Policing in America: A Tale of Race, Sex and Violence
Jun 30, 2020
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Breonna Taylor, an EMT, is highlighted in a discussion on women in policing. Topics cover racism, biases, and lack of gender representation in law enforcement. The conversation delves into challenges faced by female officers, discriminatory hiring practices, and the need for gender equality in policing. The episode emphasizes the importance of diversification and reform within the law enforcement system.
Elevating women's voices in policing is crucial due to historical violence and modern challenges.
Barriers like physical fitness requirements and misconceptions hinder women's representation in law enforcement.
Implicit biases, including racial biases, impact policing actions, highlighting the need to address systemic issues.
Deep dives
Challenges of Women in Policing
Women in policing face unique challenges, with their stories and experiences often overlooked. The historical violence against women by state authorities, dating back to the antebellum south, continues to impact women in law enforcement. Modern policing issues, such as lethal force, lack the inclusion of women's perspectives as both victims and officers. Efforts to elevate women in leadership roles, reduce violence against women, and increase representation are crucial.
Barriers to Women in Policing
Women face barriers in law enforcement, exemplified by the decreasing percentage of women in police departments despite equal education opportunities. Hiring processes with physical fitness requirements favoring physical strength hinder women's entry into the field. Misconceptions regarding job requirements, such as physical ability versus desk work, contribute to the underrepresentation of women in policing.
Implicit Bias and Policing
Implicit biases, including racial biases, influence policing actions and perceptions regardless of officers' backgrounds. The deep-rooted history and culture of policing carry both conscious racism and unconscious biases, affecting interactions with the public. Research indicates that even African-American officers can harbor biases, underscoring the pervasive impact of unconscious prejudices in policing.
Police Unions and Accountability
Police unions and arbitration laws present challenges to accountability by often overturning disciplinary actions against officers. Union contracts may prevent investigations of civilian complaints and shield officers from consequences, perpetuating a culture of impunity. Unions' influence extends to hiring policies and maternity leave provisions, impacting diversity and support for officers.
Calls for Police Reform and Abolition
Calls for police reform and abolition highlight the need to address systemic issues in policing. Reform efforts focus on changing the metrics for evaluating officer performance and shifting the culture of policing towards community care and accountability. While acknowledging the role of unions, there is a growing push for depoliticizing and reevaluating the impact of police unions on department culture and accountability.
On Today’s inaugural show, we focus on policing in America, examining race, sex, and violence. We specifically take up women and policing, elevating the stories and experiences of women. It is a perspective often absent from mainstream conversation. Even in recent weeks as the nation has erupted in protests related to the tragic murder of George Floyd, some might argue that the killing of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, an emergency medical technician in Louisville, Kentucky was an afterthought, even though her death too was no less inhumane, violent, and preventable.
Deirdre Fishel, Independent Film Maker, Women In Blue (2020)
Laura Goodman Retired Deputy Chief of Police (Minnesota) and former Ombudsman for Crime Victims for the State of Minnesota
Anne Li Kringen, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Assistant Dean Department of Criminal Justice, University of New Haven, Member, International Association of Chiefs of Police Research Advisory Committee
L. Song Richardson, Criminal law expert and Dean, University California, Irvine School of Law