African Americans have some bad views about police. A lot of them feel as if the police are trying to take them away from their family. Young black males are amongst the highest rates of people incarcerated in the US. "We used the data to compare Black and white imprisonment rates by state, finding that every state locks up Black people at a rate at least double that of white people - and, on average, at six times the rate of white residents:" (Wang, 2023) I have this view because I have seen it happen many times. A black person and a white person can do the same crime and the white person will get off or have a lesser sentence. I have a friend that was sentenced to 55 years, with 5 years suspended, and he was with two other people one black and one white. The white boy was only sentence to 15 with 8 years served with good behavior, because he had never been in trouble. If they were all there and they all were a part of the conspiracy, they should have gotten the same amount of time or at least somewhere in the same range. Discrimination is done openly, nowadays, that's why people have these views. We see it in the news, on social media, all over, it's everywhere and it's sad. When looking at misunderstandings that have taken place with criminal justice professionals, language is amongst the top issues. "Language and cultural differences can lead to misunderstandings and perpetuation of stereotypes in legal proceedings. Misinterpretations of statements, gestures, or customs can arise due to linguistic or cultural ignorance. These misunderstandings may result in biased judgments or wrongful convictions. It is crucial to address these issues to ensure fair and just outcomes in the criminal justice system." (Simons, 2023) People speak differently in different regions of the country and some areas use slang that others don't understand, sometimes. We have to stand together to help close the gap on these types of issues, because people are dying behind language barriers, and many are jailed.
There are professional practices that are held to help officers and the community become more knowledgeable on how to properly handle different situations. I have chose to discuss diversity training for this assignment. A brief description of diversity training would be, "Law enforcement professionals in this course will learn how perceptions based on biases involving an individual's race, religion, level of ability, gender, ethnicity, immigration status or other characteristic can influence officer conduct and the behavior of suspects, witnesses or others during a law enforcement encounter. The course was designed to equip law enforcement personnel with strategies and skills to improve community relationships and engagement, resulting in a more positive perception of law enforcement." (Police Diversity Training: Cultural Competency, n.d.) Possible Outcomes: Diversity Training · Reduce biases · Teach skills to understand different points of views and people that are different than you · Better communication · Earning the public's trust