A note to the reader: in the spirit of making this article more rapidly understood, I have presented a series of “one-liners” from pages leading up to blocked section. If you take anything away from this — read the blocked section which details the extreme disservice done by the Unites Sates Bureau of Justice. Do not skip over the conclusion which is here for you, and ideally all Americans, to contemplate.
Finally, the reader may question if this is such an important topic, why is it not given more attention? This is due to the rhetoric surrounding SbC. First, one must understand what happens “in the United States, when a police officer shoots an individual” (Lord, 53). The report undergoes three steps:
1) Police agency decides if “the homicide occurred in the line of duty, and whether the homicide was justified to prevent imminent death or serious bodily unjust to the police officer or another person” (Lord, 53). If so, “then a record… is sent… to….” (Lord, 53).
2) “The FBI in Washington, D.C. This information recorded by the FBI is forwarded to the U.S. Department of Justice -- Bureau of Justice” (Lord, 53).
3) The Bureau of Justice statistics then “compiles and maintains a national database on the “justifiable homicides” that occur within the United States” (Lord, 53).
Within the Bureau of Justice statistics database “the killing by police are referred to as ‘justifiable homicides,’ and the persons who are killed by police are referred to as “felons” (Lord, 53). This terminology is “utilized by United States police agencies” under “the rationale” that “those individuals killed by police… were involved in a violent felony at the time of police intervention or were perceived to be involved” (Lord, 53). This rhetoric is further seen in a U.S. Department of Justice report that states “every time police kill a felon…” the report goes on, but what matters here is the rhetoric (Lord, 54).
By naming the individual killed by police a felon it immediately causes a lack of attention by both the public and many researchers. This is problematic because 1) it makes assumptions of all the individuals 2) the word “felon” in modern America is often perceived as a character trait, leading to many people to feel like they cannot relate and therefore cause them to lose interest 3) the terminology discourages further research on the victims as they are labeled felons, a group of people who are known to be stripped of basic rights in America and are not represented and 4) even if most of the individuals are felons, it does a disservice to those who are not. Within the topic of SbC, this is crucial in understanding why there is a lack of attention to the subject. If these individuals are being labeled as felons, it is easy to understand why SbC is not spoken about enough, as modern America perpetually ships felons away to areas and refuses to think about them. This may be appropriate given that it is characteristic of SbC individuals to commit an outrageous act, but it also underscores the value of this research into this topic.
