Do You Trust The Police? - Reflection

First off, I really enjoyed how VICE News covered this issue. The answers to the question at hand was covered on both sides. Some individuals said that they have total trust in police officers while other do not. Although, I do wish that more individuals from minorities were interviews. For example, the men interviewed in Chicago were all white. Although, there have been a lot of civil rights violations and use of force cases in Chicago involving African Americans. Including those individuals would of allowed for more diverse answers. Yet, it was awesome hearing from people across the globe. It gives the audience a better understanding of how the police work outside of their own country. Also, this video is definitely a tool to get people talking about the current views about law enforcement. VICE News does a great of hitting both sides of the issue with the interviews and not having a bias. Furthermore, there was a comment that struck me. One man from Mexico talked about how police should only have a taser. We talked a little bit about this in class and in my opinion police should be armed for their own protection and for others. Like Brian said in class, when the ones committing the crimes are unarmed, the police can be as well.

Faster Legal Help in Chicago

An article I found in The New York Times talks about new legal help for those arrested in Chicago. Cook County Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans plan allows for those arrested in Chicago to have proper representation before their court appearance. According to Chief Judge Evans, "attorneys from the organization and the Cook County public defender's office will send attorneys to police stations or designate a volunteer private attorney to do so at the public defender's office request"(THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, 2017). Furthermore, a great point in this article is that the younger people arrested may not understand their rights and what they encompass. This  allows for those younger people to meet with a lawyer and discuss their rights and better understand them before trial. In my opinion, this is a great program. The city of Chicago has a vast amount of excessive force cases and civil rights violations and this is a new platform to serve justice to those involved. Ultimately, everyone is entitled to justice.

Private Prisons

       Since my time studying Criminal Justice, private prisons has always been a controversial issue. In my opinion, private prisons should not be in commission. Ultimately, those who run private prisons benefit from crime. These prisons take in inmates and thus make a profit off of these individuals. Some may say that they solve some overcrowding issues.. But, many non-violent offenders are being put away for long periods of time. Why not put non-violent offenders in a probation, community service, or other programs? Furthermore, prisons run by the government provide a better environment for criminals, according to Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates.  Truly, private prisons benefit the one's running it and not the rehabilitation of the offenders.