NPR poll results on Black Americans' experiences with police

Roxxsmom · Oct 30, 2017

A new poll out this week from NPR finds that 60 percent of black Americans say they or a family member have been unfairly stopped or treated by police because they are black. In addition, 45 percent say they or a family member have been treated unfairly by the courts because they are black. The poll is a collaboration between NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

The poll reveals the consequences of these stops for black Americans personally and across society — 31 percent of poll respondents say that fear of discrimination has led them to avoid calling the police when in need. And 61 percent say that where they live, police are more likely to use unnecessary force on a person who is black than on a white person in the same situation.

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswi...ns-say-theyve-been-unfairly-stopped-by-police

I know this is an issue that's come up before, but it's damned troubling when so many Americans feel they can't rely on law enforcement. Regardless of whether or not the majority of cops are consciously racist or are deliberately discriminating, many Black Americans feel they can't trust or rely on the police.

One interesting thing about the poll is that it revealed that more Black people say they've experienced unfair stops in suburban areas vs urban ones. This sort of refutes the claim that black people are treated differently simply because they're more likely to be in high-crime urban settings.

This is a tough issue for me. I've read some things and seen some videos that make me so angry at and disgusted with policing in this country that I've questioned their overall decency. I've also known some cops I really like whom I think are conscientious people and I've been in situations where I've been damned glad to see a cop. I really want to believe it's just a few bad apples, or something that could be fixed with changes in the way police departments are run. But I'm white, and my experiences won't likely be shared by all Americans. I really would like to know what we can do to resolve this problem with different groups of America experiencing law enforcement so differently. So much of the discussion has been on the problems and not any solutions.

This poll is evidently part of an ongoing series that will be releasing results of this poll for other groups, including Latinos, Native-Americans, Asian-Americans, Whites and LGBTQ adults. I'd be interested in seeing what the percentages are overall.

nighttimer · Oct 31, 2017

Roxxsmom said:
http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswi...ns-say-theyve-been-unfairly-stopped-by-police

I know this is an issue that's come up before, but it's damned troubling when so many Americans feel they can't rely on law enforcement. Regardless of whether or not the majority of cops are consciously racist or are deliberately discriminating, many Black Americans feel they can't trust or rely on the police.

One interesting thing about the poll is that it revealed that more Black people say they've experienced unfair stops in suburban areas vs urban ones. This sort of refutes the claim that black people are treated differently simply because they're more likely to be in high-crime urban settings.

Doesn't surprise me in the least. A well-dressed Black man in a nice car cruises slowly through a suburban neighborhood looking for an address. For some cops they get laser-focused on the "Black man" and forget about everything else.

This is a tough issue for me. I've read some things and seen some videos that make me so angry at and disgusted with policing in this country that I've questioned their overall decency. I've also known some cops I really like whom I think are conscientious people and I've been in situations where I've been damned glad to see a cop. I really want to believe it's just a few bad apples, or something that could be fixed with changes in the way police departments are run. But I'm white, and my experiences won't likely be shared by all Americans. I really would like to know what we can do to resolve this problem with different groups of America experiencing law enforcement so differently. So much of the discussion has been on the problems and not any solutions.

Well, if you read this NPR story, it reinforces the tragedy of how in communities like Baltimore or Chicago are battlefields and the bodies laid out on cold slabs and stacked up in the vaults are mostly Black and young and dead too soon. The cops don't like the people they serve and they don't trust them and they're afraid of them. The people who are supposed to be served by the cops don't like them, don't trust them and they're afraid of them. Policing is broken in cities like Baltimore. There's little to no crime fighting or prevention. Mostly its putting down the yellow tape and going through the motions until the coroner's van shows up to pick up the bloody sack of meat that used to be a living, breathing human being before it was left to bleed out in the street.

I don't have the answers. I'm not even sure I know what the right questions are.

NPR poll results on Black Americans' experiences with police

Roxxsmom

Beastly Fido

nighttimer

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