Alarming racial disparities in Oak Park policing
As recently as July 16, 2020, someone was heard on the police scanner calling Oak Park Police on a group of kids that were playing baseball in one of our parks just because they didn’t look like they belong.
What are Oak Park kids supposed to look like exactly?
What was the caller trying to say exactly? Does this kind of call exemplify the progressive, diverse and inclusive community that Oak Parkers often proclaim to be?
Seriously. Think about it. Kids are playing baseball (a traditional American pastime) yet somehow the caller is so focused on enforcing their sense of “who belongs in Oak Park” that calling the police seemed a natural response.
Is Oak Park really an inclusive, progressive community?
Oak Park has somehow earned a reputation for being a progressive community, but we continue to see that is not the case. When it comes to policing, a disturbing disparity rises to the surface again and again: Black people are stopped at alarmingly higher rates when compared to white people.
Oak Park policing data
A new Freedom to Thrive Oak Park analysis of police records obtained from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests reveals that black people are stopped by Oak Park police in field stops
Field stop
A field stop can be described best as a fact finding process. It occurs when a police officer has stopped a person, in a public place for a reasonable period of time when the officer reasonably infers from the circumstances that the person is committing, is about to commit or has committed an offense as defined in Section 102-15 of this Code, and may demand the name and address of the person and an explanation of his actions. Such detention and temporary questioning will be conducted in the vicinity of where the person was stopped. (non-traffic related stops), at 6 times the rate of white people, accounting for 78% of all of the 967 field stops made from January 2015 through June 2020.
This trend is particularly troubling, given that Black residents make up only 18% of Oak Park’s population. Unlike with traffic stops, this disparity cannot be explained away by a transient population passing through Oak Park.
Oak Park police stop black people 6 times more than white people in field interrogations.
Why are there racial disparities in Oak Park Policing?
1. Toxic blend of racial bias and a flawed policy.
The police can exhibit racial bias. Unfortunately, they have the legal authority to act on their biases. Police adhere to a subjective ideology that is overly reliant on gut-feelings and hunches that traumatize black people. The Oak Park Police Department encourages residents to call 911 for an inordinate number of reasons. This absurd policy is promoted on the Village website in its highly subjective Guide to the Suspicious. This policy unequivocally harms and traumatizes black residents and encourages racial profiling.
2. For many white Oak Parkers, being Black in Oak Park is suspicious.
This one will be a bit tougher for liberal, progressive white Oak Parkers to accept. Many white residents resort to calling the police for nothing more than observing a black person walking down the street, or black children playing baseball in a public park. Yes, Oak Park, you have a problem--steeped in racial profiling and white supremacy. The data are undeniable and must not be dismissed because it reveals an unpleasant truth about racist attitudes in Oak Park.
Living under suspicion negatively impacts the mental health of black people
Suspicion is the predominant reason black people are stopped in Oak Park, according to police reports. Our analysis shows that 79% of the black people stopped fall into 3 categories: suspicious person, suspicious activity, and suspicious auto. Currently, these are undefined terms, subject to prejudicial and individual interpretation.
79% of the Black people stopped, were stopped for reasons related to suspiciousness.
Based on analyzed data, black is the color of suspicion in Oak Park—especially if you are a Black male. Of the males stopped under the age of 18, an astounding 97% are black. Suspicion of Black people negatively impacts their mental health and risks their lives with each police encounter. This better-safe-than-sorry attitude promoted by the Oak Park police, and Oak Park Village government emboldens white residents to act on their fears, which further marginalizes and criminalizes black lives in Oak Park.
So, it turns out that this vision we have of Oak Park being a welcoming and inclusive community is more an illusion than reality when it comes to black people.
Of the males stopped under the age of 18, an astounding 97% are black.
Irresponsible use of 911
Because Oak Park Police encourage even trivial calls, residents end up acting on their worst impulses. This unofficial policy lets Oak Park residents off the hook. They can use the excuse that the police encourage residents to call 911 for what they deem suspicious behavior.
What can we do?
Being Black is never a valid reason for suspicion nor is it a crime. This bears repeating because the data show us that many people in our community clearly see black people in a negative, suspicious, and dangerous light. Instead of dialing 911, Oak Park residents must examine themselves and ask why they resort to calling the police on black people so often that it seems normal, and like the right thing to do.
If we truly want to live up to Oak Park’s progressive and inclusive reputation, we must take a hard look at ourselves and fix this distorted view.
What now?
If reading this article makes you uncomfortable, embarrasses you, or makes you deny the racist beliefs that led you to dial 911, take a step back and examine your motivations.
Instead of calling 911, do this:
Resist comforting knee-jerk responses that prevent self-examination.
Ask yourself why you think police intervention is necessary?
Try to imagine the harm you could be bringing to someone who is simply trying to live their life in our community.
Remember: not knowing someone is not a reason to call the police.
Remember: people aren’t suspicious, behaviors might be.
Be honest with yourself. Would you call the police if the person were white?
We must boldly reckon with these alarming statistics.
We cannot change these outcomes unless we are willing to dismantle the systemic root causes that created them. Only then will everyone in our community have the freedom to thrive.