YOUR NEW name is 73645. Your new room is Cell Block 386. And your new roommate is a convicted rapist. You can have all this, and more, courtesy of the Los Angeles Police Department.
But wait, you say, don't I need to commit a crime to receive this wonderful prize package?
The answer, of course, should be yes. But in the case of the LAPD, and a growing number of police departments across the nation, the answer is a surprising no.
Four officers in the Los Angeles Police Department stand accused of lying, fabricating evidence, and falsifying police records in order to "send innocent men to jail." ("In L.A. police scandal, 4 go on trial for faking cases," The Washington Post, Oct. 13).
This incident epitomizes the corruption that has flooded through the pearly gates of our criminal justice system. Racial profiling, police beatings and sleepy public defenders have all become regular facets of American justice.
The majority of Americans would agree this is a problem. A huge problem. Yet the incident in California, and many other recent ones, have provoked no public indignation. No protest rallies. No overflow of letters in the Congressional mailbox.
This silence is unacceptable.
Society needs to stop making excuses, and realize the criminal justice system is not going to fix itself. Citizens often think the justice system is not under their control, and consequentially they cannot change its operations. There are no public elections for police officers. Judges usually are appointed. Police departments are sprawling bureaucracies with lives of their own.
These facts are true, but it does not mean the public does not have power over the justice system. Ultimately, all governmental appointments can be traced back to an elected official.
People can write their representative or governor and let elected officials know corruption is an issue. Representatives can enact legislation that provides for checks on police abuse. Governors can appoint judges who are strong advocates of procedural rights.
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Elected officials can enforce responsibility. Elected officials only will do this, however, if they know the issue is important to their constituents. It is the responsibility of the people to make their interests known.
Another excuse people use to justify their inaction is the claim that police abuses are unfortunate, but inevitable accompaniments to any justice system. Officers are, after all, humans. We cannot expect humans to be perfect.
This is also true. We should not expect our officers to be perfect. Errors made in good faith and judgment are tolerable. We should not, however, stand for intentional procedural abuses. Police who toss aside the truth in order to bolster their conviction rate have not erred. They have deliberately broken the law.
The main reason for the public's inaction, however, is not a consideration for the moral fallibility of police officers. It is pure selfishness. The abuses of the criminal justice system are directed at one demographic: poor minorities. The LAPD incident occurred within their Rampart Division - a unit that operates in a neighborhood of lower class immigrants.
Middle and upper class citizens generally do not have to worry about police officers planting drugs in their cars. Nor do they have to worry about inept public defenders botching their cases.
Most people, in fact, can rest assured that they will not be wrongly imprisoned. The problem of police corruption is therefore neither a pressing concern, nor an issue for public outrage. There are numerous reasons, however, why it should be a pressing concern for all citizens, and not just the citizens who are targeted.
Justice should be blind. Innocent men should be free. Police are supposed to protect and serve. Poor minorities have few political or economic resources in which to respond to the abuses.
Americans pride themselves on living in the land of the free. Yet, citizens sit idly by, watching as the government robs citizens of their freedom.
Corrupt police officers are imprisoning innocent people. You are paying their salaries. You are involved. Stop deflecting responsibility. Speak out on behalf of those who do not have the resources to be heard.
(Kelly Sarabyn is a Cavalier Daily viewpoint writer.)
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