High Level Questions: How is the system of policing related to stereotypes or systemic oppression? Do you know of another instance where policing is unjust, besides targeting communities that are deemed “bad.”

My overall reaction to this article is shocking. The reason for this reaction is because I would have never expected that one way policing can be reformed is by focusing on at risk individuals, who would likely commit acts like violence. This article relates to me because as a person reading this article, I can become a congress person and make just laws that reform policing. One way I would do it is by stating statistics, such as “In Minneapolis, we found that 0.15 percent of the population was determined to be involved in groups, but this population was connected to 53.96 percent of shootings—a proportion over 350 times higher than their population representation.” (Lurie, 2019) This and many other statistics shows that policing must be reformed by not just looking at neighborhoods that are “bad,” but the people who will likely commit an infraction. This makes more sense because if right now, policing is looking at neighborhoods that are, “bad,” then it is a waste of time because the whole population is not going to commit a crime, only a small number of the population in those neighborhoods would likely commit a crime, which I have the power to do, and would likely be believed because I look like a minority because I am, I am Latino and it is frustrating when minorities like me, are racially profiled because policing is not reformed. This article also relates to my neighborhood because I always see police just cruising around my neighborhood and their not realizing that they are wasting their time doing that when they could be working smarter by finding out ways to gain the trust of people in those neighborhoods, as well as finding the individuals that are at risk for committing a crime and helping them. For example, they can talk to the individual, show them statistics and encourage them that “Crime is not the way to go.” I could be wrong though. Maybe the police are realizing that they are wasting their time (giving them the benefit of the doubt), but then why do I see them driving around my neighborhood, if in fact they can be working a lot smarter, such as prioritizing the individuals; that would (likely) commit a crime? When learning about injustices, such as reservations, redlining, and the school-to-prison pipeline, one thing is clear and that is that these injustices are enforced everyday and have not stopped or even diminished. 

Overall, the system of policing needs to be reformed as soon as possible. One way I can help make this a reality is by people like me speaking up against these injustices and possible solutions for it. If that does not work, we (people, not just me, united) will put pressure on the United States Congress, and even the Mayors and Governors of states, like California, until policing has been reformed (in a positive matter.)