An African American man is walking down the street when he is stopped by a police officer. They stop, detain and question him, saying he fits the general description of a suspect. He is taken in on the suspicion that he is connected to a crime that has been committed. Later, it is found he had nothing to do with the crime and is released. This sounds unjust and unmerited, and yet it happens everyday in America. However, that situation is rare when a white man is involved. Laws are the glue that holds our society together, but when laws are enforced unequally, they begin to tear it apart. Jerome Miller, author of Search and Destroy: African-American Males in the Criminal Justice System, stated in 1996, “The matter of who ends up in the criminal justice system of any country has always carried racial and ethnic implications." While many argue that African Americans commit more crime than other racial groups, the truth is they are subjected to a disproportional amount of encounters with law enforcement. This is a result of selective law enforcement, crime control policies such as the war on drugs, and socio-cultural racism.

According to the November 2000 US Census Estimates, whites made up 82 percent of the population, while blacks composed just 12 percent. Thus it would seem statistically impossible for blacks to commit more crimes than whites in America. The Uniform Crime Report (UCR), which is compiled by contributing police departments throughout America, found in 1982 that the chance of an African American living in a city of 25,000 or more has a 51 percent chance of being arrested for a crime compared to just 14 percent among whites in the same situation. The most recent date from the 2000 UCR (www.fbi.gov/ucr) showed that blacks are accountable for 27.9 percent of all arrestees. Can 12 percent of the population account for more than double that in crime? These numbers are alarming at best. If blacks are truly committing so much more crime, how can that be explained; and if not, how can these statistics be explained?

Selective law enforcement has a devastating effect on our civilization. Selectively enforcing laws is a tool for harassing the unwanted and providing preferential treatment to others. While it remains illegal and unconstitutional to selectively arrest or pursue arrest based on race or religion, it seems to happen constantly. One reason for this may be that blacks make up a large percent of urban populations, where law enforcement is more evident. Urban areas have higher amounts of patrol officers, so there is a better chance of criminals being caught in the act. Selective enforcement ties into the racism that has embedded itself in American the mind-set.

Continue with more on Selective Law Enforement....