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Greensboro police seek greater transparency in actions

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Sunday, January 29, 2012

By Dioni L. Wise
Staff Writer

GREENSBORO — Sociology professor Bob Davis has heard Greensboro residents complain about racial profiling at barber shops and on his show on N.C. A&T’s radio station.

Davis said an older friend makes sure he’s in his home in eastern Greensboro by 1 a.m. after visiting a friend on the other side of the city. Otherwise, police will trail him, Davis said.

“It’s a shame that he has to make those adjustments in his life,” Davis said.

Davis shared similar concerns with the Greensboro Police Department when Chief Ken Miller asked him and three other black community leaders to help police improve the department’s policies and the perception that officers are unfairly targeting certain people.

The Biased-Based Policing Committee suggested the department increase instruction about biased-based policing before and after cadet graduation; increase public awareness about citizens’ rights through brochures and advertising; and record every citizen complaint received by department staff, which the police were not doing.

Capt. James Hinson , the committee chairman and commander of the Eastern Patrol Division, denies the police department has problems with profiling.

“I think with the committee being formed, people are thinking, 'Hey, is there a problem?’” he said. “No, there’s not a problem. The reason why the committee was formed was because, No. 1, the chief wanted it formed, and No. 2, to be proactive.”

Certain communities in Greensboro, as well as across the nation, believe police approach people because of their race or ethnicity, Miller said in a memo to the city council.

“We must be transparent in our efforts to examine, address, and monitor policies and performance,” Miller said.

In September, he created the Biased-Based Policing Committee, formerly the Arbitrary Profiling Committee. The committee concluded that “arbitrary” and “biased” should not be used interchangeably, thus the name change, Miller said. He enlisted 10 police department staff, Davis and three other community leaders:

Barbara Lawrence , Guilford College justice and policy studies professor.
The Rev. Clarence Shuford , St. Phillip AME Zion Church pastor and Pulpit Forum president.
Goldie Wells , former city councilwoman and a leader in the Concerned Citizens of Northeast Greensboro.

From 2006-2010 , police recorded 25 biased-based police complaints. The largest number was eight in 2010 , five of which came from traffic stops.

“My first reaction as a sociologist was, 'C’mon, guys. For a city of this size, it’s got to be more than that,’” Davis said.

During the first meeting, the committee members learned that the police department had not been documenting every complaint.

For example, a police officer pulls over a driver and explains that he stopped the driver because his car matched the description of a suspect’s vehicle that left the scene of a robbery nearby. The officer eventually lets the driver go. The driver, thinking police unfairly targeted him, later calls the police department to speak with the officer’s supervisor and finds the officer legitimately pulled him over to investigate the robbery.

If the driver was satisfied with the police department’s response to his concern, then the concern wasn’t recorded.

Under the new procedure, such a call would be recorded and included in the list of complaints, Hinson said.

“We want to make sure that we educate the public in such a manner that they know we’re not going to allow this type of conduct as far as officers being biased toward your race, your gender, your religion,” Hinson said. “So those things are not going to happen. And if you feel that does happen or that has occurred, there are proper mechanisms that you need to go through.”

The police department’s Division of Professional Standards will track each complaint, analyze the data and report those findings to the chief.

Wells said the committee members believe some police officers might have more profiling complaints than others.

“That’s one of the reasons why they need to keep a record of who’s being stopped and who’s stopping people,” she said.

Hinson said the committee members initially were reticent to talk openly about such a sensitive issue, but the dialogue was healthy overall.

The committee will continue to meet, probably quarterly. The police department will try to involve leaders from the Latino and Montagnard communities as well.

Both Davis and Wells commended the police department for addressing profiling concerns.

“It’s gonna make some change,” Wells said. “I’m optimistic. I know that things don’t happen overnight. It wouldn’t be erased completely, but it should be better.”

Contact Dioni L. Wise at 517-7680 or dioni.wise@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

File photo (News & Record)

Photo Caption: Greensboro police Chief Ken Miller during a press conference last year.

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retiree

January 29, 2012 - 8:02 am EST

I presume to be fair to all individuals of all ethnic backgrounds, will there be a representative of the White community too, or is this just a separate policy for minorities?

nhalleycat

January 29, 2012 - 10:07 am EST

Whites are the minority in Greensboro

timflowers

January 29, 2012 - 1:47 pm EST

Non-Hispanic whites make up 45.6% of Greensboro's population. Blacks are 40.6%. Asians are 4.0%. Hispanics are 7.5%. (2010 US Census data).

LabsRule

January 29, 2012 - 8:14 am EST

Hinson???????Really?????????? Isn't he a party to the lawsuit against the City for this very thing?

Sha

January 29, 2012 - 4:01 pm EST

Yes, I almost become physically ill when I see him referred to as Captain Hinson.

polaroid

January 29, 2012 - 9:41 am EST

So because Bob Davis Professor of Sociology doesn't like the results of complaints reported based on race against Police Officers he goads/lures Chief Miller into a new study with a new name. And Hinson believes an Officer who stops a vehicle that matches one involved in a crime is racial motivated. This committee and new study will get the numbers Davis wants so he can scream racism. Officers that work in the southern, eastern and central areas of Greensboro, which are predominantly black, will stop more cars with black drivers or passengers.. So how do you expect not to get what appears to be a racial motivated result. And then to identify those Officers as problems,like Goldie Wells would like, is crazy. Oh by the way Goldie, are you going to target the black Officers along with the white Officers.

nhalleycat

January 29, 2012 - 10:36 am EST

Thank you for saying what I was going to say. If the area is mostly black then that is who is going to be stopped the most, common sence.
To add to this I am white and live by mostly blacks. There have been many robbberys in my area. I call the police when I see people who do not live around here walking down the street looking in backs yards. I fouled 3 or 4 robberys so far. When I am riding around my neighborhood I check on my neighborhood looking for cars and people I know are not from that house. I know my black and white and Mexican neighbors, I know who visits them. I know when a stranger comes into my neighborhood. I do not see many white people were I live, If I call the cops because a black person is snooping around my neighbors yard or my yard I am not profiling, I am calling to stop a crime. And if calling on a black person who doesn't belong in your yards is considered profiling shame on the police and every other black origination..

jsipe29

January 29, 2012 - 9:52 am EST

Greensboro got thier citizen review board with the blessing of the police chief.

Traveler

January 29, 2012 - 12:26 pm EST

These are not the actual numbers, but pretty close, I think.

There were about 28 murders in Greensboro in 2011.

About 20 of the victims were African American.

X out the murders by the crazy woman from Pleasant Garden, and something like 90% of murder victims were African Amercian.

A large number were drive by shooting.

The African American community wants better police protection.

Members of the African American community claim prejudice in that so many African Americans are pulled over.

Does anyone see the contridiction?

You can't have it both ways. You can't have better protection for the majority of respectful African American families without checking out suspicious vehicles.

shine

January 30, 2012 - 12:39 am EST

Imagine for a moment if you replaced African American with White. If the crime was white on white and you were pulled over because you were white, you would be upset too. The crime may center around the African American community, but that doesn't mean an African American doesn't deserve the same protection and credibility until proven otherwise. Our crime as a city focuses on certain communities, but that doesn't mean that side of town needs a curfew or everyone is presumed a criminal if they are out late or own the same car as a criminal. I worked on that side of town for many years and watched people be attacked or stores being robbed. Even when I called the police as a white person, the response was slow when I told them where the crime was. However, when a nosy neighbor called the cops on a new neighbor in my neighborhood that they didn't recognize, the police were there is a flash. I think law abiding African Americans just want the same amount of freedom we get on the west side of Greensboro as whites.

rooster8786

January 29, 2012 - 12:21 pm EST

I, and many others, worry when the title Pastor or Reverend and Pulpit Forum are associated with ANY city-wide committee...

Sha

January 29, 2012 - 4:01 pm EST

Agree totally.

jsipe29

January 29, 2012 - 1:17 pm EST

This is a fact as printed in Wikipedia.com.

In a pattern usually seen within urban areas within the Southern United States, Greensboro tends to have crime levels considerably higher than the national average. The same pattern usually dictates segregated/pocketed crime which is the trend in Greensboro as well, where a very high percentage of crime takes place in minority populated/low income neighborhoods. For the year of 2006, the city experienced 6,931 overall crimes committed per 100,000 residents; the national average was 4479.3 per 100,000 residents.[35] For that year Greensboro ranked above the national average on every category of violent crime as well as all forms of property crime.[36] For the year of 2008, Greensboro ranked above the national average for all forms of violent crime and property crime. The city also ranked higher on crimes than the North Carolina state averages.[37] There was a total of 15,901 crimes committed for the year of 2008, this is a decrease when compared to the previous year of 2007, that year Greensboro experienced 16,676 total crimes citywide.[38] According to the Congressional Quarterly Press City Crime Rankings 2009-2010, Greensboro holds the 75th highest crime rate out of 393 ranked US cities

rooster8786

January 29, 2012 - 4:28 pm EST

Because something on Wikipedia, it is a fact? How about a cow, on a pole, with antlers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cow-on_pole,_with_antlers.jpeg

Only thing better would have been if it was a pig, because we've all heard the saying "when pigs fly"...

jsipe29

January 29, 2012 - 5:26 pm EST

I had to check that one and yes, it is true. There's a picture to prove it.

shine

January 30, 2012 - 12:56 am EST

So here is the thing about Wikipedia that many people don't understand: Wikipedia is a wiki and can be altered by anyone, but many entries are edited and checked for facts. The little numbers you see in brackets from the copy and paste job mean that those sentences correspond to a particular third party reference. For example, 36 and 38 are both taken from Greensboro's web site. Others are from areaconnect.com, clrsearch.com, and this link: http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2009/CityCrime2009_Rank_Rev.pdf.

Wikipedia does what any encyclopedia does. They refer to other people's research and findings and report on it.

That cow on a pole is actually from the NOAA photo archives. They have a reference to it on the bottom.

timflowers

January 29, 2012 - 1:39 pm EST

The police are in a difficult position. We expect them to solve crimes and prevent crimes, but when they try to do so, one group or another pounces on them crying "foul".

Statistically, blacks make up 21.5% of North Carolina's population, yet are convicted and imprisoned at a ratio of 5.4 blacks for every white. (http://www.cga.ct.gov/2008/rpt/2008-R-0008.htm) These are actual convictions, not just arrests. Logic dictates that with a disproportionate number of crimes being committed by blacks, the police will detain, question, and arrest a higher percentage of blacks than whites.

Some will no doubt call me racist for even daring to post these numbers, but they come from official census data and can therefore stand on their own.

I suggest we as a society spend less time beating up on the police and spend more time finding out why blacks have such a high conviction rate.

nhalleycat

January 29, 2012 - 2:56 pm EST

This is for timflowers, blacks have a higher conviction rate because there are more of them in Greensboro and they commit more crimes. They been shooting each other , have black ganges and expect all them black origination to cry racist when they get caught doing wrong. . I don't see any white originations crying racist like I do the blacks.. I think the squeeky wheel gets the greese. In this case and many others it is the blacks always expecting more than they deserve no matter who they commit a crime against. Lets talk Greensboro. There are many , many more gangs and blacks,The rest of NC is not so much my concern. In Greensboro there are too many black racest groups. We need more white and mexican groups .

BenHolder

January 29, 2012 - 6:11 pm EST

I imagine Ken Miller could have found a better leader. However, he loves Hinson. That's the way it goes. My biggest issue with it is what the hell is A.S. Wallace doing on it? Really, Ken? Wallace is going to help deal with racial profiling? Really?

Let's just examine A. Wallace.

10/06/00: Administrative Investigation Sustained: Divisional Reprimand Recommended by Captain A.C. Stewart, Appealed and Disciplined reduced to first level Reprimand by Assistant Chief A.L. Scales.

8/31/01: Administrative Investigation Sustained: Discretion (Photos on Website) First Level Reprimand.

3/14/02: Violation of D.D. 1.512, Duty Responsibilities. This is just entirely too long to rehash. read Bledsoe's story here for full recap.

3/25/03, Counseling for improper driving.

9/15/03: Counseling for parking Ticket Violations.

12/2/07: Suspended with pay after being accused of sexually assaulting another officer.

12/2/08: After having 11 months off with pay, Wallace comes back to work and receives a demotion.

He is also one of the officers currently trying to get the city to pay them for allegedly being discriminated against.

Yeah, I would say only a genious would put Allan Wallace on the racial profiling committee.

rooster8786

January 29, 2012 - 6:18 pm EST

keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer. The new chief had a chance to clean house, and chose not to. He's made his bed & now must lay in it...