Race, Ethnicity, Crime, and Policing

• Outlined are key cases, historical acts, theories, and terminology related to race, ethnicity, crime, and policing.

Supreme Court Cases

• Plessy v. Ferguson: Established the "separate but equal" doctrine, permitting racial segregation.
• Brown v. Board of Education: Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson, declaring state-sponsored segregation in public schools unconstitutional.
• Arizona v. United States: Addressed the extent to which state law can regulate immigration issues.
• Maryland v. King: Ruled on the legality of collecting DNA samples from individuals arrested for serious crimes.
• Mapp v. Ohio: Determined that illegally obtained evidence cannot be used in a state criminal trial.
• Graham v. Connor: Established the standard of "objective reasonableness" for the use of force by law enforcement.
• Tennessee v. Garner: Addressed the use of deadly force by law enforcement against a fleeing suspect.
• Escobedo v. Illinois: Ruled that a suspect has the right to an attorney during police interrogation.

United States Census

• Focuses on racial and ethnic classifications, along with the history surrounding the collection and categorization of race and ethnicity data, playing a crucial role in understanding demographic shifts and informing policy.

Racial and Ethnic Terminology

• Ethnic: Relates to a shared cultural heritage, nationality, or origin.
• Minority: Refers to a group smaller in number compared to the dominant population, often implying experiences of discrimination.
• Populations: Groups of people, especially regarding demographics and statistical analysis.
• Race: A social construct based on perceived physical differences.

Bias

• Implicit Bias: Unconscious attitudes or stereotypes that affect understanding, actions, and decisions.
• Disparity: Differences or inequalities, often in outcomes or treatment, that may indicate bias.
• Police Bias: Prejudice or partiality on the part of law enforcement that can lead to discriminatory practices.
• Stereotyping: Assigning generalized beliefs about the characteristics of all members of a group.

Racial Ethnic Subgroups & Ethnic Groups

• Focuses on history from past to present.

Acts & American History

• Dawes Act: Authorized the federal government to break up tribal lands and distribute them to individual Native Americans.
• The Treaty of Ghent: Ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, addressing various territorial and sovereignty issues.
• The Fugitive Slave Act: Required the return of escaped slaves to their owners, even if they were in a free state.
• Benjamin Franklin: An early American leader involved in discussions and decisions about race and society
• The Emancipation Proclamation: Declared the freedom of slaves in Confederate states during the Civil War.
• Thirteenth Amendment: Abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.
• Convict Lease System: Leased out prisoners as laborers to private individuals and companies.
• Black Codes: Restrictive laws passed in Southern states after the Civil War to limit the freedom of African Americans.
• Riots: Public disturbances involving violence, often with underlying racial or social tensions.
• The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act: Expanded federal law to include crimes motivated by a victim's sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.

Immigration

• Immigrant enclaves and hubs, settlement patterns, and quota systems are factors that affect demographic compositions and social integration.

Statistics

• 1880 Census: Early census data reflects the initial collection and categorization of racial and ethnic information.
• Uniform Crime Reports (UCR): FBI program for compiling national crime statistics.
• National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS): An enhanced system for collecting more detailed crime data.
• National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS): A survey that gathers information about crime victims.

Hate Crimes

• Crimes motivated by prejudice against a victim's race, religion, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristic.

Government Agencies

• Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS): Collects and analyzes data about crime and the justice system.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Investigates federal crimes and provides law enforcement services.
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS): Responsible for protecting the U.S. from terrorist attacks and other threats.
• Civil Rights Division of the DOJ: Enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination.

Theories

• Lambroso: Posited that criminality is inherited and that criminals can be identified by physical traits.
• Wilson Herrnstein: Argued that criminal behavior is influenced by genetic and environmental factors.
• Murray: Known for work on social and cultural issues, including the relationship between race, crime, and public policy.
• Darwin: His theories on evolution and natural selection have been controversially applied to explain social behaviors.
• Conflict theory: Sees society as composed of different groups and interests competing for power and resources
• Bradley: Researcher of race relations
• Du Bois: Civil rights activist and scholar who studied race and its impact on society.
• Collective efficacy: The social cohesion among neighbors combined with their willingness to intervene on behalf of the common good.
• Social disorganization: Attributes crime to the weakening of social bonds and institutions in a community.
• General strain: Posits that crime is caused by stress and frustration.
• r/K selection theory: Hypothesizes that evolutionary pressures influence reproductive strategies, affecting behavior.
• Wilson 1987: Researcher of race relations
• Park and Burgess: Developed the concentric zone model of urban development, linking crime to specific urban areas.
• Clear and Rose: Researchers in criminology and penology
• Shaw and McKay: Developed social disorganization theory, linking crime to ecological factors in urban areas.
• Social Disorganization: Attributes crime to the weakening of social bonds and institutions in a community.
• Anderson: Authored "Code of the Street," examining the influence of street culture on behavior.
• Wilbanks: Researcher of race relations
• Oliver: Researcher of race relations
• Critical Race Theory: Examines how race and racism have shaped legal systems and societal structures.

Policing

• First police forces had origins in slavery, with evolution through the 1880s, 1970s, Progressive Era to modern day.
• Curtis act: Amended the Dawes Act and resulted in the break up of tribal governments and communal lands in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).
• Tulia TX 1999: Refers to a drug sting operation in Tulia, Texas, that led to the wrongful conviction of numerous African Americans.

Policing AND

• Racial profiling, excessive force, and police bias affect justice and civil rights.
• State v. Soto: Addressed racial profiling in traffic stops.
• Wilkins v. Maryland State Police: Focused on racial profiling by state troopers.
• Whren v. United States: Ruled that police can stop a vehicle for any traffic violation, regardless of their underlying motive.
• Terry v. Ohio: Established the "reasonable suspicion" standard for stop and frisk.
• Pretextual Stop: Stopping a vehicle or person for a minor infraction as a pretext to investigate a more serious crime.
• Excessive Force: The use of more force than is necessary in a given situation.
• Stop and Frisk: Police practice of stopping someone and patting them down for weapons based on reasonable suspicion.
• Henry Louis Gates: Refers to the arrest of Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., which sparked a national debate on racial profiling.
• U.S. Marshals: Federal law enforcement agency responsible for protecting the federal courts and apprehending fugitives.
• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): Enforces immigration laws and combats transnational crime.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): Investigates federal crimes and provides law enforcement services.
• Secret Service: Protects national leaders and investigates financial crimes.
• ICE: Enforces immigration laws and combats transnational crime.
• Immigrant Removals: Deportation of non-citizens from a country.