HHS 497 Health & Human Services Wk5-A

Theory and Research Related to Social Issue

Chanda Crews

HHS 497 Health & Human Services Capstone

Instructor: Sarah Nowlin

November 12, 2018

Theory and Research Related to Social Issue

Conflict theory and social learning theory are two theories that best explains both psychological and social issues. These theories help to explain certain behaviors and phenomenon that exists in the society. Police brutality is a social issue that affects thousands of people that are either marginalized or discriminated. In the U.S., police brutality is an issue that has elicited a lot of reaction that has led to the establishment of movements such as Black Lives Matter. Police brutality exists because of the inequality or discrimination directed to black and Hispanic populations (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). These groups come out to agitate for their rights but are stopped by police who use extra force or in other cases shootings. It is in these process that the police get the opportunity to brutally harm the protestors or take up actions that can be interpreted to be discriminated. In most cases, the blacks and other groups are on the receiving end something that has sent a bad reputation to other officers in uniform to continue perpetrating these discriminatory acts.

The factors that contribute to the social issue is inadequate laws to deal with the perpetrators of such acts and lack of goodwill from the federal government to end the brutality. The existing laws that are in place have proven to be inadequate in addressing the widespread brutality that is experienced by numerous citizens in the country. Throughout the years, several cases go unreported by victims for fear of being reprimanded or be targeted by those supporting brutality. As a result, the police are somehow sure that they can get away with the brutality. Such kind of assurance continues to create a bad impression among the police who see brutality as part of the policing service. Discrimination is the social issue that underlies the problem (Chaney & Robertson, 2013). The people of color that have been jailed for offenses to which they didn’t commit is the other contributor towards such brutality. There is a systematic plan to harm the blacks for reasons that could be summarized as discrimination. As a result, any groupings or protests that have black people are often treated harshly by the police where numerous people end up getting injured.

The target groups are socially marginalized something that has affected their economic and political well-being in the society. The economic power of the victims is low which is largely comprised of individuals earning a lower income. In some states, some of the youth has resorted to crime to earn a living something that finds them on the wrong side of the law. It is through these circumstances that the police find a way out to brutally harm or arrest the victims in ways that could be considered inhumane (Taylor, 2013). The political affiliation of some of these groups is also to blame. In the U.S., there are two political groups with varied opinions where Democrats are majorly thought to be more violent. The political stereotype that has gotten into the police service also contributes to such brutality. The resulting environment is that that is built on division and hatred. The society is divided with every group having an opinion on how things should be done and what the government in office is doing wrong to address pressing issues ((Taylor, 2013). The emerging issue is the continuous protests and movement that are coming out to call out to an end into the issue something that provides a platform for the police to execute these acts. Victims are now using alternative approaches to air their issues such as social media. There is an unrelenting voice to end brutality in major sections of the country.

Conflict theory was developed to explain conflicts in society due to issues of inequality. Conflict theory argues that violence in the society arise when one group is marginalized rising to fight for their rights. In this case, the blacks and Hispanic populations are rising to condemn police killings and brutality, but since the government supports the police, the issue continues to exist in the society (Worden, 2015). The benefit of the theory is that it helps to explain the inequalities that exist in the society while the limitation is that it does not adequately address isolated cases (Taylor, 2013). Social learning theory explains how behavior is learned and executed in society. The issue of police brutality explains an existing behavior that is common within the police and transferable to other officers. The history of the U.S. signifies a people who have fought through many hurdles with the police being used in the past to harm and disperse protesters (Taylor, 2013). By learning from the past on how the service conducted its duties, brutality stands out as one of the strategies that were used to clear and disperse the masses irrespective of the outcomes or what these people felt. The theory is not definite in explaining this issue and is therefore adaptable to explaining why the issue will not end anytime soon.

Numerous authors have conducted studies to explain the problem of police brutality in line with the two theories. According to Anderson, Reinsmith-Jones & Brooks (2016), the increasing black shootings and brutality directed to the blacks are deeply rooted in discrimination. Blacks are discriminated and are denied opportunities just like the other citizens. The issue has led to the development of prejudices of the blacks which has led to an increase in the number of those incarcerated. The study identified blacks to be the majority, but the minority through the police direct their anger and hatred through brutality. Akers (2017) noted that police brutality is a behavior that is learned and transferable. The fact that the issue still exists and directed towards specific groups is an indication that the innate behavior is now practiced. The emerging issues that are yet to be experienced are what policies will be put in place to end the brutality. The future of the civil rights movement is also put into question regarding this issue.

The focus of most studies has been to understand the issue with the objective of knowing why the issue is still present to date. Different authors have come up with theories of explaining why this issue within the police service has not been eliminated by experts who have been called to help in reforming the service. Different methodologies including interviewing of those affected have been used to understand the problem better. Besides, the findings have led to making recommendations that rotate around policy and creating awareness about the problem. The implications for future research is studying why the recommendations have not helped to end the problem. Further research should be conducted to clearly understand the issue with the aim of protecting both the police and the victims.

References

Anderson, J.F., Reinsmith-Jones, K. & Brooks, W.M. (2016). Black Shootings, Conflict Theory, and Policy Implications. International Journal of Social Science Studies, 12-36

Akers, R. (2017). Social learning and social structure: A general theory of crime and deviance. Routledge.

Chaney, C., & Robertson, R. V. (2013). Racism and police brutality in America. Journal of African American Studies, 17(4), 480-505.

Taylor, C. (2013). Introduction: African Americans, police brutality, and the US criminal justice system. Journal of African American History, 98(2), 200-204.

Worden, R. E. (2015). The causes of police brutality: Theory and evidence on police use of force. Criminal justice theory: Explaining the nature and behavior of criminal justice, 149-204.