively strong legal framework that supports media freedom. This is in addition to instruments like charters, treaties and declarations. </p>
<p>The freedom and independence of all types of media are guaranteed by <a href="https://klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/112-chapter-four-the-bill-of-rights/part-2-rights-and-fundamental-freedoms/200-34-freedom-of-the-media">Article 34 of the constitution</a>. <a href="https://klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/112-chapter-four-the-bill-of-rights/part-2-rights-and-fundamental-freedoms/199-33-freedom-of-expression">Articles 33</a> and <a href="https://klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/112-chapter-four-the-bill-of-rights/part-2-rights-and-fundamental-freedoms/201-35-access-to-information">35</a> further guarantee freedom of expression and access to information, respectively. </p>
<p>Additional legislation includes the <a href="https://mediacouncil.or.ke/sites/default/files/downloads/media-act-2013.pdf">Media Council of Kenya Act (2013)</a>, which established the Media Council of Kenya. The council promotes and protects the freedom and independence of the media. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/AmendmentActs/2013/KenyaInformationandCommunications_Amendment_Act2013.pdf">Kenya Information and Communication (Amendment) Act (2013)</a> established the Communications Authority of Kenya. It licences and regulates postal, information and communications services. The act gives the authority “independence from government, political or commercial interests”.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.eala.org/uploads/The_Treaty_for_the_Establishment_of_the_East_Africa_Community_2006_1999.pdf">East African Community treaty (1999)</a>, <a href="https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights#:%7E:text=Article%2019,media%20and%20regardless%20of%20frontiers">Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a> and the African Union’s <a href="http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/achpr/expressionfreedomdec.html">Declaration of Principles on Human Rights in Africa (2002)</a>, all ratified by Kenya, advocate for media freedom. </p>
<p>Other key advocates for media freedom include the Kenya Union of Journalists, the Kenya Editors Guild and the Media Owners Association. </p>
<h2>Are media outlets free of blame?</h2>
<p>There is a growing public wariness about the performance of the media, which are increasingly being accused of partisanship and poor journalism. </p>
<p>The Kenyan media have always been embedded within the broader contests for political power forced upon them by <a href="https://internews.org/wp-content/uploads/legacy/resources/Internews_FactuallyTrue_Legally_Untrue-MediaOwnership_Kenya2013-01.pdf">media ownership structures</a>. Journalists are also wedded to Kenya’s polarising, ethnically inflected politics. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-kenyatta-has-gone-about-stifling-the-free-press-in-kenya-91335">How Kenyatta has gone about stifling the free press in Kenya</a>
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<p>A study of the structural conditions of journalism in Kenya describes the media culture as one that “<a href="http://www.mecodem.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Lohner-Banjac-Neverla-2016_Mapping-structural-conditions-of-journalism-in-Kenya.pdf#page=5">fluctuates from critical to concordant, clientelist reporting</a>”. Coverage can reflect the ethnic loyalties of the writers or media houses. This has eroded public trust in sections of the media. </p>
<p>Further, the media licensing regime has traditionally been transactional. Political support is rewarded with licences and access to state advertising. </p>
<p>Importantly, too, as economic challenges become existential threats to many media organisations, they have been forced to reduce their workforce, weakening gate-keeping processes. </p>
<p>These organisations also have to contend with the speed of social media as competitors. As the focus shifts to speed, quality is undermined. </p>
<p>The professional precarity of journalists afraid to lose their jobs has also made them susceptible to self-censorship and bribery. </p>
<h2>What are the options for the media?</h2>
<p>Continued exposure to advertising blackmail from the government weakens the media’s ability to operate independently. It is, therefore, critical that Kenya’s media find ways of diversifying their revenue streams. </p>
<p>Media organisations must continue to raise awareness about the importance of media freedom. They must push back against attempts to undermine their independence and encroach on their freedoms. </p>
<p>There are also enduring legal threats, such as the misapplication of laws like the <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Acts/ComputerMisuseandCybercrimesActNo5of2018.pdf">Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act</a>, which criminalises the publication of false information. Such laws are routinely abused and must, therefore, be fought. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/social-media-is-being-misused-in-kenyas-political-arena-why-its-hard-to-stop-it-177586">Social media is being misused in Kenya's political arena. Why it's hard to stop it</a>
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<p>Lastly, the media must continue investing in training and capacity building for journalists. The allure of speed in an attempt to compete with social media may be tempting, but it risks undermining ethical reporting, fact-checking and quality journalism.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Ogola does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There is a growing public wariness about the performance of the media, which are increasingly accused of being partisan.George Ogola, Professor of Media Industries, University of NottinghamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2029792023-04-03T13:57:28Z2023-04-03T13:57:28ZMass protests in Kenya have a long and rich history – but have been hijacked by the elites<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518491/original/file-20230330-20-zjju3k.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Protesters face off with an anti-riot police officer in Nairobi, Kenya, in March 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga and his coalition party, Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya, recently called for <a href="https://www.theafricareport.com/292123/kenya-raila-announces-anti-ruto-protests-with-major-demo-in-nairobi/">mass protests across the country</a>. Odinga and his team have questioned the legitimacy of President William Ruto’s win in the country’s August 2022 election, and taken issue with the rising cost of living. The Conversation Africa’s Kagure Gacheche spoke with Westen K Shilaho, a senior researcher on African politics, who explores the evolution of political protests in Kenya.</em></p>
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<h2>What does the law say about political protest?</h2>
<p>The right to protest is enshrined in the <a href="https://www.klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/112-chapter-four-the-bill-of-rights/part-2-rights-and-fundamental-freedoms/203-37-assembly-demonstration-picketing-and-petition#:%7E:text=Assembly%2C%20demonstration%2C%20picketing%20and%20petition,-Chapter%20Four%20%2D%20The&text=Every%20person%20has%20the%20right,present%20petitions%20to%20public%20authorities.">constitution of Kenya under Article 37</a>. It states that:</p>
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<p>Every person has the right, peaceably and unarmed, to assemble, to demonstrate, to picket, and to present petitions to public authorities.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The right to protest is also affirmed by international instruments to which Kenya is a signatory. These include the <a href="https://au.int/sites/default/files/treaties/36390-treaty-0011_-_african_charter_on_human_and_peoples_rights_e.pdf">African Charter on Human and People’s Rights</a> and the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-political-rights">International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights</a>. </p>
<p>However, successive Kenyan governments have repeatedly criminalised the right to protest. As a result, the police consistently react with <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/au-calls-for-calm-restraint-in-kenya-4175774">brute force against protesters</a>. </p>
<h2>What led to the latest wave of protests in Kenya?</h2>
<p>Kenya held general elections on 9 August 2022, and <a href="https://www.iebc.or.ke/uploads/resources/nJbSsSKxMj.pdf">William Ruto was declared president</a>. The opposition contested the election results and <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/economy/raila-contests-presidential-election-results-supreme-court-3922660">filed a petition</a> before the supreme court, which <a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/kenyan-court-to-rule-on-disputed-presidential-election-/6731434.html">unanimously dismissed the petition</a> for lack of evidence. </p>
<p>Raila Odinga, the losing presidential contestant, rejected this ruling and has refused to recognise Ruto’s win. He has taken the dispute to the court of public opinion – the streets. He has made three main demands: </p>
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<li><p>that the electoral agency’s servers be opened to prove that he won the 2022 election</p></li>
<li><p>that Ruto halts <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/25-kenyans-seek-to-replace-chebukati-as-iebc-chair-895-eye-commissioner-jobs-4177314">reconstitution of Kenya’s electoral body</a> </p></li>
<li><p>that the government lowers the cost of living.</p></li>
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<p>Protests began on 15 August 2022 when the presidential election results were declared. <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/entertainment/national/article/2001453334/bitter-end-chebukati-attacked-as-chaos-mar-bomas-briefing">Hoodlums assaulted</a> the electoral agency’s chairperson and other officials. They are yet to be held to account for these attacks.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-body-choosing-kenyas-election-commission-is-being-overhauled-how-this-could-strengthen-democracy-198798">The body choosing Kenya's election commission is being overhauled – how this could strengthen democracy</a>
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<p>After a six-month lull, these protests recently spilled over onto the streets. The opposition called for demonstrations <a href="https://www.businessdailyafrica.com/bd/economy/raila-odinga-calls-for-boycott-of-safaricom-kcb-4167328">twice a week</a> from 20 March until the government accedes to its demands. </p>
<p>Ruto and his supporters <a href="https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/2023/03/president-ruto-dismisses-raila-call-for-resignation-halt-of-iebc-recruitment/">have been scornful</a> of the opposition’s demands, saying they have no basis in <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/president-ruto-dismisses-raila-s-azimio-protests-as-sabotage--4103666">law, morality or logic</a>. Ruto dismissed the protests as <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/realtime/2023-03-19-i-will-not-allow-you-to-terrorise-kenyans-ruto-tells-raila/">acts of economic terrorism</a>. </p>
<p>After two weeks of <a href="https://www.africanews.com/2023/03/30/violent-clashes-as-kenya-opposition-stages-third-day-of-protests/">violence</a> – where at least three people died, several others injured and property vandalised – Ruto extended an olive branch to the opposition and asked them to <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/politics/eyes-on-raila-as-ruto-asks-opposition-to-call-off-protests-4182346">call off the protests</a>. He suggested that the issue of the reconstitution of the electoral body could be revisited. </p>
<p>In response, <a href="https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2023-04-02-my-door-is-open-for-talks-call-off-protests-ruto-tells-raila/">the opposition suspended the protests</a>. </p>
<p>Ruto has previously said he would not be <a href="https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/anxiety-as-ruto-raila-harden-stance-over-protests-4172706">blackmailed into a power-sharing arrangement</a> with the opposition. If not checked, power-sharing arrangements – or “<a href="https://theconversation.com/kenyatta-raila-pact-will-only-herald-real-change-if-promises-are-followed-by-action-96148">handshake</a>” in Kenya’s political parlance – could become the country’s default arrangement after elections. This would be to the detriment of democratic tenets. </p>
<h2>What is the history of political protests in Kenya?</h2>
<p>Kenya’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-kenyas-constitutional-duels-are-all-about-power-struggles-among-the-elite-147471">political history</a> is marked by mass protests that date back to the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/180739">colonial period</a> and continued into independence. </p>
<p>Amid police crackdowns, Kenyans protested against <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000096439/witness-recalls-the-1969-kisumu-massacre-that-marked-jomo-kenyatta-s-visit">political assassinations</a> and autocracy during the tenures of the country’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, and his successor, Daniel Moi. </p>
<p>Through a <a href="http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Constitution/HistoryoftheConstitutionofKenya/Acts/1982/ActNo.7of1982.pdf">constitutional amendment</a>, Moi turned Kenya into a one-party state in 1982, which heightened political tensions. Later that year, Kenyans protested in Nairobi in support of an <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/kenya/article/2001380803/inside-secret-coup-attempt-that-killed-240-in-city-crossfire">attempted coup against Moi</a> as opposition politicians and civil society sought a return to political pluralism. </p>
<p>Countrywide protests were held in <a href="https://www.theelephant.info/features/2020/07/07/saba-saba-and-the-evolution-of-citizen-power">1990</a>. This agitation, coupled with pressure from civil society, religious groups and western donors, forced Moi to accede to <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/1991/1204/04041.html">multiparty politics in 1991</a>. </p>
<p>In 1992, <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/entertainment/news/article/2001261426/bare-breasted-crusade-when-mothers-of-political-prisoners-stripped-at-uhuru-park">mothers of political prisoners</a> held an 11-month hunger strike in Nairobi to demand the release of their sons. </p>
<p>Protests against presidential results in 2007 led to a <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2013/3/3/kenya-what-went-wrong-in-2007">horrific crackdown</a>. More than 1,100 people were killed, <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=tjrc-gov">several of them extrajudicially</a> by the police. Odinga had disputed Mwai Kibaki’s win. Protests and summary executions also followed the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/17/kenya-riot-police-election-protest">2013</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/kenyas-history-of-political-violence-colonialism-vigilantes-and-militias-83888">2017</a> announcements of presidential election results.</p>
<p>Protests are important. They can influence a government or a body of authority to respond to popular interests and injustice. Through protests, a government can be forced to address service delivery concerns, corruption, labour disputes, extrajudicial and summary executions and education matters, and to abandon dictatorial tendencies. In some countries, such as <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Arab-Spring">Tunisia, Egypt and Libya</a>, protests collapsed regimes. </p>
<p>As I discuss in my book, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322174201_Political_Power_and_Tribalism_in_Kenya">Political Power and Tribalism in Kenya</a>, political protests in the country have become insular, sectarian, tribal, unashamedly personality driven and elitist. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kenyas-history-of-political-violence-colonialism-vigilantes-and-militias-83888">Kenya’s history of political violence: colonialism, vigilantes and militias</a>
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<p>My research found that the political elite have used protests for self-preservation and to pursue their interests. Protests have become about getting opposing political personalities to come to an agreement so that election losers don’t lose all the benefits of being in power – but such agreements stifle healthy debate.</p>
<p>Elections must produce winners and losers among the contestants. The citizenry should be the only constant winners. Their concerns must be met regardless of who ascends to power.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202979/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Westen K Shilaho does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Political protests in Kenya have become insular, sectarian, tribal and unashamedly personality driven.Westen K Shilaho, Senior Research Fellow, Institute for PanAfrican Thought and Conversation (IPATC), University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2016772023-03-20T14:08:47Z2023-03-20T14:08:47ZKenya’s police are violent, unaccountable and make most citizens feel less safe – should they be abolished?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/515187/original/file-20230314-1506-fjivlu.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kenyans protest against police extrajudicial killings in Nairobi in December 2022. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>A world without the police is inconceivable to many people. The police are viewed as part of modern society’s foundation, ensuring democracy and keeping people safe. </p>
<p>In practice, however, police around the world sometimes repress <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-crackdown-occupy">social movements</a>, stifle <a href="https://sociologytwynham.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/policing-the-crisis.pdf">democracy</a>, and exacerbate social and racial <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/06/10/ruth-wilson-gilmore-makes-the-case-for-abolition/">injustice</a>. Across the African continent, they often use force to prop up repressive regimes. And in Kenya in particular, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-art-of-bribery-a-closeup-look-at-how-traffic-officers-operate-on-kenyas-roads-185551">extortion</a> and <a href="https://www.matharesocialjustice.org/who-is-next/">extrajudicial killings</a> by the police are <a href="http://parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2021-11/Report%20on%20Inquiry%20into%20Extrajudicial%20Killings%20and%20Enforced%20Disappearance%20in%20Kenya_.pdf">rampant</a>. </p>
<p>Kenya is unusual for its extensive attempts to reform the police. Reform efforts began in earnest in 2008, when the police were found to be <a href="https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1004&context=tjrc-gov">complicit in post-election violence</a>. And yet, after 15 years and <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/kenya-police-reforms-to-cost-sh81-4bn--746284">billions of shillings spent</a>, the police reform project has <a href="https://www.theelephant.info/features/2017/06/01/set-up-to-fail-police-reforms-in-kenya/">largely failed</a>. </p>
<p>The Kenyan police remain repressive, unaccountable and effectively unreformable. Many citizens complain about how the police treat them <a href="https://theworld.org/stories/2016-05-23/police-officers-treat-nairobi-neighborhood-atm-machine-residents-say">like ATMs</a> – a source of cash. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the police <a href="https://www.citizen.digital/news/kenya-police-have-killed-15-people-injured-31-in-covid-19-curfew-enforcement-ipoa-334522">killed tens of Kenyans</a> while enforcing curfew measures. </p>
<p>Given such failures, we posed the question: are the Kenya police <a href="https://www.akpress.org/areprisonsobsolete.html">obsolete</a>? </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kenya-police-killings-point-to-systemic-rot-and-a-failed-justice-system-193468">Kenya: police killings point to systemic rot and a failed justice system</a>
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<p>We’ve conducted hundreds of interviews, discussion groups and over a decade of ethnographic research into how <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1463499617729295">counter-terrorist policing</a> and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1463499617729229">securitisation</a> have shaped <a href="https://www.african-cities.org/safety-and-security/">Nairobi</a>. And in turn, how local residents <a href="https://www.sapiens.org/culture/police-violence-kenya/">respond to police violence</a> and build their own <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-018-0078-8">practices of care</a>, mutual aid and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0042098018789059">security</a>. </p>
<p>We have come to the conclusion that the police make most people feel less safe. Many residents told us they don’t depend on the police for their safety: they keep each other safe. Given the impasse of police reform – and citizen responses to this – there is a strong argument to be made for the abolition of the Kenyan police altogether. </p>
<h2>Policing at an impasse</h2>
<p>Modern police institutions made their first appearances on the African continent as part of colonisation and the expansion of European capitalist interests.</p>
<p>In Kenya, the roots of policing lie in early colonial “<a href="https://www.ohioswallow.com/book/unhappy+valley">conquest</a>”. The Imperial British East African Company developed security forces to protect its expanding economic interests in the 1890s, and the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Kenya/The-East-Africa-Protectorate#ref419085">Kenya-Uganda Railroad</a> developed its own police force in 1902. </p>
<p>After Kenya’s independence in 1963, the police were “Africanised” but retained much of their <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137558305_4">colonial character</a>. Under <a href="https://theconversation.com/daniel-arap-moi-the-making-of-a-kenyan-big-man-127177">Daniel arap Moi’s authoritarian regime</a> (1978-2002), the police continued to play a key role in repressing dissent. </p>
<p>There have been calls to reform the Kenyan police for decades. But the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2009/10/un-human-rights-team-issues-report-post-election-violence-kenya">2007-08 post-election violence</a>, in which police were complicit in widespread ethnic violence, accelerated attempts at reform.</p>
<p>Over the past 15 years, police reform has been enshrined in the <a href="https://www.klrc.go.ke/index.php/constitution-of-kenya/158-chapter-fourteen-national-security/part-4-the-national-police-service/413-244-objects-and-functions-of-the-national-police-service">2010 constitution</a> and actualised in numerous acts of parliament. It’s been supported internationally with <a href="https://www.unodc.org/documents/evaluation/Briefs/2018/KENZ04_Final_Evaluation_Brief_June_2018.pdf">funding and technical expertise</a> from the UN, the US and the EU, among others. It prompted the <a href="https://www.nationalpolice.go.ke/pages/search.html">reorganisation of the police service</a> and the establishment of <a href="https://www.ipoa.go.ke/#">civil oversight mechanisms</a>. </p>
<p>Yet, despite all of these efforts, the Kenyan police <a href="https://theconversation.com/kenya-police-killings-point-to-systemic-rot-and-a-failed-justice-system-193468">remain corrupt, violent and unaccountable</a>. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kenya-has-tried-to-reform-its-police-force-but-its-left-gaps-for-abuse-176044">Kenya has tried to reform its police force, but it's left gaps for abuse</a>
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<p>Civilian oversight over the police has proved ineffectual. The Independent Policing Oversight Agency has managed to bring only <a href="http://www.parliament.go.ke/sites/default/files/2022-03/Report%20of%20Independent%20Policing%20Oversight%20Authority%20on%20Performance%20for%20January%20%E2%80%93%20June%202021.pdf">12 cases of police violence to conviction</a> out of more than 20,000 complaints received between 2012 and 2021. That is only one out of every 1,667 complaints. The under-resourced agency simply can’t grapple with the immense volume of reported police abuses.</p>
<h2>The case for abolition</h2>
<p>Police reform <a href="https://www.theelephant.info/features/2017/06/01/set-up-to-fail-police-reforms-in-kenya/">has failed</a>. Is it time to consider abolition?</p>
<p>Abolition is not about simply tearing things down, but rather asking what should exist in place of outdated and violent systems that no longer serve people. Abolition is a <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/culture/mariame-kaba-interview-til-we-free-us/">creative</a> and <a href="https://theintercept.com/2020/06/10/ruth-wilson-gilmore-makes-the-case-for-abolition/">constructive project</a> with deep <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwYik8nn63U">philosophical roots</a>. </p>
<p>So why abolish the Kenya police?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The police are functionally obsolete for most Kenyans. In many low-income neighbourhoods, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0042098018789059">our research shows</a> that people avoid calling the police to respond to crises or crimes. For many, experience shows that the police can <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-64509793">make matters worse</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>The police often exacerbate insecurity, violence and <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-art-of-bribery-a-closeup-look-at-how-traffic-officers-operate-on-kenyas-roads-185551">corruption</a>. To provide for their own safety, residents increasingly <a href="https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publishing/journal-british-academy/10s3/to-retreat-or-to-confront-grassroots-activists-navigating-everyday-torture-in-kenya/">organise themselves into networks</a> of friends, family and neighbours for basic safety. For instance, women in Mathare, Nairobi, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0042098018789059">organise their own security practices</a>, which include conflict resolution, de-escalation of violence and <a href="https://www.matharesocialjustice.org/mothers-of-victims-and-survivors-network-from-victims-to-community-defenders/">support for survivors</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>In more affluent neighbourhoods, residents increasingly rely on private companies to provide <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1463499617729295">security in their compounds</a>. Police are seen as one among <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0263775820923374">many security services</a> available for hire. In our research, the few positive experiences with the Kenyan police were reported (predominantly) by such affluent residents.</p></li>
<li><p>The remaining function of the police is “<a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Enforcing+Order:+An+Ethnography+of+Urban+Policing-p-9780745664804">enforcing order</a>” and protecting the state against society. Officers uphold and protect a rarefied governing class and political elite against the population. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>Police abolition, therefore, would mean dismantling ineffective and repressive institutions and replacing them with <a href="https://www.akpress.org/we-do-this-til-we-free-us.html">systems of actual safety</a>, systems that enable society to thrive.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/many-kenyans-have-embraced-vigilante-cops-an-ineffective-police-force-is-to-blame-196449">Many Kenyans have embraced vigilante cops – an ineffective police force is to blame</a>
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<h2>What should replace the police?</h2>
<p>When confronted with the idea of “abolition” for the first time, many people often respond: “but who will keep us safe?” </p>
<p>In Nairobi, the answer is to be found in existing social practices. The problem is that there’s a lack of resources to support alternatives to punitive security. We call for defunding the police and investing these resources in such alternatives.</p>
<p><strong>1. Invest in communities.</strong> When we ask about local security problems, residents often answer that the lack of schools, food, land, quality housing, <a href="https://www.matharesocialjustice.org/category/maji-ni-haki-water-campaign/">water</a>, electricity, toilets, healthcare and safe places for kids to play are what cause “insecurity”. Reinvestment in community means funding such social infrastructure to allow people to thrive. This reduces <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/research/want-to-reduce-violence-invest-in-place/">crime and violence</a>. </p>
<p><strong>2. Invest in alternative safety mechanisms.</strong> This means strengthening dispute-resolution mechanisms that help resolve conflicts without violence. The government needs to support existing <a href="https://www.matharesocialjustice.org">social justice centres</a>, <a href="https://africa.unwomen.org/en/news-and-events/stories/2021/08/inside-kenyas-social-justice-centres">networks</a> and movements fighting for change. </p>
<p>When these forms of social reinvestment are pursued, the need for the police is greatly diminished.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201677/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wangui Kimari is the participatory action research coordinator for the Mathare Social Justice Centre (MSJC) </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Zoltán Glück received research funding from the Social Science Research Council, Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, Fulbright IIE, and the African Cities Research Consortium. The views expressed in this article are solely the authors' and do not represent the positions of any of these funding organizations. </span></em></p>Alternatives to violent policing already exist in the daily practices of Nairobi residents who don’t depend on the police for safety.Wangui Kimari, Anthropologist, University of Cape TownZoltán Glück, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, American UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1992522023-02-10T13:51:17Z2023-02-10T13:51:17ZHow video evidence is presented in court can hold sway in cases like the beating death of Tyre Nichols<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509006/original/file-20230208-15-izfcn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=30%2C15%2C5081%2C2858&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Video footage of the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols may be key to any criminal trial.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/CongressPoliceReform/7927280ae6504bbf8ba431ff3332576c/photo?Query=footage%20Tyre%20Nichols&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=6&currentItemNo=0">City of Memphis via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Body camera and surveillance footage depicting the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/02/07/us/memphis-officers-tyre-nichols.html">Jan. 7, 2023, fatal beating of Tyre Nichols</a> was key in raising national awareness and prompting protests for police reform. It may now play a crucial part in any prosecution of those accused in his death.</p>
<p>Five Memphis police officers have been <a href="https://www.actionnews5.com/2023/01/27/court-date-set-5-former-mpd-officers-charged-with-murder-tyre-nichols/">charged with murder</a> and are <a href="https://www.actionnews5.com/2023/01/27/court-date-set-5-former-mpd-officers-charged-with-murder-tyre-nichols/">set to appear in court</a> on Feb. 17. Additionally, the U.S. Justice Department has opened <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtn/pr/statement-united-states-attorney-kevin-g-ritz">a civil rights investigation</a> into Nichols’ death. </p>
<p>For over a decade, <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262542531/seeing-human-rights/">I have studied</a> how video evidence has helped civil rights and human rights claims get recognition and restitution in the U.S. and around the world. As a <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/cmci/people/media-studies/sandra-ristovska">media scholar</a>, I am especially interested in understanding the power and limitation of video evidence inside the courtroom, especially as video is now estimated to form a part of <a href="https://bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/final-video-evidence-primer-for-prosecutors.pdf">four in every five criminal cases</a>. </p>
<p>I have found that video does not provide a unified, objective window onto the truth. Rather, <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-42392-001?doi=1">jurors may perceive the depicted events differently</a> – based, among other factors, on how the video is presented in court. </p>
<h2>How video’s presentation can influence perception</h2>
<p>Video can turn its viewers into witnesses, giving them the impression that they are transported directly to the event in question. Even judges may believe that the opportunity to see a video is equivalent to those in court seeing the real event. In the words of one district judge, it is as if the court had “<a href="https://casetext.com/case/mcdowell-v-sherrer">witnessed with its own eyes</a>.” Yet a growing body of <a href="https://academic.oup.com/book/2869">interdisciplinary research</a> has shown that there are many influences on how people perceive events recorded on video. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1603865113">The speed at which video is played in court</a>, for example, can affect people’s judgments. Videos played in slow motion, compared with normal speed, result in greater judgment of the intention of the person in the depicted action. Sports replays are an easy way to understand this point – slowing down events can make a foul in soccer or football seem more egregious. </p>
<p>Additionally, even the type of video people see can change their perception of what it shows. Across <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1805928116">eight different experiments</a>, viewers of body camera footage were less likely to judge the police officer as having acted intentionally than those who watched the same incident captured on a dashboard camera.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509033/original/file-20230208-29-j7xrit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man's finger pressing a button on a device placed on a blue police uniform." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509033/original/file-20230208-29-j7xrit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/509033/original/file-20230208-29-j7xrit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509033/original/file-20230208-29-j7xrit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509033/original/file-20230208-29-j7xrit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=466&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509033/original/file-20230208-29-j7xrit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509033/original/file-20230208-29-j7xrit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/509033/original/file-20230208-29-j7xrit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=585&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A police officer starting a body camera recording.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/west-valley-city-patrol-officer-gatrell-starts-a-body-news-photo/464977016?phrase=body%20camera%20police&adppopup=true">George Frey/Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>The variations in the perception of intent were driven, in part, by the distinctive camera perspective. A body camera records from the police officer’s point of view, so it is unable to show the officer. On the other hand, a dashboard camera is mounted on a police car, thus it can show the officer’s actions from a wider angle and not necessarily from their viewpoint. </p>
<h2>Confirmation bias</h2>
<p>The discrepancies in perception and the judgments that ensue from the type and presentation of video are significant: They can be highly consequential in a criminal court trial where intent needs to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. </p>
<p>Furthermore, these cognitive biases may be particularly pernicious to people of color within <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12355">a legal system that already discriminates against them</a>. The perspective of body cameras, for example, may worsen racial biases in viewers of videos depicting police use of force. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqab002">A study</a> shows that white viewers perceived dark-skinned civilians more negatively than light-skinned individuals when the body camera made them the subject of primary focus. </p>
<p>A common assumption is that repeated viewing can assist people to focus on information they may have missed on the first viewing, seemingly helping them better evaluate the depicted event. During trial, jurors indeed have multiple opportunities to see the same video. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/23743603.2022.2026214">an eye-tracking study</a> demonstrates how people engage in visual confirmation bias: Their eyes follow a very similar pattern of visual attention, making them overconfident about their initial perception of the video in question. In other words, multiple viewing opportunities are ultimately unlikely to reduce biases that may already exist. </p>
<p>The proliferation of video is therefore challenging the existing legal practices regarding its presentation and use in court. </p>
<h2>Equal and fair justice in an age of video</h2>
<p><a href="https://bja.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh186/files/media/document/final-video-evidence-primer-for-prosecutors.pdf">The Bureau of Justice Assistance</a> at the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that video now appears in about 80% of criminal cases. Yet U.S. courts, from state and federal all the way to the Supreme Court, lack clear guidelines on how video can be used and presented as evidence. </p>
<p>As a result, the U.S. legal system provides substantial discretion in evaluating video evidence by ignoring <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-38574-001">a range of biases</a> that may shape visual perception and judgment in court. </p>
<p>The footage of Tyre Nichols is yet another reminder that video can help people bear witness to traumatic events. However, the way video is presented in court can greatly influence jurors’ perceptions. </p>
<p>As more and more encounters with police officers that are proving deadly are making their way into criminal and civil courts, I believe, the legal system needs mechanisms that can ensure consistency and fairness in the presentation and evaluation of video as evidence.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199252/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sandra Ristovska is the recipient of a Mellon/ACLS Scholars & Society Fellowship (2021-2023). For her work on video evidence, she also received a Research and Innovation Office (RIO) Seed Grant from the University of Colorado Boulder in 2020-2021. </span></em></p>Jurors can perceive events in a video in different ways – one of which depends on how the evidence is presented in court, a media scholar explains.Sandra Ristovska, Assistant Professor in Media Studies, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1990392023-02-08T13:41:24Z2023-02-08T13:41:24ZHow Black communities cope with trauma triggered by police brutality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508202/original/file-20230205-29-3bqf1z.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1772%2C451%2C5224%2C4206&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A portrait of Tyre Nichols at the entrance of the church where his funeral was held in Memphis, Tenn., on Feb. 1, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/screen-at-the-entrance-of-mississippi-boulevard-christian-news-photo/1246727538?phrase=tyre%20nichols&adppopup=true">Lucy Garrett/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The release of footage showing the brutal beating of Tyre Nichols by <a href="https://wreg.com/news/local/tyre-nichols/">Memphis police</a> and <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/atlantas-cop-city-people-protesting/story?id=96716095">protests in Atlanta</a> in 2023 renewed public debate on the issues of police brutality and <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/01/31/1152502698/tyre-nichols-killing-revives-calls-for-congress-to-address-police-reform">police reform</a>.</p>
<p>For some people, seeing is believing, and the circulation of videos documenting police violence is valued as a tool of accountability. </p>
<p>But for many in the Black community, which studies show is <a href="https://www.healthdata.org/news-release/lancet-more-half-police-killings-usa-are-unreported-and-black-americans-are-most-likely">disproportionately affected by police brutality</a>, viewing videos of and having conversations about police violence can have several <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/psyp.14065">adverse effects</a>, including <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40615-019-00629-1">psychological distress</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2021.2006261?casa_token=s7mKCpWoc0wAAAAA%3AxA42-v7wRL8cmVj0XubR0Mv4fv0udBbgqKwHoVRDohPSr41dFVOGRvbGkXUz4t9YukrN0RutFwXY">trauma</a>. </p>
<h2>What is trauma?</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://dictionary.apa.org/trauma">American Psychological Association </a> defines trauma as “any disturbing experience that results in significant fear, helplessness, dissociation, confusion, or other disruptive feelings intense enough to have a long-lasting negative effect on a person’s attitudes, behavior, and other aspects of functioning.” </p>
<p>In her <a href="https://www.basicbooks.com/titles/judith-lewis-herman-md/trauma-and-recovery/9781541602953/">seminal book</a> “Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror,” published in 1992, <a href="https://connects.catalyst.harvard.edu/Profiles/display/Person/58637">Dr. Judith Lewis Herman</a> notes that encountering a traumatic event permanently alters one’s perceptions of safety. </p>
<p>To prepare for a threat, these individuals develop intense feelings of <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/fear">fear</a> and <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/related/anger.asp">anger</a>.
These changes in <a href="https://www.psychologytools.com/resource/fight-or-flight-response/#:%7E:text=The%20fight%20or%20flight%20response,body%20to%20fight%20or%20flee.">emotional state</a> are usually biological, as shifts in attention, perception and emotion are normal <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK10829/">physiological reactions</a> to a perceived threat. </p>
<p>This is known as our “<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128009512000042">fight or flight response</a>.”</p>
<p>Trauma can manifest itself in various ways. For example, on some occasions, traumatic events are known to lead to feelings of <a href="https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/related/depression_trauma.asp">depression and intense sadness</a> and episodes of
<a href="https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/trauma">helplessness</a>.</p>
<p>Additionally, trauma is known to increase one’s state of <a href="https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-hypervigilance#:%7E:text=Hypervigilance%20%E2%80%94%20the%20elevated%20state%20of,(PTSD)%20can%20exhibit%20hypervigilance.">hypervigilance</a>, or the elevated state of constantly assessing potential threats in the area. This state of <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/hypervigilance#causes">elevated alertness</a> often creates anxiety around dying and can have physiological impacts on the body, such as sweating and elevated heart rate.</p>
<h2>Police brutality and Black trauma</h2>
<p>As a <a href="https://emerson.edu/faculty-staff-directory/deion-hawkins">critical scholar</a> and researcher, I use <a href="https://www.theiacp.org/resources/document/successful-trauma-informed-victim-interviewing">trauma-informed</a> interview techniques to better understand the intersections of police brutality and mental health in the Black community. <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10646175.2023.2174391">My research</a>
focuses on those most affected, and that <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2020.00026/full">research</a> highlights the human experience. </p>
<p>There is always a face behind the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2Fvio0000418">statistic</a>.</p>
<p>Thus, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00027642221145027">my work</a> typically uses <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2837428/">critical race theory</a>, as it focuses on the perspectives of marginalized people. For example, <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33902344/">my study</a> published in the Journal of Health Communication explored how stories of police brutality are circulated within the Black community and how these stories affect mental health. </p>
<p>Through dozens of interviews, I discovered three key ways in which trauma is triggered by incidents of police brutality that often appear in Black communities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A black woman wearing a mask is standing next to large poster that has a portrait of her son. her son" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508207/original/file-20230205-13-u33jo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508207/original/file-20230205-13-u33jo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508207/original/file-20230205-13-u33jo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508207/original/file-20230205-13-u33jo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508207/original/file-20230205-13-u33jo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508207/original/file-20230205-13-u33jo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/508207/original/file-20230205-13-u33jo0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=508&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Valerie Castile stands by a portrait of her son, Philando Castile, on July 6, 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/valerie-castile-stands-by-a-portrait-of-her-son-philando-news-photo/1225042618?phrase=Philando%20Castile&adppopup=true">Stephen Maturen/Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Intense sadness, hypervigilance and sense of helplessness</h2>
<p>The excerpts below are direct quotations from members of the Black community whom I interviewed as part of a <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10410236.2021.1913838">larger research project</a>. This study was conducted in Washington, D.C., in 2018, but <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2021-41051-001">its findings</a> are still relevant, as it reveals how police brutality directly fuels trauma in the Black community. </p>
<p>Because of research protections and protocol, pseudonyms are used, and no other identifying information can be published. </p>
<h2>1. Intense sadness</h2>
<p>When asked about feelings after viewing videos or images of brutality, every interviewee indicated intense sadness as the primary emotion. This sadness often affected how individuals went about their day, especially work-related activities. </p>
<h2>Darius</h2>
<p><em>I remember I walked into work, face cut up and people were like, “What’s wrong? What happened?” I told them I had been in a fight. But really, I had been beat up by a police officer who assumed I was someone else. I appreciated them asking me if I was OK, but I wasn’t really comfortable telling them, you know? We had previous conversations that let me know they didn’t really think Black lives mattered. After Philando, I had to take a sick day to recover. That’s how sad I was, man.</em></p>
<h2>Chanelle</h2>
<p><em>Philando Castile. I was rrreealllly sad. Philando was the boiling point. I cracked. I literally had to leave my desk at work and take a break. When I came back, my white co-workers told me I was overreacting because I didn’t know him, which pissed me off. What they don’t get is that Philando could be anyone in my family. It’s not just Philando, it’s that I fear my brothers could be shot in cold blood at any moment. That’s why I was so damn sad.</em> </p>
<h2>2. Hypervigilance</h2>
<p>Interviewees also discussed their chronic fear of dying at the hands of law enforcement. In turn, this fear prompts a permanent state of hypervigilance or hyperalertness; many members of the Black community constantly feel they are going to die if they encounter a police officer. </p>
<h2>Mary</h2>
<p><em>Whenever I see cops, I tense up. One time, cops pulled up to me when I was in a car and my friend looked at me with the straightest face and said, “One of us is about to die.” I was so shocked, and I said, “That’s not funny.” But he was serious. He really thought one of us was going to die.</em></p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402189/original/file-20210521-17-177335d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="George Floyd's headstone sits front and center in an orderly faux cemetery with other white headstones set up in grass" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402189/original/file-20210521-17-177335d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402189/original/file-20210521-17-177335d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402189/original/file-20210521-17-177335d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402189/original/file-20210521-17-177335d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402189/original/file-20210521-17-177335d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402189/original/file-20210521-17-177335d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402189/original/file-20210521-17-177335d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Each headstone in Minneapolis’ ‘Say Their Names’ cemetery represents a Black American killed by police – deaths that create a ripple effect of pain felt in Black communities nationwide.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/george-flyods-headstone-sits-front-and-center-at-the-say-news-photo/1232363944?adppopup=true">Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Luke</h2>
<p><em>There is not a single time where I can sit in a car and hear a siren or see a cop light flash, that I’m not fearful. I imagine it’s like what soldiers feel when they hear anything that sounds like a bomb. When I hear sirens, I start to look around and hope that someone else is around. Because, if I were to get shot, I would want someone to be able to tell the truth. People are straight up dropping at the hands of police. I never want to be in that situation.</em></p>
<h2>Corey</h2>
<p><em>I’m always scared and alert, honestly. I walk around on campus, and I use my iPad to listen to music. I always have my iPad with me. I’m afraid the police are going to see me holding my iPad and assume it’s something else, and before I have time to explain what it is, I’m afraid I would be shot. I always have my headphones in, too. I replay this terrible scenario in my head over and over again. A cop is yelling at me to stop, but since my headphones are in, I can’t hear him and keep walking. He thinks I am running away and shoots me in my back.</em></p>
<h2>3. Sense of helplessness</h2>
<p>Adding to sadness and hyperalertness, many Black Americans also feel they have little control over interactions with police and cannot change the outcome. This is true regardless of their tone, behavior or actions. This is known as helplessness, a known symptom of trauma. </p>
<h2>Lena</h2>
<p><em>It’s a sad reality to accept that no matter how you dress, how you talk, a police officer will always judge you and think you’re a threat. I don’t think we have control over if we are going to get beat or not. Black folks could literally read a how-to-survive book and do every step, but cops would still find some reason to make the situation worse. We are always in a Catch-22. If we talk too much, we are talking back. If we talk too little, we are suspicious. I do everything in my power to avoid cops. Listen, someone broke in my house and I refused to call the police. I be damned. Because I think they would have assumed I was the robber and shot me.</em></p>
<h2>Virginia</h2>
<p><em>Every time I see a video, I feel an intense sadness. It feels like you are in the world’s worst … cycle I guess; some kind of sick joke. It’s like, damn, it happened again. Like nothing is ever going to change. Things may look like they are getting better, but then even when they are arrested, the sadness continues.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199039/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deion Scott Hawkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Police brutality disproportionately affects Black communities and can cause numerous adverse effects, including depression, anxiety and trauma.Deion Scott Hawkins, Assistant Professor of Argumentation & Advocacy, Emerson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1990782023-02-07T13:34:09Z2023-02-07T13:34:09ZMemphis police numbers dropped by nearly a quarter in recent years – were staffing shortages a factor in the killing of Tyre Nichols?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/508464/original/file-20230206-15-5bqd42.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=29%2C88%2C4876%2C3177&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dwindling numbers means more inexperienced officers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MemphisPoliceReform/4f92c57fa8604c258a8ae2a81288ed30/photo?Query=memphis%20police&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=743&currentItemNo=191">AP Photo/Gerald Herbert</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the years running up to the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols, the Memphis Police Department faced an increasingly dire <a href="https://www.actionnews5.com/2022/06/17/mpd-makes-adjustment-handle-staff-shortages/">staffing crisis</a>. Indeed, <a href="https://tennesseelookout.com/2022/02/15/memphis-police-seek-to-add-300-officers/">shortages on the force</a> have led to questions over whether, given their relative lack of experience, the five officers now charged with Nichols’ murder <a href="https://www.nj.com/opinion/2023/01/tyre-nichols-tragic-death-happened-despite-police-reforms-enacted-to-prevent-it-opinion.html">would have been assigned to the now-disbanded SCORPION unit</a> – or <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/01/30/could-lower-standards-for-police-recruits-breed-future-misconduct/">even hired in the first place</a>.</p>
<p>Memphis <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/19/us/police-staffing-shortages-recruitment/index.html">isn’t alone in confronting the issue</a> of dwindling officer numbers. In January 2023, the federal judge monitoring the Baltimore Police Department said <a href="https://www.wbaltv.com/article/judge-baltimore-police-consent-decree-officer-recruitment/42672197%5D(https://www.wbaltv.com/article/judge-baltimore-police-consent-decree-officer-recruitment/42672197">a severe staffing shortage there is causing slow reform progress</a> as the agency attempts to comply with a <a href="https://consentdecree.baltimorecity.gov/">federal consent decree</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ypvpo1gAAAAJ&hl=en">We are</a> <a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-public-affairs-and-community-service/criminology-and-criminal-justice/about-us/justin-nix.php">criminologists</a>, two with <a href="https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/criminology_and_criminal_justice/our_people/directory/adams_ian.php">experience as police officers</a>, who <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12556">study police turnover</a> and its effects on agencies and communities. In jurisdictions across the U.S., we’ve seen how police departments are experiencing significant changes to the three main variables in police staffing: recruitment, resignations and retirements.</p>
<p>We’ve also seen that these changes are likely to <a href="https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/linking-the-workforce-crisis-crime-and-response-time/">deteriorate the quality of policing</a> and may give rise to more incidents of officer misconduct, increased violent crime, decreased policing services and a failure to meet community and professional standards. The investigation into <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/tyre-nichols-memphis-police-dead.html">what happened in Memphis, Tennessee, on Jan. 7</a> is still ongoing, but we believe the effect of staff shortages and the experience levels of the officers involved in Nichols’ death should form part of the inquiry.</p>
<h2>Turnover in Memphis</h2>
<p>Since 2011, the earliest year of staffing data available on the <a href="https://data.memphistn.gov/Public-Safety/Police-Headcount/iwk8-fxnz">Memphis Data Hub</a>, the Memphis Police Department’s number of sworn officers has dropped by 22.6% – from a high of 2,449 officers in September 2011 to a low of 1,895 officers in December 2022.</p>
<p>When an agency loses this many officers, one consequence can be that <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/memphis-police-scorpion-unit-tyre-nichols-rcna67711">more inexperienced officers</a> end up in <a href="http://theconversation.com/tyre-nichols-death-underscores-the-troubled-history-of-specialized-police-units-198851">specialized details like SCORPION</a>, as agencies struggle to fill gaps in their operations. </p>
<p>In response to staffing shortfalls and <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2022/11/memphis-violence-reduction-murder-crime-rate-policing/671877/">rising crime</a>, the Memphis Police Department <a href="https://www.actionnews5.com/story/38513242/mpd-makes-changes-to-college-requirements-for-recruits">relaxed its hiring standards</a> in 2018, such as by no longer requiring a college degree to begin working as a police officer.</p>
<p>However, this approach only temporarily improved staffing levels. After <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/03/us/george-floyd-protests-crowd-size.html">mass racial justice protests</a> in the wake of the 2020 killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, the trend reversed as the agency began losing officers again. This downward trend surpassed the lows that previously led to lowered hiring standards in 2018.</p>
<p><iframe id="4fWvf" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/4fWvf/1/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Turnover takes different forms, and in our analysis, the Memphis Police Department has seen a distinct increase in the number of officers leaving the agency voluntarily, prior to retirement. The department experienced a significant spike in resignations since the summer of 2020, losing an additional 75 officers to resignations compared with what would have been expected based on trends in years past. This increase in resignations equates to an additional 3.3% of the Memphis Police Department leaving in just two years.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507706/original/file-20230201-17282-m0ncyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507706/original/file-20230201-17282-m0ncyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507706/original/file-20230201-17282-m0ncyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507706/original/file-20230201-17282-m0ncyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507706/original/file-20230201-17282-m0ncyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507706/original/file-20230201-17282-m0ncyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507706/original/file-20230201-17282-m0ncyt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=547&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The monthly count of officers resigning from the Memphis Police Department, from January 2011 to January 2023. The blue line shows a change in the trend from May 1, 2020. The yellow line represents the expected level of resignations in the post-period.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://data.memphistn.gov/Public-Safety/Police-Headcount/iwk8-fxnz">Adams/Mourtgos/Nix</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A national trend</h2>
<p>Concern about staffing shortages is not confined to Memphis and Baltimore. Over the past three years, police recruitment and retention have been <a href="https://www.policeforum.org/workforcesurveyjune2021">key concerns</a> for jurisdictions across the country.</p>
<p>We monitor police staffing levels in several agencies across the U.S. In one large, Western police department, we found that in the seven months following the Floyd protests, voluntary resignations of sworn officers were <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9133.12556">nearly three times (279%) higher than baseline expectations</a>.</p>
<p>In some places, extreme staffing pressure has led to <a href="https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/linking-the-workforce-crisis-crime-and-response-time/">rapid increases in police response times</a> to emergencies. For example, in Salt Lake City, the police staffing crisis <a href="https://www.slcpd.com/open-data/response-times/">led to response times nearly doubling</a> for priority calls in 2020 and 2021. </p>
<p>In conversations with police chiefs and other leaders at smaller and suburban agencies, we hear that they have faced a lower-intensity staffing challenge for <a href="https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monographs/2010/RAND_MG959.pdf">more than a decade</a>.</p>
<p>However, those at larger, metropolitan agencies nationwide say the crisis has boiled over, and they fear they are losing the ability to provide baseline levels of service. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/11/us/police-retirements-resignations-recruits.html">Both groups of police executives</a> directly <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/25/us/police-officer-recruits.html">link the staffing crisis to fallout from the 2020 George Floyd protests</a>.</p>
<h2>Transfers, retirements and $30,000 bonuses</h2>
<p>Although our studies do not follow individual officers, <a href="https://www.themarshallproject.org/2023/01/21/police-hiring-government-jobs-decline">recent reporting by The Marshall Project</a> uses yearly federal economic data to show that nationally the police profession experienced a small decline in total employees – including both sworn officers and civilian staff – between March 2020 and August 2022.</p>
<p>This may reflect agencies offering highly lucrative bonuses for officers willing to transfer agencies, rather than swarms of officers leaving the profession altogether. </p>
<p>When speaking with police chiefs in large agencies, a consistent story emerges: They say officers are not leaving the profession, but instead are leaving for other nearby agencies that offer <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/09/nyregion/new-york-police-department-attrition.html">better pay and a more positive work environment</a>.</p>
<p>This phenomenon, known as “lateral transfers,” is rapidly shifting officers away from large, urban departments and toward smaller police agencies and sheriff’s departments.</p>
<p>In an ongoing study, we analyze turnover data from 14 large agencies over the last decade and observe that one suburban agency and one sheriff’s department actually experienced decreases in resignations and retirements during the period. Meanwhile, the large urban departments in our sample generally experienced surges in resignations and retirements since the summer of 2020, indicating there are turnover patterns that benefit some agencies, while harming others.</p>
<p>It makes economic sense for agencies to compete for already trained officers. Turnover is expensive. Hiring and training a new officer can cost <a href="https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/recruitment-retention-and-turnover-police-personnel-reliable">one to five times the annual salary</a> of an individual officer.</p>
<p>Agencies can save on these costs by competing for already trained officers, as they have already passed background checks and committed to the profession to some degree. Severe labor shortages have resulted in agencies turning to lateral bonuses, offering large financial benefits to attract already certified officers from other agencies. The Seattle and New Orleans police departments now offer <a href="https://krcrtv.com/news/nation-world/police-departments-staffing-shortage-rising-crime-rates-solution-united-states-hiring-bonus-hollywood-thin-blue-line-cops-recruits-training-los-angeles-officers-americans-first-responders-law-enforcement">$30,000 bonuses to attract trained officers</a>.</p>
<p>The police staffing crisis has been exacerbated by the ongoing retirement wave of officers hired through <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/18/weekinreview/the-nation-new-cops-need-help-the-perils-of-police-hiring.html">funding from the 1994 crime bill</a>. The bill, led by then-Senator Joe Biden, directed over $8 billion to hiring an additional 100,000 police officers nationwide in order to combat crime. However, officers hired with that federal money are now retiring, adding additional staffing pressure as the most experienced officers leave the profession in the same wave that brought them in. </p>
<h2>Focus on public safety</h2>
<p>The International Association of Chiefs of Police <a href="https://www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/239416_IACP_RecruitmentBR_HR_0.pdf">surveyed its members in 2019</a> and found that 75% were experiencing greater recruitment challenges, with 25% reducing or eliminating some services as a result.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/tyre-nichols-death-underscores-the-troubled-history-of-specialized-police-units-198851">Tyre Nichols' death underscores the troubled history of specialized police units</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Good policing requires good police officers. To live up to community expectations and fulfill the general policing mission of improving public safety, we believe local leaders need to <a href="https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/performance-based-approach-police-staffing-and-allocation">adequately staff their police agencies</a> so that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1162/ajle_a_00030">under-policing does not continue</a> to <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=10.1257/aeri.20200792">negatively impact the communities they serve</a>.</p>
<p>Because staffing shortages involve agencies across the nation, and in many cases pit agencies against one another in competition for ever-decreasing pools of talent, it will likely require federal and state action to address effectively. President Biden has <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/08/01/fact-sheet-president-bidens-safer-america-plan-2/#:%7E:text=The%20Plan%20will%3A,over%20the%20next%20five%20years.">proposed $10.9 billion to help hire an additional 100,000 police officers</a> over the next five years. Adding more officers will help, but so too will keeping officers in the profession, especially in the <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/new-orleans-murder-surge-puts-young-black-men-at-high-risk/article_7a875126-a0ce-11ed-ac2b-f73126bb8b2a.html">communities most impacted</a> by <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/violent-crime-in-cities-on-the-rise">historic increases in violent crime</a>. </p>
<p>Addressing this issue will require the collaboration of police leaders and their communities to determine what level of police services they require, as well as financial support from state and federal levels to ensure police agencies can improve, rather than degrade, their workforces.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199078/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Police departments have faced recruitment and retention problems since the 2020 George Floyd protests. It has meant some agencies have had to lower standards to attract new officers.Ian T. Adams, Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South CarolinaJustin Nix, Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Nebraska OmahaScott M. Mourtgos, Ph.D. candidate in Political Science, University of UtahLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1988512023-02-01T19:15:05Z2023-02-01T19:15:05ZTyre Nichols’ death underscores the troubled history of specialized police units<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507650/original/file-20230201-8653-ncdbsp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C0%2C3722%2C2093&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Members of Memphis' SCORPION unit were behind the brutal beating of a suspect.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/MemphisPoliceForceInvestigation/9536d0e992af49cbb5b1f5d928e3a160/photo?Query=Tyre%20Nichols%20officers&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=300&currentItemNo=104">City of Memphis via AP</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tyre-nichols-death-investigation-memphis-police-officers-charges-what-we-know/">officers charged</a> in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/01/27/us/tyre-nichols-police-beating-timeline.html">fatal beating of Tyre Nichols</a> were not your everyday uniformed patrol officers.</p>
<p>Rather, they were part of an elite squad: Memphis Police Department’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/29/us/memphis-police-scorpions.html">SCORPION team</a>. A rather tortured acronym for “Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods,” SCORPION is a crime suppression unit – that is, officers detailed specifically to prevent, detect and interrupt violent crime by proactively using stops, frisks, searches and arrests. Such specialized units are common in forces across the U.S. and tend to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/01/30/dc-police-special-squad/">rely on aggressive policing</a> tactics.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/artsandsciences/criminology_and_criminal_justice/our_people/directory/adams_ian.php">academics who</a> <a href="https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/law/faculty_and_staff/directory/stoughton_seth.php">study policing</a>, and as former officers ourselves, we have long been aware of potential problems with such specialized units. Treating aggressive crime fighting as the highest priority in policing can cultivate a corrosive culture in which bad behavior is often tolerated, even encouraged – to the <a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/tools/TL261/better-policing-toolkit/all-strategies/zero-tolerance/in-depth.html">detriment of community relations</a>. Changing that pattern requires wrestling with complexities of policing in modern society.</p>
<h2>From Prohibition to the war on drugs</h2>
<p>Crime suppression units, sometimes called “violence reduction units” or “street crimes units,” have a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/01/31/scorpion-police-units-harm-communities/">long and often sordid history</a> in the United States.</p>
<p>Such specialized units are usually set up to address specific issues, such as drug trafficking or gang crime. An early precedent to modern crime suppression units can be seen in the squads set up by the federal Bureau of Prohibition and their local counterparts during the 1920s. These squads were charged with enforcing newly passed alcohol laws but <a href="https://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/the-history/enforcing-the-prohibition-laws/law-enforcement-during-prohibition/">often lacked the training or numbers to support their mission</a>. The predictable result was the unlawful <a href="https://www.alcoholproblemsandsolutions.org/prohibition-bureau-bureau-of-prohibition/">killing of civilians and corruption</a>. Indeed, the <a href="https://law.jrank.org/pages/11309/Wickersham-Commission.html">Wickersham Commission report</a>, released in the early 1930s, shows how the power that goes with being part of a specialized unit can be corrosive. It noted that the “unfortunate public expressions [by police] approving killings and promiscuous shootings and lawless raids and seizures” can lead to the alienation of “thoughtful citizens, believers in law and order.”</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Black and white photo shows police officers in 1920s uniforms pouring out liquid from a barrel." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507688/original/file-20230201-16382-rsj2qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507688/original/file-20230201-16382-rsj2qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507688/original/file-20230201-16382-rsj2qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507688/original/file-20230201-16382-rsj2qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=461&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507688/original/file-20230201-16382-rsj2qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507688/original/file-20230201-16382-rsj2qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507688/original/file-20230201-16382-rsj2qx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=579&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Prohibition police units often overstepped the mark.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/cambridge-officer-patrick-f-ready-has-his-ax-in-hand-as-the-news-photo/160467129?phrase=prohibition%20police%20US&adppopup=true">Hugh E. O'Donnell/The Boston Globe via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>In more recent times, police agencies have used specialized units to respond to violent crime, often because of a surge in public demand for the police to “do something.” Investing in <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/how-actually-fix-americas-police/612520/">a more robust public safety infrastructure</a> is expensive, politically fraught and, even if successful, could take decades to reap rewards. So instead of addressing social problems, such as poverty and lack of economic opportunity, elected officials turn to police leaders, who often reach for a familiar tool: <a href="https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/addressing-violent-crime-more-effectively">aggressive enforcement tactics</a>. Such an approach is intended to prevent, detect and interrupt crime, and to <a href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674248908">identify, apprehend and punish</a> criminal offenders. </p>
<h2>When cops ‘own the city’</h2>
<p>That was exactly the pattern in Memphis, where <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/08/us/memphis-shooting-gun-violence.html">violent crime</a> in 2020 and 2021 experienced <a href="https://memphiscrime.org/the-stats/">a significant increase</a>, with a per capita murder rate that put it among the most dangerous cities in the nation. These historic rises in homicides were in contrast to <a href="https://memphiscrime.org/the-stats/">dramatically lower rates</a> just a few years before.</p>
<p>In 2021, the city hired Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, who bluntly described <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/29/us/memphis-police-scorpions.html">her vision</a>: “being tough on tough people.”</p>
<p>As homicides soared, Memphis established the SCORPION team, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/scorpion-unit-memphis-police-task-force-center-tyre/story?id=96720313">assigning 40 officers to clean up the most crime-ridden parts</a> of the city. Both Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland and Chief Davis <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/29/us/memphis-police-scorpions.html">celebrated</a> the number of arrests that the SCORPION team’s officers made, along with the guns, cash and vehicles they seized.</p>
<p>Positions in specialized units come with prestige, flexibility and the lure of future promotions. In better times, membership is restricted to officers with more experience and training. But as the Memphis Police Department lost around 23% of its sworn personnel between 2013 and 2018, <a href="https://www.actionnews5.com/story/38513242/mpd-makes-changes-to-college-requirements-for-recruits">the department lowered overall minimum standards</a> for officers, and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/memphis-police-scorpion-unit-tyre-nichols-rcna67711">inexperienced officers were appointed to SCORPION</a> – <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tyre-nichols-police-officers-charged-48d48f2137a2f34482274edb1bd1bab2">including those now charged</a> with murdering Tyre Nichols.</p>
<p>Memphis is far from alone. In 2007, the Baltimore Police Department <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e25f215b3dbd6661a25b79d/t/61dfb0a510a6fd7443dd5914/1642049707420/GTTF+Report_Executive+Summary-c2-c2-c2.pdf">set up the Gun Trace Task Force</a> to address illegal guns and violent crime. And before that, in the 1990s, the Los Angeles Police Department established the Rampart <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/lapd/scandal/crashculture.html">CRASH, or Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums, unit</a>, which focused on gangs and violent crime. In New Orleans, the city’s police department viewed its task force officers, known as “jump out boys,” as “<a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2011/03/17/nopd_report.pdf">enforcers and agents of crime control</a>.” </p>
<p>Scandal connects these units. In each case – and in many more – officers stepped over the line from aggressive enforcement to misconduct, abuse or even outright criminality. Members of the Baltimore Gun Trace Task Force were <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/we-own-this-city-gun-trace-task-force-baltimore-hbo-1698924">eventually convicted on charges including robbery, racketeering and extortion</a>. Rampart CRASH unit officers <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/lapd/scandal/cron.html">robbed banks, stole narcotics and engaged in extrajudicial beatings of suspects</a>. The New Orleans Police Department was eventually <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/25/us/plan-to-reform-new-orleans-police-department.html">placed under the oversight of a federal consent decree</a> after the jump out boys developed a reputation as “dirty cops, the ones who are going to be brutal,” in the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2011/03/17/nopd_report.pdf">words of one sergeant</a>.</p>
<h2>Do the ends justify the means?</h2>
<p>These result were, for many, entirely foreseeable. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://thecrimereport.org/2020/01/27/renowned-policing-expert-herman-goldstein-dies-at-88/">eminent criminologist Herman Goldstein</a> wrote in 1977, problems arise when “the police […] place a higher priority on maintaining order than on operating legally.” Recent scholars refer to “<a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.4324/9781315162591/police-ethics-michael-caldero-brian-withrow-jeffrey-dailey">noble cause corruption</a>,” but readers are probably more familiar with a synonymous phrase: “the ends justify the means.”</p>
<p>Even when well-intentioned, prioritizing aggressive police enforcement can be deeply destructive. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12192">Research has found</a> that aggressive police units have significantly more use-of-force incidents and public complaints, while also having fewer complaints against them upheld. This suggests a culture in which some violations are tacitly approved so long as the unit is productive – that is, it makes arrests.</p>
<p>To a significant extent, this comes down to agency culture. A permissive culture, as researchers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2352(03)00002-3">have long recognized</a>, can both protect and corrupt the nature of policing. Every police department has a culture, but those best able to balance the missions of addressing violent crime and maintaining community support set about shaping and reinforcing their culture instead of leaving it to grow wild.</p>
<p>When aggressive police culture overwhelms the professional norms of constitutional policing, the public safety mission of policing breaks down. Chiefs are put into a difficult position – they must ensure that officers who use coercive authority in response to public demands for crime control also respect the legal limits of their authority.</p>
<p>The legitimacy of policing, we believe, depends on recognizing that while hyperaggressive tactics by young, often inexperienced officers in crime suppression units may contribute to short-term deterrence of some violent crime, those same tactics are very likely to leave a wake of public disgust and distrust behind. That can seriously undermine public safety efforts, including the investigation of violent crimes that rely heavily on community cooperation. </p>
<p>If the history of crime suppression units teaches us anything, it is that they must prioritize legal and <a href="https://www.ojp.gov/pdffiles1/nij/248411.pdf">rightful policing</a> above aggressive crime fighting. To do otherwise is to risk becoming just another source of violence in already victimized communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198851/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The officers charged in the murder of a Black man in Memphis, Tenn., were part of the elite SCORPION squad. Such units have an ugly history.Ian T. Adams, Assistant Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of South CarolinaSeth W. Stoughton, Professor of Law, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1988552023-01-31T21:15:51Z2023-01-31T21:15:51ZTyre Nichols: U.S. police violence stems from a long history of fighting ‘internal enemies’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507419/original/file-20230131-15237-8bj1wz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A 21-year-old woman demonstrates outside the White House over the death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers on Jan. 7, 2023. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Many of the details surrounding the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/30/us/tyre-nichols-arrest-videos.html">recent fatal police beating of Tyre Nichols</a> in Memphis, Tenn., are still unknown or disputed. The rest may seem confusing.</p>
<p>Yet in many ways, all you need to know is how the encounter started: With Nichols expressing confusion as to why he had been stopped, and one officer replying that he would <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/28/us/tyre-nichols-beating-video-takeaways/index.html">“knock your ass the fuck out.”</a></p>
<p>In approaching Nichols as someone hostile — an enemy on a battlefield, rather than a member of the public — the police in this case brought nearly 400 years of American history to what was allegedly a routine traffic stop. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/jame/learn/historyculture/martial-law.htm">first English authorities in the Americas sometimes imposed martial law over the early colonists</a>, while the <a href="https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/religion-colonial-america-trends-regulations-beliefs">Puritans of New England added a range of Biblical laws to everyday life.</a> By the mid-1600s, however, most North American colonists enjoyed the unequal protections of English law, which gradually became more equal for their descendants.</p>
<h2>Roots in Barbados</h2>
<p>A different pattern emerged on Barbados, <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5942/">settled by the English in 1626 and by far the wealthiest of the colonies</a> after its shift to sugar production in the 1640s. To plant, cut and boil the sugar canes, <a href="https://www.aaihs.org/on-barbados-the-first-black-slave-society/">they imported more than 10,000 West African slaves that decade.</a></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-the-monarchy-has-benefited-from-colonialism-and-slavery-179911">Five ways the monarchy has benefited from colonialism and slavery</a>
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<p>For the first time, an English overseas community held a large population of presumably “brutish” and “pagan” peoples as permanent captives. </p>
<p>The English assumed that the African slaves could never become part of the lawful population of Barbados. And so, in 1655, the island’s governor decreed that all Black defendants were to be tried in special courts of <a href="https://brill.com/view/journals/jhil/21/1/article-p41_3.xml">“oyer and terminer</a> ("to hear and determine”),“ which were normally used only against the most extreme criminals, like witches or traitors.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Black man with a bushy grey beard holds up an anti-monarchy sign outside a white stone building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507418/original/file-20230131-14-7m6kkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507418/original/file-20230131-14-7m6kkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507418/original/file-20230131-14-7m6kkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507418/original/file-20230131-14-7m6kkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507418/original/file-20230131-14-7m6kkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507418/original/file-20230131-14-7m6kkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507418/original/file-20230131-14-7m6kkf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">People protest in Barbados to demand an apology and slavery reparations from Prince William and his wife, Kate, during their visit to the former British colony in March 2022.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Collin Reid)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The idea was <a href="https://blog.umd.edu/slaverylawandpower/barbados-slave-code/">formalized in a set of Barbados laws in 1661</a>. Whereas every son and daughter "of the English nation” would henceforth enjoy due process of law, every Black slave was subject to new slave courts (akin to oyer and terminer) and slave patrols (groups of armed and mounted white people). </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.5309/willmaryquar.70.3.0429">These laws spread</a> word-for-word to the English colony of Jamaica in 1665, and from there to South Carolina in the 1690s and Virginia in 1705. </p>
<p>Racial slavery waxed and waned in North America over the next century and a half, <a href="https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/slavery-united-states">shrinking during the revolutionary years of the 1770s and 1780s</a> and then <a href="https://www.history.com/news/slavery-profitable-southern-economy">exploding with the rise of cotton in the early 1800s.</a></p>
<p>South of Pennsylvania, the core institutions of <a href="https://www.loc.gov/collections/slaves-and-the-courts-from-1740-to-1860/about-this-collection/">slave courts</a> and <a href="https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/slave-patrols/">slave patrols</a> remained and indeed expanded in the early United States. </p>
<p>White authorities were very clear as to the rationale behind these courts and patrols: Black people were neither citizens (like white men) nor members of households (like white women and children). Rather, they were an <a href="https://www.amrevmuseum.org/read-the-revolution/the-internal-enemy">“internal enemy,”</a> a hostile and alien element within the lawful community. </p>
<h2>Slavery’s violence endured</h2>
<p>Conservatives often point out that American slavery ended 158 years ago. That’s true. It’s also true that the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jaz214">northern countryside of the 19th century was famous</a> for not needing much of a police presence, because almost everyone in that democratic stronghold felt protected by and responsible to the law. </p>
<p>Yet it’s equally true that slavery was a central feature of American life for more than 200 years. Some of its most violent practices endured long after the Civil War ended as <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/reconstruction-white-southern-responses-black-emancipation/">white militias — reconstituted slave patrols</a> — repressed freed peoples’ rights to vote, go to school and hold property throughout the late 1800s and well into the 1900s.</p>
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<img alt="A Black woman is fingerprinted by a police officer in a black-and-white photo." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507427/original/file-20230131-16-kzl91k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507427/original/file-20230131-16-kzl91k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507427/original/file-20230131-16-kzl91k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507427/original/file-20230131-16-kzl91k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=443&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507427/original/file-20230131-16-kzl91k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507427/original/file-20230131-16-kzl91k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507427/original/file-20230131-16-kzl91k.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Rosa Parks is fingerprinted by police in Montgomery, Ala., in 1956, two months after refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger and more than 90 years after the end of the U.S. Civil War.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Gene Herrick)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>In other words, during an era of European imperialism across Africa and Asia, the U.S. continued to hold a subordinate group captive <em>within</em> its borders. It was a kind of internal empire that also expanded its reach over North America in a series of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/Plains-Wars">“Indian wars” in the 1870s and 1880s.</a></p>
<p>“Next to other western democracies,” <a href="https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520305557/exceptional-america">notes the legal scholar Mugambi Jouet</a>, “America has historically had a far bigger proportion of racial and ethnic minorities.” Few of those minorities have fit easily within the constitutionally recognized community of <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/preamble">“the people.”</a> </p>
<p>The significance of this simple fact cannot be overstated. American democratic principles of equality before the law came earlier to the U.S. than to Europe or Canada. Nonetheless, those principles grew alongside the raw violence of slavery and colonialism, requiring citizens — or the armed groups charged with protecting them — to hold captive the alienated victims of slavery and colonialism who also lived inside the nation.</p>
<p>The result was a pattern of law enforcement that repeatedly adapted to the dizzying pace of change in America. </p>
<p>Even as modern police departments emerged in the late 1800s and early 1900s, for example, presumed criminals such as labour activists or “uppity” Blacks were regarded as existential threats to the lawful population. These sentiments fuelled <a href="https://www.military.com/military-life/6-times-military-was-used-suppress-civilian-uprisings-us.html">violence by the U.S. National Guard</a>, by <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pinkerton-National-Detective-Agency">hired thugs known as Pinkertons</a> and <a href="https://naacp.org/find-resources/history-explained/history-lynching-america">by lynch mobs</a>.</p>
<h2>Broken windows, bloody landscapes</h2>
<p>The most recent echo of the pattern is the so-called <a href="https://cebcp.org/evidence-based-policing/what-works-in-policing/research-evidence-review/broken-windows-policing/">“broken windows” philosophy of policing that emerged</a> in the 1980s and 1990s. </p>
<p>The basic idea here is that fear of violent crime is itself cause for police intervention, requiring pro-active investigation of suspicious places, such as buildings with broken windows or of suspicious persons, often Black men.</p>
<p>In 2013, <a href="https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/casebrief/p/casebrief-floyd-v-city-of-n-y">a federal judge ruled</a> that New York City’s “stop-and-frisk” policy, one of the most aggressive outgrowths of the broken windows philosophy, <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-iv">violated the Fourth</a> <a href="https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xiv">and 14th</a> amendments to the U.S. Constitution. </p>
<p>But in the face of violent crime, both real and imagined, many communities continue to turn to new variations on the old theme, treating whole swaths of the population as internal enemies to be approached with guns drawn — <a href="https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-01-30/tyre-nichols-memphis-black-officers-internalized-racism">including, apparently, police officers who are themselves Black.</a></p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Protesters stand together, one with her arm raised holding a sign that says American Policing equals State-Sanctioned Terrorism." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507429/original/file-20230131-12-s9wdrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507429/original/file-20230131-12-s9wdrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507429/original/file-20230131-12-s9wdrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507429/original/file-20230131-12-s9wdrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507429/original/file-20230131-12-s9wdrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507429/original/file-20230131-12-s9wdrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507429/original/file-20230131-12-s9wdrv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Demonstrators gather during a protest on Jan. 28, 2023, in Atlanta, over the death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis, Tenn., police.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Alex Slitz)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In Memphis, for example, the police launched the SCORPION (Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods) unit in 2021 <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tyre-nichols-former-memphis-police-officer-scorpion-unit/">to combat a surge in murders by flooding the streets with quasi-undercover</a> agents in black hoodies who used traffic stops as opportunities to find drugs or guns.</p>
<p>It’s important to understand the deep and broad appeal of this approach in an apparently fearful country where there are <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/19/there-are-more-guns-than-people-in-the-united-states-according-to-a-new-study-of-global-firearm-ownership/">more guns than people</a> and where mass killings are shockingly routine. </p>
<p>It’s equally important to trace the approach itself to specific historical moments, so that clear alternatives can become imaginable — perhaps even possible.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198855/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Opal receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He is affiliated with Global Action on Gun Violence. </span></em></p>In the face of violent crime, both real and imagined, too many U.S. police forces adhere to racist philosophies about rooting out ‘internal enemies’ as they did hundreds of years ago.Jason Opal, Professor of History, McGill UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1984872023-01-31T18:48:02Z2023-01-31T18:48:02ZThe ‘blue wall’ of silence allows bullying, sexual abuse and violence to infect police forces<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507163/original/file-20230130-9120-27yp4e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3000%2C1791&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Officers gather for a funeral service for a constable who'd been in a coma for 30 years in Victoria in April 2018.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the--blue-wall--of-silence-allows-bullying--sexual-abuse-and-violence-to-infect-police-forces" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>After an alleged targeted campaign of bullying and sexual harassment by fellow members of the Vancouver Police Department, <a href="https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/coroners-inquest-nicole-chan-suicide-vpd">Const. Nicole Chan died by suicide in January 2019</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2022PSSG0071-001765">A coroner’s inquest</a> is now underway, examining the circumstances leading to her senseless, preventable death — despite the fact that key witnesses, including the officers at the centre of the British Columbia <em>Police Act</em> investigation, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9430320/nicole-chan-inquest-day-1/">aren’t on the witness list.</a></p>
<p>Police violence and misconduct are once again in the global spotlight after <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/29/us/tyre-nichols-protests-sunday/index.html">unarmed Black man Tyre Nichols</a> died following a severe police beating in Memphis, Tenn.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman holds up a sign that says Stop Cops. Two Black people are in the foreground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507197/original/file-20230130-26-mmkn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507197/original/file-20230130-26-mmkn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507197/original/file-20230130-26-mmkn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507197/original/file-20230130-26-mmkn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507197/original/file-20230130-26-mmkn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507197/original/file-20230130-26-mmkn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507197/original/file-20230130-26-mmkn3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protesters march on Jan. 28, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn., over the death of Tyre Nichols, who died after being beaten by Memphis police.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/pain-of-police-killings-ripples-outward-to-traumatize-black-people-and-communities-across-us-159624">Pain of police killings ripples outward to traumatize Black people and communities across US</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>A pervasive history of bullying and sexual misconduct plagues law enforcement agencies and illustrates the failure of police forces to police themselves. Perhaps this culture might also explain the acts of violence police officers perpetrate on civilians.</p>
<p>In Canada, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/rcmp-class-action-tiller-civilian-women-final-report-1.6491165">sexual harassment lawsuits</a> involving the RCMP and targeted bullying, discrimination and sexualized violence <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/female-police-officers-come-forward-with-allegations-of-sexual-harassment-discrimination-1.4821765">in many police departments</a> demonstrate how law enforcement leadership is unable to keep its members safe from one another.</p>
<h2>Workplace bullying on the rise</h2>
<p>At any given time, <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/purduetoday/releases/2022/Q1/workplace-bullying-takes-an-emotional,-physical-toll-support-is-in-place-to-help.html">20 to 30 per cent of workers in North America have experienced workplace bullying</a>, and that number <a href="https://escipub.com/Articles/IJPRR/IJPRR-2020-01-1205.pdf">soars to 60 per cent for first responders</a>.</p>
<p>According to multiple studies, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2984">80 per cent of women and 30 per cent of men have experienced</a> sexual harassment in the workplace. <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/workplace-harassment-and-violence-impacts-over-70-of-employees-in-canada-study-shows-1.6401673">In nearly three-quarters of all cases</a>, the perpetrators hold positions of power.</p>
<p>The impact on those subjected to the abuse includes <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4382139/">severe psychological harm</a>, such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1618474565750890504"}"></div></p>
<h2>The impenetrable ‘blue wall’</h2>
<p>Similar to the <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-taking-canadas-armed-forces-so-long-to-tackle-sexual-misconduct-196869">insular nature of the Canadian Armed Forces</a>, also confronting a culture of bullying and sexualized violence within its ranks, the phenomenon of “cop culture” is equally problematic.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/misogyny-in-police-forces-understanding-and-fixing-cop-culture-176303">Misogyny in police forces: understanding and fixing 'cop culture'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The shared set of beliefs, traditions and values in police forces often create a strong sense of cohesion, loyalty and camaraderie among its members. </p>
<p>However, <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/how-police-brutality-gets-made/613030/">cop culture has been widely criticized</a> for creating an “us versus them” mentality among police officers, resulting in a lack of transparency and accountability surrounding their actions. </p>
<p>A pervasive <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/officer-claims-she-was-target-of-bullying-and-hazing-1.818950">code of silence exists in cop culture</a> where targets are discouraged from reporting misconduct. Those who do are often shamed, isolated, gaslit and branded “rats.” </p>
<p>This is a failure of leadership — at all levels.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A Toronto police cruiser parked on a city street." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507164/original/file-20230130-22-77tvti.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507164/original/file-20230130-22-77tvti.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507164/original/file-20230130-22-77tvti.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507164/original/file-20230130-22-77tvti.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507164/original/file-20230130-22-77tvti.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507164/original/file-20230130-22-77tvti.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507164/original/file-20230130-22-77tvti.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Toronto police vehicle is shown parked on Yonge Street in downtown Toronto in January 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Doug Ives</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Human resources can’t get it right</h2>
<p>Addressing the culture of workplace bullying and sexual harassment falls squarely on the shoulders of human resources departments and organizational leadership, including oversight boards. Unfortunately, <a href="https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2020/07/07/the-dangers-of-mishandling-harassment-complaints/">the mismanagement of these issues are commonplace</a> and have adverse outcomes.</p>
<p>Many organizations are ill-equipped and unwilling to address these type of issues. Many also lack HR professionals trained in these types of investigations. But this is no longer an acceptable excuse. </p>
<p>Despite zero-tolerance policies when it comes to bullying and sexual harassment, in practice, they don’t typically work in favour of those being targeted and are often unenforced — especially when the perpetrator is a boss.</p>
<p>There are federal and provincial <a href="https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/psychosocial/bullying.html">occupational health and safety legislation</a> to address workplace bullying and sexual harassment. But despite the prevalence and adverse impact on employees being targeted, these laws don’t sufficiently support the complainant, are difficult to navigate, are often misinterpreted and remain relatively toothless.</p>
<p>In fact, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner <a href="https://theprovince.com/news/local-news/no-public-hearing-will-be-held-into-vancouver-police-officers-dismissal/wcm/2e36d1ad-e935-4c50-a33f-e849c7cf4063">decided against holding an inquiry</a> into Chan’s case because it was deemed “not in the best interest of the public” — when in reality, the systemic issues of sexual harassment and bullying on police forces is the very definition of the public interest.</p>
<p>Chan <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/nicole-chan-inquest-1.6727111">filed a WorkSafeBC complaint</a> against the Vancouver Police Department, but it appeared to focus on process rather than on her safety.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Three Asian women dressed in black winter coats leave a courthouse." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507148/original/file-20230130-12322-9ng6vm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/507148/original/file-20230130-12322-9ng6vm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507148/original/file-20230130-12322-9ng6vm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507148/original/file-20230130-12322-9ng6vm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=407&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507148/original/file-20230130-12322-9ng6vm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507148/original/file-20230130-12322-9ng6vm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/507148/original/file-20230130-12322-9ng6vm.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=512&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jennifer Chan, second left, the sister of late Vancouver Police Const. Nicole Chan, leaves a coroner’s inquest in January 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But she did everything right. </p>
<p>She went to her supervisors for help — they allegedly failed to provide assistance. She complained to HR and the situation worsened. When in crisis, she was taken to hospital by police under the <em>Mental Health Act</em> and despite this was discharged two hours before she took her own life. </p>
<p>At every turn, the system failed her. Why? Because when the bully is the boss, the power imbalance is severe. And when organizations just pay lip service to keeping employees protected from bullying and sexual harassment, people get hurt.</p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>Most police officers and administrators who choose to serve our communities are honourable people. </p>
<p>Problems occur when those in positions of authority abuse their status, exploit their power, violate law and policy and turn a blind eye to misconduct.</p>
<p>Chan’s story is a classic example of how the system, oversight bodies, the Vancouver Police Department, the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner, the City of Vancouver, WorkSafeBC, Vancouver General Hospital and her colleagues in blue failed her at every turn. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1617599872387145728"}"></div></p>
<p>At this moment, <a href="https://www.straight.com/news/dana-larsen-vpd-exploitation-preceded-officers-suicide">countless others are living similar stories</a> — yet nothing is done, and those in leadership positions offer up very little by way of explanation. </p>
<p>In Canada, immediate changes to provincial <a href="https://www.bclaws.gov.bc.ca/civix/document/id/complete/statreg/96367_01">police acts</a> are required to include charges for any officers who witness or are aware of bullying or sexual harassment and fail to report. Canada’s <a href="https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/ccc/index.html">Criminal Code</a> also requires amendments that would make workplace violence, bullying and sexual harassment criminal offences. </p>
<p>In British Columbia, creating new powers for the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner to independently investigate and address complaints of bullying and sexual harassment outside the department chain of command is a logical next step. </p>
<p>Thinking bigger, perhaps it’s time to create provincial workplace conduct commissioners who have the power and authority to intervene on issues of bullying and sexual harassment. </p>
<p>Chan’s death is a stark reminder that workplace bullying and sexual harassment is deadly. Society and her employer failed her.</p>
<p>And until police forces deal with the multitude of systemic issues that encourage and cover up workplace violence, it’s difficult not to wonder who’s next.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198487/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Walker does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A pervasive history of bullying and sexual misconduct plagues law enforcement agencies and illustrates the failure of police forces to police themselves.Jason Walker, Associate Professor, Graduate Studies, Leadership and People Management, University Canada WestLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1987212023-01-30T19:39:26Z2023-01-30T19:39:26ZBlack police officers aren’t colorblind – they’re infected by the same anti-Black bias as American society and police in general<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506931/original/file-20230129-14826-zhltil.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Demonstrators block traffic in Memphis after police released video footage depicting the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/demonstrators-block-traffic-protesting-the-death-of-tyre-news-photo/1460145824?adppopup=true">Scott Olson/Getty Images News via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/los-policias-negros-no-son-neutrales-padecen-los-mismos-prejuicios-antinegros-que-la-sociedad-estadounidense-y-la-policia-en-general-200051">Leer en español.</a></p>
<p><em>Once again, Americans are left reeling from the horror of video footage showing police brutalizing an unarmed Black man who later died.</em></p>
<p><em>Some details in the latest case of extreme police violence were gut-wrenchingly familiar: a police traffic stop of a Black male motorist turned violent. But, for many of us, other details were unfamiliar: The five police officers accused of using everything from pepper spray to a Taser, a police baton and intermittent kicks and punches against the motorist were also Black.</em></p>
<p><em>After pulling over 29-year-old Tyre Nichols for what they said was reckless driving, Black officers in the Memphis Police Department’s <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/28/us/tyre-nichols-protests-saturday/index.html">now disbanded SCORPION unit</a> beat Nichols, ultimately to death.</em></p>
<p><em>The Conversation asked Rashad Shabazz, <a href="https://newsroom.asu.edu/expert/rashad-shabazz">a geographer and scholar of African American studies</a> at Arizona State University, to explore the societal conditions in which Black police officers could brutalize another Black man.</em> </p>
<h2>What could influence Black police officers to savagely beat a Black motorist?</h2>
<p>Policing in the U.S. has, from its inception, treated Black people as domestic enemies. From the <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/869046127">the slave patrols</a>, which some historians consider to be among the nation’s <a href="https://time.com/4779112/police-history-origins/">earliest forms of policing</a>, to the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html">murder of George Floyd</a>, and now the death of Nichols, law enforcement officers often have viewed Black people as what sociologist and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, in “<a href="https://worldcat.org/en/title/1021060181">The Souls of Black Folk</a>,” called a “problem.” </p>
<p>American society <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986207306870">assumes that Black people are prone to criminality</a> and therefore should be subject to state power in the form of policing or, in some cases, vigilantism – as in the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/08/us/ahmaud-arbery-hate-crime-federal-sentencing/">killing of Ahmaud Arbery</a>. This is a link deeply woven into American consciousness. And <a href="https://spsp.org/news-center/character-context-blog/stereotypical-biases-black-people-toward-black-people">Black people are not immune</a>. In this way, the long-held <a href="https://news.wttw.com/2021/05/06/chicago-police-disproportionately-target-black-men-search-warrants-watchdog">targeting of Black men by police</a> and widely held negative beliefs about them are a powerful cocktail that can compel even Black officers to stop, detain and brutally beat a man who looks just like them.</p>
<h2>Could their actions have been motivated by anti-Black bias?</h2>
<p>It’s hard to investigate the minds of the officers who beat Nichols so savagely and say for sure what motivated them. But <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-protests-for-racial-justice/2020/06/22/881643215/police-researcher-officers-have-similar-biases-regardless-of-race">there is ample research</a> that suggests <a href="https://www.bu.edu/antiracism-center/files/2022/06/Anti-Black.pdf">anti-Blackness</a> is a factor in American policing. And Black officers, agents of an <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-racist-roots-of-american-policing-from-slave-patrols-to-traffic-stops-112816">institutionally racist system</a>, are affected by this. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/black-on-black-racism-the-hazards-of-implicit-bias/384028/">Anti-Blackness affects Black people, too</a>. And this might explain why <a href="https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/anti-black-bias/97383/">Black police officers exhibit more anti-Black</a> bias than the Black population as a whole. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506913/original/file-20230127-13119-morwci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman stands with her eyes closed, her head tilted in the direction of man leaning in to comfort her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506913/original/file-20230127-13119-morwci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506913/original/file-20230127-13119-morwci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506913/original/file-20230127-13119-morwci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506913/original/file-20230127-13119-morwci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506913/original/file-20230127-13119-morwci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506913/original/file-20230127-13119-morwci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506913/original/file-20230127-13119-morwci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Civil rights attorney Ben Crump comforts RowVaughn Wells, mother of Tyre Nichols, during a press conference hours before the video of police beating Nichols was released.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/civil-rights-attorney-ben-crump-comforts-rowvaughn-wells-news-photo/1460059603?phrase=tyre%20nichols&adppopup=true">Scott Olson /Getty Images News via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>To comprehend this, we have to take a step back and think about race. Stuart Hall, a cultural theorist, described race as a sign. When we look at skin color or <a href="https://www.alanalentin.net/2021/08/06/race-the-floating-signifier/">people as racialized subjects, they signify</a> something to us. Black people, in this society – and <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/pandemic-border/how-covid-19-exposed-chinas-anti-black-racism/">in other parts of the world</a> – <a href="https://www.vox.com/explainers/2018/8/1/17616528/racial-profiling-police-911-living-while-black">for many signify danger, threat and criminality</a>. And as a result, institutions like the criminal justice system respond to their perceived threat with <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/driving-black-abc-news-analysis-traffic-stops-reveals/story?id=72891419">profiling, harassment and violence</a>. </p>
<p>Our surprise that five Black police officers could brutalize another Black man indicates we have an impoverished understanding of race and racism in this country.</p>
<h2>What does Tyre Nichols’ death mean for calls to diversify policing?</h2>
<p>For years, elected officials, activists and citizens have been making calls to reform policing. Many have said bringing more people from ethnically diverse backgrounds onto police forces would go a long way toward correcting institutional racism in the criminal justice system. </p>
<p>The final report of “<a href="https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/final-report-presidents-task-force-21st-century-policing">The President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing</a>,” commissioned through an executive order by President Barack Obama, called for law enforcement agencies to “strive to create a workforce that encompasses a broad range of diversity, including race, gender, language, life experience, and cultural background to improve understanding and effectiveness.” </p>
<p>One recent study concluded that <a href="http://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd8694">Black and Hispanic police officers make fewer traffic stops</a> and use force less often than their white counterparts. But, at the same time, Black and brown police officers live in the same culture that sees Black people as criminals and threats. So simply having more officers of color <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/cities/articles/2020-02-05/is-hiring-more-black-officers-the-key-to-reducing-police-violence">doesn’t do enough to fix the problem</a>.</p>
<h2>How does seeing video of another Black man brutalized by police, this time Black officers, affect Black people?</h2>
<p>Over the past decade, videos of Black people killed at the hands of police officers have filled social media and news sites. I, for one, cannot watch them because <a href="https://theconversation.com/pain-of-police-killings-ripples-outward-to-traumatize-black-people-and-communities-across-us-159624">they terrify me and amplify fears</a> for my safety and that of my family and friends. I watched about 30 seconds of the Black police officers pummeling Nichols and couldn’t take any more. I know I’m not alone. Studies tell us that police killings of unarmed Black people <a href="https://www.bu.edu/bulawreview/files/2020/05/09-HERD.pdf">are psychologically traumatizing events</a> for Black people. This kind of horror should be traumatizing to the nation. But if Black is the sign of danger and criminality, who will have empathy for the Tyre Nicholses of the world?</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506898/original/file-20230127-16-3eb2id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="At night, three people wearing coats stand before a sign that is leaning against a tree and lit by candles. It reads, 'Justice for Tyre.'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506898/original/file-20230127-16-3eb2id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506898/original/file-20230127-16-3eb2id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506898/original/file-20230127-16-3eb2id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506898/original/file-20230127-16-3eb2id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506898/original/file-20230127-16-3eb2id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506898/original/file-20230127-16-3eb2id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/506898/original/file-20230127-16-3eb2id.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">People honor the memory of Tyre Nichols during a candlelight vigil held in his honor.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-attend-a-candlelight-vigil-in-memory-of-tyre-nichols-news-photo/1459866296?phrase=tyre%20nichols&adppopup=true">Scott Olson/Getty Images News via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p><em>This article was updated to cut out repetition in the introduction.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198721/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rashad Shabazz does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Black police officers can have bias against Black people – and act on it.Rashad Shabazz, Associate Professor at the School of Social Transformation, Arizona State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1987112023-01-28T00:14:16Z2023-01-28T00:14:16Z‘Acts that defy humanity:’ 3 essential reads on police brutality, race and the power of video evidence<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/506900/original/file-20230127-10847-1b0tbb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=447%2C320%2C5182%2C3426&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">People attend a candlelight vigil in memory of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tenn., on Jan. 26, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/people-attend-a-candlelight-vigil-in-memory-of-tyre-nichols-news-photo/1459866539?phrase=tyre%20nichols&adppopup=true">Scott Olson/Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the case of the five Black, former Memphis police officers accused of murder in the beating death of Tyre Nichols, justice has moved quickly. </p>
<p>In fewer than 30 days after Nichols’ Jan. 10, 2023 death, the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/former-memphis-police-officer-indicted-tyre-nichols-death-cnn-reports-2023-01-26/">former officers were charged</a> with second-degree murder, assault, kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression. </p>
<p>The Memphis Police Department released video footage of the officers’ encounter with Nichols on Jan. 27, 2023. And some who’ve seen the video, which includes footage captured by body-worn cameras, cameras mounted on dashboards of police vehicles and security cameras on utility poles in the vicinity, have <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/mother-of-tyre-nichols-calls-for-peaceful-protests-when-horrific-video-is-released/ar-AA16OGVm">described it as “horrific.”</a></p>
<p>Before the video was released <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/27/us/tyre-nichols-memphis-friday/index.html">Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis told CNN</a>: “You are going to see acts that defy humanity.”</p>
<p>In recent years, as national outrage over the systemic racism within U.S. law enforcement has grown, The Conversation U.S. has published several articles on police brutality, race and the national outrage over systemic racism within the U.S. criminal justice system. </p>
<h2>1. Different interpretations of video evidence</h2>
<p>Media Studies Professor <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/cmci/people/media-studies/sandra-ristovska">Sandra Ristovska</a> examines the use of video as evidence in state and federal courts in the U.S. and <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-rodney-king-to-george-floyd-how-video-evidence-can-be-differently-interpreted-in-courts-159794">writes</a> about the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9JiIdsjfjo">Rodney King</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Fpivi5ljhI">George Floyd</a> cases where jurors interpreted video evidence differently. </p>
<p>In the King case, the four Los Angeles police officers were acquitted of charges of assault and excessive use of force as the jury believed the video showed a justified response to King’s allegedly frightening actions.</p>
<p>Lead prosecutor Terry White ended his closing arguments by asking the jury: “Now who do you believe, the defendants or your own eyes?”</p>
<p>In the Floyd case, jurors believed their own eyes and convicted Derek Chauvin for the murder of Floyd.</p>
<p>As Ristovska explains, bystander, bodycam and dashcam videos of policing can be powerful forms of evidence.</p>
<p>“Yet judges, attorneys and jurors may see and treat video in varied ways that can lead to inconsistent renderings of justice,” she writes.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-rodney-king-to-george-floyd-how-video-evidence-can-be-differently-interpreted-in-courts-159794">From Rodney King to George Floyd, how video evidence can be differently interpreted in courts</a>
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<h2>2. The racist roots of policing</h2>
<p>As historian <a href="https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/clare-corbould">Clare Corbould</a> explains, police violence that disproportionately targets African Americans long predates portable video cameras. </p>
<p>Where Black Africans were once enslaved to provide cheap labor, Corbould writes, they are now policed, charged, indicted and incarcerated at staggering rates.</p>
<p>“As many have noted since [George] Floyd’s murder, the origins of U.S. policing lie in the control of supposedly disorderly populations,” <a href="https://theconversation.com/relief-at-derek-chauvin-conviction-a-sign-of-long-history-of-police-brutality-159212">Corbould writes</a>, “whether of enslaved people or, after the end of slavery, an impoverished class of laborers including Black people and immigrants.”</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/relief-at-derek-chauvin-conviction-a-sign-of-long-history-of-police-brutality-159212">Relief at Derek Chauvin conviction a sign of long history of police brutality</a>
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<h2>3. College requirements for police may reduce fatal encounters</h2>
<p>In their peer-reviewed study of data on 235 U.S. city police departments from 2000 to 2016, <a href="https://aysps.gsu.edu/profile/thaddeus-johnson/">Thaddeus L. Johnson</a> and <a href="https://aysps.gsu.edu/profile/natasha-johnson/">Natasha N. Johnson</a> found that police forces requiring at least a two-year college degree for employment are less likely to employ officers who engage in actions that cause the deaths of Black and unarmed citizens. </p>
<p>As <a href="https://theconversation.com/college-requirements-for-police-forces-can-save-black-lives-but-at-what-cost-187251">they explain</a>, “Our results demonstrated that college minimums are associated with as much as three times lower rates of police-related fatalities involving Black people than police forces without a college degree requirement.”</p>
<p>Their findings further suggest that the impact of a more educated police force may emerge during only the most dangerous encounters that often precede the use of weapons.</p>
<p>More research needs to be done but they conclude that police agencies trying to reduce fatal confrontations should consider ways to recruit college-degreed applicants while at the same time support college attendance among current officers.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/college-requirements-for-police-forces-can-save-black-lives-but-at-what-cost-187251">College requirements for police forces can save Black lives, but at what cost?</a>
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<p><em>Editor’s note: This story is a roundup of articles from The Conversation’s archives.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198711/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
The death of a Black motorist after a beating by five Black Memphis police officers has triggered national outrage over police brutality and systemic racism with the U.S. criminal justice system.Howard Manly, Race + Equity Editor, The Conversation USLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1964492022-12-15T06:34:40Z2022-12-15T06:34:40ZMany Kenyans have embraced vigilante cops – an ineffective police force is to blame<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/501002/original/file-20221214-3721-hnc795.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Studies show that people belonging to marginalised groups are disproportionately affected by police brutality.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Neil Thomas/Corbis via Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In <a href="https://nairobinews.nation.africa/officer-filmed-killing-teenager/">March 2017</a>, Ahmed Rashid, a Kenyan police officer, shot and killed two unarmed teenagers accused of theft. They had surrendered and were lying on the ground in a Nairobi neighbourhood. Rashid executed them in full view of the public. This was caught on camera.</p>
<p>On <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/news/ahmed-rashid-kenya-s-untouchable-police-officer-falls-4032108">23 November 2022</a>, Kenya’s policing oversight body announced that Rashid would face murder charges over this incident. This drew mixed reactions. Some saw it as positive and long overdue; others opposed it strongly. Those who welcomed the news of Rashid’s impending prosecution find the support he received befuddling. </p>
<p>I have <a href="https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article-abstract/121/482/61/6523040">studied</a> this phenomenon of popular support for brutal policing. I examined three-day protests held by residents of Githurai, a poor neighbourhood in Nairobi, against the arrest of constable Titus Musili, popularly known as Katitu, in September 2014. Katitu had been arrested for the murder of a young man, Kenneth Kimani. Before this arrest, he is said to have <a href="https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000140486/how-passion-for-work-is-landing-police-officers-in-the-dock">shot and killed</a> a criminal, Oscar Muchoki, Kimani’s elder brother. </p>
<p>I found that the support for brutal policing has its roots in the under-protection of communities by state police and the criminal justice system. When an officer that a community has come to depend on for safety is arrested by the very state that people feel has failed to protect them, they see it as interference in local security arrangements that they consider effective and efficient.</p>
<h2>Police failures</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/09/12/interview-how-policing-one-us-city-hurts-black-and-poor-communities">Studies</a> from around the world show that the urban poor are disproportionately affected by police brutality, so how could the residents of Githurai express public support for it? </p>
<p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/afraf/article-abstract/121/482/61/6523040">My study</a> included interviews with Githurai residents, from pastors to self-identified reformed armed robbers. Everyone I interviewed said the level of crime in the area was high. They were concerned about their safety and security. They complained that the police had failed to offer them protection. I use the term under-protection to refer to this failure of the police to provide a satisfactory level of protection to people who are or are likely to become victims of a crime. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/kenya-police-killings-point-to-systemic-rot-and-a-failed-justice-system-193468">Kenya: police killings point to systemic rot and a failed justice system</a>
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<p>In contexts marked by insecurity and under-protection, people find innovative ways of responding to crime. Some rely on private security and others, especially the poor, rely on community vigilantism. That is, they take security matters into their own hands.</p>
<p>Community vigilantism takes two main forms: mob justice, where rowdy crowds pursue and attack people accused of crimes; or vigilante groups. However, community vigilantism has its limits. People may not participate in mob justice because of a fear of possible legal repercussions. Additionally, vigilante groups can – and often are – <a href="https://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/police/kenya_country_report_2006.pdf">brutally crushed</a> by the state, as happened in the early 2000s in Kenya. Thus, people in Githurai felt that they had no effective mechanisms for dealing with crime. </p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, the people I spoke to directed their frustrations with insecurity towards the police. The police are the closest institution to them and they are understood to be responsible for dealing with crime. </p>
<p>In turn, the police blame the community for not providing them with information that would help them catch criminals, and the courts for releasing those they arrest and prosecute. Many criminal cases in Kenya fail because of <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-nairobi-police-failures-let-people-get-away-with-murder-185447">police failure</a> to provide adequate evidence in court.</p>
<h2>The rise of ‘super cops’</h2>
<p>Insecurity persists as people blame each other, creating spaces for various interventions. These spaces come to be occupied by police officers who are willing to short circuit the system and deliver justice in the way it’s demanded on the streets: quickly and brutally. That is, they take a violent approach to policing that goes beyond the limits of their legal power. </p>
<p>These police officers, like Katitu and Rashid, come to be known as “super cops”. Essentially, they are police vigilantes and <a href="https://nation.africa/kenya/life-and-style/dn2/investigating-patrick-shaw-kenya-s-most-dreaded-cop-853650">become popular</a> because they are seen as being willing to do what their colleagues and the police institution are unwilling to do to deal with crime. Additionally, since they remain a symbolic representation of the state, even when they operate outside the law, they don’t face the limitations that constrain community vigilantism. </p>
<p>The more such officers deploy violence against suspected criminals, the more their legitimacy grows as they are contrasted to their colleagues, the police institution and the entire criminal justice system. People come to believe that such officers are the solution to crime and insecurity. </p>
<p>Thus, the arrest of a police officer like Katitu triggers a moral panic, leading to expressions of support from the community. </p>
<h2>Way forward</h2>
<p>The arrest and prosecution of “police vigilantes” is aimed at delivering the promise of police accountability. However, for people like the residents of Githurai, it is seen as an affront to their “home-grown” solution for crime and insecurity – a solution they had to find because the state failed to offer adequate legal protection. </p>
<p>This is not to say that residents support all forms of police brutality, or brutality by all police officers. In fact, many residents of Githurai opposed the violence deployed by police officers against protesters. Those who support officers like Katitu and Rashid may be on the streets again to protest police brutality by other officers. </p>
<p>Therefore, the support expressed for officers like Katitu and Rashid should not be read as a blanket endorsement of police brutality and impunity, or as a rejection of police accountability. It is a signal that, in some of these cases of police excesses, the state and human rights advocates are failing to acknowledge residents’ lived realities.</p>
<p>The conversation about police accountability – and police reforms more broadly – must be had at the grassroots, and take the views and perspective of community members seriously. Even as the government and human rights practitioners advocate for police accountability, they must demonstrate that they care about the safety of communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196449/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This study was supported by St. Antony’s College and the African Studies Centre at the University of Oxford and IFRA-Nairobi.</span></em></p>When communities face security challenges and lack legal protection, they find innovative ways to respond.Kamau Wairuri, Lecturer in criminology, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1951462022-11-30T13:36:15Z2022-11-30T13:36:15ZBlack Twitter’s expected demise would make it harder to publicize police brutality and discuss racism<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497763/original/file-20221128-4995-7scacf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4147%2C9%2C588%2C28&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption"> #blacktwitter helped mobilize social protests against police brutality across the country, like this one in New York City in July 2020. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/protester-wearing-a-mask-holds-a-sign-that-says-get-in-good-news-photo/1259608511?phrase=black%20lives%20matter%20floyd%202020&adppopup=true">Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Before the deaths of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/17/books/review/his-name-is-george-floyd-robert-samuels-toluse-olorunnipa.html">George Floyd</a>, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html">Breonna Taylor</a>, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/20/us/philando-castile-shooting-dashcam">Philando Castile</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/may/07/sandra-bland-video-footage-arrest-death-police-custody-latest-news">Sandra Bland</a> were propelled into the media spotlight, their names were Twitter #hashtags. </p>
<p>In 2020, Twitter was essential to the <a href="https://dot.la/george-floyd-video-2646171522.html?utm_campaign=post-teaser&utm_content=i87yytb3">spread of historic Black Lives Matter</a> protests against police brutality across the world. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/27/tech/elon-musk-one-month-twitter/index.html">Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter</a> has thrown the future of <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23blacktwitter">Black Twitter</a> into question. Social media users argue that the takeover has already had an impact on the Black social media community. </p>
<p>For instance, not only do <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2022/11/23/why-is-elon-musks-twitter-takeover-increasing-hate-speech/">multiple sources</a> report an <a href="https://www.vice.com/en/article/jgpkqb/elon-musk-twitter-neo-nazis">almost immediate spike in the use of the N-word</a>, but Musk <a href="https://www.theroot.com/elon-musk-belittles-black-twitter-and-his-black-employe-1849818697">has also allegedly mocked</a> Black Lives Matter in general and the group’s apparel found at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco, California.</p>
<p>The impact of Musk’s takeover is so abundantly clear that Black Twitter <a href="https://www.bet.com/article/bbxq6o/black-twitter-holds-the-ultimate-homegoing-celebration-for-the-fallen-social-media-platform">held its own satire-infused funeral</a>. </p>
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<p>User tweets clearly take <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2020.1774449">a humorous approach</a>, a well-documented <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051221107631">coping technique</a> for the <a href="https://whyy.org/segments/nothings-wrong-if-its-funny-black-comedy-taps-a-longstanding-coping-tool/">Black community</a>. But as <a href="https://emerson.edu/faculty-staff-directory/deion-hawkins">a Black professor</a> who studies <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33902344/">communication and police brutality</a>, I am petrified when I envision the implications of Black Twitter’s demise. </p>
<h2>It starts with a hashtag</h2>
<p>A world without Black Twitter is a world void of robust, rapid and authentic information sharing on police brutality within the Black community. As a result, it is my belief that the community will be systemically silenced and exposed to increased levels of police-related violence. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.wired.com/story/black-twitter-oral-history-part-i-coming-together/">Black Twitter</a> refers to the digital community within Twitter that embraces and celebrates Blackness all while <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1527476413480247">circulating topics, stories and images</a> that directly relate to and affect the Black community. Black Twitter is not defined by geography or membership. </p>
<p>Instead, it refers to a culture and community co-created by Black Twitter members. Black Twitter is used to offer cultural critiques, and to discuss significant historical moments.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/12/11/social-media-continue-to-be-important-political-outlets-for-black-americans/">Pew Research</a> has found African Americans who use Twitter are twice as likely (68%) to discuss issues of race online compared with their white counterparts (31%). In addition, 85% of those Black users believe social media to be an important tool in creating sustained social movements.</p>
<p>Finally, <a href="https://www.nielsen.com/news-center/2018/nielsen-examines-the-digital-habits-and-impact-of-black-consumers/">according to Nielsen</a>, 19 million, or 28%, of Twitter’s 67 million users are African American. And about one in five African Americans are on Black Twitter.</p>
<p><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2747066">A 2016 study</a> found that education, amplifying marginalized voices and pushing for structural changes to policing were the main goals for Black Twitter users dedicated to BLM. <a href="https://www.proquest.com/openview/b5d73fcfd75ceffb2a6af7aedad1634e/1.pdf?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750">My dissertation</a> clearly shows that the Black community, especially <a href="https://www.phillytrib.com/news/who-are-black-millennials/article_40dea0a2-fa10-5acc-ba72-c59c219a9136.html">Black millennials</a> and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2019/01/17/generation-z-looks-a-lot-like-millennials-on-key-social-and-political-issues/">Gen Zers</a>, use Black Twitter as a primary source of information about police brutality. </p>
<p>I discuss this in greater detail on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QUa7C-qm64">Opinion Science Podcast</a> and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/campusonthecommon/trauma-and-communication-police-brutality-in-the-black-community-deion-hawkins">Emerson College’s Campus On The Common Podcast.</a></p>
<p>Without Black Twitter, one of the Black community’s main information channels would not exist. </p>
<h2>First with breaking news</h2>
<p>For many social media users, Black Twitter is the first way they hear of stories involving police brutality. </p>
<p>In fact, I have found that hashtags have replaced breaking news headlines for some Black Twitter users.</p>
<p>“Honestly, I hear about most cases on Twitter,” one interviewee told me during <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33902344/">my research</a>. “It’s always on Twitter before it becomes main headline news. News will pick it up like a day or two after I’ve already seen it on Twitter.”</p>
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<p>On Twitter, a hashtag is no longer just a name. Instead, it often blossoms into awareness campaigns that seek police reform. Hashtags are often the catalysts for mobilization, and this mobilization would be significantly slower in a world without Twitter.</p>
<p>Twitter is often used to document and upload videos of police brutality. For instance, the video of George Floyd’s death in police custody was first publicized on Twitter, and then mainstream news circulated the footage.</p>
<p>I like to think of Black Twitter as the fuel, while mainstream media are the wheels on the information highway. </p>
<h2>Real images in real time</h2>
<p>In my research, several interviewees indicated Twitter is the preferred message channel on police brutality because of its authenticity.</p>
<p>For many, Black Twitter avoids perceived racial biases of mainstream media outlets that rely on police sources for information. Instead, users are exposed to firsthand accounts often filmed by other Black users.</p>
<p>“I find Twitter to be most credible, especially the firsthand accounts and videos,” one interviewee told me. “There is something about seeing videos that makes it more real. There is less time for someone to flip a story.” </p>
<p>Another interviewee echoed similar ideas, stating, “I definitely prefer videos on Twitter over hearsay or the news. I don’t trust the news. But videos serve as solid evidence. I think that’s important because there are lots of cases where people are killed by police and we wouldn’t have any evidence if it weren’t for videos on Twitter.” </p>
<p>For some, like Elon Musk, Twitter may be a digital playground to boost their wealth and <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/edwardsegal/2022/11/19/elon-musk-shows-how-a-business-leaders-ego-can-create-a-crisis/?sh=27b6ef5c586b">magnify their egos</a>. But Black Twitter and the information it provides is literally a matter of life and death. </p>
<p>From <a href="https://www.oklahoman.com/story/news/local/oklahoma-city/2018/02/19/paid-175000-taxpayer-funds-settle-claims-oklahoma-troopers-used-excessive-force-during-traffic-stop/60542392007/">Pearl Pearson</a> to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2021/03/13/breonna-taylor-death-one-year-anniversary-marked-events-rallies/4679918001/">Breonna Taylor</a> to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/29/us/tamir-rice-shooting-no-federal-charges/index.html">Tamir Rice</a> to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/20/us/philando-castile-shooting-dashcam">Philando Castile</a>, the use of Twitter was essential in gathering evidence, gaining public attention and pushing for reforms. </p>
<p>In a world where cameras are always on and information is constantly being shared, police brutality still exists. Imagine what may happen when there are fewer places to make public those images and unvarnished stories.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195146/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deion Scott Hawkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Black Twitter is often the preferred forum for candid and authentic Black-centered discussions on police brutality. Without it, holding police accountable may become even more difficult.Deion Scott Hawkins, Assistant Professor of Argumentation & Advocacy, Emerson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1915212022-11-04T17:06:02Z2022-11-04T17:06:02ZHow can black people feel safe and have confidence in policing?<p>The <a href="https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/news/statement-read-out-opening-inquest-death-chris-kaba">inquest</a> into the death of Chris Kaba opened on October 4 2022. Kaba, an unarmed black man, was shot and killed in Streatham Hill, south London on September 5 2022 by a Metropolitan police officer. </p>
<p>Whatever the outcome of this inquest, the feelings it has evoked in black communities are all too familiar. Kaba’s death comes in the wake of recent, high-profile cases that have severely shaken the trust many black people have in the police throughout the UK. These include the <a href="https://theconversation.com/whiteness-is-at-the-heart-of-racism-in-britain-so-why-is-it-portrayed-as-a-black-problem-181742">strip-search of Child Q</a> in London, the <a href="https://theconversation.com/dalian-atkinson-manslaughter-conviction-for-pc-but-justice-for-police-violence-remains-elusive-163457">manslaughter of Dalian Atkinson</a> in Telford, and in Bristol, <a href="https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/features/judah-adunbi-the-long-battle-for-justice/">the tasering of Judah Adunbi</a>, a respected community elder and former police race relations advisor. </p>
<p>It also sits alongside shocking statistics concerning the disproportionate use of force, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-strip-searches-not-a-matter-of-public-debate-in-the-uk-186515">stop and search</a>, against racialised minorities.</p>
<h2>How disproportionate policing impacts black communities</h2>
<p>In 2019-2020, black people in England and Wales were <a href="https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publications/disproportionate-use-of-police-powers-a-spotlight-on-stop-and-search-and-the-use-of-force/">5.7 times</a> more likely to have force used on them than white people, and nine times more likely to have Tasers drawn against them. In the same year, people from racialised minorities in England and Wales were 4.1 times more likely to be stopped and searched than white people. For black people, this figure rises to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/oct/27/black-people-nine-times-more-likely-to-face-stop-and-search-than-white-people">8.9 times</a>. </p>
<p>Most police forces <a href="https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmicfrs/publications/disproportionate-use-of-police-powers-a-spotlight-on-stop-and-search-and-the-use-of-force/link">cannot adequately explain</a> this disproportionality – despite His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services issuing repeated instructions for them to improve their record-keeping. </p>
<p>Context is everything. If disproportionate policing is to be effectively tackled, it is vital to truly understand the depth of the fear and hurt it creates and the impact it has on the daily lives of people. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/law/news/2022/clare-torrible-policing-law-i-am-judah.html">My involvement</a> in a new documentary about Judah Adunbi’s experience at the hands of Bristol police has brought home to me the importance of recognising this context. The film, entitled <a href="https://www.facebook.com/iamjudahfilm">I am Judah</a>, depicts police officers tasering Adunbi in the face after mistaking him for another black man. It explores the criminal and misconduct process which exonerated both the officers involved. It also forms an active part of Adunbi’s fight for justice and change. </p>
<p>As a crowdfunded project, this documentary bears witness to the community’s outrage at the way Adunbi was treated, and the frustration people feel when the police are not held properly to account. It also speaks to the fear of ongoing harassment and arbitrary force that disproportionate policing engenders in communities. </p>
<h2>How police misconduct is assessed</h2>
<p>Central to these cases is how police behaviour is assessed and when it amounts to misconduct. <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/4/made">Police regulations stipulate</a> that any use of force be “necessary, proportionate and reasonable in all the circumstances”. A crucial consideration here is whether what is “reasonable in all the circumstances” is judged objectively, or whether it is based on the officers’ honest belief at the time. </p>
<p>The court of appeal recently confirmed that it is for the misconduct tribunal to decide what was reasonable in all the circumstances. Until this ruling, officers’ honest belief was <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/RW80-v-APPROVED-JUDGMENT-SUMMARY-1.pdf">a more dominant factor</a>. </p>
<p>This is a significant decision. If the test of whether police use of force amounts to misconduct centres on what the officer honestly believed, it runs the risk of not taking into account <a href="https://theconversation.com/bias-be-gone-can-our-unconscious-prejudices-be-overcome-175636">unconscious bias</a>. </p>
<p>Mistaking one black man for another black man and then basing the use of force on that mistake is just one example of police behaviour that can be rooted in such bias. A misconduct system that permits honest mistakes to operate as a defence can then inadvertently reinforce that bias. In doing so, it not only means that the right lessons are not <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10439463.2020.1838516">learned by the police</a>. It also fails to reassure racialised communities that they will not be subjected to arbitrary use of force. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-police-in-england-and-wales-must-do-more-than-just-learn-lessons-179052">Research has repeatedly found</a> a defensive and uncooperative culture within the police in relation to allegations of wrongdoing. This coincides with a tendency for internal performance and misconduct processes to meticulously gather evidence, while <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2016.1191486.">failing</a> to meaningfully challenge officers’ accounts of events. A system that focuses on officers’ honest belief only serves to support this tendency. </p>
<p>Police stakeholders are now appealing to the supreme court over the court of appeal’s ruling. They are seeking a return to the focus on officers’ honest belief, which is concerning. </p>
<p>The incoming Metropolitan police commissioner Mark Rowley was appointed in September 2022, following <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-62839529">serious concerns</a> over police occupational culture. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/sep/27/new-met-commissioner-declines-to-say-whether-force-is-institutionally-racist">His refusal</a> to confirm or deny a view on whether the Met is institutionally racist reinforces that concern.</p>
<p>For unconscious bias to be eradicated and the disproportionate policing it results in to be tackled, it is crucial the supreme court upholds the court of appeal’s decision. Without it, black communities’ fears will not be allayed and their confidence will not be restored.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191521/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clare Torrible does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>For disproportionate policing to be effectively tackled, it is vital to understand the fear and hurt it creates.Clare Torrible, Senior Lecturer in Law, University of BristolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1872512022-08-08T12:19:55Z2022-08-08T12:19:55ZCollege requirements for police forces can save Black lives, but at what cost?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476118/original/file-20220726-22256-7os2v3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=386%2C296%2C5604%2C3682&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Demonstrators stand off with officers July 3, 2022, in Akron, Ohio, as they protest the killing of Jayland Walker, shot by police.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/demonstrators-standoff-with-akron-sheriffs-officers-outside-news-photo/1241690704?adppopup=true">Matthew Hatcher/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em> </p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Police forces requiring at least a two-year college degree for employment are less likely to employ officers who engage in actions that cause the deaths of Black and unarmed citizens, according to our new <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09534-6">peer-reviewed study</a> of data on 235 U.S. city police departments from 2000 to 2016. </p>
<p>Findings from our analysis conducted alongside colleagues <a href="https://aysps.gsu.edu/profile/william-sabol/">professor William Sabol</a> and <a href="https://www.cityofmorrow.com/government-police-administration.asp">David Snively, interim police chief in Morrow, Georgia</a>, also revealed that Black citizens were no more likely than white citizens to die during police encounters in places where police are required to have more college education.</p>
<p><a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/vio0000407">With a few exceptions</a>, most prior research shows officer education level and department college requirements do not significantly affect deadly police outcomes. That research is mostly limited by data availability and methodological challenges preventing more rigorous studies.</p>
<p>Further, no one has really looked at racial differences in the effects of college requirements on police-caused deaths until our study.</p>
<p>Because research into the effects of college requirements on the use of lethal force by police – especially against Black people – is lacking, we analyzed a unique dataset developed from various government and crowd-sourced databases to conduct our research. </p>
<p>This dataset included roughly one-fifth of all documented police-involved fatalities and a quarter of Black people killed by police in the U.S. from 2000 to 2016.</p>
<p>Our results demonstrated that college minimums are associated with as much as three times lower rates of police-related fatalities involving Black people than police forces without a college degree requirement. </p>
<p>These more educated police were also responsible for unarmed citizens dying at a rate two times lower than their counterparts.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Recent high-profile police killings of Black Americans, including <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/31/us/george-floyd-investigation.html">George Floyd</a> in 2020, have underscored long-standing issues with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01609-3">racial disparities</a> in police-caused deaths. </p>
<p>These tragedies renewed questions about police recruitment, hiring standards and educational requirements for police forces.</p>
<p>Since the early <a href="https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/police-and-modern-society">1900s</a>, public leaders have <a href="https://cops.usdoj.gov/RIC/Publications/cops-p341-pub.pdf">heralded</a> college-educated officers as ideal candidates.</p>
<p>The assumption is that departments would then be composed of officers who serve communities fairly while reserving potentially deadly actions for only the direst circumstances. </p>
<p>We can only speculate on the underlying reasons for our study’s findings. </p>
<p>But a key contribution of this research is that it clarifies several questions regarding college education policies in law enforcement, making it a valuable tool for police administrators.</p>
<p>For one, our study reveals that an associate degree requirement, at minimum, shows the most promise for reducing the frequency of fatal police encounters.</p>
<p>Next, as evidenced in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-022-09534-6">our supplemental analysis</a>, police agencies trying to reduce fatal confrontations should consider ways to recruit college-degreed applicants while at the same time support college attendance among current officers. </p>
<p>The final point is that the impact of a more educated police force may emerge during only the most dangerous encounters that often precede the use of weapons.</p>
<p>The positive effects of education minimums are clear, based on our research. </p>
<p>But we also made an alarming discovery – Black residents were arrested four times more frequently in cities requiring a college degree for new officers. </p>
<p>Indeed, more studies are needed. </p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>Several critical gaps remain in our research on the value of higher education in policing. Available data on police-caused homicides, including the <a href="https://fatalencounters.org/">Fatal Encounters data</a> that we used, do not provide reliable information on case dispositions and whether the police actions were justified or not. </p>
<p>Nor do the available statistics tell us anything about police actions that <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2021/11/11/non-fatal-police-shootings-disparities-data/">do not result in death</a>.</p>
<p>Also, we used college degree requirements to estimate the educational composition of police departments. </p>
<p>Ideally, we would examine the actual number of college-degreed officers in police agencies. Such national data remain unavailable.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187251/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thaddeus L. Johnson is affiliated with the Council on Criminal Justice. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Natasha N. Johnson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>New research on police departments across the country reveals a significant link between the use of fatal force and college education – the more educated are less likely to use it.Thaddeus L. Johnson, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State UniversityNatasha N. Johnson, Clinical Instructor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, Georgia State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1822632022-06-23T21:29:32Z2022-06-23T21:29:32ZHow powerful sounds of protest amplify resistance — Podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470041/original/file-20220621-25-8rvwsn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=27%2C20%2C4507%2C2991&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Sound researchers believe sound is an element of resistance. Here a protester holds a 'Black Lives Matter" megaphone at a protest in New York City in 2020.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.cpimages.com/CS.aspx?VP3=DamView&VBID=2RLQ2JSMH1VPZ&PN=1&WS=SearchResults">AP Photo/John Minchillo</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe height="480px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/fb609e39-d729-4a54-860a-8a411be157ae?dark=false&show=true"></iframe>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-572" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/572/661898416fdc21fc4fdef6a5379efd7cac19d9d5/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>When you think of a protest, one that fills the streets, do you remember the visuals of what you saw? Visually striking images are often circulated by news media — like the one we’ve used for this article.</p>
<p>But can you also close your eyes and remember the sounds that surrounded you? </p>
<p>For me, sound has always resonated — it’s sometimes what I remember, long after the streets are empty and quiet again. </p>
<p>Maybe it’s the sound of a chant “No Justice No Peace” or “I Can’t Breathe” at a Black Lives Matter protest. Or a theatre shaking from <a href="https://twitter.com/writevinita/status/1525875652955721729?s=20&t=CGMSVCBqxbedsLRHdmeOuA">feet stomping after a speech by a brown queer rights activist</a>. I can still hear that. I also remember the sound of Toronto police horses clopping on concrete during the <a href="https://nowtoronto.com/news/yonge-street-riot-documentary">1992 protest against police brutality</a>.</p>
<p>Everyday sounds are important too. The normal sounds of a Saturday: music from a fruit stall, neighbours yelling “hey” to each other, the clattering of the Q train in Brooklyn. These sounds can define a neighbourhood. And if we don’t pay attention to them, as life changes, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2022/saving-sounds-an-ancient-city/">sounds can disappear</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470102/original/file-20220621-13681-jw2nyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A person drums and sings with supporters in Winnipeg to protest against the construction of a pipeline on Wet'suwet'en territory." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470102/original/file-20220621-13681-jw2nyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470102/original/file-20220621-13681-jw2nyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470102/original/file-20220621-13681-jw2nyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470102/original/file-20220621-13681-jw2nyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470102/original/file-20220621-13681-jw2nyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470102/original/file-20220621-13681-jw2nyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470102/original/file-20220621-13681-jw2nyz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In this 2020 photo, protesters in Winnipeg sing in support of the Wet'suwet'en nation’s protest to keep pipeline workers out of the B.C. First Nation’s traditional territory.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.cpimages.com/CS.aspx?VP3=DamView&VBID=2RLQ2JSM1LPM5&PN=1&WS=SearchResults">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Mike Sudoma</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/episodes/the-powerful-sounds-of-protest">In today’s episode of <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em></a>, I speak with two people involved in sound studies who believe sound is an element of resistance. They explain why — in our hyper-visualized age of Instagram-perfect photos — <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355771821000248">sound is so compelling</a> and why soundscapes can help to amplify voices of resistance.</p>
<p>Nimalan Yoganathan is a PhD candidate at Concordia University. He studies protest tactics and he looks at how different sound practitioners have contributed to anti-racist movements. </p>
<p>I also spoke with <a href="https://daily.bandcamp.com/lifetime-achievement/norman-w-long-list">Norman W. Long</a>, a born-and-raised resident of the south side of Chicago. Norman is a sound artist, designer and composer who works to document and record the everyday reality of his community. He has graduate degrees in landscape architecture from Cornell University and in fine arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1004439164073529345"}"></div></p>
<p>Both our guests talk about how important it is to listen to the sounds around us as a way to critically engage with our communities, to help bridge our deep divides and to pay attention to the forces of power in our environment. They say anyone can learn to listen deeply, even children. </p>
<p>As Long invites both insiders and outsider to listen on guided soundwalks of his community, he starts with a short breathing exercise. He said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The practise of breathing brought me back to COVID-19 and the murder of George Floyd. In both of these instances, African-Americans are more vulnerable to contract the virus and more likely to be murdered by police. There’s also the fact that most areas with high rates of air pollution and toxins are overwhelmingly poor and African-American. When we breathe, we are mindful of our mind-body connection, our connection to each other and our connection to those who cannot breathe. We can breathe for them and listen to the street, the noises and disruptions, and join in the chorus that demand justice for Black and brown people all over the world.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is a different kind of episode: instead of our usual interview style, we let the sound guide us. I encourage you to listen in and follow along with our conversation and playlist.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7E26_sjxbYY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Stay Alive’ by Mustafa.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Soundscapes/Credits</h2>
<ul>
<li>“<a href="https://youtu.be/x2Nx4jUEZfc">Idle No More Protest</a>,” (2012) recorded by Paula Kirman at the West Edmonton Mall</li>
<li>“<a href="https://mustafa.ffm.to/when-smoke-rises">Stay Alive</a>” <em>When Smoke Rises</em> by Mustafa</li>
<li><em>Ali</em> by Mustafa</li>
<li><a href="https://normanwlong.bandcamp.com/track/black-space-in-winter">“Black Space in Winter”</a> (2021) Produced by Norman W. Long. Recorded as part of the We Series curated by Lia Kohl and Dierdre Hackabay. Bowls, Cymbals and electronics by Norman W. Long. Recorded at Marian R. Byrnes Park. </li>
<li><a href="https://soundcloud.com/normanlong/sets/washington-park-sun-ra-sound">Washington Park Mix 2016</a> Produced by Norman W. Long</li>
<li>“<a href="https://soundcloud.com/delaurenti/n30">N30: Live at the WTO Protest</a>”
(1999), produced by Christopher DeLaurenti </li>
<li>“<a href="https://soundcloud.com/delaurenti/fergusonaugust?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing">Fit The Description</a>”
(Ferguson, 9-13 August 2014), produced by Christopher DeLaurenti </li>
<li>“<a href="https://citiesandmemory.com">Remixing the world, one sound at a time</a>” on Cities and Memory (LA No KKK)</li>
<li>“<a href="https://audioboom.com/posts/6146907-for-and-against-donald-trump">For and against Donald Trump (2017)</a>” recorded by Aaron Rosenblum (on Cities and Memory Project) </li>
<li><a href="https://discrepant.bandcamp.com/track/thakira-jamaiya">Thakira Jama'iya</a> by Muqata’a</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQjRqJGZeRU">Mbana Kantako</a> from NPR and YouTube</li>
<li>“Regent Park is Toronto’s up-and-coming neighbourhood” in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9JMRn3VmSI">BlogTo</a></li>
<li>“<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/music/junos/watch/watch-the-2022-juno-awards-1.6424880">CBC Juno Awards</a>”</li>
<li>Marshawn Lynch clip from ESPN</li>
</ul>
<h2>ICMYI in <em>The Conversation</em></h2>
<ul>
<li>“<a href="https://theconversation.com/black-lives-matter-movement-uses-creative-tactics-to-confront-systemic-racism-143273">Black Lives Matter movement uses creative tactics to confront systemic racism</a> by Nimalan Yoganathan </li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/voices-hearts-and-hands-how-the-powerful-sounds-of-protest-have-changed-over-time-140192">Voices, hearts and hands – how the powerful sounds of protest have changed over time</a> by Lawrence English</li>
<li><a href="https://theconversation.com/hip-hop-is-the-soundtrack-to-black-lives-matter-protests-continuing-a-tradition-that-dates-back-to-the-blues-140879">Hip-hop is the soundtrack to Black Lives Matter protests, continuing a tradition that dates back to the blues</a> by Tyina Steptoe </li>
</ul>
<h2>Resources</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355771821000248">"Soundscapes of Resistance: Amplifying social justice activism and aural counterpublics through field recording-based sound practices”</a> in <em>Organised Sound</em> by Nimalan Yoganathan</li>
<li><a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/listening-to-images"><em>Listening to Images</em></a> by Tina M. Campt</li>
<li><a href="https://daily.bandcamp.com/features/muqata-kamil-mangus-interview">“Parsing Muqata’a’s Personal, Potent Instrumental Hip-Hop”</a> by Lewis Gordon</li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2011.597646">“Pedagogies of hope”</a> by Yasmin Jiwani</li>
<li><a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/20551940.2016.1214455">“Sounds inside: prison, prisoners and acoustical agency”</a> in <em>Sound Studies</em> by Tom Rice</li>
<li><a href="https://soundstudiesblog.com/2019/08/05/hearing-change-in-the-chocolate-city-soundwalking-as-black-feminist-method/">“Hearing Change in the Chocolate City: Soundwalking as Black Feminist Method”</a> by Allie Martin</li>
<li>“<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/culture/cultural-comment/the-profound-silence-of-marshawn-lynch">The Profound Silence of Marshawn Lynch</a>” by Hua Hsu</li>
<li>Jennifer Lynn Stoever: “<a href="https://iaspm-us.net/interview-series-the-sonic-color-line/">Interview Series: Jennifer Stoever, The Sonic Color Line</a>”</li>
</ul>
<h2>Follow and listen</h2>
<p>You can listen to or follow <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em> on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dont-call-me-resilient/id1549798876">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9qZFg0Ql9DOA">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/37tK4zmjWvq2Sh6jLIpzp7">Spotify</a> or <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com">wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts</a>. <a href="mailto:theculturedesk@theconversation.com">We’d love to hear from you</a>, including any ideas for future episodes. Join The Conversation on <a href="https://twitter.com/ConversationCA">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheConversationCanada">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@theconversation">TikTok</a> and use #DontCallMeResilient.</p>
<p><em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em> is produced and hosted by Vinita Srivastava. The co-producer on this episode is Lygia Navarro. Haley Lewis is a series co-producer and Vaishnavi Dandekar is an assistant producer. Jennifer Moroz is our consulting producer. Lisa Varano is our audience development editor and Scott White is the CEO of the Conversation Canada. <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em> is a production of <em>The Conversation Canada</em>. This podcast was produced with a grant for Journalism Innovation from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. </p>
<h2>Transcript</h2>
<p><a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/episodes/the-powerful-sounds-of-protest/transcript">Unedited transcript</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/182263/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
In today’s episode, we look at how sound and noise are used as tactics of protest and how practitioners are using environmental soundscapes to protest against racism and police brutality.Vinita Srivastava, Host + Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.