Police Search Of African Americans

Over the course of time, laws and policies have been changed to conveniently to ensure it is easier for police to search and arrest African Americans. Initially, police could only search citizens with a search warrant and probable cause. However, it has become normal for people, especially those of color to be search without either. When these searches are conducted they are labeled safety searches (or what they 're most commonly referred as, "stop and frisk") and are allegedly conducted in the interest of public safety. However, the searches are often conducted not for reasons that are legitimate, but based on the appearance of the citizen, with the most prevailing characteristic; race. Studies clearly show that African-American men are a much greater target than White men when it comes to being searched without probable cause. The police stop African American males at a rate much higher than whites. When the New York Police Department (NYPD) performed "stop and frisk" operations, 82% of African American males were frisked, …show more content…
Not only are they prohibited from experiencing many of the basic civic duties non-convicted Americans experience, such as the aforementioned voting rights and right to serve on a jury, they also suffer from increased discrimination when applying for a job, a drivers license, housing and education opportunities from wearing the label of criminal. The way people view another human being changes when that individual is labeled a criminal, and that person is no longer part of typical and ordinary American culture. Life, post conviction is difficult, and twice as hard when you are an African American ex-convict attempting to integrate back into society having to deal with the ordinary racism many suffered from prior to being