School Bells – Current Affairs – Grade 8 – Week 11
Role of Police/law enforcement
Last week the students and I began a discussion about acceptable ways to deal with anger and violence. This week we agreed to talk about a related subject: what job we want the police to do in our neighborhoods and cities. I had written down this question for them to take home to share with their families between then and class this week. I love the fact that the students and their families have developed the habit of talking about the assignment for a week prior to the class. All the family members seem committed to doing this.
When I was growing up both in Chicago and later in both rural Oklahoma and Tulsa, Oklahoma I learned that police were:
· Always white/Caucasian.
· Males.
· Our friend who would help if we needed.
Other than the time when my grandfather who as an older man (much younger than I now am) was deputy sheriff for a time in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, I do not recall even having a conversation or any other interaction with a law enforcement officer. It was not until I was in the military and dealt with intelligence officers (again, white males) that I learned that some were there to catch you doing something wrong. It was also not long before I learned that people such as Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, famous or infamous director of the FBI, kept files on people like me who were active in anti-war demonstrations or who were suspected of being involved in activities such as homosexual activity which could be used as blackmail not only by some enemy but the FBI itself. Still, for a long time I did not associate that behavior with local police officers. It was not until the riots of the late 1960s and early seventies erupted that I began to realize that often the police and the National Guard seem to be there to protect people other than me, people of color, and those labeled as trouble makers. It was also about then that non-white friends began to share with me their experience of getting stopped and often arrested just on the basis of their color. Since then I have been a part of many discussions about the often contradictory messages we give to law enforcement officers. This includes local police who are increasingly diverse culturally, racially and in terms of gender. Despite the diversification, our view of police as those who are racially biased and to be feared has increased for many citizens, but especially for those non-white citizens. In recent years the perception of the seemingly discriminatory use of violent force against those who are perceived to be African American has increased. Statistically, the evidence is not always clear but recent use of body cameras has documented some such cases. Also, the use of private cell phones at the scenes of altercations between police and citizens has greatly increased.
Regardless of what the statistics show, the fact is that we citizens seem increasingly confused about the job we want or expect police to do. The fact that we often expect police to respond to situations in which people are angry and/or violent is another reason to follow up last week’s discussion with this one.
Here come the students now.
Me: Good morning everyone.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes! We have cookies. Shall be start with one each? Ann and John will you pass them out please?
Ann and John willingly do so.
Class: Thanks Mr. Jim. More later?
Me: Yes there is enough for each to have at least one more.
How was the discussion with your families about the job we want police to do? Amena will you handle the white board?
Amena: Yes, Mr. Jim.
Me: Great. Thanks. Okay. Shout out one at a time some of the jobs we want the police to do.
Class:
Protect.
Traffic.
Problem solve.
Investigate.
Solve crimes.
Prevent violence.
Talk sick people off the bridge or high buildings.
Calm down angry families.
Me: Wow! You all have given a lot of thoughts to this question. Excellent.
What factors make it difficult for the police to do all these jobs?
Will: Easier to see potential problems in city neighborhoods especially poor neighborhoods where they may be more people of color.
Me: Why do you think that is Will?
Will: People are on the street more. Poor people do not have cars and underground garages.
Me: That is certainly true. What else?
Abdul: Poor people don’t have air conditioning and in the summer are outside more than people with air conditioning.
Susie: Young people may not have a parent at home when they get home from school.
Me: So it sounds as if we are saying that problems or issues in poor neighborhoods might be more obvious.
Paul: If they see poor people more and there are more poor people of color will they think that more poor people of color are likely to commit crimes?
Me: Good point Paul. If people live in cities in expensive apartments, townhouses or condos with thicker walls it may be more difficult to know what is going on inside. Also, expensive places have air conditioning, security guards and other protections. As we get out of the city, many people live in homes with automatic garage door openers and fenced in back yards. One might never see one’s neighbor unless one is collecting mail or mowing the front lawn.
What else makes job of police more difficult?
Tom: Guns. Everyone has a gun or might have a gun. It is easy to mistake something else for a gun.
Will: We have a sign outside our door that says no guns in this house.
Ann: Does not that make it more dangerous? What if a crook sees that sign?
Will: The hope is that they are going to know we will not shoot them or fight with them and are less likely to have their guns ready to shoot.
Me: Interesting. The police if they should come to the door will know that also.
Paul: We have a similar sign as do you Uncle Jim.
Me: That is true.
What else make the job of the police difficult?
Susie: My parents said that when they were growing up they knew the police officers and the officers knew them. They were neighbors. Where we live now we do not know the police officers and do not even talk to them because they are in their cars.
Abdul: In our neighborhood the police have started walking more and riding bikes more. They stop to talk. Our police officers are usually Ms. Abbey and Mr. John.
Will: They came to our church school class and talked to us.
Me: You all seem to be saying that the more the police and the citizens know each other by name and see each other in other settings the more likely they can work together.
Will: I think so. That is what my parents think also.
Abdul: Mine also.
Ann: My family thinks that the police need to be taught to protect without using guns so often.
Tom: If the citizens all have guns or if the police think they might have, it would be scary to be a police officer.
Susie: Yes, my cousin is a police officer and his family is always afraid he will die. We have read about a lot of police officers getting killed.
Me: Is that number going up or down?
Susie: Up I think.
Me: Actually, it was 146 in 2014 in the United States, 130 in 2015 and so far this year 103. That does not mean it is less scary but the number is going down. However, the number of people of all races being killed by police has been slowly but steadily gone up the past three years. There is a perception that there is a larger increase in the number of blacks being killed but the statistics I was able to find suggested that there is an increase among all races.
Tom: Do we want the police killing so many? I heard that in some cities that the police are examining whether to still teach their officer to shoot to kill.
Ann: I read that is controversial because the person they are trying to apprehend may or may not shoot to kill them.
Paul: It would be scary to be a police officer. I would not want my sister to be a police officer.
Amena: When my family and I were talking about the job of the police we decided that it seems as if the job of the police has changed a lot. For example, if a young child of a working parents gets out of the house someone calls the police rather than offering to help.
Ann: We were talking about that too. It seems as everyone is too busy to help each other and the police are called for everything.
Susie: Even the laws to help victims of domestic violence says that someone has to be arrested.
Me: What was the reason for changing that law Susie?
Susie: Because the person getting beat was too afraid to press charges. Our family talked about this also. To try to be fair they decided that the police always had to arrest someone.
Me: So are we saying again that we have made it difficult for the individual police officer to make a judgment and use common sense?
Ann: Yes, but my mother who volunteers at the shelter for abused women said it used to be that some police officers would always take the side of the abuser.
Me: We continue to seem to say that the easiest way to make it seem fair may be to pass all or nothing laws but that is not good for everyone either.
Tom: We really are confused about what we want police to do aren’t we Mr. Jim?
Me: It seems that way. Why is it important to realize that?
Paul: If we are confused and giving the police confusing messages we cannot just blame the police for all the problems.
Me: Outstanding Paul. If we are going to explore better solutions, we have to stop just pointing fingers. When we point fingers we never have a discussion and without a discussion we will not solve problems.
Abdul: Mr. Jim you are saying if we think we already know the answer there is no reason to look at other options.
Me: Outstanding Abdul. That is exactly what I am saying.
We did not come up with any answers but we know that we have to take responsibility for some of the problem. It is easier to just blame the police but the truth is that we are not clear about what we expect of them.
Class: Cookies!!! Cookies!
Me: Paul and John will you pass out the cookies please?
They pass out the cookies.
Me: For next week does anyone have a topic they want to suggest.
Susie: Could we talk about why medications are so expensive?
Amena: Yes, I am confused about that. My sister needed an Epipen and my parents could not afford a new one.
Me: Me Great . Let me type that out and then I will ask Susie and Amena to pass out the papers to share with families.
Again I am so impressed with everyone in this class. Great job.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Written October 25, 2016
Role of Police/law enforcement
Last week the students and I began a discussion about acceptable ways to deal with anger and violence. This week we agreed to talk about a related subject: what job we want the police to do in our neighborhoods and cities. I had written down this question for them to take home to share with their families between then and class this week. I love the fact that the students and their families have developed the habit of talking about the assignment for a week prior to the class. All the family members seem committed to doing this.
When I was growing up both in Chicago and later in both rural Oklahoma and Tulsa, Oklahoma I learned that police were:
· Always white/Caucasian.
· Males.
· Our friend who would help if we needed.
Other than the time when my grandfather who as an older man (much younger than I now am) was deputy sheriff for a time in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, I do not recall even having a conversation or any other interaction with a law enforcement officer. It was not until I was in the military and dealt with intelligence officers (again, white males) that I learned that some were there to catch you doing something wrong. It was also not long before I learned that people such as Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, famous or infamous director of the FBI, kept files on people like me who were active in anti-war demonstrations or who were suspected of being involved in activities such as homosexual activity which could be used as blackmail not only by some enemy but the FBI itself. Still, for a long time I did not associate that behavior with local police officers. It was not until the riots of the late 1960s and early seventies erupted that I began to realize that often the police and the National Guard seem to be there to protect people other than me, people of color, and those labeled as trouble makers. It was also about then that non-white friends began to share with me their experience of getting stopped and often arrested just on the basis of their color. Since then I have been a part of many discussions about the often contradictory messages we give to law enforcement officers. This includes local police who are increasingly diverse culturally, racially and in terms of gender. Despite the diversification, our view of police as those who are racially biased and to be feared has increased for many citizens, but especially for those non-white citizens. In recent years the perception of the seemingly discriminatory use of violent force against those who are perceived to be African American has increased. Statistically, the evidence is not always clear but recent use of body cameras has documented some such cases. Also, the use of private cell phones at the scenes of altercations between police and citizens has greatly increased.
Regardless of what the statistics show, the fact is that we citizens seem increasingly confused about the job we want or expect police to do. The fact that we often expect police to respond to situations in which people are angry and/or violent is another reason to follow up last week’s discussion with this one.
Here come the students now.
Me: Good morning everyone.
Class: Good morning Mr. Jim. Cookies?
Me: Yes! We have cookies. Shall be start with one each? Ann and John will you pass them out please?
Ann and John willingly do so.
Class: Thanks Mr. Jim. More later?
Me: Yes there is enough for each to have at least one more.
How was the discussion with your families about the job we want police to do? Amena will you handle the white board?
Amena: Yes, Mr. Jim.
Me: Great. Thanks. Okay. Shout out one at a time some of the jobs we want the police to do.
Class:
Protect.
Traffic.
Problem solve.
Investigate.
Solve crimes.
Prevent violence.
Talk sick people off the bridge or high buildings.
Calm down angry families.
Me: Wow! You all have given a lot of thoughts to this question. Excellent.
What factors make it difficult for the police to do all these jobs?
Will: Easier to see potential problems in city neighborhoods especially poor neighborhoods where they may be more people of color.
Me: Why do you think that is Will?
Will: People are on the street more. Poor people do not have cars and underground garages.
Me: That is certainly true. What else?
Abdul: Poor people don’t have air conditioning and in the summer are outside more than people with air conditioning.
Susie: Young people may not have a parent at home when they get home from school.
Me: So it sounds as if we are saying that problems or issues in poor neighborhoods might be more obvious.
Paul: If they see poor people more and there are more poor people of color will they think that more poor people of color are likely to commit crimes?
Me: Good point Paul. If people live in cities in expensive apartments, townhouses or condos with thicker walls it may be more difficult to know what is going on inside. Also, expensive places have air conditioning, security guards and other protections. As we get out of the city, many people live in homes with automatic garage door openers and fenced in back yards. One might never see one’s neighbor unless one is collecting mail or mowing the front lawn.
What else makes job of police more difficult?
Tom: Guns. Everyone has a gun or might have a gun. It is easy to mistake something else for a gun.
Will: We have a sign outside our door that says no guns in this house.
Ann: Does not that make it more dangerous? What if a crook sees that sign?
Will: The hope is that they are going to know we will not shoot them or fight with them and are less likely to have their guns ready to shoot.
Me: Interesting. The police if they should come to the door will know that also.
Paul: We have a similar sign as do you Uncle Jim.
Me: That is true.
What else make the job of the police difficult?
Susie: My parents said that when they were growing up they knew the police officers and the officers knew them. They were neighbors. Where we live now we do not know the police officers and do not even talk to them because they are in their cars.
Abdul: In our neighborhood the police have started walking more and riding bikes more. They stop to talk. Our police officers are usually Ms. Abbey and Mr. John.
Will: They came to our church school class and talked to us.
Me: You all seem to be saying that the more the police and the citizens know each other by name and see each other in other settings the more likely they can work together.
Will: I think so. That is what my parents think also.
Abdul: Mine also.
Ann: My family thinks that the police need to be taught to protect without using guns so often.
Tom: If the citizens all have guns or if the police think they might have, it would be scary to be a police officer.
Susie: Yes, my cousin is a police officer and his family is always afraid he will die. We have read about a lot of police officers getting killed.
Me: Is that number going up or down?
Susie: Up I think.
Me: Actually, it was 146 in 2014 in the United States, 130 in 2015 and so far this year 103. That does not mean it is less scary but the number is going down. However, the number of people of all races being killed by police has been slowly but steadily gone up the past three years. There is a perception that there is a larger increase in the number of blacks being killed but the statistics I was able to find suggested that there is an increase among all races.
Tom: Do we want the police killing so many? I heard that in some cities that the police are examining whether to still teach their officer to shoot to kill.
Ann: I read that is controversial because the person they are trying to apprehend may or may not shoot to kill them.
Paul: It would be scary to be a police officer. I would not want my sister to be a police officer.
Amena: When my family and I were talking about the job of the police we decided that it seems as if the job of the police has changed a lot. For example, if a young child of a working parents gets out of the house someone calls the police rather than offering to help.
Ann: We were talking about that too. It seems as everyone is too busy to help each other and the police are called for everything.
Susie: Even the laws to help victims of domestic violence says that someone has to be arrested.
Me: What was the reason for changing that law Susie?
Susie: Because the person getting beat was too afraid to press charges. Our family talked about this also. To try to be fair they decided that the police always had to arrest someone.
Me: So are we saying again that we have made it difficult for the individual police officer to make a judgment and use common sense?
Ann: Yes, but my mother who volunteers at the shelter for abused women said it used to be that some police officers would always take the side of the abuser.
Me: We continue to seem to say that the easiest way to make it seem fair may be to pass all or nothing laws but that is not good for everyone either.
Tom: We really are confused about what we want police to do aren’t we Mr. Jim?
Me: It seems that way. Why is it important to realize that?
Paul: If we are confused and giving the police confusing messages we cannot just blame the police for all the problems.
Me: Outstanding Paul. If we are going to explore better solutions, we have to stop just pointing fingers. When we point fingers we never have a discussion and without a discussion we will not solve problems.
Abdul: Mr. Jim you are saying if we think we already know the answer there is no reason to look at other options.
Me: Outstanding Abdul. That is exactly what I am saying.
We did not come up with any answers but we know that we have to take responsibility for some of the problem. It is easier to just blame the police but the truth is that we are not clear about what we expect of them.
Class: Cookies!!! Cookies!
Me: Paul and John will you pass out the cookies please?
They pass out the cookies.
Me: For next week does anyone have a topic they want to suggest.
Susie: Could we talk about why medications are so expensive?
Amena: Yes, I am confused about that. My sister needed an Epipen and my parents could not afford a new one.
Me: Me Great . Let me type that out and then I will ask Susie and Amena to pass out the papers to share with families.
Again I am so impressed with everyone in this class. Great job.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Written October 25, 2016
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