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POLICE BRUTALITY AND REFORM: Does Policing in the United States Need to Fundamentally Change?
Does policing in the United States need to fundamentally change? Be sure to check out Issues & Controversies’ complete and unbiased coverage of this divisive issue. Here is a sample of the pro/con arguments on both sides of the issue.
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SUPPORTERS ARGUE
Police officers regularly abuse, harass, and brutalize Americans, particularly black men, without repercussion. Demilitarization, body cameras, bias training, accountability for bad cops, and limits on when officers can use force are all necessary reforms. Governments should defund and downsize police departments and shift those resources to services that actually help the public.
OPPONENTS ARGUE
Reports of widespread police brutality are exaggerated, and charges of pervasive racism in law enforcement are simply unfounded. Only rarely do officers use excessive force, though they must often make instant decisions in tense situations. Defunding police departments will only endanger the impoverished, minority neighborhoods activists proclaim they want to protect.
The pro/con article links to rich related resources that enhance the debate. Students and researchers can explore the “By the Numbers” data, primary sources that provide context, key court cases, debate videos, NPR podcasts, infographics, editorials, a Reuters® newsfeed, a chronology, and a bibliography and further resources. Plus, discussion questions are provided to inspire critical thinking and analysis.
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The award-winning Issues & Controversies database helps researchers understand today’s crucial issues by exploring hundreds of hot topics in politics, government, business, society, education, and popular culture. Updated weekly, with an extensive backfile, Issues & Controversies offers in-depth articles—each presenting both sides of an issue clearly, coherently, and without bias—made to inspire thought-provoking debates. Its straightforward presentation of the key facts, arguments, history, and current context of today’s most important and timely issues makes the database an ideal resource for research papers, debate preparation, and persuasive writing assignments.
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Also of interest:
Are your students and patrons discussing the Black Lives Matter movement and the critical issues it raises such as racism, diversity, civil rights, protests, freedom of expression, and global citizenship? Check out our Understanding Racial Literacy in the U.S. page, where we’ve compiled packages of relevant content available in Infobase resources including Issues & Controversies, each with an easy-access Open Trial so that you can see the content.
