Rebuilding the Damaged Relationship Between Law Enforcement and The Minority Community

Tensions between law enforcement and the minority community are at an all-time high. This has become one of the major problems law enforcement has encountered in the past and is still a major problem to this day. Mann (1998) stated that one of the biggest problems facing law enforcement since its inception is conflict between the minority community and the police (as cited by Conti & Doreian, 2014). Twenty-four-hour news channels and social media are now helping keep a spotlight on events involving law enforcement. Recent events between police and the minority community have started protests and riots, and as the minority population grows, this problem will continue, as the minority population becomes the majority. Law enforcement should take measures to ease tensions between police and the minority community. Lack of trust between law enforcement and the minority community is causing police officers to lose their lives. Some people do not trust the police and perceive them as murderers of the minority community. Some of those people who do not trust law enforcement have started attacking and murdering police officers with no provocation and no warning. Police should become less transparent and improve perception to rebuild the trust. Law enforcement now has tools available, such as social media, to help spread their side of the story and interact with citizens. The damaged relationship caused by racial tensions between police and the minority need to be rebuilt, and law enforcement must take the first step. Law enforcement must learn from the mistakes made in the past on its side and not repeat them. If law enforcement continues to work on this issue and come up with new ideas, it could save lives on both sides.