September 22, 2005
Written by C.N.
Police Working with Asian Merchants
The Boston Herald has a story about how Boston police and working together with several small businesses, many of them owned by Asian Americans — particularly Vietnamese Americans, on preventing unruly teenagers from shoplifting, vandalizing, and even assaulting store owners, as was the case last year:
Vietnamese merchants in Fields Corner who were terrorized by unruly middle school students last school year are back on edge with the start of classes even as police crack down on the young punks. The after-school rush turned violent for many shop owners along Dorchester Avenue during the past year as crowds of students harassed store clerks, shoplifted and even assaulted merchants. . . .
Boston police Capt. Frank Armstrong assigned two beat cops to cover Fields Corner full time in response to the after-school violence. During the day, three patrol cars roam the neighborhood, and two extra uniformed police officers work from 12 to 4 p.m. Armstrong said helping the store owners has become a priority.
It is nice to see examples of local police working with Asian Americans, rather than ignoring them or even working against them. Many times, police and other government agencies are too quick to buy into the image of Asian Americans as the “model minority” who don’t experience any discrimination. Hopefully this cooperation ends up being an example of cultural understanding and community unity.
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Author Citation
Copyright © 2001- by C.N. Le. Some rights reserved.
Suggested reference: Le, C.N. . "Police Working with Asian Merchants" Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America. <https://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/2005/09/police-working-with-asian-merchants/> ().
Short URL: https://www.asian-nation.org/headlines/?p=140
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