While police brutality, abuse of power, racial profiling and targeting the poor are arguments against the Broken Window Theory, they are not necessarily caused by it. The police have certain rules of engagement when dealing with suspects that they must follow, however, this is often mistaken for police brutality and abuse of power. The media hype over stories of people like Eric Garner, Freddie Gray and Michael Brown cause stories to be told from a biased and largely anti-police point of view (Gainor). There’s proof that using Broken Windows policing keeps communities safer by getting dangerous criminals off the streets by arresting them for small crimes when the police do not yet have enough evidence to arrest them for more major crimes.
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Crack is a smokable form of cocaine that is significantly purer (75-100% pure) and stronger than powder cocaine (“What is Crack Cocaine”). Crack became popular in poor, urban black communities because it was highly profitable, easy to produce, cheap, easy to use and caused an intense and immediate high (“Crack Cocaine: A Short History”). The crack epidemic caused a surge in violence in the black community; between 1984 and 1994, weapons arrests increased by 25% and the homicide rate among black males from 14-24 went up approximately 200% (Fryer, Heaton, Levitt and Murphy, 2-3). To combat this epidemic, New York City increased its police force significantly by growing the force by 45% between 1991 and 2001 (Levitt). This increase in police helped cut the crime rate in half; in 1991, New York City had 1,127,651 crimes and by 2001, New York City only had 556,025 crimes (“New York Crime Rates 1960-2014”). African Americans supported ending the crack epidemic in their own way, by holding 24-hour vigils at their churches; at these vigils, recovered addicts would counsel addicts. At these churches a hot line was set up to connect the churches with Sterling Johnson Jr., New York’s special narcotics …show more content…
Although the goal is to use little force when arresting suspects, that is not always possible. One of the rules of engagement is that if the suspect is a known or suspected armed felon, and could cause bodily injury or death to the officer or bystanders, the officer has the right to use deadly force. For example, in the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri, Brown was shot by police officer Darren Wilson after an altercation ensued over control of Wilson’s gun after Wilson stopped Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson because they matched the descriptions of robbers in the area. Brown and Johnson then fled after Wilson’s gun went off and Wilson chased them. Brown then turned around and charged at Wilson; Wilson fearing for his safety fired his gun at Brown, shooting him multiple times until Brown was no longer a threat. Although Brown was unarmed, he was perceived to be a threat because he was significantly larger than the officer and was moving toward the officer. In this case, Wilson’s use of force was legally considered justified after he was not indicted by the grand
Crack is a smokable form of cocaine that is significantly purer (75-100% pure) and stronger than powder cocaine (“What is Crack Cocaine”). Crack became popular in poor, urban black communities because it was highly profitable, easy to produce, cheap, easy to use and caused an intense and immediate high (“Crack Cocaine: A Short History”). The crack epidemic caused a surge in violence in the black community; between 1984 and 1994, weapons arrests increased by 25% and the homicide rate among black males from 14-24 went up approximately 200% (Fryer, Heaton, Levitt and Murphy, 2-3). To combat this epidemic, New York City increased its police force significantly by growing the force by 45% between 1991 and 2001 (Levitt). This increase in police helped cut the crime rate in half; in 1991, New York City had 1,127,651 crimes and by 2001, New York City only had 556,025 crimes (“New York Crime Rates 1960-2014”). African Americans supported ending the crack epidemic in their own way, by holding 24-hour vigils at their churches; at these vigils, recovered addicts would counsel addicts. At these churches a hot line was set up to connect the churches with Sterling Johnson Jr., New York’s special narcotics …show more content…
Although the goal is to use little force when arresting suspects, that is not always possible. One of the rules of engagement is that if the suspect is a known or suspected armed felon, and could cause bodily injury or death to the officer or bystanders, the officer has the right to use deadly force. For example, in the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri, Brown was shot by police officer Darren Wilson after an altercation ensued over control of Wilson’s gun after Wilson stopped Brown and his friend Dorian Johnson because they matched the descriptions of robbers in the area. Brown and Johnson then fled after Wilson’s gun went off and Wilson chased them. Brown then turned around and charged at Wilson; Wilson fearing for his safety fired his gun at Brown, shooting him multiple times until Brown was no longer a threat. Although Brown was unarmed, he was perceived to be a threat because he was significantly larger than the officer and was moving toward the officer. In this case, Wilson’s use of force was legally considered justified after he was not indicted by the grand