Police Behavior and Urban Minorities

Police Behavior, Urban Minorities, and Public Health

A Review of Literature Prepared for the Graduate Seminar

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Master of Health Administration

This study examined the problem of violent behavior as a public health issue. The methodological approach to the examination was an extensive review of the relevant literature.

Within the context of assessing the effects the policies of specific public entities on the problem of violence, this study examined the role of the police who address the issue of violence from a criminal justice perspective. The hypothesis investigated through the conduct of this study was that a public health approach that emphasizes prevention over punishment can be applied with effect to the reduction of violence in American society. The findings of the literature review supported this hypothesis.

The study concluded that the focus of the police should not be a "war on crime" but, rather, on how to achieve desirable human relations outcomes through the process of peacemaking. There are few people on the planet that would not prefer a world in which the attainment of desirable human relations outcomes rendered unnecessary the activity of making war on crime.

Controlling, restraining, and punishing, however, do not imply that cultural difference

. . .
poor in the United States. Luttwak (1994) concluded that the United States could deteriorate into a Third World country if the economic decline that has transpired over since the 1970s continues the trend at an unabated pace. One explanation offered for this trend is the "pervasive and increasingly accepted lack of work skills among the American public that is attributed to the failure of the American education system" (Luttwak, 1994, p. 94). Regardless of the absolute level of per-capita income in the United States, the distribution of that income is becoming more unequal. By 1992, approximately 40 million Americans were living in poverty. At the same time, the richest Americans "got richer" (Thomas, 1993, p. A2). Peterson (1993) reported that, in comparison with other developed countries, the United States ranks high in such areas as home conveniences and total national wealth. When personal poverty (as opposed to total national wealth) and leisure time (to make use of the wealth of home conveniences) are applied as comparative measures, however, the United States falls well behind the developed countries of Western Europe. Los Angeles is characterized by an African American population component that is far larger propo
. . .

Some common words found in the essay are:
Holarchical Paradigm, Abrams Hogg, Muir-McClain Halasyamani, Los Angeles, Statement Violent, Health Administration, Hoopes Quinlan, African American, Justice Statistics, Worden Snipes, violent behavior, holarchical paradigm, los angeles, social identity, public health, criminal justice, wilber 1998, police officers, domestic violence, abrams hogg, 1998 holarchical paradigm, abrams hogg 1994, wilber's 1998 holarchical, approach criminal justice, social identity theory,
Approximate Word count = 9694
Approximate Pages = 39 (250 words per page)

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