Cultural Diversity

Cultural Diversity Del Carmen Consulting, LLC Dr. Alex del Carmen

Contact Information • Del Carmen Consulting, LLC • Dr. Alex del Carmen • Ph: 817.681.7840 • dcconsulting@sbcglobal.net • www.texasracialprofiling.com

Course Objectives • Identify and Discuss Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination • Differentiate Between Culture, Ethnicity, and Race • Differentiate Between Culture, Subculture, Contra Culture and Counter Cultures • Identify Key Issues in Making Law Enforcement Contacts in Cases Which May Involve Hate Crimes • Identify Key Issues in Racial Profiling • Discuss Problems with Improper Citizen Stops

Course Objectives (cont.) • Define a Gang • Identify Types of Gangs • Discuss Local Gang Problems • Identify and Differentiate Among the Terms “Middle Eastern”, “Arab”, and “Muslim”. • Identify Common Religious Beliefs of Muslims • Identify Key Issues in Making Law Enforcement Contacts with Persons from Middle Eastern Cultures

Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination • Prejudice is "an unfavorable attitude toward people because they are members of a particular group” • Discrimination is "an unfavorable action toward people because they are members of a particular racial or ethnic group" • Many people assume that prejudice is the cause and discrimination is the effect; thus, if a person seems to be prejudiced against others, then that person is more likely to discriminate.

Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination (cont.) • Prejudice is clear enough when it appears, but it emerges in many ways and takes forms that are not necessarily expressed. • Discrimination may take the form of explicit action by a person or a group, but when someone attempts to recount that action, culprits may be hard to find. • Law enforcement officers and other members of the public sometimes cultivate prejudice and practice discrimination, relying on the unclear nature of those phenomena as an alibi.

Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination (cont.) • According to the Cultural Transmission Theory of Prejudice, "the building blocks of prejudice are contained within the society’s traditions or culture and are transmitted to children in a natural way as they are exposed to those traditions in the home and community" • According to this theory, children within a cultural group are taught stereotypes—simplified images—of people outside the group.

Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination (cont.) • In the United States, cultural stereotypes are widely held by all kinds of people. • In a famous study at Princeton University in 1933, an astonishing number of students concurred in their stereotypes of Americans, English, Jews, Germans, Italians, Chinese, Japanese, and Turks. • After World War II (1946), new studies revealed that widespread stereotypes had changed during the war; for instance, Germans were stereotyped as "warlike" and the Japanese as "sly."

Theories of Prejudice and Discrimination (cont.) • The creation and promotion of stereotypes is aggravated by imagery in mass communication. • In the United States, this fact is most obvious in terms of racism: until the 1960s, Black Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and other minority groups were frequently belittled in the media. • When the civil rights movement gained ground in the 1960s, members of minorities slowly began to appear in the mass media in less stereotypical ways.

Exercise • In a small group setting, describe an instance in which discrimination can take place in a law enforcement setting. In your explanation, attempt to explain why discrimination took place and the necessary steps that could have prevented this incident from occuring.

Personality Theory: Frustration and Aggression • The Frustration/Aggression Theory asserts that social frustration caused by struggles for power within society causes aggression by members of one social group against members of another. • People put up with all kinds of abuse within their own social groups, as anyone whose family’s security is threatened by a cruel boss will readily testify. • When such abuse occurs and cannot be prevented, people have a natural impulse to retaliate. • Since they often cannot retaliate against the source of their troubles, they look for someone with equal or less social power to retaliate against in place of the real (but too powerful) target.

Personality Theory: Frustration and Aggression • Frustration, then, drives subordinate members of powerful social groups to commit aggressive injustice against social scapegoats, who are usually individuals in an even lower level of the power structure. • The frustration/aggression hypothesis runs up against a basic problem: groups outside one’s own really do mean one harm sometimes. • As the old joke puts it, just because you are paranoid does not mean that they are not out to get you.

Group Identification Theory: Ethnocentrism • When people gather into groups, they naturally tend to view groups outside of their own as different, and they are more likely to view other groups as inferior. This tendency is called ethnocentrism. • Ethnocentrism hinges on the notion that the primary importance of one’s own group is a "given," and that the standards and behaviors of other groups are of questionable value, at best. • Ethnocentrism creates strong communities through familial and social ties based on intimacy, but it also creates deep conflicts between different groups compelled by law to tolerate one another.

Theories of Discrimination • Children frequently learn to discriminate before they learn to be prejudiced. • If they hear members of their group using a racist term about another group, for instance, they are likely to conform to their group by using that term, even if they do not know what it means. • Pre-existing discrimination can create a "vicious circle" of discrimination.

Situational Pressures Theory • Situational pressures theory is based upon the fact that people’s actions, under pressure of particular situations, do not always match their professed beliefs and attitudes. • Discrimination can appear or disappear, depending upon the situation. • The gap between belief and action is called the creed/deed discrepancy. • Usually, the creed/deed discrepancy occurs when people who profess not to be prejudiced actively discriminate against "outside" groups due to their fear that members of their group will ostracize or otherwise punish them for accepting the "outside" groups.

Group Gains Theory • Group gains theory argues that dominant social groups discriminate against subordinate groups because individual members of the dominant groups enjoy concrete gains as a result. • The "white supremacy" tradition in the United States, for instance, remains in force because all white people—rich or poor, social elite or misfits—can use it to their benefit in mean, unjust, but concrete ways.

Institutional Structure Theory • The white majority in the United States remains dominant. • School and workplace desegregation, affirmative action, and an apparent decrease in prejudice among white Americans have not reversed a steady decline in living standards for racial and ethnic minorities such as black Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans. • Poverty, poor education, health problems, housing problems, debilitating patterns of crime and incarceration—all continue to plague racial and ethnic minorities. • Discrimination is institutionalized, built into the very structure of society through school districts and real estate markets.

Exercise • As a police officer, which theory of discrimination would most likely explain the negative perception often associated between minorities and the police? Justify your response.

Differences Between Culture, Ethnicity and Race • Culture - the integrated pattern of human behavior includes thoughts, communications, action, beliefs, values, and institutions of an ethnic, religious or social group. • Ethnicity - sharing a strong sense of identity with a particular religious, racial, or national group • Race - as a biological concept defines groups of human beings based on a set of genetically transmitted characteristics.

Differences Between Culture, Subculture and Counter Culture • Cultural RelativityCultural relativity-the belief that no culture can be judged by the standards of another and that every culture must be approached on its own terms. • It is impossible to understand the behavioral patterns of other groups if we analyze the behaviors only in terms of our own cultural motives and values.

Differences…(cont.) • Culture: Sociology defines culture as the sum total of the learned behavioral traits, values, beliefs, language, laws, and technology characteristic of the members of a particular society. • The key word in the definition is learned, which distinguishes culture from behavior that is the result of biological inheritance.

Differences….(cont.) • Subculture: are groups of people whose values differ from the majority. • It is a social group within a group of people who share cultural complexes, but that are smaller than a society. • Each subculture is related to the larger culture in the sense accepts many of its norms, but the subculture is also distinguishable because it has some norms of its own.

Differences…..(cont.) • Counter-Culture: are made up of groups (subcultures) that sharply challenge and reject some of the norms and expectations of the dominant culture. • Members of counter-cultures are not isolated from the larger society, for they come into contact with traditional middle-class institutions in many ways. • Counter-cultures do not necessarily have a negative impact on the dominant culture; they often instigate social change, and some social change is beneficial.

Differences….(cont.) • Contra-Culture:A social group that has developed values and modes of behavior that are in conflict with the prevailing culture. (Juvenile gangs, female gangstas, Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings).

Law Enforcement Contacts in Cases Which May Involve Hate Crimes • Members of hate groups come from all races. The law enforcement officer SHOULD be aware of these groups and their common characteristics. • Hate groups characteristically grow in numbers and membership during periods of increased immigration, such as the 1920s. • Hate groups arise during periods when disenfranchised groups have attempted to increase their political and economic power, such as Reconstruction and the Civil Rights Movement.

Law Enforcement Contacts…(cont.) • Hate groups arise during periods of economic instability when people seek scapegoats to blame for unemployment, such as the 1930s and the 1980s. • At times, organized hate groups have been powerful forces in American political life; many have sought dominance through violence and intimidation. Others have achieved significant political victories in electoral politics.

Law Enforcement Contacts….(cont.) • Profile: • Ideology: Explicitly racist. • Strategy: The more organized, the more sophisticated the group’s approach, e.g., using cable TV Internet and computer bulletin boards. • Structure: From 20,000 to 50,000 members. • Group Characteristics: From loosely too highly structured international groups. • Leaders tend to project a mainstream image rather than an extremist image. • Skinheads are usually loosely affiliated with organized hate groups and usually take direction and inspiration from them. • Organized hate groups focus on issues of concern to middle America as a way of marketing their hate. • Members believe in the inevitability of a global war between the races.

Case of James Byrd • On February 23, 1999, white supremacist John William King was convicted of capital murder in the brutal dragging death of James Byrd Jr. on June 7, 1998. On the day of June 7, Byrd was walking home from his niece’s bridal shower in Jasper, Texas, as defendants John William King, Shawn Berry, and Lawrence Russell Brewer were out driving. The three were roommates. One of the guys knew Byrd and they agreed to give Byrd a ride. According to one of the defendants, Berry, King objected to giving Byrd a ride, and after picking Byrd up, King told Berry and Brewer that he wanted to scare Byrd. They then beat Byrd unconscious, stripped him, and chained him to their pickup truck, and dragged him two and a half miles along a Jasper County road until his head and right arm were ripped off of his body. The skin from Byrd’s knees, buttocks and elbows also were ripped off down to the bone.

Defining Racial Profiling (U.S. Senate) Racial Profiling: The term “racial profiling” means the practice of a law enforcement agent relying, to any degree, on race, ethnicity, or national origin in selecting which individuals to subject to routine investigatory activities, or in deciding upon the scope and substance of law enforcement activity following the initial routine investigatory activity, except that

Defining…(cont.) • that racial profiling does not include reliance on such criteria in combination with other identifying factors when the law enforcement agent is seeking to apprehend a specific suspect whose race, ethnicity, or national origin is part of the description of the suspect.

ACLU’s Driving While Black • “On a hot summer afternoon in August 1998, 37-year-old U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Rossano V. Gerald and his young son Gregory drove across the Oklahoma border into a nightmare. A career soldier and a highly decorated veteran of Desert Storm and Operation United Shield in Somalia, SFC Gerald, a black man of Panamanian descent, found that he could not travel more than 30 minutes through the state without being stopped twice: first by the Roland City Police Department, and then by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.During the second stop, which lasted two-and-half hours, the troopers terrorized SFC Gerald's 12-year-old son with a police dog, placed both father and son in a closed car with the air conditioning off and fans blowing hot air, and warned that the dog would attack if they attempted to escape. Halfway through the episode – perhaps realizing the extent of their lawlessness – the troopers shut off the patrol car's video evidence camera.”

Strengthening Police-Community Relationships Conference • Racial Profiling Conference held in Washington DC (June, 1999) • President Clinton called racial profiling a “morally indefensible, deeply corrosive practice” • This conference led to the President’s directive to federal agencies to collect data on the race/ethnicity of person stopped

Racial Profiling: The Texas Experience Texas Senate Bill 1074: • Passed in May, 2001 • Became effective January 1, 2002 • Mandates law enforcement agencies to adhere to standards regarding racial profiling • Ignores that before it was passed, racial profiling practices were already prohibited

Senate Bill 1074 Timeline: January 1, 2002 (SB 1074 becomes effective) • March 1, 2003 (First Racial Profiling Reports are Due) • March 1, 2004 (Second Year of Reporting for ALL agencies; Tier 2 reporting required from some agencies).

Racial Profiling • Racial Profiling is, for the most part, an individual-based problem and NOT an institutional issue • Racial Profiling emerges from “social issues” and it will not be solved by “law enforcement agencies” • Aggregate data does not reveal if racial profiling practices are in place (or not).

Texas Racial Profiling Legal Requirements • Clearly defined act of actions that constitute racial profiling • Statement indicating prohibition of any peace officer employed by the police department from engaging in racial profiling • Implement a process by which an individual may file a complaint regarding racial profiling violations • Provide public education related to the complaint process • Implement disciplinary guidelines for officers found in violation of the Texas Racial Profiling Law

Requirements…(cont.) 6. Collect data (Tier 1) that includes information on Race and ethnicity of individual detained: • Indicate whether a search was conducted • If there was a search, whether it was a consent search or a probable cause search • Whether a custody arrest took place 7. Produce an annual report on police contacts (Tier 1) and present this to local governing body by March 1 of every year 8. Adopt a policy, if video/audio equipment is installed, on standards for reviewing video and audio documentation

A Contact Defined • Contact: A traffic related contact where a citation was issued. • Must be: • Traffic related • Citation issued

Searches • Must take place after “contact” is made • Should be divided into: PC and Consensual • National Debate on “how” search data should be analyzed • Some argue it is impossible to determine bias in searches; others obtain “ratio” of searches by dividing these with contacts

Tier 1 Data

Baseline Options: 1. U.S. Census Data 2. Fair Roads Standard 3. DPS

U.S. Census Data • Data is not always accurate • Does not measure “driving population” • Information is/will be dated • Does not take into account “day” vs. “night” traffic flow issues • Disregards “non-resident” traffic contacts • Does not count “illegal aliens”

Fair Roads Standard • Based on US Census Data • Counts only “households” with access to vehicles • Does not consider “number” of drivers in a particular residence • Only considers race/ethnicity of “head of household”

DPS (Department of Public Safety) • Combines “Hispanics” and “Caucasians” • Data can only be obtained by “zip codes”; thus, some limiting cities/counties who “share” zip codes with other jurisdictions • Does not take into account population who has moved to or away from city/county • Assumes that driving population is the same as the number of individuals who have a driver’s license

Tier 2 Data: Only required if agency: • Did not apply for video cameras, or • Does not have video cameras in vehicles

Tier 2 Data: • Requires the collection of “qualitative” data • Only manner of measuring data is to transform from a qualitative to a “quantitative” format. • Should be considered when vehicle (originally equipped with video camera) becomes disable

Exercise As chief of police, provide 5 different ways in which you could: • Measure “racial profiling” in your police department • Act in a “pro-active” manner to deter racial profiling incidents from taking place • Deal with a racial profiling problem in your department

Cultural Diversity