Police Mistreatment and the Effect on Society

Running Head: POLICE MISTREATMENT AND EFFECT ON SOCIETY 1
Police Mistreatment and the Effect on Society
Autumn A. Moody
Christopher Newport University

POLICE MISTREATMENT AND EFFECT ON SOCIETY 2
Abstract
Police brutality is a problem in the United States that is expanding to multiple states. More media
coverage is portraying negative facets of some police officers and generalizing this idea that all
police officers are to blame. Racial tensions have been brewing between African Americans and
white authority figures. This racial tension between minorities and police officers is occurring
cross-culturally as well. The purpose of this research is to explore different threats to public
safety including rising fear of police officers, a shift in the family dynamic, and psychological
issues, while suggesting possible solutions to eliminate police brutality altogether. Some possible
solutions include improvement of the screening process, extensive training, and the inclusion of
the community.
Keywords: African American, public safety, police violence, police brutality

Police Mistreatment of Minorities in the United States
Authoritarian institutions are a necessity in any nation state. They enforce the laws set
upon the constituents by government officials, specifically the local and state branches of
government. Laws are set for the protection of the civilians and policing institutions are in place
for those working in that field to hold the law in place and ensure the abidance of the laws.
Police officers are to protect citizens and are a facet of government systems. Usually the
behaviors of police are not in the spotlight, constantly being scrutinized and this is because of the
trust that was placed into this institution. This trust has been strained and seemingly is
disappearing and becoming nonexistent in some communities. Things have taken a turn,
particularly in the United States. Policing is necessary however as of late, there have been
problems arising in many states across the country due to the actions of police officers being
negatively perceived by citizens. Though not all behaviors have been viewed as negative, the
majority of police news coverage has shown negative behaviors from police to citizens,
especially those who of the minority population (i.e. black, Hispanic). There have obviously
been incidents of police violence and abuse of power in the news recently and in some cases, the
result is the unfortunate death of unarmed minorities. Deaths of this nature have led to legitimacy
of police being questioned. Incidents of police brutality cause a negative perception of police and
can have an off-putting view of authority figures as a whole; this behavior portrayed by police is
even becoming a norm, shifting the perceptions and changing police-citizen interactions entirely.
Perceptions change behaviors through incidents such as police violence. A study conducted by
Ferguson and Bargh (2004) suggested social settings and contexts influence the perceptions of
individuals, leading to different behaviors depending on different situations. In other words, if a
civilian is has a neutral opinion of police, they will not have ill-will towards them. This will

change however when and if this individual begins seeing police violence and shootings of
civilians. This behavior is likely to alter the opinion and perception of police. These perceptions
are likely to shift the neutral opinion to a negative one.
Perceptions keep people safe; however the fear is shifting from those who break the law
to fear of authority figures. The possibility that perceptions are premature is apparent, however
with exposure to specific behaviors does have the power to change perceptions and even
behaviors and this is exactly what is happening in the citizen-police dynamic. Even though not
all citizens are directly experience police violence, the effects are still present to a wider range of
citizens. To parallel how an individual can shift their behaviors due to their environment,
discussing Albert Bandura and his experiment with children and the Bobo Doll would be
appropriate. His experiments were to support the social cognitive theory which stated not only
rewards and punishments were means of learning, but that seeing a behavior could influence and
change the behavior with imitation. He concluded that what we see also plays a role in how we
behave (Bandura, Ross, and Ross, 1961). The case cannot be made that civilians are seeing
police officers being violent to civilians therefore causing civilians to be violent to one another,
however the two studies become intertwined when discussing perceptions. Perceptions do not
need a direct experience with a behavior for the perception to be changed. If police officers did
not behave in police violence, the perceptions would likely be positive. However they have
shifted, similarly to how the children’s behaviors shifted to aggressiveness to the Bobo doll when
they were shown aggressive behaviors, and that opinion will still influence our everyday life.
These perceptions have led to mistrust and fear of authority, psychological issues, and a
shift in the family dynamic. Figure 1 shows a brief interpretation of the public safety effects of
police violence. By gaining an understanding of the problem the society faces, the hope is to

reach improved methods of screening and training practices of police, which will inevitably alter
the behaviors and perceptions of police officers.
The Policing System
Police serve the purpose of protection of all constituents; their purpose is to keep the
peace and public safety within a society through Federal, state, and local laws and to be of
assistance during emergencies (Police Officer). Knowing the purpose of policing is beneficial
when deciding what behavior is acceptable and what behavior is not. Surely, the overuse of
deadly force would be considered an unacceptable behavior. Institutions such as ProPupblica do
a fine job at investigating situations highlighting exploitation of the weak by the strong while
also shedding some light on those who citizens trust, specifically those who are supposed to
protect (i.e. police officers). The purpose of this independent and non-profit newsroom is “to
expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other
institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the
sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing” ("About Us - ProPublica," n.d.). Self-reported, detailed
accounts of 12,000 police homicides – police killings of civilians – were investigated from the
years of 1980 to 2012. This is an average of 375 killings by police officers over a 32 year period;
since the data only accounts for those who self-reported, there are possibly many more cases of
police homicides that are going unnoticed, unrepresented, and undetermined. In any case,
minorities are the ones who are more likely to be victims of these homicides. From reports filed
between 2010 and 2012, young black men are 21 times more likely than white mean to be killed
by police (Gabrielson, Grochowski-Jones, and Sagara, 2014). These statistics only do damage to
the already deteriorating opinion of police officers in many communities.

Being aware of the official purpose accompanied with these statistics calls into question
of how the public views police officers and authority in general with the discrepancy of equal
treatment. The discrepancy may have many negative consequences on the views of police and
even are occurring now with public safety issues being of the main concern. “The public is
divided regarding their attitudes toward the police, which is problematic as it hinders the police
from functioning effectively” (Lobnikar, Sotlar, and Modic, 2015). Because the purpose of
policing is to keep the public so seemingly doing the opposite leads to different negative
outcomes and have different domino effects on society. The discrepancy is clear; police need
society to cooperate in order to keep societies safe, yet they are the one perpetuating distaste for
authority. This is a major problem, especially when people’s lives are at stake.
Historically, the psychology of policing has been apparent. There is something that is
triggered when power is granted to an individual. In 1971, Philip Zimbardo led a team of
researchers to conduct an experiment on personality traits and their ability to function as prisoner
or prison guard. 24 males who were deemed as psychologically sound were selected to be
participants in the study with 12 having the role of prisoner and 12 having the role of prison
guard. The experiment was to last for 14 days, but after 6 days the researchers ended the
experiment because situations were getting out of control. Guards began beating the prisoners,
refusing to let prisoners use a bathroom (leaving them to buckets in their cells that were not to be
emptied), removing mattresses, forcing the prisoners to be naked as punishment, and being
extremely cruel to the prisoners. This experiment suggest that those in power have a high chance
to become reckless with power, especially when they believe they are not under surveillance.
The research also suggests obedience of individuals is greater when they there is a norm
established. This happens all of the time in society. There is a norm in place in which police have

the power and should be respected, however what happens when the police officer may be
corrupt? Zimbaro’s research makes the case that behavior depends on the situation rather than
the personality traits of the individual (Zimbaro, Haney, Banks, and Jaffe, 1971). What this
means is that, because of the situation a police officer may be placed in, actions may vary.
Although the experiment was conducted in a prison setting, application can still be made for the
setting of a beat a police officer may have. There is still the assumption that police officers have
the most authority over a civilian, and if this authoritarian power is threatened, mischief can
occur and is actually occurring. The incidents of police violence are very real in today’s society
and are causing a disruption in everyday life of many people.
Minority Treatment
To reiterate, policing has a history that has been examined and although there have been
no conclusive evidence defining the causation of police brutality in regards to minorities, we
must not forget that whatever the causes may be, public safety is being threatened with this
newfound mistrust and fear in the policing system, psychological issues, and a shift in the family
dynamic.
When discussing treatment shown by police officers, there must be a comparison. To
show the police-citizen dynamic with different ethnic groups, the simplest comparison would be
that between white and black citizens. This comparison is most appropriate because the historical
comparison that has been publicized for centuries. According to a Gallup’s June 2013 Minority
Rights poll, results showed a quarter of black men from 18 to 34 years old claimed they had been
treated unfairly by the police in the last 30 days (Newport, 2014). There is a major discrepancy
in the treatment that minorities face on a daily basis. Even at the beginning stages of policing,

minorities have this stigma placed on them as a suspect in the American criminal justice system.
This is seen even in incarceration rates. African Americans do potentially commit more crimes in
America, but what if the case is really that they are being targeted in the very beginning? This
changes the whole dynamic of the situation. If a police officer has the inclination that someone is
guilty of something, the confirmation bias comes into play. A study conducted by Hill, Memon,
and McGeorge (2008) found that when the interviewers (in this case police officers would be the
interviewers) who held the expectation that the mock suspect was guilty, they were significantly
more inclined to ask questions that presumed the suspect was guilty.
There has been uproar between citizens against law enforcement because of the
perceptive that minorities are continuously being profiled against by police officers, however it is
important to explore if police are in fact targeting individuals based on race. For example, from
February 14 to March 31 in Richmond, the comparison was made between whites, blacks, and all
minorities when looking at the breakdown of traffic stops of driving eligible citizens. The
percentage of eligible drivers in the white community was 48 and the percentage of eligible
drivers in the black community was 50.6. Although there is not much of a difference between
eligible drivers in both races, of the 2,673 traffic stops, white citizens were stopped 859 times
compared to the 1,717 times black citizens were. Researchers tried to explore whether or not the
concentration of police officers in minority neighborhoods played a great role in these statistics,
but found no increase in traffic stops correlating to the increase in the black population (Smith
and Petrocelli, 2001).
The mental health aspect of public safety should not go unnoticed. Especially in the
African American community, there is not the automatic acceptance of mental illness however
because of police violence; the possibility of post traumatic stress disorder is there. Additionally,

there is negative connotation being placed upon black men, and this connotation can disrupt a
person’s everyday life depending on their environment. However, regardless of the environment,
there is this stigma that is seen from police officers and individuals who are not black of black
people. This stigma is not conducive to a successful and safe environment for anyone to live and
function in.
Civil rights era. In regards to differences in behaviors to different races, we must reflect
on the history of the United States. Slavery of African Americans did not end in the United
States until December 6, 1865 which was when the 13th Amendment was ratified. That was only
150 years ago and even then, there was a continuation of discrimination, segregation, and
excessive mistreatment of African Americans. Police were involved in such maltreatment and
only served to protect those of the White communities. In 1964, The Civil Rights Act did try to
minimalize discrimination specifically in terms of employment however discrimination is still a
problem in this country, not only against African Americans but against all minorities. In regards
to the minorities killed by police officers, the current President of the United States has made the
comment that racism is “deeply rooted” in our country (Boyer, 2014). As citizens, it is nice to
believe the system has changed, however in the past few years, particularly this past year there
was a spurt in the amount of maltreatment and killings from police officers to the people they
were supposed to protect.
Cross-cultural police relations. The United States is not the only country with racial
tension and hostility. For example, relations between police and minorities in Australia are
virtually the same as they are in this country. Australia has a long history of poor relations
between the civilians and police officers. Even in Britain and Canada, there is noticeable conflict
that arises with police and minorities. In these countries, the minority groups do not trust police

officers, they are afraid of police, and often feel targeted by the police to receive harassment and
violent treatment (Chan, 1997). This supports the theory that those in power may have the
tendency to lose sight of reality, leaning towards violence when they feel disrespected. From this
perspective, the police seem to be doing something unwarranted for minorities in multiple
countries to mistrust police officers. Because police are held to a higher standard, police may
misconstrue that to being placed above minorities altogether, forgetting that treatment should be
equal.
Negative implications. Reflecting on the psychology and history of police treatment, we
must now focus on the present state of police and their behavior. Police brutality is becoming a
major problem that has not been thought about for decades. However, the madness has begun
again leaving questions as to what must be done to combat. When thinking about the current
implications, perhaps mentally processing a scenario of a loved one being harasses and killed by
police will put things in perspective. Police officers have an entire government system backing
them up, however citizens must band together by the hundreds to make a difference. Because of
police violence, there have been many protests and actions with goals to eliminate these
inappropriate behaviors by police. The focus is on minorities but maltreatment is not subject o
only one race altogether. In a general sense, all peoples suffer from the effects of police violence.
Some of the major implications communities face due to this epidemic is psychological issues,
fear of the police, and a shift in the family dynamic and the effects will be detrimental to a
society if the problem makes no moves to improvement. The cycle is vicious and without any
intervention it will continue and inevitably worsen. Completing a more extensive police training,
informing school institutions, and getting the community involved are interventions that will
ensure police violence decreases, making for better public safety.

Current Events
Current events in the news play a major role in the way citizens perceive the police. Vice
versa, the media shapes the way authority figures see citizens. Media is sometimes the only
method people have to discern whether or not a certain type of person is good or bad. News and
television programs can be (and most times are) biased to the target audience. For example,
MTV’s Teen Mom is obviously targeted at teenagers that may be in similar situations; they may
be pregnant or they may even be teenage mothers themselves. This is just one example of how
the media has an influence on the viewers. Viewers look to media for guidance. Now presume
that television news stations, sitcoms, and reality shows are portraying only negative aspects of
African Americans and the program has a lot of views. If that negative image is the only
knowledge a person has about African Americans, then when there is an actual physical
interaction in the world, then that interaction has a high chance of it being awkward or negative
or even standoffish do to fear.
A problem that citizens is that although there have obviously been cases of misconduct
from police officers to civilians, police officers are not being reprimanded; this is the case even
when this violent misconduct has been caught on videotape (Rushton, 2014). The nonchalant
attitude that is given when there are incidents of police misconduct is disturbing, especially when
the actions continue to be repeated in different states. When civilians begin to resort to have
protests and subjecting to violence to get attention from authority figures, there is a definite
problem that should be addressed. This disruption is no good for any party. Citizens should not
feel as though they get reprimanded while police officers who are brutal towards citizens are not.
This is the same concept as leading by example. There is no way that violent behavior would be

acceptable by the average citizens, therefore this behavior should not be acceptable for police
officers as well.
Recent Police Abuse against Minorities
Recently there have been many negative displays of police officers acting inappropriately
and this is a main concern in the country. Because of these events, government agencies and
citizens have tried to make changes to the way police officers can operate, including mandating
police officers’ uses of body cameras.
Michael Brown. On August 9, 2014, an 18 year old black male was fatally shot by
Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson, Missouri police officer. This event, due to its unclear
circumstances, sparked protests and civil unrest that spread throughout the United States and
abroad. Conversations began and turned into debates regarding the relationship between police
officers and African Americans. From the Mike Brown case there were multiple perspectives on
the situation. He did commit a crime of theft from a convenience store; however Wilson was
unaware of this at the time of the initial encounter. Wilson fired twelve bullets and the question
as to whether Brown’s hands were raised still remains unanswered. Wilson was not indicted.
This led to civil unrest with multiple movements including the nationwide Hands Up, Don’t
Shoot movement (Department of Justice).
Recent Police Abuse against Majorities
There is actually a lack of brutality/violence of other races than black, considered the
majority. White privilege may play a significant role, even when discussing police violence.
White privilege is as a system where white individuals have unearned benefits granted, providing
them with an advantage based on their race, which enables them to maintain an elevated status in

society. Although those who are white may not be aware of this, they still may be treated better
because of their race (Kendall, 2012). African American population have always had the
disadvantage amongst any other population, including other minority groups, however now the
public is looking at authority figures in the same light. There has been a change in the public’s
opinion of the police do to the violence some have shown. This change in opinions may be due
to misconceptions of one another. Misconceptions are common when there is a misunderstanding
of actions being taken and there is a clear misunderstanding of why white police officers are
constantly being shown in the media abusing and murdering members of the black population.
Effects of Police Violence
Police violence has altered the ways in which the public views the entire police force.
There is mistrust in the system, leaving disarray in communities and a disconnect between police
and those members of society. Because of the influence and authority police officers possess, it
is not surprising that there have been recent incidents of the abuse of power and even violence.
Police violence and abuse of power is a problem that is increasing as the years go on and the
statistics are proof of this. “Of persons who had force used or threatened against them by police
in 2008, an estimated 74% felt those actions were excessive”. This is a shockingly overwhelming
statistic and it may seem disproportionate, however the statistics are unfortunately worse for
black men in this country. “Males were more likely than females to have force used or threatened
against them during their most recent contact with police during 2008, and blacks were more
likely than whites or Hispanics to experience use or threat of force” (Bureau of Justice Statistics,
Use of Force). This fact alone leaves questions for the public as to who police are really
protecting and if justice is even being served. The distributions of those who have force used on
them are disproportionate to the population in a whole. There are many less minorities than there

are of individuals who are however there are more minorities who are being mistreated by the
authorities who should be protecting them.
Although black individuals are facing more violence by police, there is importance n
understanding the abuse of power because there are negative consequences for all races.
Although the United States is an individualist society, all actions are connected, linking people
together, most of the time unknowingly. Abuse of power affects society as a whole, even if there
is a main victim in the scenarios. There is also importance in focusing on factors which impact
the ways that police officers maintain their safety measures and if there is any sort of solace to
ensure their mental safety as well. Police officers go through many stressors regularly and this
alone can influence future interactions with their constituent. This is something that has to be
expected and therefore modifications to their training must be made.
Negative Perceptions of Police
Perceptions of police and any authority figure are declining. Previously there was respect,
but lately there has been a decrease in the amount of respect shown towards police officers, at
least from minority’s perspective. These perceptions are affecting adolescents entering society in
a negative way. For example, in black communities, the neighborhood and the parents are
responsible for the upbringing of the children. The community effort should not be overlooked.
These black adolescents are being told to fear the police by their parents and their community.
The people adolescents trust are telling them to fear the police. Just this alone will cause the
adolescent to go out in society and when there are encounters with the police, they will act
fearful. This in turn has the potential to signal to the police officer that the adolescent is acting
suspicious in turn making the situation go south.

White perceptions. Whites individuals’ confidence levels have gone up even though
there have been proven to be a higher number of killings of minorities. The levels have not
reached those high numbers since “the intermixing of different peoples set the stage for violent
race riots in the early 1990s, which were kicked off when Rodney King was beat savagely in
1992 by four LAPD officers and the police were found innocent of all charges” (Datcher).
Seemingly white individuals feel better about the police officers and their recent actions. That
explanation could account for the confidence levels or just that or just the fact that because the
actions are not affecting them, they need not worry.
Minority perceptions. Wu (2013) conducted a study discussing the different perceptions
of police while looking at African Americans, Whites, Hispanics, and Asian Americans. The
goal of this experiment was to try to lessen the stigma of the Black-White dichotomy, however
when the results were examined, the evidence was clear that the divide still prevails. The results
suggest that there is a distinct division amongst blacks and non-blacks when examining racial
profiling; there were 64% of blacks, compare to 20% of whites who believe racial profiling was
a problem in their neighborhood. This is shocking because of the suggestion pointing to their still
being a racial divide and this is having a major influence on the perceptions of police, even in
societies with low levels of racial segregation (i.e. Seattle).
Youth perceptions. In 2014, there were 74.3 million children, ages 0-17 in the United
States (Child Stats, n.d.). The numbers are large and these numbers have a great impact on our
society. Youths’ perceptions influence the interaction children have in the world. Findings show
youth attitudes towards non-parental authority figures (including police officers) are a reflection
of preliminary attitudes towards more personal authority figures (Amorso and Ware, 1983). This
indicates that those other than parents shape the way they cognize police officers. The

importance of police officers setting a good example in order to maintain good relations with the
youth is present. Adolescents have much time to develop mentally and these events that happen
in their life will determine their wellbeing. For example, Erik Erikson’s theory discusses eight
distinguishable stages that occur throughout a person’s lifetime (Erikson, 1964). In these stages,
there are critical points, meaning during a certain stage in one’s lifetime, instances that occur will
have lifelong effects on the individual. In a study conducted by Hurst, Frank, and Browning
(1997) results showed that even with youth, there is a difference of attitudes regarding police
performance even when they have experienced similar personal encounters. This means
something is going on even before youth become of age to have personal encounters with police
officers, however through proper treatment and improved experiences with police officers,
perceptions can be mended.
Threats to Public Safety
Public safety is the most important aspect to maintain the efficiency in a society. Without
a safe environment, there cannot be trust in government and those who are to protect the sanctity
of the law. All things function through proper relationships between members of the community.
Whether the relationships are warranted, the relationship is necessary. These relationships are
weakening and the effects are becoming more and more apparent. When public safety is
threatened, nothing good can occur. Minor reactions have occurred, including protests (peaceful
and violent), but things could quickly escalate if no changes are made. There is the potential that
riots could occur and the destruction of a government system could occur. These outcomes may
seem far-fetched; however some of the events that have happened in the United States have been
just as far-fetched and beyond. These outcomes are still a possibility, even from something that

seems so small to some. People can only take so much of feeling threatened by those who are
supposed to be protecting.
The Failure to Protect
Instead or protecting the society, they are creating chaos. Not only are law enforcement
creating chaos, they are not being held accountable for perpetrating negative connotations of
minorities although they may think they are being productive. The lack of data regarding police
violence also enhances the discomfort the community may feel. “From an organizational
perspective, more comprehensive data could provide comparisons among agencies on rates of
police crime and subsequently contribute to the development and implementation of policies to
deter police crime and lessen damage to police–community relations in their aftermath” (Stinson,
2015). If the police had more support from the community there would be more cooperation and
less conflict, making for a safer environment.
Creating Fear in Societies
A major threat that is appearing is the increasing fear that black individuals have of
police. This is especially apparent when black people are seen as threats themselves and
potentially taken into custody. There they may experience verbal abuse from the interrogator.
Because they individuals are more likely to be seen as automatic suspects, there is no doubt that
they would feel some sort of fear. The fact that there is a stigma that those who are a minority are
more likely to be treated in a negative manner is no secret, especially to the person who is taken
into custody. Najdowski states:
Black suspects might be at more risk of being targeted as lying during interrogations than
White suspects because of cross-cultural differences in nonverbal communication styles,

which could cause Black suspects to appear more deceptive and police investigators to
put more pressure on them to confess.
This adds onto the fear black individual face when dealing with those of authority,
particularly in a legal setting. Legally, this may be the aspect that instills fear the most during an
interaction with police officers; there is fear of going to jail. During time in prison, there is can
be even more maltreatment than in the outside world, leaving less chances for freedom, which is
essential to wellbeing. Especially since African Americans are more prominent in the criminal
justice system, there is more fear of police and being racially profiled, enhancing the chance of
being penalized.
Shift in Family Dynamic
The family dynamic is shifting. This is important to note because the family structure is
the one institution that has the most lifelong effects on a child. There are many definitions of
family but for the purpose of this research, family will be defined as “the first unit with which
children have a continuous contact and the first context in which socialization patterns develop”
(Mahalihali, 2006). Childhood development is heavily dependent on the relationships found
within the family. The family is a structure where children are taught fundamental attributes to
model in society including respect, love, vulnerability, and morality. Though family provides
many benefits, the shift in this structure has been process for many years; the family is no longer
the reference point for appropriate behavior as it once was. Society now has more of a prominent
role because children look to the media, society, friends and other mediums as models for proper
and wanted behavior.

Upbringing Methods. Less family structure can occur, potentially continuing the cycle
of fatherless households in African American families. On the other side of the spectrum, parents
and other social structures that have a role in a child’s development who are nonblack can pass
down their negative stereotypes of black people. Because there is a difference in the way that
different populations view police officers, there will ultimately be a difference in the ways
parents and guardians will raise their children. There is a clear difference in the status of
efficiency and fairness seen between White citizens and Black from police officers. The
upbringing of youth is shifting due to police violence. The cycle is as follows: police are being
violent to the citizens; if the citizen is taken into custody, they have the chance of being placed
into the prison system; this leaves children with a single-parent or even no parent at all. The shift
in this dynamic is dramatic. The effects of having a parent in jail are even more detrimental to
public safety. Through the incarcerated parent, the child internalizes that with their perceptions
of the police and the gap remains between black and white Americans (Buckler, Wilson, Hartley,
and Davila, 2011). This mindset affects the ways a parent/guardian raises a child and the struggle
is greater when the child may have an angry attitude towards police and authority itself. The
struggle may be unmanageable and could have irrpple effects (i.e. sending child to juvenile
detentions center, giving the child up for adoption, abandoning the child).
Psychological Disorders
There is mistrust (even fear) of authority, rebellion and community disorder, leading to a
rise in incarceration rates. The stereotype placed upon any and all types of minorities, whether it
being regarding sexuality, race, religion, and more is causing strain in everyday relationships.
Though all play an important role in how individuals are treated, racial stereotypes have the most
impact on one’s wellbeing because they have the potential to affect how individuals are treated

on a daily basis. Racial stereotypes truly determine how the world interacts with an individual
and how that individual will then react to its environment. Minorities, particularly African
Americans have always had a scarlet letter placed upon them and it is only being conditioned as
the years go on. The combination all of these factors are going unnoticed. Seemingly, the police
force is unaware or uninterested in the opinions of the public, causing concern for efficient and
safe patrolling of a city or state’s constituents. When situations go unnoticed, more problems can
occur.
Those who have felt assaulted by police officers may suffer from psychological affects
and may begin experience a psychological disorder. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a
likely disorder that can occur and some of the indicators are panic attacks, depression, substance
abuse, and suicide attempts. This is no good for communities or families. Unfortunately in
African American cultures, there is a negative reaction when there is admittance of a
psychological disorder. This may be seen as weak to the African American community and t
because of this, those who do duffer, may not seek help. The lack of treatment can have a
negative effect on the community, because anything sight of a police officer may trigger a
reaction from the individual then cause disruption in that setting.
Institutional Reformation
Reformations are necessary to restore a safe living environment, not just to those who
have the privilege of safety. Reformations are important in order to bring peace and public safety
back to a standardized system for all citizens. It may be thought that police or law enforcements
do not necessarily need to change their methods of service; this may be because it is believed
that the ends justify the means. However, this is not the case. It was found “that the police have a

lot to gain from even very short, positive encounters… these positive encounters also engendered
more positive feelings about the police in general” (Mazerolle, Antrobus, and Bennett, 2013). A
shift in the way citizens perceive the police is necessary for the restoration of respect and trust in
the policing system. Respect for citizens and respect for the police and any government authority
figure is needed tremendously. The way things are going now is setting a horrible precedent for
future policies on how police officers should treat the people who depend on them. A way to
restore the structure and public safety regarding police officials would be to consider improving
the institution as a whole. Different interventions to police violence and abuse of power would be
to restructure the way authority figures are trained when the purpose is to ensure safety and keep
the peace. Another method is prevention and this prevention would occur in institutions that
younger children and young adults engage in, such as school.
Screening Practices
Police are currently being selected to serve the city and state based on their physical
condition, their interest in the elimination of crime, and their ability to follow through with
commands. This may have worked years ago, but now due to the lack of empathy and
professionalism towards citizens, there must be a shift in the way interested policemen are screen
and selected. According to Gutierrez and Thurman (2014), implications are that instead of basing
their aptitude for protection citizens should be based more on their community competency
rather than their physical capabilities. A potential screen could be for racism in an individual.
Then the question becomes apparent if the person indicates signs of racism. Should they still be
considered eligible for policing? The argument is no, especially when examining the incidents of
policing and the correlation with minorities. Considering oneself to be a racist is so far off from
the norm and in this country where acceptance of all has become a mantra, publicly deviating

from that norm is not likely to occur. A dilemma with this method of screening could possibly
occur when the person does not believe they are racist. This could be combated by only allowing
them to serve in specific settings.
Training
According to Chapell (2013) there was damage between the police and the public and the
community era was born to try to restore the broke relationship. The aim was to rebuild
partnerships with members of the community as well as coming up with ways to solve problems
regarding criminal incidents. This did work for a while until the terrorist attacks on September
11, 2001 and this was when the lack of communication expanded between federal agencies and
questioned if local agencies should be involved in counter-terrorism. This caused the workload to
be strained because of the addition to new responsibilities and revised training. In short, the
police system and the method of training are still seen to be in a transitional period.
Unfortunately for the citizens, they have to be accommodating as well as be content with so
many uncertainties. Through the changes police are going through, the communication is
unlikely to be happening, or there would be more understanding and more effectiveness between
police officers and the citizens.
Recent incidents call into the question of if officers are capable of handling situations of
civil disobedience. When going through training methods, police academies should do extensive
training for situations when there is civil disobedience. Because police officers hold the ultimate
authority in interactions with civilians, they can lose sight of what it means to conduct their
behavior properly. Attitudes may not change, but behaviors can. During training, addressing
more issues in the ways police officers view the communities would be beneficial. Many

communities are diverse in their ethnic groups so having an understanding of each group would
enhance the behavior for all to all. Police officers should become well versed in the culture of
their beats. For example, if a police officer is stationed in a middle-class neighborhood, it would
be beneficial for that officer to become educated and trained on how to behave in that area. This
would promote understanding of the constituents as well as providing ample preparation to
effectively police that area.
Maintenance
They can lose sight of the line between on-duty and off-duty crimes, making it easier for
crimes to be committed while representing the police force. “Some police crime occurs while off
duty, and there is no definite line to distinguish between on-duty and off-duty crimes by police
officers because the training, experiences, stresses, relationships, and culture of policing simply
do not end at the end of each work day” (Stinson). This could be combated with implementing
further wellness centers that are mandatory when officers reports unruly civilians; this would
help with the inevitable stressors that go along with being a police officer.
Scholastic Influence
As stated previously, those who are nonparents of children still play an important role in
the child’s development (Amorso and Ware). Therefore schools are another component to
restoring a positive outlook on police officers. It is clear that educational institutions provide an
outlet for students to find themselves and learn how to be functioning members of society. If
school has this much power and influence over the success of its students, the faculty and staff
should maximize on this by incorporating trust exercises in the curriculum. Educational
institutions provide an outlet for students to find themselves and learn how to be functioning

members of society. Incorporating more experiences with police officers in a school setting
would also be of benefit in shaping the negative perceptions of police officers to positive ones.
Attitudes can change with positive interactions, sometimes quickly, so school institutions have
the potential to have the most influence in this area.
Community Outreach
Incidents of police brutality leave civilians wondering if police officers discriminate. To
address this issue, examining current screening processes potential officers go through. “For
example, at a Commission hearing on police practices and civil rights in New York City,
testimony indicated that training materials designed to reduce or eliminate racial, religious, and
sexual stereotypes were often laced with negative and potentially offensive stereotypes. Input
from community leaders, as well as ethnic and religious groups, could eliminate many of the
limitations found in training programs across the country” (recruitment, selection, and training
for police work). This goes along with having the community being involved in processes to
reduce these types of stereotypes.
There needs to be a direct connection to the police and the community. As mentioned
previously, the community needs to be involved for police officers to accurately and
appropriately police the area. This newfound connection to the community would promote
communication and understanding of the people living in the area, thus creating trust amongst
both parties. These are only a few ways we can ensure police get back to protecting all people
thus creating a safer world. It is important to think of the ways all people are treated when
thinking of public safety and without the consideration of all, there will remain the maltreatment
of some.

Wellbeing Maintenance
Another method to reform the opinions of police would be to ensure police officers had
programs to help manage negative effects (i.e. anger) of having such a stressful job. Results from
the present study suggest that anger-management or anger-expression skills should be the focus
of employee assistance programs to reduce the risk of negative physical, psychological and
social outcomes for police officers exposed to high levels of occupational stressors” (Can and
Hendy, 2014). If police officers are in a good mental state, there is a better chance of the police
patrolling societies better. Also counseling would be beneficial for combating stereotypes of
people ethnicities.
Conclusion
Police violence is a problem that has been increasing for a few years, with staggering
cases of unarmed men being shot by police officers. The prominence of these events may be due
to the common usage of videotaping police officers while they are on duty and the influence
social media has on our environment. Due to the history of minority treatment in the United
States, it is to the benefit of the effected individuals as well as the entire population to explore
the psychology behind police brutality against minority citizens. Historically, police may have
this negative treatment engrained as normal and appropriate, therefore continuing this behavior.
Unfortunately this is not the case and public safety has been threatened for many individuals.
There are short term and long terms effects on victims and society as a whole.
With this being such an important discussion regarding public safety, it is critical to
acknowledge the limitations and assumptions. An important limitation is the lack of statistical
data on the number focusing on police brutality. This could be because of the subjective view of

brutality. Brutality is a stigma that many people, let alone authority figures, want to admit to.
Because of this when submitting police reports, it is possible that incidents on police violence go
unreported. Another limitation would be the extensiveness of this topic. There are so many
factors that go into the discussion of police work and due to timing constraints not every aspect
could be fully explored. This study was just a general overview of an expansive problem. For
future research, given more time would result in major improvements and conclusions to police
violence and its effect on public safety.
Authority figures, especially police officers have a long history in the mistreatment of
minorities in the United States. But to remember that not all police officers are bad and engage is
police violence is important. The majority of police officers has and will continue to uphold the
good nature of the police force. These officers face adversity while still representing authority
figures daily. Due to the sensitive nature of this research, no assumptions should be made about
police officers. Though there are more incidents of police violence with individuals who are of
the minority, however there has not been a reliable measure to fully enable researchers to
conclude a direct causation between race of victim and race of police officer.
This information could be used to facilitate discussions and programs with cities and
citizens regarding issues between police officers and civilians to better procedures and protocols
when dealing with those with different backgrounds. Corporations and cities who don’t want to
be sued could use this information. Practices to better the relationships between police officers
and the citizens would always be beneficial. Understanding is seemingly the root to all of the
misconduct from police officers. Police officers may have a negative stereotype placed upon
minorities and this may be because they have had no true encounter with them and vice versa.
Minorities may only have a negative opinion of police officers because of things they’ve heard

from their peers. Improving relations between the police and the community would only produce
positivity and a safe living environment.

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Figure 1. A box and arrow model showing effects of police violence and reform options.

Police Mistreatment and the Effect on Society

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