Vice News, 2020, 11:26… There’s an epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women, and Native communities have had enough. Featuring Sociologist Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear.
SWATing
Adam Ruins Everything, 2019, 4:35… SWAT teams were invented in the 1960s to deal with hostage situations and prison escapes. Nowadays, these situations only make up 7% of SWAT deployments as most of their time is spent on non-violent drug searches. Two-thirds of SWAT raids do not even result in discovering a weapon and 40% do not find drugs. New York City also estimates that 10% of no-knock SWAT teams bust into the wrong address.
Redlining, Segregation, and Inequality
How AI Could Reinforce Biases In The Criminal Justice System
CNBC, 2019, 8:33… Increasingly, algorithms and machine learning are being implemented at various touch points throughout the criminal justice system, from deciding where to deploy police officers to aiding in bail and sentencing decisions. The question is, will this tech make the system more fair for minorities and low-income residents, or will it simply amplify our human biases?
1-844-WYT-FEAR (Racism Hotline)
The New York Times, 2018, 2:38… In this satirical infomercial, the comedian and actress Niecy Nash plays the inventor of a new hotline, 1-844-WYT-FEAR. The video advertises a phone service for white people to call when they can’t cope with black people living their lives near them. It’s a real phone number we created so that fearful whites can call it for advice, about their racism.
Crime as a Disease?
Racist Suspicious Activity Calls
The Science Behind Implicit Bias Training
PBS NewsHour, 2018, 9:12… Against the backdrop of simmering tensions over race and police violence against African Americans, police departments like the NYPD have introduced a relatively new training program aimed at teaching officers about implicit bias. Special correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault reports on the research behind “Fair and Impartial Policing” and whether it’s really effective.
Identification, Bureaucracy, and The Self
Vice News, 2018, 6:19… Police departments in Dallas and surrounding counties have agreed to allow their officers to accept ID cards issued by Dallas Area Interfaith, the Diocese of Dallas and several local parishes. These interfaith IDs have no legal bearing - it still remains up to an officer’s discretion whether to accept the identification (which includes a photo, name, DOB, address and the name of the parish that issued them the ID), but the desired outcome would be to quell some of the concerns present in the immigrant community, and help officers police more efficiently.
Algorithmic Policing
Black Parents Explain: "The Talk"
Mass Surveillance in China
A Brief History of SWAT Teams (Retro Report)
Violent Protest in Charlottesville
Charlottesville: Race and Terror -- Vice News (HBO), 2017, 22:04 -- https://youtu.be/P54sP0Nlngg
With the start of the semester approaching in a national climate of civil unrest, many students may be keen to the recent events in Charlottesville and eager to learn more. This is a powerful (and potentially triggering) video where an embedded reporter gives us a captivating look at what happened-- the neo-nazi/KKK/alt-right provocateurs clashing with the counter protesters, the "accident" leading to the death of an ally, the heart wrenching aftermath, and the continued arrogance from the white supremacists who speak openly about their desire for genocide. The video provides no narration but proceeds in an organically engaging manner. It'll certainly spark a discussion and clarify how one side started the violence. Despite what our president claims, there were no nice guys among the white nationalists. Kudos to Elle Reeve (@elspethreeve) for an outstanding job capturing the event.
Internet Surveillance in Britain
Invasive Intelligence -- Vice News, 2017, 3:07 -- https://youtu.be/qyT-h4MsedI
“A new law going into effect in the U.K. gives the British government sweeping new surveillance capabilities. The Investigatory Powers Act grants intelligence agencies and local authorities the right to access the internet history of any British citizen they target. It may be the most extreme surveillance act in the Western world. Later this year, the British government will be able to require internet service providers to record the websites and messaging applications their customers visit and keep that information for one year. The data will then be available for use by 48 different national and local authorities without the need for a warrant”.
Modern Urban Policing and Surveillance
Surveillance City -- Vice Media, 2014, 15:00 -- https://youtu.be/fVDvJCeCe54
Here is a frightful manifestation of broken windows policing taken to the extreme. We see a police force largely composed of non-natives to the city set up a panoptical surveillance system in an attempt to combat crime. The city's residents, who were alienated from the decision-making process here, feel as if their community has been invaded by this new police force. Although the crime rate drops slightly, is it worth the social damage to the community?
“Camden, New Jersey is one of the poorest and most drug-ridden cities in the country; its murder rate is 12 times the national average. In 2011, the city cut its police force almost in half, with nearly 80,000 residents regularly being policed by 12 cops at a time. The state stepped in to overhaul the department, introducing an experimental “Metro” security apparatus equipped with futuristic technologies like gunshot detecting, triangulation microphones, and automatic license-plate readers. As similar surveillance systems are implemented across the country, Vikram Gandhi went to Camden to see how these tactics are working, how residents feel about their loss of privacy, and what the future of policing looks like.”