“Always dress nicely.” “Don’t walk too quickly.” “Be polite, and say ‘sir’ or ‘ma’am’ if they speak to you.” “Do not give them a reason to stop you.” “Do not raise your voice if they question you.” “Avoid dimly-lit streets.” “Don’t loiter in stores.” “Don’t do anything off-the-wall — you will be the first person they throw in jail.”
“They” are the police, and this advice was given to me before I came to Brown, regarding the police and the well-known practice of racial profiling.
The saying is that, “If you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.” But targeted minority groups do not have the luxury of this being applicable to them, because simply being a minority is enough to draw suspicion from police.
Racial profiling is real, and minorities clearly receive harsher treatment and sentencing on the streets and in courtrooms than their non-minority peers. One case study that can be observed is in the policy of stop-and-frisk. This policy, debated as far back as the 1968 Terry v. Ohio case, is famous for its use in New York City. Searches do not require probable cause, but simply “reasonable suspicion,” which requires much less evidence or reason for a person to be lawfully stopped by police.
This is the problem with stop-and-frisk: that “probable cause” is not necessary. The second issue arises from the fact that only “reasonable suspicion” is needed. It just happens that some groups — minorities, in particular — arouse more suspicion as a whole from officers than others.
This strategy is one of a number that have supposedly resulted in over a 30 percent decrease in crime in New York City since 2001. The Center for Constitutional Rights found that, of all people stopped by the NYPD in 2011, 51 percent were black, 33 percent were Latino and 6 percent were white. Of these stops made, over one-fifth of all stopped blacks and just under a quarter of all stopped Latinos were treated with force. Though force was used so often, only 2 percent of the stops yielded actual contraband. The standard of “probable cause” should replace the current standard of “reasonable suspicion,” as the latter renders discriminatory stops exponentially easier to make.
Racially motivated arrests and imprisonments are a reality of the America in which we live, and they always have been. The U.S. Sentencing Commission found that “blacks receive 10 percent longer sentences than whites through the federal system for the same crimes.” The Sentencing Project cites a 2013 article finding that, of those born today, one in every three black males and one in every six Latino males can expect to go to prison at some point in their lives. Only one out of every 17 white males can expect the same.
At Brown, issues with racial profiling sparked the creation of the short-lived Coalition for Police Accountability and Institutional Transparency in 2006, formed “in order to speak out against DPS mistreatment towards minority students and members of the gay community and increase the dialogue between students, administrators and police.” The organization collapsed in the spring of 2007 as the result of limited support and membership, as well as “a lot of opposition on a number of fronts from the University … (causing) efforts (to) fade out in that respect.” But police misconduct, even at the campus level, remains a real concern for many.
How can we stand up to police discrimination? As students, we can report inappropriate conduct when we see or experience it to the Department of Public Safety, to administrators and to one another. Often, victims of police misconduct feel as if there is no one to turn to. But it is important to remember inappropriate police conduct is usually the exception, and that there are always resources to use and people to contact in case of such incidents. Silence allows this to be perpetuated.
There should be more opportunities for dialogue between the officers of the Department of Public Safety, the Providence Police Department, the Providence community and the Brown student body. Whether on the Hill or off it, we, as people with human and civil rights — and as people who deserve to be unmolested if we are innocent — hold the power to oppose and to fight police misconduct and discrimination wherever it rears its ugly head.
Armani Madison ’16 would like to express his sincere gratitude to all of the non-prejudiced members of law enforcement who work tirelessly and bravely to protect and to serve the people of this nation.
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