Cui Bono: Who Benefits?

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Section 8.3 Cui Bono: Who Benefits?

When police practices are not scrutinized, the public loses. In many communities, the fines and fees generated from racialized overpolicing becomes a major source of city income. In communities like Ferguson, Missouri this can have devastating effects on public trust in the police [8.10.149]. When court cases are brought against police for misconduct, taxpayers ultimately pay out settlements to victims [8.10.147].

Two classes of organizations benefit most from a lack of accountability in policing:

Police, police unions, and local governments: when these groups are not held accountable for racialized policing, exploitative fine and fee structures continue to generate revenue and police unions can continue to protect members from misconduct claims [8.10.148].
A host of private companies like the GEO Group, Core Civic, or LaSalle Corrections that make money off of both building prisons and exploiting cheap prison labor [8.10.150].