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  • Essay / How policing and incarceration affect inequality in...

    The factor of racial profiling comes into play as federal grant programs reward police for rounding up as many people as possible. This tactic was demonstrated by the CompStat system in New York and further exposed by Victor M. Rios' analysis on the topics of over- and under-surveillance. These themes focus on how officers monitor certain types of deviance and crime, such as loitering or disturbing the peace, while neglecting other instances where their assistance is needed. Rios also highlights how the accumulation of minor citations like those previously mentioned plays a crucial role in inserting young black and Latino men deeper into the criminal justice system. Rios implies that to reduce the chances of interaction with the police, one should not appear physically in a way that attracts the attention of the police or engage in demure behavior that might lead someone to label you as deviant. Unfortunately, excessive police surveillance has made it difficult even for those who actually respect social norms, because even then they have been victims of criminalization. However, because structural incentives such as those that mimic CompStat are in place, police simply ignore constitutional rules and can indulge in racial profiling, and thus question and search whomever they please. Since these targeted minorities recognize that the police are not always present to enforce the law, they in turn learn strategies to protect themselves from the violence around them. African American and Latino youth are thus socialized into the "code of the streets" because the criminal justice system has no value in their lives.