6.10. Current Issues: Stereotypes in Policing
Tiffany Morey
Human beings are infamous for stereotyping. A first impression when meeting a new person takes only seven seconds. According to Pitts (2013), smiling, shaking hands, introductions, speaking clearly, maintaining eye contact, looking smart, and not sitting down, are sure-fire ways to ensure a more positive stereotype; regardless, the seven seconds is irrefutable.
Stereotyping in policing is almost a foregone conclusion. Citizens expect their police to protect them by being not only reactive but proactive. One of the most popular policing methods is to view a situation and proactively make a quick decision on whether or not a crime is about to occur, and if it is, stop it from happening. One of the ways police proactively operate is through stereotyping. “Police officers spend a great deal of time working their beats…one thing is common to all police officer working personalities: to know who or what is ‘wrong’ on their beat, police officers must know who is ‘right’ or who belongs.” [1]
When officers cross over the line is when they leave out the step of asking the who, what, where, when, why, and how after the stereotyping occurs, to confirm their thoughts. It is at this point that the officer is engaging in a type of implicit bias policing and this opens many doors to corruption. It is another slippery slope that officers must always be aware of while performing their many duties.
“Stereotyping or Terry Stop” Example
No matter how controversial policing is today, one common thread is that citizens want police
to be proactive, not reactive to violent crime. Whether it is stopping an active shooter in a school, a burglary, or even a robbery, proactivity in policing is necessary to halt horrendous crimes from occurring. In 1968 the United States Supreme Court decided Terry v. Ohio, which further explained reasonable searches under the 4th amendment and played a vital role in the below story.
I was one of six officers in my department, chosen to work in our first-ever problem-solving unit (PSU). Our substation was placed in a neighborhood where 21 murders had occurred in just a few months. We were tasked with being proactive and working with the community to stop the bloodshed. The two-mile radius neighborhood was composed predominantly of minority residents, and their distrust of our presence was apparent immediately. The residents had stereotyped us as rotten-apple police officers and at first, did not want our assistance, they did not trust us. This was further agitated by the fact that we were there to be proactive and stop any future murders from occurring. Plus, we had the Terry v. Ohio decision to assist with our proactive actions. The citizens did not understand what that meant. They also did not understand that as one of the officers pledged to protect the area, I was feeling like an unwanted officer in their neighborhood. They did not know that I got into policing to change the worl