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Assignment 4
The Banning of Minor Vehicular Stops
Many states and cities in the US, including Pennsylvania, Los Angeles, and Seattle, are reimagining better ways of enforcing traffic regulations in such settings. For a long time, it has been debated whether increased policing is the appropriate solution to societal wrongdoings. This matter is particularly problematic in societies that face diversity challenges—the United States is a perfect example. For instance, some US cities and states have noted that traffic stops are sometimes used as ‘fishing expeditions’ to disproportionately target people of color. I believe the US government needs to change methods of promoting traffic safety to prevent routine humiliation and needless deaths of many Black and Hispanic drivers at the hands of police. Banning traffic stops across states and cities in the United States will bring positive changes to the justice system and the affected communities.
Traffic stops result in more harm than good, especially since police in states like North Carolina, Washington & California seem to target drivers from minority communities. According to Horn (2020), Black drivers were 63 percent more likely to be pulled over in North Carolina than their white counterparts. Although contraband was more likely to be found in white drivers, Black drivers were 115 percent more likely to be searched during a traffic stop than whites . The highly racialized nature of traffic stops and searchers erodes community trust in the police, even though most of these interactions lead to an arrest. Research indicates that nearly half of Black Americans have very little confidence that police comply with professional, statutory, and constitutional norms (Horowitz, 2007). As a result, this lack of trust and confidence implies that the police do not control crime effectively.
At the same time, traffic often stops exact a psychological toll, particularly for Black and Latin Americans who continuously experience collective trauma from police violence. Various studies have documented a correlation between police traffic stops and mental health across various groups . Jackson et al. (2019) mentioned that emotionally-charged and stressful interactions with police officers lead to feelings of trauma and stigma. According to Del Toro et al. (2019), police stops may unintentionally influence youths to continuously engage in criminal behavior due to an increased rate of contact with law enforcement. Since traffic stops are often characterized by aggressiveness from the police, they affect the mental health and general well-being of young people.
In addition, proactive policing techniques like traffic stops reduce the public’s willingness to cooperate during criminal investigations. When there are significant opinion differences concerning the public’s role in crime prevention, achieving effective public participation in crime control programs would take much work. The opinion differences often occur when police disproportionately implement traffic stops, making some members of the public appear to be naturally criminals. According to Schwartz & Brownstein (2015), some people may sometimes deviate from desirable social values. Using illustrations from the left realist theory, the researchers mentioned that policing decisions are often designed to justify massive repressive actions targeting members of specific working classes and racial or ethnic groups.
According to proponents of traffic stops, such policies help reduce crime and accidents while minimizing the impact of crashes. However, evidence suggests that the rate of traffic accidents is not associated with state patrol traffic stops . In most US cities, police have an essentially unmonitored ability to initiate traffic stops due to laws prohibiting innocuous activities, like having objects hanging from a rearview mirror. Police initially used marijuana as a reason to initiate traffic stops—it was believed that the legalization of the drug would reduce racial disparities in traffic stops. Although the searches for Black, Latino, and White drivers all decreased when marijuana was removed as a reason for vehicular inspections, the racial disparities in traffic stops have persisted.
To conclude, the harms of traffic stops far outweigh any potential public safety benefits regardless of intentions, as illustrated by the deeply entrenched racial disparities in traffic enforcement and the continued killing of Black drivers. This essay has shown that traffic stops do not result in increased perceptions of safety among community members or trust in law enforcement agencies. Although traffic stops prevent misbehaviors like over-speeding, thereby contributing to decreased accidents and fatalities, this factor does not justify using such policies if they lead to life-threatening interactions. Also, it has been evident that emotionally-charged and stressful interactions affect the mental health of individuals experiencing such traumatic encounters. Lastly, traffic stops reduce public participation in crime prevention programs since the racial implementation of regulations creates a divide between various groups. Banning traffic stops across US cities and states is necessary to influence positive changes in the nation’s justice system and to promote the welfare of affected communities.
Assignment #3 Podcast
Youth gangs are widespread across the country, and they require special attention. Incorporating theories such as interactional theory can be helpful in comprehending the psychological processes involved in gang groups. After listening to the podcast, I thought the social disorganization theory best explains the involvement of Tommy Ross Shakur in crimes and gangs. The social disorganization theory was created by two criminology researchers called, Henry D. McKay and Shaw Clifford, in 1942 in Chicago. The theory states that location and the environment are mainly responsible for decisions made by individuals. The type of neighborhood or surrounding is vital in determining the illegal activities the youths engage in or the ones present in the environment. Shakur grew up in south-central Los Angeles, California. His family was respectable as his father was a Baptist minister and his mother a nurse. Shakur felt like his parents were not supporting his dreams as they wanted him to do something contrary to his passion. Shakur thus engaged in frequent conflicts with his father, who wanted him to follow in his footsteps of being a preacher or a minister even though Shakur had a passion for other things like karate or soccer. It was at this point that Shakur “began to really resent authority” (Ear Hustle 4). The disagreements made Shakur start disobeying his father’s orders. Shakur was whipped by his father anytime he misbehaved (Ear Hustle, 2017). He eventually started resenting authority and got involved in increased delinquency.
According to the article titled “Social Disorganization Theory,” McKay and Shaw revealed that crime did not happen randomly across the city but was at high rates in disadvantaged neighborhoods adjacent to or in commercial or industrial areas (Ear Hustle, 2017). Shakur grew up in a deprived neighborhood in South-central Los Angeles in 1980, which was surrounded by gang groups. Shakur decided to join one of the gangs after being attacked several times by various gang members at the age of 13 years. Shakur was approached by three young men who began teasing and bullying him. One of them took off his tacos and attempted to defend himself. There was nothing that Shakur could do to protect himself as they were three against one. Shakur states, “I was really mad. I was really upset. So, that’s when I decided that I would join a gang. I was 13 years old” (Ear Hustle, 2017, p. 5). Shakur was forced to make the decision due to his living environment. He gradually started associating himself with a specific person who was a member of the Eight Tray gang. Shakur was impressed by the culture of the gang, including the various gang and music signs, dance styles, and fashion that identified the actual gang members. He eventually joined the gang and was involved in crime in an attempt to impress his peers in the group.
The second article, titled “Criminology, explanations of the theory of social disorganization,” states that the residential places of individuals are more significant than the behavior of an individual when criminal actions are predicted and young individuals living in the areas learn crime through approval of culture within the deprived urban neighborhoods (Bond). The statistics help to explain why Ross Shakur Tommy was involved with crime and gangs. He was an innocent child, and experiencing firsthand bullying made him learn the tactics and implement them to be accepted into the group. At that point in his life as a young teenager, he got involved in different kinds of crimes, such as snatching purses, fighting at school, bullying other children, and stealing cars. Shakur did all that because he was “looking for acceptance…So if these guys were committing violent crimes, then I wanted to commit violent crimes, you know, more violent than them, I wanted to establish myself, you know, at a level that was beyond what they were capable of” (Ear Hustle, 2017, p. 6). Engaging in crime was not Shakur’s passion, as he only did it to impress the gang members and showcase his skills and capabilities.
We can thus comprehend that individuals living in neighborhoods with high rates of crime are forced to assimilate into the culture. Failure to be part of the group makes them at risk in the neighborhood as they will be the targets of the gang groups and might be tortured and bullied from time to time. Most teenagers and young people join gang groups to protect themselves from others. Shakur argued that he wanted to be accepted by the gang members, so he started emulating their actions and behaviors. He saw them as his role models and followed each step to become like them. Such surroundings require one to belong to a gang group in order to survive a gang attack. Shakur joined the Eight Tray Gangsters group, whose enemy was the Rollin 60s. Shakur killed one member of the Rollin 60s at the age of 19, which was the worst mistake to do as the gang revenged by killing his brother and mother.
Crime Prevention:
Below are various strategies that the community has implemented under Crime prevention through environmental designs (CPTED). All strategies implemented follow the CPTED principle of both structural and landscape analysis.
The above picture is of children’s park crime prevention through environmental designs (CPTED) has been used to increase security while preventing crime. Fencing is a landscape analysis intervention that can be used to prevent crime by creating a boundary. In addition to the fence, the use of proper lighting has been implemented to secure the place even further. This clears the risk of having any blind or dark corners that can facilitate crime.
The use of cameras and lighting to prevent crime has been well implemented by putting into consideration the structural analysis which looks at the interior of a premise. The use of cameras as a crime prevention tool allows for functional surveillance of a building either from outside or inside the structure. This gives the security a chance to have constant access to the structure in case of an incident but also reduces the risk of crime within the building. Adequate lighting is important to allow for visibility where all persons can be identified.
Landscape analysis in business premises is a key and important aspect to be considered including the entranceways and lighting. The above picture illustrates a business premise that has adequate lighting on its entrance way which means there is clear visibility coming into the building in the evening hours. The use of glass doors, entryway buzzer, and key fab are ways that increase crime prevention. Having all these functions installed at the entryway means that there is no direct access to the building without prior permission. Employees are assured of security since there is a security check at the entryway which prevents unauthorized persons from gaining access to the building. These features are part of the crime prevention environmental designs that increase security within the community.
Assignment #1
Name: Mark Primo
Professor: Satenik Margaryan
Course: CRJ 102
Date: 09/07/2022
Crimes-
For this assignment, I followed crime coverage in New York Times magazine. Throughout the week, there were several stories about crime published there. Here is the list of stories:
As Shooting Soar in Philadelphia, City is Awash in Guns: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/11/us/philadelphia-gun-violence-shootings.html.
Over the years, Philadelphia has had the highest records of shootings. However, only a small fraction of individuals arrested for using guns without permits are the ones triggering violence. City officials have argued that police should focus on managing unsolved shootings rather than looking out for dangerous individuals to reduce the number of individuals with unlicensed guns.
Albuquerque Police Detain Suspect in Killings of Muslim Men: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/09/us/albuquerque-muslim-killings.html
Several firearms were recovered from the house of the suspect arrested for the killing of two out of the four Muslim men. Police are still gathering evidence to charge the suspect with killing the other two men. The killings were a result of personal conflicts as the suspect was a Sunni Muslim who killed the victims due to anger at his daughter marrying a Muslim man from a Shia group.
Armed Man Is Killed After Trying to Breach FBI’s Cincinnati Office: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/08/11/us/fbi-cincinnati-shooting-news.
The man attempted to enter the office wearing body armor and fled to Clinton County, where he hid in the cornfield following gunfire exchange with the police. He refused to surrender, forcing the police to continue firing the gunshots leading to his death.
Bronx Boy, 14, Killed in New York City’s 2nd Teen Gun Death in Two Weeks: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/11/nyregion/teen-killed-shooting-fordham.html.
The boy was shot in his chest in the Bronx on Thursday morning. He was found in an apartment lobby in the Bronx and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. Police investigations are still ongoing, and no arrest has been made for the killings.
Based on the headlines in the New York Times article, crimes that are represented more than others are those of murder. Three out of the four headlines discuss murder, the killing of Muslim men, a man killed after an attempt to breach the Cincinnati office, and a 14-year-old boy killed. Only one headline talks about the cause of the crime, which is an increase in guns in the city of Philadelphia. Murder crimes have been on the rise since the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic, and it seems that the crimes were a major part of the news coverage. They were widely covered to raise awareness among citizens regarding existing criminal activities and enable them to protect themselves to avoid falling victim to such crimes.
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