Highbrow Magazine - police https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/police en Can the Spread of Violent Crime Be Prevented? https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/11920-can-spread-violent-crime-be-prevented <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Mon, 03/01/2021 - 15:35</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1violence_geralt-pixabay.jpg?itok=pJLZ_5TE"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1violence_geralt-pixabay.jpg?itok=pJLZ_5TE" width="480" height="339" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p>Usually, facial trauma doesn’t kill you, but it can cause significant disfigurement. Working as a maxillofacial surgeon in Glasgow in the early 2000s, Christine Goodall treated hundreds, if not thousands, of patients with injuries to the neck, face, head and jaw.</p> <p> </p> <p>Sometimes, the injuries were caused by a baseball bat, with shattered bones and bruising as bad as that from a car accident. More often than not, it was a knife. A slash across the forehead or cheek, leaving a scar etched across the face; a machete wound to the jaw, slicing through the skin and breaking the bone underneath.</p> <p> </p> <p>One young man came into the hospital in the middle of the night, with a knife wound across his face. Goodall dreaded the morning ward round the next day, when she would have to tell him that it would be impossible to reduce the appearance of the scar. But his reaction surprised her. “He was very offhand about it,” she says. “Some of his friends came to see him later that afternoon and I realized why it wasn’t going to be a problem for him – because they all had one. He’d just joined the club.” The incident has stayed with her, an indication of how bad the situation in her city had become.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2005, the United Nations published a report declaring Scotland the most violent country in the developed world. The same year, a study by the World Health Organization of crime figures in 21 European countries showed that Glasgow was the “murder capital” of Europe. More than 1,000 people a year required treatment for facial trauma alone, many of them as the result of violence.</p> <p> </p> <p>Goodall, who has spent most of her life living and working in Glasgow, would stitch up the wounds and work to repair the damaged tissue. But for most patients, the problems continued long after they were discharged. Chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, self-medication with alcohol and drugs.</p> <p> </p> <p>Often, the same people would come back through the accident and emergency departments again and again, repeated victims and perpetrators of violent attacks. “We were really good at patching injuries up,” says Goodall. “But I started to think: What can we do to prevent them coming here in the first place?”</p> <p> </p> <p>Humans engage in a wide array of risky behaviors that can lead to serious health problems: smoking, overeating, sex without protection. It has long been the accepted wisdom that doctors should encourage patients to change their behavior – give up smoking, go on a diet, use a condom – rather than wait to treat the emphysema, obesity-related heart attacks, or HIV that could be the result.</p> <p> </p> <p>Yet when it comes to violence, the discussion is often underpinned by an assumption that this is an innate and immutable behavior and that people engaging in it are beyond redemption. More often than not, solutions have been sought in the criminal justice system – through tougher sentencing, or increasing stop-and-search (despite substantial evidence that it is ineffective in reducing crime). Is enforcement the wrong tactic altogether?</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2005, Karyn McCluskey, principal analyst for Strathclyde Police, wrote a report pointing out that traditional policing was not actually reducing violence. These reports always include a list of recommendations. “One was tongue-in-cheek,” recalls Will Linden, who worked for McCluskey as an analyst at the time. “‘Do something different.’ I don’t think it was meant to stay in there. But the chief constable said, ‘Okay, go do something different.’”</p> <p> </p> <p>McCluskey’s team, led by her and her colleague John Carnochan, started by pulling together evidence on the drivers of violence. “Particularly in Scotland, it was poverty, inequality, things like toxic masculinity, alcohol use, all these factors – most of which were outside the bounds of policing,” says Linden.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/2violence_pxfuel.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Next, they looked around the world to find and learn from pioneering programs working to prevent violence. This was the foundation of the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU), of which Linden is now the acting director. It took elements of those programs and focused on garnering support from a range of Scottish agencies – the health service, addiction support, job centers and a host of others. Since the VRU was launched in 2005, the murder rate in Glasgow has dropped by 60 percent.</p> <p> </p> <p>The number of facial trauma patients passing through Glasgow’s hospitals has halved, Goodall says, and now stands at around 500 a year.</p> <p> </p> <p>The VRU’s strategy is described as a “public health” approach to preventing violence. This refers to a whole school of thought that suggests that beyond the obvious health problems that result from violence – the psychological trauma and physical injuries – the violent behavior itself is an epidemic that spreads from person to person.</p> <p> </p> <p>One of the primary indicators that someone will carry out an act of violence is first being the victim of one. The idea that violence spreads between people, reproducing itself and shifting group norms, explains why one locality might see more stabbings or shootings than another area with many of the same social problems.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Despite the fact that violence has always been present, the world does not have to accept it as an inevitable part of the human condition,” says the WHO guidance on violence prevention.</p> <p> </p> <p>It says that “violence can be prevented and its impact reduced, in the same way that public health efforts have prevented and reduced pregnancy-related complications, workplace injuries, infectious diseases, and illness resulting from contaminated food and water in many parts of the world. The factors that contribute to violent responses – whether they are factors of attitude and behavior or related to larger social, economic, political and cultural conditions – can be changed.”</p> <p> </p> <p>But across much of the world, being tough on crime is a vote winner, which makes this a hard sell. How did Glasgow do it? As they investigated what it actually means to treat violence as a health problem, the VRU looked first to Chicago.</p> <p> </p> <p>In the 1980s and early 1990s, American epidemiologist Gary Slutkin was in Somalia, one of six doctors working across 40 refugee camps containing a million people. His focus was on containing the spread of tuberculosis and cholera.</p> <p> </p> <p>Containing infectious diseases relies heavily on data. First, public health officials map out exactly where the most transmissions of the disease are occurring. Then they can focus on containing the spread in these areas. Often, this containment happens by getting people to change their behavior so that a rapid effect can be seen even when larger structural factors can’t be tackled.</p> <p> </p> <p>For instance, diarrhoeal disease is often in large part caused by poor sanitation and water supplies. It takes a long time to improve plumbing systems – but in the meantime, thousands of lives can be saved by giving people oral rehydration solutions.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/1_edinburgh_guy_percival_publicdomainpictures.jpg" style="height:400px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Slutkin followed these steps to contain outbreaks in the Somali refugee camps, and again later, when he worked for the WHO on AIDS prevention. Whatever the exact nature of the infectious disease in question, the steps to contain it were roughly the same. “What do they have in common? All of these things spread,” Slutkin tells me in his office in Chicago. “Heart disease doesn’t spread, strokes don’t spread.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Changing behavioral norms is far more effective than simply giving people information. To change behavior – whether it’s using rehydration solutions, avoiding dirty water or using condoms – credible messengers are essential.</p> <p> </p> <p>“In all of these outbreaks, we used outreach workers from the same group [as the target population],” says Slutkin. “Refugees in Somalia to reach refugees with TB or cholera, sex workers to reach sex workers with AIDS, moms to reach moms on breastfeeding and diarrhoeal management.”</p> <p> </p> <p>After more than a decade working overseas, Slutkin returned to his native Chicago in the late 1990s, exhausted from the perpetual travel and constant exposure to death. “I wanted a break from all these epidemics,” he says. It hadn’t occurred to him that America had difficulties, too. He had been consumed, for years, by the panic of epidemics and the struggles of poorly developed countries. But he returned to a different kind of problem: a skyrocketing homicide rate.</p> <p> </p> <p>His ideas about tackling this problem began as a nerdy project, born of the obsession with graphs and charts he had developed abroad: He gathered maps and data on gun violence in Chicago. As he did so, the parallels with the maps of disease outbreaks he was accustomed to were unavoidable. “The epidemic curves are the same, the clustering. In fact, one event leads to another, which is diagnostic of a contagious process. Flu causes more flu, colds cause more colds, and violence causes more violence.”</p> <p> </p> <p>This was a radical departure from mainstream thinking about violence at the time, which primarily focused on enforcement. “The idea that’s wrong is that these people are ‘bad’ and we know what to do with them, which is punish them,” says Slutkin. “That’s fundamentally a misunderstanding of the human. Behavior is formed by modeling and copying. When you’re in a health lens, you don’t blame. You try to understand, and you aim for solutions.”</p> <p> </p> <p>He spent the next few years trying to gather funding for a pilot project that would use the same steps against violence as the WHO takes to control outbreaks of cholera, TB or HIV. It would have three main prongs: interrupt transmission, prevent future spread, and change group norms.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2000, it launched in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago. Within the first year, there was a 67 percent drop in shootings. More funding came, more neighborhoods were piloted. Everywhere it launched, violence dropped by at least 40 percent. The approach began to be replicated in other cities.</p> <p> </p> <p>“When we were trying to control outbreaks of HIV, it was all about changing your thinking about whether you’d have risky sexual behaviour,” says Slutkin. “That’s much harder to change than violent behavior. People don’t want to change sexual behavior, but they don’t actually want to have violent behavior.” Although there were many deeper structural factors contributing to Chicago’s violence – poverty, lack of jobs, exclusion, racism and segregation – Slutkin argued that lives could be saved by changing the behavior of individuals and shifting group norms.</p> <p> </p> <p>As in many places, discussion of violence in Chicago often takes on a highly racialized tone. The city is deeply racially segregated. Many South Side neighborhoods are over 95 percent African American; others are more than 95 percent Mexican American. Most of these areas are severely socioeconomically deprived and have suffered years of state neglect. Homicide rates can be up to 10 times higher than in more affluent, predominantly white areas of Chicago.</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/3violence_j_schikaneder_painting_wikimedia.jpg" style="height:375px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>But Slutkin emphasizes that this clustering is less to do with race and more to do with patterns of behavior – usually among a small section of the population, usually young and male – that are transmitted between people. “Language dictates the way people respond, so we don’t use words like ‘criminal’ or ‘gang’ or ‘thug’ – we talk about contagion, transmission, health,” he says.</p> <p> </p> <p>Today, Slutkin’s organization, Cure Violence, is based in the public health department of the University of Illinois, Chicago. A poster in the corridor bears a photo of a young boy, with the slogan “Don’t shoot. I want to grow up” underneath.</p> <p> </p> <p>The organization now works in 13 Chicago neighborhoods, and versions of the program run in New York, Baltimore and Los Angeles, as well as in other countries around the world. It trains local organizations  that then find credible people in the area to do the work.</p> <p> </p> <p>Although there is a level of debate about Cure Violence’s use of statistics, the method’s overall effectiveness has been shown by numerous academic studies. A 2009 study at Northwestern University found that crime went down in all neighborhoods examined where the program was active.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 2012, researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health looked at four parts of Baltimore that were running the program, and found that shootings and homicides fell in all four. The results are frequently striking. In San Pedro Sula, Honduras, the first five Cure Violence zones saw a drop from 98 shootings during January–May 2014 to just 12 in the same period in 2015.</p> <p> </p> <p>Demetrius Cole is 43, a gentle, softly-spoken man who spent 12 years in prison. He grew up in an area of Chicago afflicted by violence and, at the age of 15, saw his best friend die in a shooting. Nonetheless, he had a stable home life and stayed out of gangs. He planned to join the Marines.</p> <p> </p> <p>When he was 19, a close friend bought a new car. Some other boys from the neighborhood tried to steal the car, and they shot Cole’s friend. Cole didn’t stop to think. He retaliated. In those few minutes, his life changed entirely. While his friend was left paralyzed, unable to work again, Cole was sent to prison for his response.</p> <p> </p> <p>“I reacted off emotion like you see out here today,” he says. Since October 2017, he has been working for Cure Violence in West Englewood, a South Side district of Chicago. He finds people in the same situation he was once in, and tries to persuade them to pause. “We try to show them it is a dead end. I tell them, there’s only two ways this thing is going to end. You’re going to go to jail or you’re going to die.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Cole works as a “violence interrupter,” employed by Cure Violence to intervene in the aftermath of a shooting to prevent retaliations, and to calm people down before a dispute escalates to violence.</p> <p> </p> <p>“My job is to interrupt transmissions,” Cole tells me. “We try to come up with different kinds of ways to deter these kids from the ways they’re used to thinking, and give them a different outlook.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/1chicago_south_side_-_john_h_white_-_flickr.jpg" style="height:405px; width:600px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>Violence interrupters use numerous techniques, some borrowed from cognitive behavioral therapy. Cole reels them off. “Constructive shadowing”, which means echoing people’s words back to them; “babysitting,” which is simply staying with someone until they have cooled down; and emphasizing consequences. “A lot of kids don’t know where their next meal is coming from, their mother’s getting high,” says Cole. “People say everything is common sense. No. Sense is not common to a lot of people.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Interrupters’ ability to be effective depends on their credibility. Many, like Cole, have served long prison sentences and can speak from experience. Most also have a close relationship with the local community. They can respond when a shooting takes place, for instance by convincing loved ones not to retaliate. But they are also aware if conflict is brewing between two individuals or rival groups, and can move to defuse the tension or suggest peaceful alternatives.</p> <p> </p> <p>“We may not be able to reach everybody, but for the few people we do reach, it’s a beautiful thing,” says Cole. He laughs as he talks about a young man he’s been working with. “He was a mess. All the other little guys looked up to him. He was the man over there, always fighting. His transformation was just – now all the other guys see him working, and they want to come into the center to get a job.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Grand Crossing, another South Side area, is the site of one of Cure Violence’s newest centers. Opened in December 2017, it sits on a busy street, a nondescript shop front deliberately chosen as a neutral space for different rival groups.</p> <p> </p> <p>When I visit one spring afternoon, a boy in his late teens with a visible facial scar sits in the reception. In the office, staff are playing dominoes, the baseball game on the TV in the background. Young men from the area pass in and out to speak to their outreach workers and use the computers.</p> <p> </p> <p>Demeatreas Whatley, the site supervisor, is catching up on paperwork in the back office. Whatley has been working for Cure Violence on and off since 2008, when he got out of prison after 17 years and decided he needed to do something different with his life. His first assignment was in Woodlawn, the area he grew up in.</p> <p> </p> <p>Ignoring the protestations of his family, he moved onto the block worst afflicted by gang tension, and worked day and night to build up “peace treaties” between the feuding groups of young people. This entailed initially convincing the two groups to stay out of each other’s way, and then gradually working on individuals to shift their views about violence and help them to find work or get back into education. “I knew I was making a difference when I saw the old folks back out on the porch again drinking their coffees,” he says.</p> <p> </p> <p>Although it must always be adapted for each location, Cure Violence follows roughly the same steps when establishing itself in a new place.</p> <p> </p> <p>First, map the violence to see where it clusters. Whatley shows me an A4 photocopy of a map of Grand Crossing, with specks indicating where homicides were taking place. The streets and blocks where the specks cluster are the main focus. Next, hire credible workers with a local connection. “The type of guys we look for are respected in the community, and might already be stopping fights, trying to help guys calm down their nonsense,” he says.</p> <p> </p> <p>These interrupters patrol the streets on their beat, getting to know shopkeepers, neighbors – and building links with the young men and women deemed to be the highest risk. “They’re able to know if it’s been a fight or if there’s a fight brewing,” says Whatley. “That’s what makes violence interrupters successful. You have to be there.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong><em>This is an excerpt from an article originally published in </em></strong><a href="https://mosaicscience.com/story/violence-crime-knife-chicago-glasgow-gang-epidemic-gun-health-prevention/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><strong><em>Mosaic</em></strong></a><strong><em>. It is republished here with permission under a Creative Commons license. </em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Highbrow Magazine</strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Image Sources:</strong></p> <p><em>--</em><a href="https://www.pxfuel.com/en/free-photo-qnebj" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Pxfuel</em></a><em> (Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--J. Schikaneder painting, 1800s (</em><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jakub_Schikaneder_-_Murder_in_the_House.JPG" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Wikimedia</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--Guy Percival (</em><a href="https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=245005&amp;picture=edinburgh-shopping-victoria-street" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>publicdomainpictures</em></a><em>, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--John H. White (</em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/8674882223" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Flickr,</em></a><em> Creative Commons)</em></p> <p><em>--</em><a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/police-crime-scene-blue-light-850054/" style="color:#0563c1; text-decoration:underline"><em>Geralt</em></a><em> (Pixabay, Creative Commons)</em></p> <p> </p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/violence" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">violence</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">crime</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/stopping-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">stopping crime</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/rise-crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">rise in crime</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/police" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">police</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/law-enforcement" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">law enforcement</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/violent-crimes" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">violent crimes</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/glasgow" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">glasgow</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/chicago" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Chicago</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/gangs" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gangs</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/gang-violence" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">gang violence</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Samira Shackle</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Mon, 01 Mar 2021 20:35:03 +0000 tara 10196 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/11920-can-spread-violent-crime-be-prevented#comments 2014: The Year of the Protester https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4540-year-protester <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 01/02/2015 - 09:39</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1protestor.jpg?itok=j1DWTxAu"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/1protestor.jpg?itok=j1DWTxAu" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/12/the_root_names_2014_the_year_of_the_protester.html?wpisrc=topstories">The Root</a></strong><strong> and republished by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/12/the-root-names-2014-the-year-of-the-protester.php">New America Media</a>: </strong></p> <p> </p> <p> <br /> “America never loved us. Remember?”<br /> <br /> Phillip Agnew, executive director of the <a href="http://dreamdefenders.org/factsheets/">Dream Defenders</a>, a youth-fueled civil rights organization formed in response to the 2012 slaying of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, spoke those powerful words Jan. 28 during the 2014 State of the Youth.<br /> <br /> And the Year of the Protester began.<br /> <br /> Agnew’s heart-wrenching declaration—equal parts call to action and expression of grief—went viral the next month after a judge declared a mistrial in the case of 45-year-old Michael Dunn, the man who fatally shot 17-year-old <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2013/07/jordan_davis_shooting_will_things_be_different.html">Jordan Davis</a> in 2012 because he was playing loud music in an SUV at a gas station in Jacksonville, Fla.<br /> <br /> Dunn would eventually be found guilty of first-degree murder in October after a second trial, but by then a new movement had been set in motion—one that would be reactivated by a succession of police killings of unarmed black men around the country. On July 17, Officer Daniel Pantaleo of the New York City Police Department used a banned choke hold that took the life of <a href="http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2014/07/black-feminism-eric-garner-police-brutality/">Eric Garner</a>, 43, on a street in Staten Island; on Aug. 5, police fatally shot <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/08/john_crawford_shooting_open_carry_for_whites_open_season_on_blacks.html">John Crawford III</a>, 22, in a Wal-Mart in Beavercreek, Ohio; and, on Aug. 11, an officer in the Los Angeles Police Department killed <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/08/unarmed_black_man_ezell_ford_shot_by_police_in_la.html">Ezell Ford</a>, 25, near 65th and Broadway in South Los Angeles.<br /> <br /> Fury over police killings would reach a tipping point, however, on Aug. 9, two days before Ford’s death, on Canfield Drive in Ferguson, Mo. It was there that now-former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson gunned down unarmed Michael Brown, 18, as Brown reportedly <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1370951-interview-witness-35.html">begged</a> for his life in the middle of the street.<br /> <br /> It was there that Brown’s bullet-riddled body would be left to lie uncovered for four hours as his mother’s wails of rage and grief pierced the air. It was there that protesters stood unbowed before a militarized police force armed with tear gas, dogs, sonic grenades, armored personnel carriers and <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2014/8/20/rubber_bullets_tear_gas_and_jail">rubber bullets.</a><br /> <br /> And it was there that the justifiable rage and resentment would explode in a firestorm after a grand jury announced on Nov. 24 that Wilson would not be indicted in Brown’s killing. Democratic Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon had declared a <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/12/17/gov-nixon-ends-state-emergency-for-ferguson-protests/">state of emergency</a> the previous week to pre-emptively intimidate protesters into submission—it didn’t work. The revolution was live-streamed, and images of law-enforcement officers engaging protesters as if they were enemy combatants flooded social media.<br /> <br /> The <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ferguson&amp;src=typd">#Ferguson</a> hashtag became the cyber headquarters of the Twitter arm of the movement, and everyone gathered to get information that the mainstream media would not provide. As tensions fueled by anti-protester sentiment continued to escalate, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. weighed in with what has become his go-to <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/nov/25/holder-promises-thorough-probe-ferguson/">response</a> in these miscarriages of justice: reiterating that the Justice Department’s civil rights investigation would be “thorough.” <br /> <br /> President Obama eventually joined the chorus of voices appealing for the protests to remain calm, but his words did not sway the Ferguson protesters. For 139 days and counting, they have continued despite naysayers who doubted their dedication and miscalculated the depth of their commitment. They continue to stand in solidarity, refusing to prioritize peace over justice, while boldly chanting the words of <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/politics/2014/12/cuba_won_t_hand_over_assata_shakur.html">Assata Shakur</a>: “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”</p> <p> </p> <p><img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/3ferguson_0.jpg" style="height:346px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>On Dec. 3, nine days after the Wilson decision, a grand jury in New York City declined to indict Garner’s killer. The psychological and emotional trauma inflicted with that vicious one-two combination of blows caused tens of thousands of people to stage protests and “die-ins” <a href="http://www.newsweek.com/ferguson-eric-garner-protests-sprawl-worldwide-289867">around the world</a>. Politicians such as former and current New York mayors Rudy Giuliani and <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/12/there_s_no_wrong_time_to_say_blacklivesmatter.html">Bill de Blasio</a> have tried to suppress protesters’ voices in the wake of the recent shooting deaths of two NYPD officers, but they have remained steadfast in their refusal to allow them to reframe black love as anti-cop hate.<br /> <br /> They have forced this nation to reckon with the fact that it was forged in protest and that Americans—yes, even black Americans—have the right to dismantle systems of oppression that destroy the lives of our people. Sparked by the Ferguson uprising, a generation of protesters from around the country—including in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Miami and Houston; Oakland, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; Washington, D.C.; and Berkeley, Calif.—have been baptized in radical fire, refusing to sell out or buy into a corrupt system that allows police officers to kill with impunity.<br /> <br /> The involvement of the National Basketball Association, inspired by Chicago Bulls point guard <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2014/12/8/7356267/derrick-rose-chicago-bulls-eric-garner">Derrick Rose</a>, and hip-hop luminaries such as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0LNMviSTTg">J. Cole</a>, <a href="http://www.stltoday.com/entertainment/music/kevin-johnson/talib-kweli-dead-prez-cornel-west-speak-up-for-ferguson/article_e0eafa86-21e2-5e75-8575-ec62647c763a.html">Talib Kweli</a> and <a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/11/q-tip-keeps-crowd-chanting-at-ferguson-protest.html">Q-Tip</a> expanded the movement’s exposure, but 2014 belonged to the foot soldier. It has been sustained by a new generation of protesters and community activists, including Deray McKesson, Johnetta Elzie, Tef Poe and Erika Totten; groups such as the <a href="http://www.afro.com/d-c-youth-group-protests-ferguson-decision/">Black Youth Project 100</a> and <a href="https://www.change.org/p/washington-d-c-city-council-take-a-stand-against-jump-out-squads-in-washington-d-c-2">DCFerguson</a>; and the millions of people they have inspired.<br /> <br /> It belongs to the youths who refuse to romanticize the presence of an <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/dec/05/obama-ferguson-movement-oval-office-meeting">African-American president</a> who has positioned the relentless killing of black people as a manifestation of the mistrust between communities and law enforcement, instead of the continuation of this country’s legacy of lynching black bodies who are perceived as dangerous when not in shackles.<br /> <br /> Legendary poet and activist Amira Baraka taught us that if we ever find ourselves surrounded by enemies who won’t let us speak our own language, who ban our boom boom ba boom, then we’re in trouble so deep that it will probably take us several hundreds of years to get out.<br /> <br /> This is a generation of activists who recognize that we’re in deep trouble.<br /> <br /> Unconcerned by the cold, unrelenting gaze of white supremacy, they are the reason that the last moments and words of Michael Brown’s and Eric Garner’s lives—“<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23handsupdontshoot&amp;src=typd">Hands up, don’t shoot</a>!” and “<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ICantBreathe&amp;src=tyah">I can’t breathe,</a>” respectively—are being chanted around the world from Tokyo to Paris to Melbourne, Australia. They are marching to the drumbeat of a revolution born of love for black people—oom boom ba boom; oom boom ba boom; oom boom ba boom—and ignoring the barely sheathed hatred of those who have attempted to silence them.<br /> <br /> There have been those who have described this as the latest iteration of the civil rights movement, but as Malcolm X taught us, there can be no civil rights until we first have human rights. These protesters understand that the expectation of subdued civility in the face of the continued dehumanization of black life is evidence of the racism that this country was founded upon. They have challenged this nation’s love affair with itself by exposing the rotten core of its so-called democracy.<br /> <br /> They continue to speak hard truths to morally bankrupt power—bravely, consistently and unapologetically—and we are in their debt.<br /> <br /> <em>The Root proudly salutes our person of the year: the Protester.</em><br />  </p> <p><strong>Author Bio:<br /> <em>Kirsten West Savali is a cultural critic and senior writer for The Root, where she explores the intersections of race, gender, politics and pop culture. You can always find her where the good fight is—or good cookies. Follow her on <a href="https://twitter.com/KWestSavali">Twitter</a>.</em></strong></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From <a href="http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/12/the_root_names_2014_the_year_of_the_protester.html?wpisrc=topstories">The Root</a></strong><strong> and republished by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/12/the-root-names-2014-the-year-of-the-protester.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/protestors" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">protestors</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/protests" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">protests</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/civil-rights" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">civil rights</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/malcolm-x" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">malcolm x</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ferguson" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ferguson</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/eric-garner" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">eric garner</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/michael-brown" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">michael brown</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/darren-wilson" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">darren wilson</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/police" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">police</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/riots" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">riots</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Kirsten West Savali</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 02 Jan 2015 14:39:57 +0000 tara 5566 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4540-year-protester#comments Ferguson Case Highlights Need for National Data on Police Shootings https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4475-ferguson-case-highlights-need-national-data-police-shootings <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 12/02/2014 - 13:32</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3ferguson.jpg?itok=r1ogYXik"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/3ferguson.jpg?itok=r1ogYXik" width="480" height="266" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p> </p> <p><strong>From The Chicago Reporter and republished by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/11/ferguson-case-highlights-need-for-national-data-on-police-shootings.php">New America Media</a></strong>:</p> <p> </p> <p>Michael Brown. Rekia Boyd. Oscar Grant. They were all unarmed black youths at the center of high-profile shootings that spurred protests about police use of excessive force and reignited debates about police relations with communities of color. Brown was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo., in August. Boyd was shot by an off-duty police officer in Chicago in 2012. Grant was shot by a transit cop in Oakland, Calif., five years ago.</p> <p> </p> <p>Brown’s death at the hands of police officer Darren Wilson, who was not indicted by a St. Louis grand jury on Monday, has become the focal point for a growing national movement to address allegations of police brutality and violence. Yet despite skepticism about police conduct in African-American and Latino communities -- reflected in viral hashtags like #HandsUpDontShoot -- there are no reliable statistics on how often police kill civilians of any race. The Department of Justice and the FBI keep some numbers, but the nation’s nearly 18,000 law enforcement agencies aren’t required to report these deaths or complaints against officers.</p> <p> </p> <p>Those on the frontlines in Ferguson, advocates for greater police accountability and policing experts say the numbers could reveal the extent of police misconduct nationwide and be a catalyst for reform.</p> <p> </p> <p>The lack of available statistics “hides the truth and scope of this problem, which is real, vast – and not new,” said Christina Swarns, the chief litigator for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, in an interview before the grand jury decision.</p> <p> </p> <p>“Ferguson obviously brought the crisis in focus, but we and others across the country have been deeply concerned at the rate at which African-Americans are hurt and killed in the course of law-enforcement encounters. The absence of the documentation really undermines the effort to expose how horrific this is, because the instinct is for many people to characterize these things as one-offs and aberrations.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Lack of data on police use of deadly force</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>Between 2008 and 2013, the FBI recorded 2,480 “justifiable homicides” by police officers — an average of 413 homicides a year. The statistics, which are tracked via the agency's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, constitute the closest thing to a federal database of police shootings.</p> <p> </p> <p>However, the FBI’s count and definition of a justifiable homicide, which includes deaths by firearms, other weapons and physical attacks, is based on police investigations, not findings from judicial bodies or medical examiners. In addition, only about 750 of the nation’s nearly 18,000 law enforcement agencies, or 4 percent, submit their numbers. The Chicago and Rockford police departments are the only two police agencies in the state that report their justifiable homicides, according to Illinois Uniform Crime Reporting Program Manager Terri Hickman. The state has about 900 law enforcement agencies.</p> <p> </p> <p>Researchers contend that the FBI figures are inherently flawed, and the number of deaths is underreported.</p> <p> </p> <p>Most police officers never discharge their guns over the course of their careers, statistics indicate. And experts say that even if all law-enforcement departments contributed to the report, many small- and medium-sized departments would likely have only a few or no shootings to disclose.</p> <p> </p> <p>That fact does little to dissuade activists from pressing for more police transparency.</p> <p> </p> <p>Charlene Carruthers, national coordinator of the Black Youth Project 100, based in Chicago, said she and other black Chicagoans don’t need convincing that the nation must curb civilian deaths at the hands of police. But some people “holding political and economic power” aren’t convinced, she said, making national data on the deaths crucial to “organize and change the system as it is.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Brown’s death and the national conversation around excessive police force have motivated activists to “deepen our analysis of what’s happening here,” said Carruthers, who has traveled to Ferguson as part of the group’s work to organize black youth.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Mark Iris, the executive director of the Chicago Police Board for 21 years before stepping down, agrees that there should be more accurate national statistics on police shootings. The board helps decide discipline for cases of alleged police misconduct and nominates candidates for superintendent of police.</p> <p> </p> <p>But Iris said the proliferation of Tasers as a firearm alternative, increased firearms instruction and training on how to deal with civilians in mental health crisis have likely reduced the number of people killed by police in the past several decades.</p> <p> </p> <p>Police departments across the country drastically revised their use of force policies after a 1985 Supreme Court ruling that limited its use to situations in which an officer is in pursuit of a suspect who he believes poses a serious threat of death or injury to him. Before then, many departments allowed officers to use any means necessary to end a pursuit, said Iris, who these days lectures at Northwestern University.</p> <p> </p> <p><br /> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/2ferguson_1.jpg" style="height:417px; width:625px" /></p> <p> </p> <p>He said the 24-7 news cycle and Internet have created an environment where a shooting “will get national and international coverage instantaneously in a way that wouldn’t happen 20 years ago.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Iris said this creates a perception that there are more police shootings. “I would be very surprised if the number of shootings in Chicago today is anything close to what it was in 1970,” he said.</p> <p> </p> <p>Still, Iris and other experts argue that more data would benefit police departments, not just civilians. Curious police chiefs might want to compare their department’s use of force with other departments that have a similar size or serve similar populations and determine if there are best practices used elsewhere that they can adopt, Iris said.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Advocates demand more police accountability</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>The lack of national data on police use of deadly force is a piece of a larger problem, according to supporters of more federal oversight of policing.</p> <p> </p> <p>Historically, the United States has had “a national problem around race and policing that has to be addressed,” Swarns said. “And the federal government needs to step up and acknowledge that and take some leadership.”</p> <p> </p> <p>One way of doing that, according to advocates for more police accountability, would be passing the End Racial Profiling Act, which is stalled in Congress.</p> <p> </p> <p>The bill, which has received increased attention since Brown’s death, prohibits law enforcement from engaging in racial profiling; requires local governments and police to "maintain adequate policies and procedures for eliminating racial profiling”; and authorizes the attorney general to award funds for collecting data related to racial profiling while developing a system of best practices.</p> <p> </p> <p>A petition to the Obama administration and key federal agencies from the activist network Color of Change lists the bill along with a slate of demands for increased federal oversight of policing, including:</p> <p> </p> <p>“A comprehensive, streamlined, public national-level database of police shootings, excessive force, misconduct complaints, traffic and pedestrian stops, and arrests, broken down by race and other demographic data.”</p> <p> </p> <p>Department of Justice civil rights and criminal probes into "discriminatory policing, excessive force, and death or injury by police" in every state.</p> <p> </p> <p>In 1994, Congress ordered the Department of Justice to compile numbers on the use of excessive police force. However, no report on the topic has been published since then.</p> <p> </p> <p>Swarns said state and county prosecutors work “hand-in-hand” with local law enforcement, which is why she suggests that an impartial agency investigate -- and when appropriate -- prosecute shootings to avoid bias.</p> <p> </p> <p>However, local law enforcement could be motivated to do a better job, she said. The federal government could require police departments with a history or pattern of civilian killings to address the problem in order to receive funding.</p> <p> </p> <p>“If the fact of multiple police shootings is in itself not an incentive for people to change policies,” Swarns said, “then I think a bigger incentive is money.”</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>From The Chicago Reporter and republished by our content partner <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2014/11/ferguson-case-highlights-need-for-national-data-on-police-shootings.php">New America Media</a></strong></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/ferguson" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ferguson</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/police" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">police</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/darren-wilson" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">darren wilson</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/michael-brown" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">michael brown</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/police-brutality" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">police brutality</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/grand-jury" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">grand jury</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Adeshina Emmanuel</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Tue, 02 Dec 2014 18:32:51 +0000 tara 5475 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/4475-ferguson-case-highlights-need-national-data-police-shootings#comments Three Years After SB 1070, Fear of Police Remains Rampant https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2301-three-years-after-sb-fear-police-remains-rampant <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Fri, 03/29/2013 - 09:43</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2mediumsb1070.jpg?itok=1N6go1J_"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/2mediumsb1070.jpg?itok=1N6go1J_" width="480" height="268" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> From <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/03/fear-distrust-of-police-rampant-three-years-after-sb-1070.php">New America Media</a>:</p> <p>  </p> <p> PHOENIX, Ariz. -- Police pulling people over for minor infractions and asking for documents, rape victims too afraid to call the police, children living in fear of having their parents taken away. These were some of the stories shared by community members and immigrant advocates in Arizona, who testified before a state civil rights board this week on the enforcement of a state immigration law that they say has increased racial profiling and police mistrust.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “SB 1070 is being used as a tool to intimidate and hurt communities," said Lydia Guzman, the national chairman of the League of United Latin American Citizens’ (LULAC) Immigration Committee, to the board.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Almost three years after the bill was signed into law making it mandatory for police to contact immigration authorities if they suspect someone is in the country illegally, the Arizona Civil Rights Advisory Board (ACRAB) heard testimony from undocumented immigrants themselves.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The board is a volunteer group of bipartisan members appointed by the governor that has the power to make recommendations to different state agencies, but doesn’t create policy.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Dan Pochoda, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), said that a pronouncement from the board could have a deterrence effect, helping to curb racial profiling by law-enforcement agencies in the state.</p> <p>  </p> <p> For example, in 2008, the board wrote a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) urging an investigation into alleged racial profiling by the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. It also asked immigration authorities to rescind a 287(g) agreement that allowed deputies to act as immigration officers. In both cases, pressure from the board as well as others yielded results, prompting a DOJ investigation and the reversal of the 287 (g) agreement.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “They can put pressure and make public statements, even if they can’t order a particular sheriff to change practices,” said Pochoda. Pochoda urged the board to recommend that law enforcement start tracking data and statistics of traffic stops to detect racial profiling and have policies to prohibit the referral of victims and witnesses of crimes to immigration authorities.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Board chairman Jeff Lavender said he would look into the possibility of making such a recommendation. Pochoda also addressed the situation of Dreamers, who are in the process of applying for deferred action, and sometimes are subject to detention by police officers who are unclear about their immigration status due to SB 1070 provisions.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Cesar Valdes, was pulled over by Phoenix police over his car’s registration – that turned out not to be expired- but was held for almost a full day until immigration could confirm he was applying for deferred action.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “There has to be something in place, because I’m not the only one,” said Valdes in his testimony. “There’s been several cases of Dreamers like me [who] have been detained and put in detention for more than 20 hours.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Dulce Juarez, a coordinator of the immigrant rights project for ACLU, said the group has documented over 500 calls through its hotline since the implementation of SB 1070.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The ACLU has identified cases in which police questioned witnesses and victims of crimes about their immigration status, and passengers in vehicles with no reasonable suspicion of any crime being committed.</p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumundocumentedimmigrants_0.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 398px;" /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>State of Fear </strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> The board heard a wide array of testimony that emphasized how SB 1070 has been used as an excuse to racially profile people or an intimidation tactic.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Guzman from LULAC testified about the case of an 11-year-old girl who was raped. The rape went unreported, and her pregnancy carried on as she lived under the threat that her rapist was going to report her family to immigration authorities. The case was finally reported to police when it come to Guzman’s attention.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “This could have been caught earlier,” Guzman said.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Several mothers testified about feeling unsafe. “I’m scared of taking my child to school, and I’m also afraid to go to the store. I’m worried about my husband when he goes to work, because I don’t know if he’ll return,” said Rosalba Posadas, an undocumented immigrant.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Others like Maria Vargas, are worried about the safety of their children in school. “We’re afraid of these people [who] are volunteers of the sheriff. We don’t know who they are and they’re patrolling our children’s schools,” said Vargas, referring to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office posse that mobilized in response to school shootings.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The majority of the testimonies detailed encounters with police officers by Latino citizens and immigrants, where the reason for the stop was a minor traffic violation or no violation at all. For those who are undocumented, it triggered a process of deportation.</p> <p>  </p> <p> SB 1070 was enjoined as soon as it took effect on July 29, 2010 by federal judge Susan Bolton in the District Court of Phoenix, blocking several parts of it including a provision that made it a state crime to be an undocumented immigrant. Another part -known as section “2b”- took effect after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted the injunction on June 2012, making it mandatory for police to ask for documents.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “It become very clear that the section 2b was really a legalization [of] racial profiling,” said Isabel Garcia, attorney and director of the pro-immigrant coalition Derechos Humanos in Tucson, Arizona.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Garcia added her voice to that of several other civil and human rights groups like the ACLU that have hotlines to document allegations of racial profiling and other forms of police abuse connected to immigration enforcement.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “The difference between Phoenix and Tucson is that in Tucson you’re deported within 2 hours,” she said, due to the proximity to Mexico and the presence of a Border Patrol station.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “We heard some very powerful stories, so many brave people [who came] here and admitted their status to us, “ she said. Flores was appointed to the board by former Democratic governor and now secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.</p> <p>  </p> <p> “I didn’t even know that there was a board,” said Viridiana Hernández, a founder of Team Awesome, a Latino vote mobilization group and a Dreamer. “What I hate about this forum is that we come and talk, it happens year [after] year. My question is what are you going to do as a Civil Rights Advisory Board?”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <a href="http://newamericamedia.org/2013/03/fear-distrust-of-police-rampant-three-years-after-sb-1070.php">New America Media</a></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/sb-1070" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">SB 1070</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/arizona" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Arizona</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/arizona-immigration-laws" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">arizona immigration laws</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/immigration-laws" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">immigration laws</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/illegal-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">illegal immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/police" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">police</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/detaining-illegal-immigrants" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">detaining illegal immigrants</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/us-mexico-border-0" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">us-mexico border</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/racial-profiling" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">racial profiling</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Valeria Fernandez</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">New America Media</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Fri, 29 Mar 2013 13:43:08 +0000 tara 2601 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/2301-three-years-after-sb-fear-police-remains-rampant#comments An NYPD Officer Analyzes the Controversial ‘Stop and Frisk’ Debate https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1402-nypd-officer-analyzes-controversial-stop-and-frisk-debate <div class="field field-name-field-cat field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/news-features" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">News &amp; Features</a></div></div></div><span class="submitted-by">Submitted by tara on Tue, 07/24/2012 - 22:39</span><div class="field field-name-field-image field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="og:image rdfs:seeAlso" resource="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumpolicestopandfrisk.jpg?itok=rHtWDOHt"><img typeof="foaf:Image" src="https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/mediumpolicestopandfrisk.jpg?itok=rHtWDOHt" width="480" height="299" alt="" /></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>  </p> <p> The summer of 2012 has not been kind to U.S. law enforcement officials. As Occupy Wall Street protests subsided, the momentum shifted away from America’s financial sector and toward the long simmering issue of police-community relations.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Spurred on by the Trayvon Martin shooting, many citizens around the nation redirected their protests and rallied against ‘illegal and unwarranted’ stops by the police. The Federal Court in New York City added more public pressure by granting approval of a class-action suit brought against the NYPD for “suspicionless stops and frisks.” The court’s approval of the suit was bolstered by an American Civil Liberties Union study related to stop-and-frisk data collected by the NYPD. The culmination of these incidents has kept the stop-and-frisk on the public’s mind. While protests increase nationwide, academics and media commentators from across the nation have joined the debate.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Officials in New York City have only given a lukewarm response to the mounting criticism against them. As crime numbers perennially peak during summer in the Big Apple, the mayor and the police commissioner are caught in the crossfire from a city outraged by increased violence, yet unnerved by a police force eager to confront criminals in the street. Politicians from both the city and state have joined the chorus demanding action against the rise in felony shootings taking place as the mercury rises.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Instead of addressing concerns based on existing police data, Bloomberg has decided to soft-step the issue while the barbs keep coming. To date, Mayor Bloomberg has only repeated his stance on the stop-and-frisk issue by suggesting the NYPD’s tactics have removed weapons off the streets and saved lives.</p> <p>  </p> <p> On June 10, the mayor visited the First Baptist Full Gospel Church of Brownsville and defended his stop-and-frisk policy. According to the <em>New York Times</em>, Bloomberg stated, “We are not going to walk away from a strategy that we know saves lives. At the same time, we owe it to New Yorkers to ensure that stops are properly conducted and carried out in a respectful way.”  The mayor went on to add, “[B]y making it hot to carry, the NYPD is preventing guns from being carried on our streets. That is our real goal--preventing violence before it occurs, not responding to the victims after the fact.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Defending New York City’s crime-fighting strategies with great success for many years, Commissioner Raymond Kelly has finally begun to show fatigue. During a city council hearing on public safety, the commissioner finally broke his silence on the issue. “What have you said about how to stop this violence?” Snapped Kelly, “What have the leaders of these communities of color said? What is their tactic and strategy to get guns off the street? I asked you for a solution to the problem of violence in these communities of color. I haven’t heard it…People are upset about being stopped, yet what is the answer?”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Many criminal justice professionals, however, are not convinced. Law Professors Jeffrey Fagan and David Rudovsky point to a minor drop in shootings from 2002 to 2011, (1892 and 1821 respectively) but cite a substantial rise in the number of people stopped in NYC. The professors suggest with fewer than one hundred thousand people stopped in 2002 that “the police are looking for guns in all the wrong places.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> Perhaps the greatest critic of the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy is the A.C.L.U. Their May 9 press release includes encouraging and easily digestible statistics culled from the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk database. The A.C.L.U. report emerged as the most sound-byte ready statistics for public consumption. Highlights of the stop-and-frisk data include:</p> <p>  </p> <p> *More than 685,000 people were stopped by the NYPD in 2011, up from 97,000 stops in 2002 when Bloomberg took office…more than a 600 percent increase.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *87 percent of those stopped were Black or Hispanic, while 9 percent were White.</p> <p>  </p> <p> * More young Black men were stopped by the NYPD in 2011 than there are young Black men in NYC.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *Only 1.9 percent of those frisked in 2011 were in possession of a weapon.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Following the mayor’s church speech, the <em>New York Times</em> ran an editorial on June 11, 2012 from Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, an attorney representing the class–action petitioners in the civil suit against the city. The counselor’s criticism echoed the A.C.L.U. stating, “If the NYPD stops –and-frisks people to deter crime, rather than based on reasonable suspicion that the person stopped engaged in crime, the stop-and-frisk policy is unconstitutional.”</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>What The Law Says About Stop-And-Frisks</strong></p> <p> Looking briefly at both sides of the argument, opinions come easily on the stop-and-frisk issue --  particularly if one resides in an area of higher crime. But does being stopped by the police constitute a claim for a class-action lawsuit? A quick overview of the law may help.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Stop-and-frisk encounters have their legal rooting in the Bill of Rights. The 4th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution has been the guiding principle behind government searches and seizures. Namely the 4th Amendment limits police power and protects personal liberties.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In 1968 two court cases outlined standards the government must meet and mandated police officers to have “constitutionally adequate reasonable grounds for conducting searches.” The <em>Terry v. Ohio</em> case discussed in most legal forums is quite popular, but the lesser cited case of <em>Sibron v. New York</em> also has a great bearing on how the police conduct themselves during stop-and-frisk encounters.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> Today the Supreme Court still stresses the importance of search warrants when conducting a search; however the court has repeatedly recognized and supported “exceptions” to the 4th amendment. Based on “carefully drawn” circumstances, good faith exceptions (such as an emergency or a police officer’s fear of injury) permit a police officer to frisk a person for a weapon without a warrant. These frisks only apply when an officer has ‘reasonable suspicion’ that the person has engaged in criminal activity.</p> <p>  </p> <p> What causes concern for many is the number of searches and frisks conducted by police across the country. Clearly an alarming number of frisks and arrests take place without warrants leading to the A.C.L.U.’s analysis in New York City, but are the circumstances leading to stop-and-frisks reasonable? For that part of the discussion, ultimately, one has to analyze each situation individually, without bias, and in full view of the larger picture of violent crime. Here is where conjecture dominates the discussion.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumnypdpolicecar.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 450px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Are We Denying Reality?</strong></p> <p> While the bulk of articles discussing stop-and-frisk scenarios in the U.S. are overwhelming, most reporting relies on anecdotal scenarios, with limited statistical data to support any argument. Most stop-and-frisk tales involve subtle hints of racial profiling and rarely give a well-balanced perspective as to “why” random people are being inconvenienced. But instead of curtailing the volley of criticism, New York’s Mayor Bloomberg continues to dance around the issue. Bloomberg has cautiously avoided a meaningful dialogue on the issue during his final term in office.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In an effort to deflect criticism of rampant profiling in the NYPD, Bloomberg stated, “If we stopped people based on census numbers, we would stop many fewer criminals, recover many fewer weapons, and allow many more violent crimes to take place. We will not do that. We will not bury our heads in the sand.” To illustrate his point, the mayor stated the city would not “deny reality” relating to who we stop-and-frisk.  Bloomberg used examples of stopping men versus women or younger people versus the elderly in the pursuit of most violent criminals.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Much of the stop-and-frisk data also denies the reality of the culture within the NYPD. While nobody denies the precipitous rise in stop-and-frisk reports (referred to as UF-250 reports, or 250s within the department), one cannot draw meaningful conclusions from their numbers. Simply put, every employee within the NYPD knows that FAR more people were ‘tossed’ during the highest recorded crime period in New York’s history. On paper, almost 43,000 people were stopped and frisked in 1989 compared to more than 685,000 last year.</p> <p>  </p> <p> The simple fact is, nobody cared to track the data in the old days, so the reports were not completed. Years ago, an investigation by the Civilian Complaint Review Board discovered similar findings. The C.C.R.B. reported only one in 30 encounters resulted in a UF-250 form being prepared. Blaming the police for a rise in unlawful stops based on 250 numbers is as illogical as blaming the increase due to a higher caffeine intake in cops today. After all, coffee franchises in New York City have increased more than 600 percent in recent years too.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> During less politically correct times, former police commissioner Howard Safir had a significantly different perspective on the stop-and-frisk issue. According to a December 1, 1999 New York <em>Newsday</em> article, Safir was quoted as saying, “We stop individuals on the street in numbers consistent with the descriptions provided by crime victims.” Commissioner Safir repeated this sentiment on many occasions. It pays to note, though, police-community relations were more strained during the Giuliani administration, and Kelly was hired to ease tensions after the Amadou Diallo/Abner Louima incidents.</p> <p>  </p> <p> But Ray Kelly could deflect far more criticism had he pitched the angle differently. There is an enormous body of data, albeit not fit for politically correct ears, suggesting the police go where the crime goes. After all, policing is a ‘reactive’ industry by nature; despite attempts to be ‘proactive community builders.’ As long as understaffed police departments choose to dispatch cops to 911 calls for service, instead of having officers walk a regular beat and learning about the communities they serve, the job can never be truly proactive.  Also, the fact remains that most of America’s 40,000 police departments are <em>not </em>serving densely populated urban areas where ‘the cop on the block’ could even succeed.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Where The Crime Is</strong></p> <p> One need not be a police chief, an exalted judge, or even possess a Ph.D. in criminal justice to know there is a worldwide connection between crime and poverty. Researchers have spent decades studying the relationship between the two. Most lay persons are aware also, but criminal justice professionals know the connection is not causal. Of course, not all poor people commit violent crime, so research continues.</p> <p>  </p> <p> However, existing data would go a great way toward deflecting criticism against political leaders across the country. A cursory analysis of 911 calls for service would deflect much criticism about the racial breakdown of perpetrators sought by police. Not only does the body of data exist, but the data is recorded and easily available. On the back end, one can analyze existing police reports to see exactly who is wanted for committing violent crimes on America’s streets.  To date, most data is not released to the public due to privacy concerns of crime victims and resistance of police agencies.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Understanding the privacy concerns of crime victims, the Department of Justice has collected crime data in an anonymous and empirically respected instrument called the National Crime Victimization Survey. Conducted since 1973, the NCVS is one of the largest continuous surveys conducted by the federal government.  The survey obtains information about offenders who commit violent victimizations from the victim who experienced the crime.</p> <p>  </p> <p> <img alt="" src="/sites/default/files/mediumstopandfrisk.jpg" style="width: 600px; height: 339px; " /></p> <p>  </p> <p> The victim is asked to provide information on age, race, and gender of the offender, and other important variables. Variables worth noting are the relationship status of the victim and offender, and if both the victim and/or offender was drunk or on drugs. Much of the same data is collected by police agencies nationally, but is not easily shared, even abstractly.  Fortunately, the NCVS data is highly recognized by criminal justice professionals worldwide. The obvious limitation pertaining to the NCVS is that the information is given voluntarily.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Utilizing figures from the NCVS reports, one can learn much about the typical violent offender. For purposes of this article, data on incidents committed by unknown perpetrators have been cited. Robbery statistics are most useful since most violent robberies involve persons unknown to each other.   (One cannot thank the Bureau of Justice Statistics enough for their timely assistance and professionalism with regard to the latest data on stranger crimes.) </p> <p>  </p> <p> The Justice Department’s data comes from the 2008 and 2010 surveys. Interesting to note is a 1998 study that specifically looked at 12 cities including New York City. Of the myriad stats and figures, some highlights of the studies include the following:</p> <p>  </p> <p> *In the 12 city study, 84 percent of single offender incidents committed against a Black victim was committed by a Black offender. In NYC, 90 percent of Black victims had black offenders.  Four percent of Black victims had White offenders. Nationally, a majority of White victims (55 percent) classified their offenders as non-White or of an undetermined race.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *The percentage of victimizations reported to police remained nearly stable between 2001 and 2010.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *With regard to robberies, 83 percent of male victims listed the offender as a stranger or an unknown person. Fifty-seven percent of women listed the offender as a stranger or an unknown person.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *Households below the poverty line were victims of burglary at a rate more than two times higher than households earning over 75k per year or higher.</p> <p>  </p> <p> *In multiple offender robbery incidents, crime victims reported white offenders 9.9 percent of the time and a Black offender 53 percent. Mixed-raced offenders were reported 15 percent of the time, and 20 percent were of an unknown race.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Is A Solution Possible? </strong></p> <p>  </p> <p> Like most social problems, one needs to accurately pinpoint the cause before fixing it. In the case of stop-and-frisks, many simultaneous initiatives must be implemented in a long-term model. The solutions must involve dedicated input from all the stakeholders in the matter and they need not collaborate for success. Lawmakers, law enforcers, community leaders, and the public must all modify their actions to encourage positive change.</p> <p>  </p> <p> To the credit of New York's mayor, he is already supportive of a new way of moving forward. Borrowing a phrase used by President Clinton, Bloomberg said at the church service, "...I believe the practice needs to be mended, not ended." If any change is to happen, the mayor needs to be more vocal on the issue, instead of taking a hands-off approach and letting public outrage dictate policy.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Today's 'new media' permits anyone with a computer to shape the dialogue and change others’ minds with half-baked facts and misinformation. Editorials, blogs, and other instant media platforms have the power to mobilize the masses in ways politicians are discovering since the Arab Spring demonstrations of 2011. Our leaders must learn to be more responsive.</p> <p>  </p> <p> One can argue that gun buyback programs have been widely successful but not widely implemented on a national scale. Ray Kelly says the program has collected 7,600 guns since 2006. By comparison, the NYPD seized 780 guns last year, but the bulk of the seizures were through more lengthy and costly drug investigations.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Community leaders can continue to address the more serious issues of violence in the inner cities. In NYC, local ministers and community activists have become outraged about guns and violence on the street. A recent daytime shooting of a 3-year-old on a Brooklyn playground has redirected recent rhetoric away from police stops and toward illegal guns.</p> <p>  </p> <p> By showing focused leadership and building positive connections, community leaders can assist greatly with the disconnect between cops and residents. By speaking out about violence and the disproportionate levels of crime in poorer communities, residents can learn to trust and depend on the police instead of viewing cops as an occupying army. Too many community organizations scrutinize the police instead of criticizing the criminals undermining their quality of life. After all, criminals are a far greater threat to the well-intentioned then cops are.</p> <p>  </p> <p>  The most effective way to reduce crime is by removing the criminals. Social programs also work, but they require long-term dedication and resources to be most effective. When a community has armed felons engaged in violent criminal enterprises, social programs have missed their mark. By having a justice system fail to remove criminals, all of society is jeopardized. Judges across the nation, and specifically in New York City, deserve to treat their communities better and enforce existing penalties. Stronger sentences for violent offenders and higher bail would selectively remove criminals and decrease future criminal incidents. More importantly, fewer incidents would lead to fewer stop-and-frisks.</p> <p>  </p> <p> Finally, the police need to radically change how street encounters are conducted. If a police officer routinely pats down every person he stops, then he probably is doing his job poorly -- even if he discovers illegal weapons. The courts have recognized this fact since 1968, but, clearly, bad searches are still conducted.</p> <p>  </p> <p> In many stop-and-frisk encounters, the cops on patrol take time to explain why someone was stopped and even have police dispatchers repeat offender descriptions over their radio. Of course this remedy only works in specific situations. Often, the jarring nature of the stop eliminates  all degrees of reason. Existing tensions play a big part too. If a career criminal has been ‘tossed’ and arrested by police hundreds of times, how likely will a courteous conversation take place? Likewise, is it reasonable to expect the tone of the police officer to be of the same reverence toward the career criminal as it is with a community elder? Working in a vacuum, things would be different, but as humans, emotions must be factored into the situation. </p> <p>  </p> <p> While both the police and the community strive to co-exist in a civil and stress-free environment, violent situations certainly affect the outcome. Taken as a whole, this does not permit the police to circumvent the rights of the individual.  Likewise, if a police officer is following the mandated rules, then he should be supported. It’s important to remember the courage and sacrifice America’s law enforcement officers endure to protect life and liberty. Also worth noting is the fact that as violent crime has seen historic lows, rising numbers of police officers are being killed and injured while stopping violent criminals on the street.  </p> <p>  </p> <p> <strong>Author Bio:</strong></p> <p> <em>Eugene Durante is a contributing writer at</em> Highbrow Magazine. <em>He</em> <em>is a Police Officer and former Welfare Fraud Investigator. Born in Brooklyn, Durante is a fourth-generation resident of Coney Island. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.</em></p> </div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-tags field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/nypd" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">NYPD</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/police" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">police</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/new-york-police" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">New York Police</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/mayor-bloomberg" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Mayor Bloomberg</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/stop-and-frisk" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">stop and frisk</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/crime" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">crime</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/violence" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">violence</a></div><div class="field-item odd" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/aclu" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">ACLU</a></div><div class="field-item even" rel="dc:subject"><a href="/department-justice" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Department of Justice</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Eugene Durante</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-pop field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Popular:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">not popular</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photographer field-type-text field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Photographer:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">AP</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-bot field-type-list-boolean field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Bottom Slider:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Out Slider</div></div></div> Wed, 25 Jul 2012 02:39:26 +0000 tara 1281 at https://www.highbrowmagazine.com https://www.highbrowmagazine.com/1402-nypd-officer-analyzes-controversial-stop-and-frisk-debate#comments