Community Policing
The author of this brief report has been asked to review a case study and answer to what should be done so as to properly use and enforce community policing. In the test case, it is an issue that the Koreans and African-American people of a neighborhood are not getting along to well. The latest flashpoint is a Korean store owner who has detained an African-American youth for petty theft. Of course, the letter of the law could be followed and the child could be charged. Another way to proceed is to let the kid go. Those are the two general options. While one may be inclined to pick one of those extremes, there is an option in the middle.
There are some challenges here. First of all, any action taken against the African-American boy is going to potentially inflame the black protestors outside. This will be true even if the boy is actually guilty. Further, this could turn the crowd against the police. However, there is also a danger in letting mob rule and pressure dictating what happens. Indeed, if the law was broken, the person breaking the law should generally seek justice. However, such rationality is not necessarily going to be paid any mind by an angry mob. The author of this report would be clear and say that the same precise thing would be true in reverse. If an African-American store was stolen from by a Korean boy and the kid was caught and the protestors were Korean, the same dynamics would be in play....
With all that being said, petty theft is not the crime of the year, If the kid just tried to steal a candy bar, there is a good chance that some resolution can come without charging the kid with a crime.
What the author of this report would suggest is first establishing whether the kid actually committed the crime. If there is video proof and/or the kid admits to taking something, that will take care of that. To keep things calm, the officer might suggest that the child apologize and never enter the store again in exchange for being released without charges. However, the child will be referred to his parents and all parties involved will be given notice that charges, no matter how minor, will be levied against the boy if he steals again or he will be arrested for trespassing if he goes to that store. If the store owner agrees to these terms, the boy should be taken home and the protestors should be made plainly aware that the child did indeed steal but is getting off with a warning and is being taken home.
For those that would cause violence, against the police or the other racial group, after such a reasonable outcome, then that person (or people ... no matter how many) should be arrested and charged accordingly. Racism is racism but crime is crime. Just because there are tensions between the two groups does not mean that the Korean store owner has to be a victim that is afraid to call the cops and/or have the cops…
