Research Proposal

1

POLICE BRUTALITY 4

Jamiah Taylor

April 14th, 2021

Professor Estrada

SOC 330

Police brutality

In many countries across the world, the constitution provides the basis of human rights and the foundation for the protection of people from violation of their human rights. All people in the United States and other countries across the world are entitled to human rights such as freedom of expression, freedom from torture. The violation of these fundamental rights poses a major problem. The state is involved in violation of human rights through the actions of the police, prosecutors and judges. After experiencing police brutality, many minority races, such as African Americans, do not access justice through the court process. This comprises a further violation of their right to fair trials. “really great first paragraph”

The police harassment and discrimination towards black people and other minority races and groups in the United States are not new. Police brutality encompasses the use of physical violence. The quantification of police brutality is difficult. Some researchers base the source of police brutality towards African Americans and other minorities from the era of the slave trade and slavery (Bayley, 2016). The advancement in technology and application of new techniques in policing has only brought more light on police brutality towards the minority races in the modern century. In the modern world, videos of police brutality towards minority groups in the United States have raised more concerns over the role of police in offering equal protection to all people in the United States. The action of police brutality is not limited to the use of violent physical force. It also encompasses sexual violence, emotional violence, psychological intimidation and verbal assault.

The Washington Post and the Guardian newspapers have been essential sources of data on police brutality towards minority communities. The African Americans comprised 13,2% of the united states population from the united states census bureau statistics. The number of black Americans killed by the police in 2015 was, however, significantly high. The Guardian reported 1139 cases of deaths from police brutality. 26.5% of these people were black Americans (Bayley, 2016). The cases of unarmed black people in the United States suffering police violence and deaths have raised significant concerns. “This is important data, although please know that these are not scholarly sources. Further, this level of detail would better in the framework of the paper - not the introduction (hard to tell if that's what you've submitted here).

Police brutality is not purely on the minority groups such as the African Americans. Some whites also experience police brutality. However, according to Carbado & Rock in 2016, African Americans are more vulnerable to police brutality compared to white people. Police brutalities towards the black people in the United States indicate white supremacy. The white people are offered protection from police discrimination, while the African Americans not only fail to access protection but also experience police brutality.

“It is better to begin your paragraphs with a topic sentence that introduces the theme of that paragraph more broadly speaking, and *then* transition to specific points related to that theme”.

According to Turner & Richardson in 2016, police brutality results in death and injuries. According to research, young black men are nine more times more vulnerable to be killed by police officers compared to their white counterparts. Research has established that police brutality resulting in deaths have a significant impact on the rise in mortality rates among African Americans in the United States. According to statistics, black people are five times likely to visit healthcare facilities seeking treatment for police-related injuries than whites (Frazer et al., 2018). Police brutality is characterized by physiological and emotional effects on communities and individuals. Some African Americans experience routine unwarranted search and harassment that go unpunished. This presents the African Americans as police property with limitation to access to justice and dignity.

Many African Americans witness and experienced police brutality. This has psychological “THis is a good point, but should be followed up with specifics - what psychological impacts are you talking about? What you've referenced after this seem more physiological.”

impacts as they worry about becoming victims of police brutality. According to biological research, human beings produce hormones that increase respiratory rate and heart rate when faced with threats. The threat of police brutality generates a risk of African Americans developing diseases such as ulcers, cognitive impairment and diabetes.

Other studies examine the relationship between police brutality and financial and economic strain. “Good transition here - great topic sentence too”.

Police brutality has a direct impact on an individual or a community's health. It also impacts productivity in the economy. Many African American victims of police brutality suffer disabilities due to the application of excessive violent force, which make them lose job opportunities. Disability declines the ability to accumulate resources as well as decreasing general productivity (Carter, 2016). The productivity of other African Americans is also affected indirectly as they incur costs and time in grieving, protesting, planning and attending funerals of their loved ones. This propagates poverty and financial strain among the African Americans and other minority races, further limiting access to food. Poor African American families lack access to appropriate housing and healthy food. Some are exposed to environmental hazards.

The use of violence and discrimination towards minority races in the United States by the police goes against the international law that requires countries to protect and respect the human right to life. International law requires states to protect their people from torture, detention and degrading inhuman treatment. All people are to be treated equally before the law. The increased cases of police violence towards the minority races in the United States put pressure on the need for police reforms. In the past few years, cases of police brutality towards minority races have been on the rise. The media has played a central role in generating reports of police brutality and police use of force in the United States.

References

Bayley, D. (2016). Getting serious about police brutality. In Accountability for criminal justice (pp. 93-109). University of Toronto Press.

Carbado, D. W., & Rock, P. (2016). What exposes African Americans to police violence. Harv. CR-CLL Rev., 51, 159.

Carter, C. A. (2016). Police Brutality, the Law & Today's Social Justice Movement: How the Lack of Police Accountability Has Fueled# Hashtag Activism. CUNY L. Rev., 20, 521.

Frazer, E., Mitchell Jr, R. A., Nesbitt, L. S., Williams, M., Mitchell, E. P., Williams, R. A., & Browne, D. (2018). The violence epidemic in the African American community: a call by the National Medical Association for comprehensive reform. Journal of the National Medical Association, 110(1), 4-15.

Turner, E. A., & Richardson, J. (2016). Racial trauma is real: The impact of police shootings on African Americans. Psychology Benefits Society, 14.

Comments the teacher made:

I appreciate this submission! You've presented a polished section with really strong writing. I also appreciate the literature you've already examined and the way you've started to synthesize it. A few points:

1. Make sure you follow the assignment sheet closely, especially in relation to your introduction. This feels more like the framework section - and your introduction section should contain the three elements I've outlined. Stick to that "template" pretty closely.

2. Make sure you are synthesizing your scholarly sources throughout the framework. In places, what you've written reads more like a summary. Consider your ten scholarly sources as a collection, and then organize your framework section around the patterns, themes, overlaps, etc. that emerge. THEN, this is super important, the last paragraph should explicitly and thoroughly explain how *your* research question relates back to the literature you've uncovered. 

All the highlighted stuff is comments are from the teacher.