I'm on a police scanner kick lately. You learn a lot by listening in on what the police are saying to each other. I have been harshly critical of Chicago police in the past, but generally I am a big supporter and admirer of good police officers.One of the first things an attentive listener learns while listening to a scanner is the sincerity of the police in trying to accomplish their mission of serving and protecting. Most of the CPD dispatchers sound African American; I cannot find statistics on this, but that's my impression.
Another phenomenon that the scanner listener becomes aware of quickly is just how disproportionately represented Blacks and Hispanics are as persons for the police to pay attention to. That is, an astounding number of calls go out regarding, for example, a "black male" waving a gun, waving a baseball bat, a knife, or who just ran out of liquor store without paying for that 12 pack under his arm. Hispanics, too, are disproportionately represented. Blacks and Hispanics, in Chicago anyway, are the subject of 911 calls and - resultantly - police dispatches. Sure, you hear "white male" sometimes. But you can listen for hours and only hear "Black" and "Hispanic" as descriptions of suspected bad guys. "Asian" is so rarely heard on the Chicago Police Department airwaves in the context of being suspects of bad behavior that it would seem to be insignificant.
Is that the result of a racist justice system? Hardly. The justice system does not (a) make the Blacks and Hispanics break out car windows, wave weapons on the street, or beat each other up, nor does it (b) make citizens call 911 with imaginary distress calls in which Blacks and Hispanics are the - ahem - alleged bad guys. Many of the dispatched events result in arrests or reports. Many of those wind up in court, in hearings and trials. Sometimes convictions are the result.
So, is the justice system biased? Surely, there are individual judges and jurors with racist attitudes. But the majority? The whole system? Does it have nothing to do with bad behavior to begin with? You would have to be the ultimate paranoid to believe that 911 calls about Whites behaving badly are selectively filtered out by the police dispatchers.
Mind you, I am NOT saying that Whites are better than non-Whites. I am NOT saying that there is some genetic predisposition for criminal behavior. But is seems reasonable to assert that there are strong cultural factors that influence behavior, from bad parenting to a general disregard for the value of other people's lives.
Let's turn to a thoughtful article by favorite writer Heather Mac Donald. In the Spring volume of City Journal, her article "Is the Criminal-Justice System Racist?" looks at this recurring question. Her conclusion: No. Her explanation is worth reading.
An excerpt [emphasis added]:
Robert Grace, the Los Angeles prosecutor, is acutely aware of the fragility and preciousness of the rule of law. “As a civilized society, we can’t allow what’s happening in Latin America to take over here,” he says. “Venezuela and Mexico are awash in appalling violence because they don’t respect the law.” Thus, when prominent figures like Barack Obama make sweeping claims about racial unfairness in the criminal-justice system, they play with fire. “For any political candidate to make such claims out of expediency is wrong,” Grace says. “If they have statistics that back up the claim, I’d like to see them. But to create phony perceptions of injustice is as wrong as not doing anything about the real thing.” FULL ARTICLE at City Journal...
RELATED READING:
Chicago gangs
Chicago's institutionalized gangs have adapted to the displacement of CHA residents, gentrification, an increase in renegade factions...
Chicago Gangs (UIC)
Chicago Gang Violence Escalates : NPR
