I am writing about the article titled “Greenville Police Department, REEM working to address racial disparities.” Chief Thompson is correct in saying that “there are some segments of the community that don’t trust the police.” This is certainly an issue and one that should be addressed. There may be no perfect solution, but the end goal should be to restore trust in the men and women who have taken an oath to protect the freedom of the people of our nation.
It is a lie that “the structure of law enforcement was designed to treat Black citizens and communities unequally.” That is simply not historically accurate. The idea of law enforcement officers greatly predates our nation. In the United States, law enforcement exists to enforce laws and thereby protect citizens. Misconceptions like that, along with an extremely negative narrative from the national media, are why there is mistrust in our police force.
It is true, however, that the law was prejudiced against minorities in the past. But, after the passing of the 13th Amendment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and decades of work toward the end of racism and discrimination, it is an insult to the legacy of these things to say that racism is more prevalent or a greater issue now than it was then. Furthermore, it is a testament to the intentions of our police force that they protested with the “Black Lives Matter” movement last summer. The article also says that the police department is “… adding implicit bias training for all officers.” If there is not an issue in Greenville and the officers are already protesting against racism, why is there a need for this? In fact, bias training actually promotes discrimination. “Implicit bias training” teaches officers to judge people by the color of their skin in any and all situations. It should not matter whether a person is male or female, Black or white, we are all equal under the law and the law applies to everyone equally. If there is an issue that some feel that their communities are policed more heavily than others it is most likely because there is historically more crime in that community and police spend more time there in order to protect the people from frequent crimes.
Sincerely,
Elijah Butcher
