The paper below is a four-course action whose entire focus is to come up with an interview monologue following the structure of Anna Deveare Smith in Fires in the Mirror as a guide (Smith, 2015). The topic I will be handling is on the issue of racism and its association with law enforcers in America and more specifically, in New York. I intend to interview an assistant commissioner in New York City to understand his views and understanding of the same issue. This can enlighten considerably on the take the police department about the issue since his remarks are expected to be quite representative of the whole department. I contacted the assistant commissioner and explained to him about my request for an interview with him, and he gave me a date in a week. The assistant commissioner agreed to see me in his office between 9.00, and 9.30 am on a Wednesday.

I prepared some interview questions which would be appropriate in aiding a successful interview and attaining meaningful information.

I also made a brief interview plan that could enable me to get the most out of the interview within the limited time that was available. The plan consisted of three parts, like most interviews do (Rubin & Rubin,2005). First is the opening or introduction part which entailed an official introduction with the assistant commissioner and briefing him on the purpose of the interview and what we would tackle. This would take around 3 minutes. The second part entailed asking the questions that I had prepared for the interview session recording the responses that the assistant commissioner would provide scheduled to take at most twenty-five minutes. The final part involved concluding the interview and thanking the Ass. Commissioner for making time for the session and providing me with his take on the issue. This part was scheduled to take at most 3 minutes.

Me: good morning sir George Williams? I am Betty McLane, and I am grateful that you were available today for this interview.

Ass. Commissioner: Morning too, Betty. I am glad to be partaking in this session.

Me: Today, we will be looking at the issue of racism in New York as far as the law enforcers are concerned. Could you tell me your take on the continued claims of harassment by police officers based on racial grounds?

Ass. Commissioner: well. I think that there are possibilities of that issue happening but not like its being portrayed.

Me: what do you mean by that?

Ass. Commissioner: Personally, I think based on our records, there are far much fewer occurrences of harassment based on racial grounds than the media has been speculating.

Me: so you accept that there are such cases but disagree on its occurrence magnitude reported by the media is that right?

Ass. Commissioner: yes. That’s right.

Me: and what would you say about the occurrence of such cases with respect to delivering justice to all citizens.

Ass. Commissioner: as a matter of fact our department recognizes how critical such cases could be in hampering justice from being delivered to the citizens irrespective of their races

Me: so what actions have the department taken to deal with racial based harassment practiced by the law enforcers?

Ass. Commissioner: we have been keenly following cases that could have been influenced by racial prejudice by the officers and the officers who are found guilty face their punishment as required by the law. The media is quite helpful on this as they bring to light such cases, but I would ask of them to stop exaggerating the information to prevent misleading the public.

Me: are there any other measures that the police department is taking to ensure the complete ending of such scenarios?

Ass. Commissioner: yes, indeed. We have been conducting conferences teaching the officers of the meaning and need for justice for all. The training sessions also teach on the disadvantages of all injustices against the citizens, and they are informed of the punishment that awaits those that are guilty.

Me: what can you say is the impact of such training sessions?

Ass. Commissioner:  it have indeed worked, and we have noted a reduced number of such cases since the seminars began.

Me: that’s great — any last word to the officers at the senior and lower levels.

Ass. Commissioner: I would love to thank all those who have cooperated in ensuring that racial prejudice among them is ending and urge every officer to take personal responsibility to ensure justice for all.

Me: that’s good advice to the officers. And this takes us to the end of our interview. I am grateful once again for your time and cooperation, have a good day.

Ass. Commissioner: welcome Betty. Have a good day too. I am glad for being part of the interview.

It is undeniable that there exist cases of police harassment based on racial grounds. However, the media reports on its occurrence re a bit too much exaggerated when compared to the data in the police department. The department has been able to make specific measures to help curb the issue of racial based harassment. Such include punishing the officers who are found guilty and offering training sessions to preach against this form of injustice to some citizens. The measures have been effective for they have led to a reduction in cases of assaults based on racial grounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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References

Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. S. (2005). Structuring the interview. Qualitative interviewing: The art    hearing data, 2, 129-151.

Smith, A. D. (2015). Fires in the Mirror. Anchor.