criminology

MS-13: Murder in the suburbs

Pg. 16 Profiles in Crime: A Shooting in Ferguson (Case of Michael Brown shot by PO Darren)

George Stephanopoulos Interview

The death of Michael Brown certainly raised issues about the role race plays in the construction and creation of crime and criminality. Would Michael Brown have been stopped by a police officer if he was a Caucasian college student? The law should and must be color and gender blind. Did this incident occur because of racial profiling? Many people believed that the incident showed that racism still exists in the justice system. The “Ferguson effect” refers to the belief that increased investigation of police activities following the shooting of Michael Brown has led to an increased crime rate in major US cities. Following the shooting, murder rates increased by almost 10 percent. Do you agree that police are more cautious since the Brown case? If so, has this more cautious mindset influenced the nation’s violence rate? Examining the trends – contemporary and victimization trends; crime rate trends, and international trends. Examining and recording the criminal patterns. What causes chronicity? What are the implications of the chronic offender concept? Are immigrants more crime prone? What are your thoughts on racial profiling?

The death of Michael Brown shows how the criminalization of black youths is inseparable from the racialized origins and prejudices. I believe racial profiling and prejudices surrounding the black community have blinded officers such as Darren Wilson that they cannot separate crimes committed by black youths and adults. To them, being black, whether under or over 18 years, should be treated similarly, such as using deadly force. If Brown were a Caucasian student, Officer Wilson would probably have not shot him, due to the stereotypes and intersection of racism, classism, and sexism used to facilitate racial discrimination. Despite the much effort to increase police activities investigations, caution among police officers has not been realized with an increased likelihood of police officers to use force against people of color and other marginalized groups. Ever since Brown’s case in 2014, racial disparities have been encountered where white police officers have killed unarmed black suspects. For example, George Floyd died recently, Antwon Rose killed in 2019 in Pittsburgh and in 2015 only, the killing of unarmed black teenagers and men was prevalent.

When examining crime trends and patterns recently, there seems to be an increase in crime and violent patterns, resulting in chronicity. Prevalent cause of chronicity, in this case, includes social variations, demographic pattern changes, and globalization. These three elements are interrelated; social variations include age distribution, which shows that significant crime rates are among adolescents and young adults, which later decreases with increasing age. Secondly, looking at the MS-13 group, a higher percentage includes immigrants into the USA. Immigration may result in demographic changes, which is facilitated by globalization that promotes cross-national socialization. Hence, immigrants are more prone to crime and related activities, which is plausible in explaining the chronic offender concept. Chronic offenders persistently break the law for a long while. Implications of being termed as a chronic offender, for instance, MS-13 group, results in the constant association of criminal activities such as homicides, drugs, and theft. The continuous association thus results in stereotypes in society and personal problems such as developing the antisocial syndrome that people may acquire due to social constructs.

Racial profiling should be eliminated as targeting people for suspicion based on race, racial prejudices, and historical origins eliminate social justice and equality. The death of Brown, among others, eliminated his chance to face a jury, judge, and fight for justice, as he was unlawfully murdered.