Police Brutality Research Paper

BACKGROUND

The subject of police brutality has gained national prominence since the Rodney King case. Complaints of police brutality often come from minorities (blacks, Asians, gays, etc.) and community groups representing minorities.

BROWSE FOR BOOKS ON THE SHELF USING THESE CALL NUMBERS

363.2–363.232

LOOK UNDER THE FOLLOWING SUBJECTS IN THE CATALOG (CARD OR COMPUTER)

Police—United States—Complaints against

Discrimination in law enforcement—United States

REFERENCE MATERIALS THAT MAY HELP (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

CQ Researcher, September 6, 1991; November 24, 1995.

DiCanio, Margaret. Encyclopedia of Violence, 1993.

Editorials on File. Facts on File.

Facts on File

General encyclopedias

PERIODICAL INDEXES TO SEARCH (BOOKS OR CD-ROMS)

EBSCO Magazine Article Summaries

InfoTrac

NewsBank and other newspaper indexes

Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature

SIRS (Social Issues Resources Series)

WILSONDISC

ONLINE DATABASES TO SEARCH

America Online

CompuServe

Dialog

Internet

Prodigy

KEY WORDS AND DESCRIPTORS FOR PERIODICAL INDEX AND ONLINE SEARCHES

Police brutality

Police—Complaints against

King, Rodney

VIDEOTAPES ON THIS TOPIC

Rodney King Case. MPI Home Video, 1992.

Street Cop. PBS Video, 1987.

NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO CONTACT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

American Civil Liberties Union, 132 W. 33rd St., New York, NY 10036.

American Federation of Police, 3801 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL 33137.

SUGGESTIONS FOR NARROWING THIS TOPIC

Discuss police conduct in minority communities.

How is police brutality portrayed in rap music?

Investigate the causes and/or solutions to the problem of police brutality.

Report on a particular case study of police brutality; e.g., Rodney King case.

SUGGESTIONS FOR RELATED TOPICS

Los Angeles Police Department

Police corruption

Riots

Gangs

This RESEARCH TOPIC GUIDE is intended to help the library user find information and materials on a particular topic in many sources throughout the library. Resources on this topic are not limited to those described and availability will depend upon the individual library. Feel free to ask a librarian for assistance.