The killing by police of innocent black Americans is a terrible running scandal. It can partially be explained by sheer fear on the part of the police – so many people now carry loaded guns that it is, maybe, understandable that policemen are tempted to shoot first and ask questions afterwards. But most shootings seem to be unprovoked and the result of poor training and lack of community connection and interaction.
At a time when violent crime is actually on a downward trend the gun lobby and politicians in general pretend that police violence has nothing to do with them. This while police forces throughout the country are being militarised to look like an occupying army. The police are no longer regarded as friends and protectors, but as rough and hostile to the people who pay their wages. And this comment comes from a white man.
The whole system of justice is being called into question. Charles Blow of the New York Times thinks the problems stem from the way black people are represented in the media, the grimness of the ghettos, the joblessness, poverty and lack of education. Everywhere you look, whether it is bank lending, poor investment, mass incarceration for idiotic misdemeanors, inadequate public transport, poor schools, even sub-standard food shops – everything seems to disadvantage the black poor. It’s a miracle that some black people become wealthy enough to move out of the ghettoes. Social media and videos now bring these problems into our homes.
The cause of police violence cannot be simple racism because so many policemen are themselves black. Control of the police is vested in local authorities, not the Federal government, and all too often state politicians instinctively side with the police, whatever the circumstances. Until they have the courage to hire police chiefs who have the courage to instill discipline, nothing much will change. But, of course, guns and fear will remain the explanation for police shootings. Horrifying.
You make an excellent point about the militarisation of the police. Tony Blair attempted something similar here in the UK as a part of the War on Terror, but fortunately the UK, with its proud tradition of unarmed policing, resisted such reforms. There’s no need for normal police to be armed like a solider. In special situations, a specialist team of armed SWAT units may be necessary. But SWAT members go through particular training most police don’t.
Its absolutely astonishing the way America treats its black population. In particular, school segregation is on the increase- black and white children are less likely to go to school together than at any point since the 1960s. The argument from some white parents is that its too much effort to bus their children far away in the name of integration. But I would argue that society as a whole benefits from integrated schools: black students get better results, and there’s absolutely no evidence to suggest that white students lose out. A more integrated society would certainly reduce interracial violence. Its also true that richer, whiter areas have better funded schools (because local property tax revenues are higher). The system needs a total overhaul, so that like in the UK for the most part, poorer areas get more money.