Police and Special Populations

Police and Special Populations
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Police and Special Populations
The police are people given authority by a state to enforce law and order in a country, to keep the public safe and to prevent criminal activities. Special populations are groups of people who are disadvantaged in society and are in need of police protection. These groups can be categorized according to race, age, gender, and special groups, for example, the homosexuals. Positive interactions between the police and the special populations foster greater development in a nation.

The interaction between the police and people of different racial groups differs. For example, white people have better interactions with the police than the African American people. This is because the African American people are prejudiced when it comes to the police that is they always see police officers as their enemies. On the other hand, the perspective of the police is that most black people are involved in criminal gangs thus the police are always suspicious of them (Peck 2015). For the relationship between the police and the various races to improve the prejudiced ideas held by both groups need to be done away with.
When looking at populations of different ages the most crucial relationships are those between the police and the young people and the one between the police and the elderly population. This is because these two groups are vulnerable and in need of police protection.

The interaction between the police and these two groups should be highly encouraged so that help can be availed whenever it is needed. To improve the relationship between the police and the group’s trust should be established so that the young and the elderly feel free to approach the police at any time (Anderson & Smith 2017).
The relationship between the police and the two genders differs. There is a more positive relationship between the police and the women than there is between the police and the men. This is because men have higher chances of committing crimes than women. The relationship between the police and the homosexuals is very negative as most homosexuals complain of police harassment and discrimination (Edelberg 2014). The interaction between the police and the two genders and the one between the police and the homosexuals can only improve if all the forms of discrimination were done away with and mutual confidence was developed between them.
References
Anderson, S., Kinsey, R., & Smith, C. (2017). Cautionary tales: Young people, crime and policing in Edinburgh. Routledge.
Edelberg, P. (2014). The Long Sexual Revolution: The Police and the New Gay Man. In Sexual Revolutions (pp. 46-59). Palgrave Macmillan, London.
Peck, J. H. (2015). Minority perceptions of the police: A state-of-the-art review. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 38(1), 173-203.