America thrives on cultural diversity. The nation effectively accommodates diverse groups of people with different cultural and historical orientations. Despite America thriving on cultural diversity, inequalities still exist in different aspects such as healthcare, income, educational funding, and law enforcement. There have been extensive debates surrounding unfair treatment of the minority groups by the police. Sections of the population believe that blacks are treated unfairly as compared to their white counterparts. Labeling is a factor that has instigated unfair treatment of the minorities by the police.
Effects of Labeling
When police arrest the minority members either intentionally or unintentionally, they tend to label them as deviant. Labeling people as deviant only perpetuates and promotes the individual to depict negative behavior in society. The theory asserts that anti-social behaviors are only deviant when the society labels them as such. Police have effectively labeled the minorities as violent and as a result, the nation has witnessed several cases of shooting involving police officers and minority civilians. To some extent, police have labeled and tagged certain individuals as criminal to deal with them later. The effects of labeling minority individuals as violent criminals have negative effects on law enforcement intended. The intentional labeling has caused self-esteem issues and stigmas that have led to unintended shootings.
Conclusion
The act of police labeling minorities as criminals is responsible for recent cases of police brutality and shooting involving civilians and police. It is paramount for law enforcement officers to rethink labeling minorities to transform this misguided practice that has led to blatant loss of lives. Community policing can be used as an alternative to deal with minorities through inclusive to protect neighborhoods.