The issue of criminalizing the homeless straddles the ideas of police overreach, and societal structuring. The idea is more so based in the structure and classicism of the current American culture, but this certainly serves to play a role in how police and law enforcement operate. Mostly, law enforcement is tasked with enforcing laws, ordinances, and legislation that is made by governments with the people's best interest in mind. Often times these government bodies fail to see the whole picture.
The issue of criminalizing the homeless, does not explicitly make it illegal to be homeless (which in and of itself is an utterly ridiculous notion), but rather it makes it so hard for a homeless person to survive because it outlaws anything that would help them to. This would be panhandling, asking for change, sleeping in public, and even eating in public. Laws are being passed to rid the streets of American cities of the blithe of homelessness.
A noble cause indeed.
Except, these laws are not ridding cities of homelessness, they are just hiding it, all while making the problem worse. Not allowing the homeless to survive by asking for money and even eating in public marginalizes them even more than they are already. Many of the people, veterans of American wars, are abandoned by society and their peers.
Criminalizing homelessness serves to help the issue of homelessness just as well as criminalizing alcohol in the early 20th century served to help the issue of alcoholism. Avoiding the situation, and doing your best to make sure that an issue is not visible is a disgraceful way of managing a problem. The proper way of eliminating issues is to confront them, and instead of pouring money into quick fix "solutions," it would be more prudent to begin sustainable programs that create awareness.
The Problem With Criminalizing Homelessness
Back On My Feet Foundation
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
The Difficult Position of Public Servitude
This week, Tempe, Arizona police officer Jessica Dever-Jakusz, resigned under the immense pressure of an investigation into criminal charges. Apparently, Officer Dever-Jakusz, entered into a romantic relationship with a drug dealer (while undercover). She eventually admitted to the drug dealer that she was in fact a cop, and she continued to reveal the identities of two other officers working the undercover case with her.
The backlash is understandably harsh, as former Officer Dever-Jakusz willingly, and knowingly placed other's lives in immediate danger by blowing their cover in an investigation. Amidst all of this, Dever-Jakusz has attempted to fade into the background of this seemingly embarrassing occurrence. This whole incident, however, broaches the idea that often we forget that we entrust our safety to people. Human beings are behind the badges. there is a great deal of psychology, sociology, and physiology that goes into what makes a person an individual. These things cannot be stored away all the time once they are sworn to protect and serve.
While the behavior of Dever-Jakusz is deplorable (there is no excuse for willingly placing co-workers in danger), her relationship that developed out of performing her undercover duties is something that should be somewhat easier to sympathize with. By no means is this a justification of what she did, and by no means is this a suggestion that there should not be harsh repercussions. However, this is suggesting that we take into account the stresses of our own lives, and apply them into a potentially even more stressful position, like the ones that police officers are faced with daily.
Was Dever-Jakusz acting in the right sense of mind when she gave away the identities of her colleagues? Probably not. It is important to remember that we are affected by what we feel is the right decision. In the moment that we decide these things, we are not often in the most effective state of mind. These are things to consider when we judge those who seek to protect.
Tempe police officer Jessica Dever-Jakusz resigns amid criminal investigation
The backlash is understandably harsh, as former Officer Dever-Jakusz willingly, and knowingly placed other's lives in immediate danger by blowing their cover in an investigation. Amidst all of this, Dever-Jakusz has attempted to fade into the background of this seemingly embarrassing occurrence. This whole incident, however, broaches the idea that often we forget that we entrust our safety to people. Human beings are behind the badges. there is a great deal of psychology, sociology, and physiology that goes into what makes a person an individual. These things cannot be stored away all the time once they are sworn to protect and serve.
While the behavior of Dever-Jakusz is deplorable (there is no excuse for willingly placing co-workers in danger), her relationship that developed out of performing her undercover duties is something that should be somewhat easier to sympathize with. By no means is this a justification of what she did, and by no means is this a suggestion that there should not be harsh repercussions. However, this is suggesting that we take into account the stresses of our own lives, and apply them into a potentially even more stressful position, like the ones that police officers are faced with daily.
Was Dever-Jakusz acting in the right sense of mind when she gave away the identities of her colleagues? Probably not. It is important to remember that we are affected by what we feel is the right decision. In the moment that we decide these things, we are not often in the most effective state of mind. These are things to consider when we judge those who seek to protect.
Tempe police officer Jessica Dever-Jakusz resigns amid criminal investigation
Police Profiling/Harassment/Irresponsibility
Earlier this year, a young man was apprehended by police in New York City after leaving Barney's department store. He had purchased a $350 belt from the upscale retailer, and moments later, after walking away from the store with no problems in the transaction, he was apprehended by New York Police. Trayon Christian, a 19 year old New Yorker, was brought into the precinct station and questioned about his purchase.
Christian showed the police everything they had asked to see (receipt, debit card, identification, etc.), and they still chose to hold him in a cell while they called his bank even, to verify his identity. Recently, Christian has chosen to take legal action against Barney's due to the offense, and feels that the store was profiling him, and sent the police to question him.
Did I mention that Trayon Christian is black? Trayon Christian is black. This fact is almost grotesquely prevalent in many cases of police harassment in New York City. This is the city that police officers are encouraged to "stop and Frisk" anyone who looks suspicious (Black/Hispanic) in a rough (Black/Hispanic) area of the city.
The incredibly prevalent culture of profiling is an overreach of police duty. This is a case of police harassment that steps into the bounds racist and preferential treatment to certain members of populations. The harassment that Christian endured is something that is not supposed to be a commonality in everyday life in the United States. His purchase of a belt was completely legitimate and there was nothing about it that should have warranted police action.
It seems as though the continual institutionalized racism of the police and safety sector continually rears its ugly head. Is this a result of the "Stop and Frisk" culture of legislation that New York City has been operating under for sometime now? Whatever the case may be, the use of police forces to intimidate, and harass civilians is an unacceptable mode of operation.
Black Teen Cuffed, Put in Cell After $350 Barneys Purchase
Christian showed the police everything they had asked to see (receipt, debit card, identification, etc.), and they still chose to hold him in a cell while they called his bank even, to verify his identity. Recently, Christian has chosen to take legal action against Barney's due to the offense, and feels that the store was profiling him, and sent the police to question him.
Did I mention that Trayon Christian is black? Trayon Christian is black. This fact is almost grotesquely prevalent in many cases of police harassment in New York City. This is the city that police officers are encouraged to "stop and Frisk" anyone who looks suspicious (Black/Hispanic) in a rough (Black/Hispanic) area of the city.
The incredibly prevalent culture of profiling is an overreach of police duty. This is a case of police harassment that steps into the bounds racist and preferential treatment to certain members of populations. The harassment that Christian endured is something that is not supposed to be a commonality in everyday life in the United States. His purchase of a belt was completely legitimate and there was nothing about it that should have warranted police action.
It seems as though the continual institutionalized racism of the police and safety sector continually rears its ugly head. Is this a result of the "Stop and Frisk" culture of legislation that New York City has been operating under for sometime now? Whatever the case may be, the use of police forces to intimidate, and harass civilians is an unacceptable mode of operation.
Black Teen Cuffed, Put in Cell After $350 Barneys Purchase
Where Does Police Brutality Begin?
It is interesting how the view of police brutality shifts from case to case. The common perception of police brutality usually comes in terms of the result of the action. This is because it is a verifiable source of evidence. A suspect has bruising contingent with physical confrontation, and their claims are made more apparent in court. If a person does not show the signs of physical altercations, does this still mean that they experienced police brutality? Where does this line begin to be drawn?
Recently, an Illinois police officer has been under fire, and was charged with assault after an incident involving police brutality. The officer was found on camera to have used excessive force to bring a woman to her cell, after being picked up fro drunk driving. In the video, the officer is seen shoving the woman into her cell, where she then stumbles from the force of the push into the concrete bench in the cell. The woman subsequently suffered from a broken orbital (eye socket) and a vicious laceration (as is evidenced by the pool of blood: see link below).
Instances such as these raise questions of the somewhat blurry line in which police brutality begins and the proper and necessary force of the job ends. It seems as though the officer's push was not incredibly hard. But in the context of what the video shows, it seems to be crossing the line of necessary force. The woman, intoxicated, of slight build, and not seemingly resisting, enters the threshold of the cell and is then pushed, from behind, by the officer. We have to ask ourselves where the necessity of the push came into play.
Did the officer push the woman out of malice? Did he consciously try to inflict any sort of pain or further intimidation on the woman? these are important questions that are vital to clearing up our understanding of police brutality.
Illinois Cop Charged in Brutality Caught on Video
Recently, an Illinois police officer has been under fire, and was charged with assault after an incident involving police brutality. The officer was found on camera to have used excessive force to bring a woman to her cell, after being picked up fro drunk driving. In the video, the officer is seen shoving the woman into her cell, where she then stumbles from the force of the push into the concrete bench in the cell. The woman subsequently suffered from a broken orbital (eye socket) and a vicious laceration (as is evidenced by the pool of blood: see link below).
Instances such as these raise questions of the somewhat blurry line in which police brutality begins and the proper and necessary force of the job ends. It seems as though the officer's push was not incredibly hard. But in the context of what the video shows, it seems to be crossing the line of necessary force. The woman, intoxicated, of slight build, and not seemingly resisting, enters the threshold of the cell and is then pushed, from behind, by the officer. We have to ask ourselves where the necessity of the push came into play.
Did the officer push the woman out of malice? Did he consciously try to inflict any sort of pain or further intimidation on the woman? these are important questions that are vital to clearing up our understanding of police brutality.
Illinois Cop Charged in Brutality Caught on Video
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