Numerous studies have provided different perspectives and evidence on the impact of racial inequality in the criminal justice systems, specifically how these racial inequalities affect black Americans. Lisa Miller found in The Invisible Black: Victim, “mistreatment by law enforcement, law-makers, and federalism” in the racial bias toward black Americans (2010). Pettit and Skyes in Civil Rights Legislation and Legalized Exclusion, point out that black males are more likely to end up in jail (2015). A sociologist named David Garland contrived the term “mass incarceration” to explain high incarceration rates in the United States (U.S) (Pettit and Skyes 2015). Currently, the highest incarceration is among black men of 1 in 15 (Miller 2010).
By being both vulnerable to crime and being disadvantaged in all phases of the criminal justice system, they are poorly served by current practices and policies. Matters are made worse by circumstances that arise when a large share of the Latino population is foreign born. Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than US born individuals yet law enforcement and criminal justice practices can be harsh unnecessarily for the immigrants (Morin & Delgado,
This results in making distinctions between groups, provoking hatred between cultures. What reasons does Burns offer to explain the different perception blacks and whites have of police officers? Be Specific Low-income communities tend to have more contact with the police.
The Destruction of Racial Profiling in Society “Studies show that police are more likely to pull over and frisk blacks or Latinos than whites. In New York City, 80% of the stops made were blacks and Latinos, and 85% of those people were frisked, compared to a mere 8% of white people stopped. Racial Profiling is a way to discriminate others” ( stanford researchers develop new statistical test that shows racial profiling in police traffic stops). Racial Profiling is way to discriminate people by color, or race. Many people such as Hispanics and Black are being blamed for crimes that they do not commit.
Many of the incarceration rates for African Americans are about six and a half times greater than that of Caucasians. African Americans make up close to thirteen percent of the U.S. population, yet they happen to represent thirty-eight percent of violent crime arrests. The prison population accounts for forty percent of the African Americans incarcerated. Racial disparity exists mainly due to the mass media and the emergence of crack cocaine. Poverty also goes hand and hand with racial disparity in the United States.
The Huffington Post says, “The U.S. incarcerates nearly seven times as many people, measured as a share of population, as Canada does. People of color are disproportionately represented in the American prison population and are typically punished more severely than white peers for the same crimes” (Daniel Marans). Racism against people of color has caused them to be represented poorly in society as potential criminals, especially black. MIT informs its viewers that “according to the United States census Bureau, blacks are twice as likely to be poor compared to other races, and eight times as likely to be imprisoned. Blacks are also three times more likely to be convicted of drug violations than whites.
Based on most local and national news stations, minorities are targeted for small crime offenses while majorities are literally blowing up the country. It is understood that the police could more effectively fight crime by targeting minor offenses (Hinkle 1). Those minor offenses are more likely done by minorities but more specifically Black Males. Raja Staggers-Hakim’s article argues the needs of Black male youth, relative to police killings, are captured, and persistent racial stereotypes that are often used to justify the extra judicial killings of unarmed African American boys and young men are challenged. His argument understands the social epidemic of police killings on the emotional and psychological well-being of Black males to put an end to police killings.
Moreover, people at the low end of social status, poor, are more likely to get arrested for the crimes. However, we all know or sometimes believe that crime is not always evenly spread throughout the social classes. Poor people are more likely to commit crimes, and blacks are more likely to commit crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, and other index crimes (Kornblum ,5.4). Sometimes in society, we see that rich people get a slap on the wrist when they commit a crime; whereas poor people get the whole book at their neck it
“A study of television news found that black crime suspects were presented in more threatening contexts than whites: black suspects were disproportionately shown in mug shots and in cases where the victim was a stranger.” (Richard Prince). By creating this false perception of people of color in the news, the mainstream media is able to draw in a large number of viewers and create a new societal stereotype signaling that the majority of people of color are linked to criminal activity. In reality-based TV shows, people of color are portrayed and treated differently than white people, this is mainly due to the fact that by incorporating this treatment towards people of color into TV shows, media companies are able to draw in more viewers by making the shows more dramatic and interesting. “Blacks and Hispanics were also more likely to be treated aggressively by police officers on reality-based based TV shows, including America's Most Wanted and Cops” (Sentencing Project).
Findings indicated moderately strong evidence for the threat hypothesis. The presence of minorities considered as threats to safety and peace predicted higher police brutality complaints (Smith & Holmes, 2003). This research supports the findings of Carbado (2016) that in communities where minorities are both considered as threats and which have numerous interactions with the police, aggression by the police force is higher too. Police officers who see
Through my research I continuously asked myself; why are there more people of color incarcerated than whites? Is it because they commit more crimes? Or are parts of the criminal justice system flawed and discriminatory? Nonetheless, if the there is some kind of discrimination, does this explain poverty in African American and Hispanic communities? I found that, today, people of color are more likely to be incarcerated and sentenced disproportionally than their white counterparts.
Abstract Police departments face increasing criticism from protesters, the media, and the federal government. Many negative personal encounters and officer-involved shootings have stimulated arguments about American law enforcement. These officer involved shootings have caused racial issues across the country. Is reform necessary?
"Driving while black" is indeed a measurable phenomenon. Also the police department is trying to improve the lawfulness and legitimacy of their policing activities by letting the researcher study the daily activity of police officer. like any other government system there are always some unfairness in the system and the way of getting it fare to every body is a time consuming process. Now days is getting better and
When compared statistically, the ratio of a black unarmed civilian being killed by the police is 3.49 times higher than that of a white (Makarechi, 2016). In Weitzer and Tuch?s research book, ? Race and Policing in America: Conflict and Reform,? they explain that such a relationship on policing and racial inequality is not explainable at the local level, but the data for racial biases is indeed shocking in the case of police shootings. It?s even more common at local crime scenes.
The article by Karen Sternheimer provides some insight into the stats of murder in America. In doing so, the article also highlights some issues with the media today. We learn that the media turned a statistic in way to help themselves instead of properly providing the real statistic. What the media provided was based on a small number of people, but when looked at from a larger pool of people, it can be seen the opposite had occurred (the murder rate had decreased). We also learn that most murder victims are male, specifically, African American males.