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The repeat use of fatal force against unarmed people of color has driven global protests against police violence and fueled criticism of policing as a mechanism for public safety. In the US, calls to abolish, transform, or reform policing have reemerged with a primary focus on the elimination of structural racism. In this essay, we contend that a two-tier policing problem exists. The first is the continued use of policing to enforce racial dominance through policing practices labeled as “proactive”. The second is contemporary “warrior-style” police training that normalizes the expectation of unquestioned compliance with police directives and authorizes police to use physical force in its absence. This dangerous combination results in over-policing the public generally and Black members of the public specifically. Select incidents are provided to support these claims. We conclude by expressing support for the call to reallocate portions of policing budgets toward other government and community-based structures that function to enhance the ability of people to survive and thrive rather than operate as mechanisms of pre-adjudication punishment and state-sanctioned coercion.

The results of a survey of 125 high school African American males regarding attitudes toward and contacts with the police are presented. Findings suggest that personal interaction with the police is not the sole or primary determinate of juvenile attitudes. Attitude formation is a complex process involving both direct and indirect police contact. A majority of the males report experiencing the police as a repressive rather than facilitative agent in their own lives and in the lives of their friends and relatives. Although positive encounters with the police are not sufficient to overcome negative attitudes, improved attitudes and respect for the police can be engendered by increased opportunities for the two groups to encounter each other in service rather than enforcement situations.

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