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A Week In Watts

Right now in America it seems as though the majority of people don’t trust law enforcement, this is more so the case in the poorer areas such as Watts in Los Angeles, California. Here there it is in their very culture.

In 1965 Watts saw riots so bad that the police force required the help of nearly 4,000 members of the California Army National Guard to quell the situation. The riots themselves started because Marquette Frye, an African-American motorist on parole for robbery, was pulled over for reckless driving. A minor roadside argument broke out which escalated into a fight with police.

Rumors spread that the police had hurt a pregnant woman, and this resulted in six days of looting and arson but this was merely the straw that broke the camels back, there was too much of a build up with regards to frustration towards the system itself. A system which seemed to have failed the community of Watts.

In this film we hear the story of how law enforcement are attempting to close the gap between themselves and the community. Changing peoples perceptions of police officers by reaching out and trying to help the youth. We hear how they have introduced Operation Progress – a program which gives youth scholarships to private schools in the area and pairs them with LAPD police officer as mentors.

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