Question & Answer: Posted on NAM July 28
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New America Media Editor’s note: The National Black Police Association is no stranger to dealing with controversies around racial profiling. That’s one reason why the Washington D.C.–based organization opposes SB 1070, the Arizona state law that asks police to do the job of federal immigration agents and investigate suspects’ immigration status. In the hours before a judge blocked key provisions of the law from taking effect. Ronald Hampton, the group’s executive director, outlined his concerns.
New America Media: Why does the National Black Police Association oppose Arizona’s new immigration legislation?
We think it’s going to hinder policing. Not just in Arizona, but in the 13 or 14 states that are considering something similar. We’ve been talking about community policing for years now, and this law is going to cause people to withdraw from partnership with the police— I mean, it’s crazy.
Please explain the idea of community-oriented policing, which your organization advocates, and the impact you believe SB 1070 could have, if it were fully enforced.
Community policing is something we have been involved in for at least the last 25 years. It’s a concept where you develop a partnership between police and communities to provide public safety. It’s important to know that very rarely do police officers live in the urban areas they patrol. So we utilize the vested interest and experience of people living in those communities to help solve crimes and provide prevention and intervention, tell us what’s going on. Ninety-five percent of the people who live in our communities are law-abiding, so it doesn’t make sense to alienate them.
The whole bedrock of community policing is to work together with the community — it’s the community that solves crimes. What’s the first thing police do when they get on the scene? They start trying to identify witnesses, and they start trying to interview people for information. [With SB 1070,] people who may be undocumented are going to be afraid of cooperating with police.
The same kind of suspicion exists with young people [who] are less likely to cooperate with police because sometimes police have a tendency to take advantage of young people. The mistrust is going to begin to spread.
Do you see any parallels in terms of what Latinos may experience with SB 1070 and law enforcement agencies’ targeting of African-American communities?
Read entire Q & A here.