Welcome to our class blog! This blog is designed to help link our study of sociology with everyday experiences. Thoughtful comments are always welcomed and appreciated.
There are many instances in which our justice system has failed us. There are many people accused of a crime they did not commit, but are imprisoned anyway. There are times when people who are simply walking down the street are pulled aside by police and are forced to undergo a search just because of their race. How about the numerous times the police pull a car aside just because it has tinted windows, or even because the person simply "looks" suspicious? It is sad to think we can't even trust the justice system in our country. To think that many leave their own country to escape the unfairness of their government when our own is simply the sneakier version of what they escaped.
An example of the corruption of our justice system would be the case of Dewey Bozella. This man was accused of murdering a 92 year old woman. However, Dewey was far from the crime. Two convicts were told that if they testified against Bozella they would be able to obtain their freedom. Justice? I don't think so. It does not stop here though. All evidence in favor of Bozella was destroyed by the police. When a suspect came and confessed to the crime nothing was done about it. I cringe when I think about our justice system. Bozella was imprisoned for 26 years, and he was given several "opportunities" to be a free man. He was given the option to confess. However, he stated he would rather die than confess to a crime he did not commit. He stayed in prison and never backed down. He didn't let his situation take him down though. He got his GED in prison and began boxing. He sent letters to the Innocent Project until they finally took up his case. They uncovered a file that proved his innocence and was finally a free man after 26 years.
This is only one of the many cases the justice system has failed to do its job. How can they call it the justice system when they constantly frame a person for something he/she didn't do? The definition of justice is to act or treat justly or with fairness. Dewey's case was far from it. The very sad thing about the justice system is that it seems to get worse. How can we stop corruption in this world if the justice system itself seems to be corrupt?
In Philadelphia we have a high crime rate and people say we don't respect police officers, some police officers dont respect citizens. in this video police committed a crime against a 20 yr old woman, this is seen as a misunderstanding because they are held on a higher level then the rest of us. This is just a small sample of the things that police get away with in Philadelphia but also over the country. If an officer is shot or harmed does it make there lives worth more because they are police? When a regular person is shot,stabbed etc. it takes the cops for ever to show up but they shut the city down and find who did the crime against a cop.When it comes to us they ask us to do their job and find the person for them, i was aked this same thing. Some would say they keep us safe i beg to differ i think they instill fear in most. I would like to hear your thoughts on this.
By Devin Barnes
Finding jobs for people with felonies can be one of the biggest challenges that a person may face after being released from prison. Most inmates leave prison or jail with no savings, no stable housing, no health or unemployment benefits, and very limited job possibilities
Many have mental health problems or serious medical conditions, including HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculosis.
I believe citizens should be encountered on what they are doing now, not their past. We are only humans and are suppose to make mistakes in order to learn from them. Who is society to give a person a bad label for the rest of their life? Everyone has performed some type of sin and should never look at any other sin more horrible then theirs. We wouldn’t be the beautiful person that we are without performing mistakes.
More than 50% of all convicts will return to prison within the next five years after their release.
Although society wishes not to live in the same community as felons, they do not have enough organizations to help correct the lifestyle of a criminal. Instead citizens label them as a “rebel” and can care less to give them a second chance to become a law abiding citizen. As a result, many felons are forced to repeat criminal activity in order to survive in society.
Do you think the government is doing enough to help ex- offenders stay off the streets?
Do you remember the lawless flash mobs in Philadelphia? On
Aug. 9, 2011 a flash mob gathered on South Street in Philadelphia. You can see
the crimes being committed in the videos below. For example, a group of deviants are kicking
and punching someone on the ground next to a car. Assault is a crime and flash
mobs committing them are a community issue that is deplorable in our society,
and cannot be taken lightly. It’s also against the law to attack people. Moreover,
you can see in this first video how fast a counter culture is formed with
modern technology. Case in point, this group of teenagers are going against
main stream culture, and committing crimes of assault. In addition, this video
also shows the bystander effect happening. For example, it is when a crime takes
place and, because a large group of people are there standing around and watching;
they don’t call for help or call the police. They think that someone else will
call for assistance. As a result, no one helps the victim. Additionally, the
Mayor of Philadelphia was initially subjected to ethnocentrism, and the crowd
not calling for help was exposed to the bystander effect. These sociological
effects are unknowingly exposed in the below video.
Mayor Michael Nutter was originally in denial about the
Philadelphia flash mobs as something not deviant or criminal, because the group
that formed was of his own ethnicity. Furthermore, my above video is a perfect
example of this. It is called ethnocentrism and it is cause by one’s shared
culture. Our Mayor, Mr. Michael Nutter says, “Not a whole lot happen.” Meanwhile,
the video shows the criminal activity and clear evidence of two assaults that
took place on South Street. The first assault was a man that was interviewed
and you can see his bruises. In addition, the news reported that a woman was attacked
for no reason. Our Mayor indirectly says in the video, that he blames his
misunderstanding of the crimes that were committed by the flash mob on the wrong
official facts being reported, but not the news media. This is just another
example of ethnocentrism- when one cannot see something from a world view,
because it is happening from within one’s own group.
Furthermore, I also think that ethnocentrism and the
bystander effect are unjust and wrong. It’s also a shame that people sometime
suffer from these sociological effects. For example, ethnocentrism is that one
may be close-mined to reality, and the bystander effect is when a large group
of people witness a crime and nobody steps in to help the victim. In my opinion, these
sociological effects are also criminal.
To conclude, I agree with the police commissar, Chief
Charles Ramsey in the second video above. He says, “It’s no joke, and if you do
think it is, you have another thing coming. It is serious crime(s) being
committed.” Criminal or deviant behavior, such as, attacking another human
being is unacceptable in our society. As a result, these juvenile delinquents
deserve to be held accountable for their crimes and actions, and are lucky no
victims were killed.
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority (via mechanisms such as legal systems) can ultimately prescribe aconviction. Individual human societies may each define crime and crimes differently, in different localities (state, local, international), at different time stages of the so-called "crime" (planning, disclosure, supposedly intended, supposedly prepared, incomplete, completed or futuristically proclaimed after the "crime".
when in certain area in the city do you get treated differently? Do you get pulled over by the police frequently? Is profiling right when done in a certain manner? This brings me to say should racial profiling or profiling in any manner be acceptable to us? and should it be a crime to do so?
Racial profiling refers to the use of an individual’s race or ethnicity by law enforcement personnel as a key factor in deciding whether to engage in enforcement (e.g. make a traffic stop or arrest). The practice is controversial and is illegal in some nations, and the empirical evidence is that it is an ineffective strategy.
Take the police policy stop and frisk used in Philadelphia for example,the situation in which a police officer who is suspicious of an individual detains the person and runs his hands lightly over the suspect's outer garments to determine if the person is carrying a concealed weapon.One of the most controversial police procedures is the stop and frisk search. This type of limited search occurs when police confront a suspicious person in an effort to prevent a crime from taking place. The police frisk (pat down) the person for weapons and question the person.
Stop and frisk should be illegal for police to do but, since the process catches some drug dealers once in awhile, its allowed to be done. Police misconduct like that permitted by this stop and frisk policy is nothing new here. In fact, awhile back in 1979, Philadelphia became the first city in America to be sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for committing and condoning “widespread and harsh” acts of police wrongdoing meaning violating peoples rights and getting a way with it.Bad police work is unconstitutional, threatening, violent, and racist. It’s also good for the bad guys who love it when their guns and crack rocks that are illegally confiscated are later suppressed because the evidence doesn't hold up in court, on the illegalsearch the policepreviouslyconducted.
Organized Crime is crimes that are structurally put together and is providing illegal services or goods to people. When you hear of an organized crime what comes to mind? Most people would think of the drug trade or bank robbers. The drug trade and bank robberies both have to be well thought out and planned before any action is actually carried. Its well thought out so that no mistakes will be made and the chances of getting caught is slim to none but, an organized crime that has been around for centuries is the American Mafia.
Since the Beginning of time the American Mafia has run America. The mafia is an Italian based criminal Society that is involved in every illegal trade in the world. Money laundering, gambling, prostitution you name it they have a part in it. The mafia has rules and expectation just as if it was a real job organization. They have series of tasks t perform before they can be considered a member of the organization. Just like a job if the rules are broke you are terminated (murdered). The video below talks about the rules and codes the mafia lives by.
The American Mafia is one dangerous organization to become apart of. Once your in they own you and the only way out is death or jail. Its not something you get in and get out with it becomes your life.
By: Monique Brockington Society has grappled with misconduct and corruption issues for as long as it has had police officers. Police corruption is the abuse of police authority for personal gain. Corruption may involve profit or another type of material benefit gained illegally as a consequence of the officer's authority. Typical forms of corruption include bribery, extortion, receiving or fencing stolen goods, and selling drugs. Misconduct is the broadest category. Misconduct is "procedural" when it refers to police who violate police department rules and regulations; "criminal" when it refers to police who violate state and federal laws. Common forms of misconduct are excessive use of physical or deadly force, discriminatory arrest, physical or verbal harassment, and selective enforcement of the law. Many aspects of law enforcement have changed; however, one aspect has relatively stayed the same, which is the existence of corruption.
Police corruption is a complex phenomenon, which does not readily submit to simple analysis, it is a problem that has and will continue to affect us all. Large groups of corrupt police have been caught in New York, New Orleans, Washington, DC and Los Angeles. I want to focus more on the corruption within the city of Philadelphia. The reality is that it affects us all physically, mentally, emotionally, and most important financially. The falsely accused citizens suffers from having to fight a case or serving time for a crime that they didn't commit, all because the "BADGE" is held at a higher standard of authority over other citizens, "our word against yours". When you think about criminal activity, the first thing that comes to mind is a deviant, not the police. With that in mind who do you trust? It's like reporting criminal activities to another criminal .....where's the logic in that? People begin to lose their trust & faith in the system that was made to protect the rights of citizens. The tragedy of these prime time police scandals is that they give a black eye to the the police officer who has integrity and refrains from committing even a minor act that could be construed as misconduct. A greater tragedy occurs when citizens of the community and the nation lose their confidence in the police, it destroyed their reputation. Financially, we all suffer due to our tax dollars that is issued to law enforcement to do a job that a fraction of them don't do. Not to mention that when the police officers misuse their authority, and the victims issues these lawsuits to our governor.....it's the same tax dollars being paid to settle these suits that we pay them to protect and serve. Police misconduct has cost the city of Philadelphia $20 million in the settlement of over 200 civil cases in the last 28 months, the socio-economic costs are any one's guess.
The powers given by the state to the police to use force have always caused concern. Although improvements have been made to control police corruption & misconduct, numerous opportunities exist for deviant, corrupt practices. The opportunity to acquire power in excess of that which is legally permitted or to misuse power is always available. Police corruption can involve a single officer or group of officers, or can be the standard practice of entire police precincts or departments. In most major cities there are internal affairs sections to investigate suspected police corruption or misconduct. One step in the right direction, however, is the monitoring and control of the police and the appropriate use of police style to enforce laws and to provide service to the public. Until we treat police officers who break the laws the same as citizens who break the law, we are for these who are truly seeking solutions to urban crime. We must place eradicating systemic police corruption at the center of the debate. I say let the penalties and fees come out of the law enforcement departments checks, lets see how much longer corruption & misconduct remains an issue amongst out society.
