Bridging the Gap

of Racial Tension
By: Lauryn Reed
The minority community and Law enforcement
Racial Tension is defined as the lack of trust which causes aggression during interactions between groups
of people due to race, ethnicity, or religion. Recent events in the news and social media have displayed
negative encounters between law enforcement and the minority community causing a stain in their
relationship due to the belief that these acts are racially motivated. The lack of representation in law
enforcement and difference in the usage of force with minorities versus whites has contributed to the racial
tension and lack of trust between the police-citizen communities.
Minority Population in Perspective
- People of color only make up about 30% of the population, but make up 60% of the prison
population.

- There is a clear disproportionate amount of minorities being incarcerated here in America.

Encounters with Law Enforcement
- Minorities and Caucasians generally have different encounters with law enforcement.

- These different interactions give the community a lack of trust for the judicial system and
law enforcement.
Minority Youth
- African American children have a higher rate of juvenile
incarceration, and if convicted, they will more than likely
be sentenced to adult prisons, stripping them of a youth
and altering them to become adults.

- In most states African-American and Latino students get

referred to police and courts in rates that are
disproportionate to their enrollment leading them to fall
into the school-to-prison pipeline.
SOCIAL EFFECTS
Unfair Sentencing
- According to the United States Sentencing Commission,
black offenders receive sentences that are 10% longer
than white offenders.

- The Sentencing Project states that African-Americans

are 21% more likely to be sentenced to the mandatory
minimum sentence while Caucasians are 20% more
likely to be sentenced to prison.
Social Inequities
- In the workplace minorities face inequity in
their wages after leaving prison. The wages of
black men and women are strongly and
disproportionately impacted.

- 6.1 million Americans cannot vote due to

felony disenfranchisement and voter laws.
Solutions
Solutions for Law Enforcement
- According to the US Census Bureau of
2015 about 27 percent of officers are
of a racial or ethnic minority.

- In Virginia Beach minority officers only

represented 15.9% of all the law
enforcement.
Solutions for the Community
- The minority community should really
improve working on our families and
instilling an anchor in our homes to
create stability for our youth, especially
with the negative and subliminal
influences through pop culture and
social media.
Solutions for Education and Policy Makers
- Many states have been working towards solutions to
prevent the school-to-prison pipeline as well as
policymakers on the state and federal level.

- In Georgia, multiple local reforms have proved to

work causing a 47% reduction in juvenile-court
referrals and a 51% reduction in juvenile felony
rates.
Thank You