We all have a fundamental right to live free from fear, free from crime, and free from disorder - but while we share that right, we also share the duty to secure it.
William BrattonRead
If an African-American or a recent immigrant - or anyone else, for that matter - can't feel secure walking into a police station or up to a police officer to report a crime, because of a fear that they're not going to be treated well, then everything else that we promise is on a shaky foundation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Trust in law enforcement is crucial for community safety and justice.
This quote emphasizes the importance of trust between marginalized communities and law enforcement. When individuals, particularly those from African-American or immigrant backgrounds, fear discrimination or mistreatment from police, it undermines the very foundation of justice and safety that these institutions are supposed to uphold, indicating a need for reform and community engagement.
Themes
TrustJusticeCommunityPoliceSafety
In practice
Example use cases
During a town hall meeting discussing community relations with law enforcement.
More from William Bratton
All quotes →Similar quotes
During the Jim Crow era, poll taxes and literacy tests kept the African-Americans from polls. But today, felon disenfranchisement laws accomplished what poll taxes and literacy tests ultimately could not, because those laws were struck down. But felony disenfranchisement laws had been allowed to stand.
Michelle AlexanderRead
Systemic racism always takes a toll, whether it be by bullet or by blood clot.
Clint SmithRead
Justice remains the tool of a few powerful interests; legal interpretations will continue to be made to suit the convenience of the oppressor powers.
Che GuevaraRead
Discrimination in virtually every aspect of political, economic, and social life is now perfectly legal if you've been labeled a felon.
Michelle AlexanderRead
If you ask me what is at the core of what I write, it isn't about 'rights', it's about justice. Justice is a grand, beautiful, revolutionary idea.
Arundhati RoyRead
The legal system is designed to protect men from the superior power of the state but not to protect women or children from the superior power of men. It therefore provides strong guarantees for the rights of the accused but essentially no guarantees for the rights of the victim. If one set out by design to devise a system for provoking intrusive post-traumatic symptoms, one could not do better than a court of law.
Judith Lewis HermanRead