Arrest Related Homicides and Racism.

BY SPENCER STONE

ON THE CONTRARY
The general public has a perception that cops are murdering black people at an alarming rate
and Im here to say its not all what it seems. On the contrary I dont believe cops are singling people out
based off their ethnic background. Its easy for the general public to get the facts a little twisted
because the information or lack thereof that is being relayed to them by the mainstream media outlets.
According to Alexia Cooper and Erica L. Smith, BJS Statisticians of The U.S. Bureau of Justice
Statistics says there were 2,931 arrest-related deaths from 2003 to 2009 and of those deaths Some
41.7 per cent of the casualties were white and 31.7 per cent were black (Page 11). Yes, white people
are getting killed at a greater pace than black people. Some might argue even though white people are
killed more its only simply because they make up a greater portion of the population (see the 2010
census) thus they just have a greater opportunity for the killings to materialize.

MEDIA AGENDAS
Why is when a white officer kills a black person it tend to get more national notoriety when
more white people are killed daily by police officers than black people? The obvious answer is because
race. When a black person killed by a white cop its easy to blame racism as the direct cause of the
shooting as opposed to looking at the actual facts of the stories. Police killings dont sale stories but
when racism is portrayed as a possible motive the media gains a lucrative opportunity. Do they give all
the facts or elaborate on the circumstances surrounding the killings? No, they semi give the story and

leave some blank spaces, so the public can form their own opinion and jump to conclusions about what
had actually happened. So if white people are killed at a greater rate than black people, why dont those
stories get the same attention even if the circumstances arent ideal like the stories the media chooses
to share. Simply put, white cop killing a white man doesnt sale quite like white cop killing a black man.
The media doesnt actually care about these people, they just care about the stories they know that will
gain television exposure and a social media following.

WHAT IS THE CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM IF IT ISNT RACE?

If race isnt the root of the problem the next logical question should be, what is the actual cause
of the problem? I dont have a conclusive answer but I however have a theory. Erika Harrell, Ph.D., and
Lynn Langton, Ph.D., BJS Statisticians, Marcus Berzofsky, Dr.P.H. Lance Couzens, and Hope
SmileyMcDonald, Ph.D. compiled some data about the correlation between crime rates and income
level and they came up with some startling numbers. According to them If a person is living below the
federal poverty level they are nearly twice as likely to be the victim of a violent crime at a rate of 39.8
per 1,000 as opposed people living above the federal poverty level coming in at about 16.9 per 1,000.
So criminal activity is obviously more of a common thing in places where poverty is prevalent and where
theres crime happening theres going to be police presence.

The media doesnt actually care about

these people, they just care about the
stories they know that will gain
television exposure and a social media
following.
HOW CAN WE HELP PEOPLE WITH LESS OPPORTUNITY?
Someone once said, Do what you got to do in order to survive, its a black and white world in
terms of survival for these people in these low income communities, its either you survive or you die
theres no in-between for them. Are all these people committing these crimes bad people? No I dont

believe so, I believe sometimes people do bad things for good reasons. I believe they lack the same level
of opportunities and support that the higher income neighborhoods have. The people living below the
federal poverty level struggle to meet even their basic needs such as food, water, shelter, education,
health care just to name a few. What would happen if the government were to set up programs to set
up these opportunities or these low income? If our leaders would help given these people a chance to
improve their life quality how many lives would be saved? If the same opportunities were given to them
crime rates would without a doubt drop as a direct result and if the crime rates drop the police homicide
rates would drop as well.

IN CONCLUSION
Would it be fair to say a cop kills a person simply because their ethnic background? No, it
wouldnt because often we as the general public dont always fully comprehend the full story. The
media does have selfish motivations when portraying these stories. Although most crimes happen in
poor communities whats often lost in all the commotion is the fact poor people will go to extreme
lengths in order to survive because they have no other choice. Would crime drop in these communities
if we were to invest more money in providing basic needs for them? Without a doubt, it would help the
cause of making the world a better place. So next time someone says a cop kills someone based off their
ethnic background you should give them a more informed opinion.