Criminal Justice Professor: 'Painful Self-Examination' - But Then What?
May 8, 2015
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In a post to the Political Violence @ a Glance blog site, Jeffrey Ian Ross, a criminal justice professor in the University of Baltimore's College of Public Affairs, wonders why local law enforcement has gone "unscathed" in punishing officers who commit crimes.
"[N]ow that the curfew has been lifted, and the police and city goes through its painful process of self-examination, the themes have morphed once again. Now people are talking about economic losses—but they're not thinking about the money that will flow into town because this happened," Ross writes. "Plus the numerous conspiracy theories? Some bloggers say this is a multi-year strategy to force local business out, to be replaced by national chains.
"The biggest question however, can't be answered by any reporter, source, pundit, or twitter post. It is not why the protests or the riots occurred, but why in the face of years of police use of excessive force has the Baltimore Police Department been relatively unscathed in its ability to sanction and/or fire its officers?"
Read the post.
Learn more about Prof. Ross and the College of Public Affairs.