“THUGS!” they yelled. It was the only words that could cross my mind, the teargas finally getting to me, even though I was in the back of the crowd. Yelling, screaming, and loud shouts filled the air, the voices of those who were currently being arrested for protesting. It was peaceful at first, then enforcement came out. The gas clouded my vision, my eyes swelling and tearing, stinging with both fear and anger. There were already dozens of officers watching us march down the street, why were these people wearing such heavy uniforms and carrying military grade guns? Why was no one doing anything about it? We were in such a small community, a population of less than 9k, why were there so many police eyeing us down?

Overpolicing has been a very prominent problem in low income communities commonly with a larger population of people of color. With the stereotype that people of color are more violent than white people, it is extremely common to see more policing in a black community than you would in a majority white one. In the article, “Protesters: Poorer communities of color are over-policed; research agrees, and offers alternatives,” president of CSSNY, David R. Jones noted that when he joined the board a few years ago, he was told by transit police officials that “93 percent of the arrests were of black and brown people.”

Due to black communities having to deal with over-policing, this in turn means that they have a higher rate of incarceration than people in white communities. In twelve states across the country, more than 50% of the prison population is black, with Maryland at a high of 72%. In spite of the greater population of white people in America, it seems logical that there would be a higher number of white people incarcerated if they were being arrested at the same rate of black people. And yet, in articles 2 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, it explains how regardless of your race, the law enforcement system should treat everyone equally. 

The prison system, as well as the criminal justice system in general, is extremely corrupt and still bases its actions off of ways that were used in the past. In the 13th amendment of the Bill of Rights, it showcases how slavery is prohibbted unless someone has been convicted of a crime. In this amendment it states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Since, there is over policing in mostly black populated areas, it’s like slavery all over again but this time, it’s covered up by labeling them a “criminal”-- whether or not they’re guilty of any crime. 

The origin of how policing is done nowadays can be traced back to a system called “Slave Patrol.” In the Criminal Justice Fact Sheet by the NAACP it says, “The earliest formal slave patrol was created in the Carolinas in the early 1700s, with the following mission: to establish a system of terror in response to slave uprisings with the capacity to pursue, apprehend, and return runaway slaves to their owners, including the use of excessive force to control and produce desired slave behavior.” After the end of this way of policing after the 13th amendment passed, these slave patrols were exchanged for militia-style groups who had the power to control the rights of freed slaves. While these ways of policing are no longer here, there has been no real reform of the way policing is done. 

In the police system, there is also a higher percentage of people of color getting checked for drugs compared to white people. In the article, “The Drug War, Mass Incarceration, and Race” by the Drug Policy Alliance they state, “Black people comprise 13 percent of the U.S. population and are consistently documented by the U.S. government to use drugs at similar rates to people of other races. But Black people comprise 30 percent of those arrested for drug law violations – and nearly 40 percent of those incarcerated in state or federal prison for drug law violations.” 

While the prison system is supposed to protect us, it feels like it has just become a new way to silence the voices of people of color. We have to do better in how our policing is done and in what ways we can reform the system in general. With over policing, higher incarnations depending on someone’s race, the disguisment of slavery embeded in the system, the little reform of old ways of policing, and the criminalization of drugs, there are so many things that can be done to fix this issue that no one seems to talk about. 9There could be such a great criminal justice system if we would simply stop trying to solve modern day problems with past solutions. 

Drug Policy Alliance. “The Drug War, Mass Incarceration, and Race.” The Drug War, Mass Incarceration and Race, July 2015, www.unodc.org/documents/ungass2016/Contributions/Civil/DrugPolicyAlliance/DPA_Fact_Sheet_Drug_War_Mass_Incarceration_and_Race_June2015.pdf.

Ford, James. “Protesters: Poorer Communities of Color Are over-Policed; Research Agrees, and Offers Alternatives.” PIX11, PIX11, 16 June 2020, pix11.com/news/local-news/protesters-poorer-communities-of-color-are-over-policed-research-agrees-and-offers-alternatives/.

NAACP. “Criminal Justice Fact Sheet.” NAACP, 10 July 2020, www.naacp.org/criminal-justice-fact-sheet/.

The Sentencing Project. “Report to the United Nations on Racial Disparities in the U.S. Criminal Justice System.” The Sentencing Project, 1 May 2018, www.sentencingproject.org/publications/un-report-on-racial-disparities/.