ABSTRACT
Political issues of the United States (US) police system in the 1990s closely parallel issues of the 1960s. The Kerner Commission made a number of recommendations for reducing tensions and hostility between the police and the black community. The recommendations are: adoption and strict enforcement of policies that prohibit misconduct such as harassment, brutality, or discourtesy, and intensive recruitment of black police officers and adoption of fair promotional procedures to ensure the rapid increase of blacks in supervisory positions. The adoption of policies that restrict the use of force by police officers has reduced police shootings, but it has not eliminated "questionable" shootings of blacks by the police and perceived injustice by the court system. Black chiefs of police and police officers have also been credited with improvements in relations between the police and black citizens, by respecting citizens and reducing incivilities practiced by white police officers.
