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Institutional Racism In The Criminal Justice System

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Racism is an ongoing issue which had been taking place for centuries. Racism can take various forms, direct, indirect, individual or institutional. Institutional racism however, has been questioned frequently recently in light of criminal justice system, especially and more noticeably in the US now, where many believe the police is treating/handling black people unfairly comparing to other ethnic groups. According to Macpherson (1999) institutional racism is where organisation does not provide appropriate service due to someone’s colour, culture or ethnic origin, and can take form of racial discrimination in forms of attitudes, behaviours and processes. Macpherson developed this definition when undertaking an inquiry of Stephen Lawrence, a black child who was murdered …show more content…

Stop and search is just one of the methods used by the police in order to draw out any suspicion of deviance. Black and other ethnic minority groups tend to however, be the most frequent target of this practice, this especially shows the institutional racism side of criminal justice system. The police service of England and Wales has the right to stop and search anyone if there is a suspicion. Section 60 of Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and the Section One of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 cover some frequent stop and search powers used by the police. Section 60 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act allows police to stop and search for any offensive weapons or harmful equipment which are intended to harm, this act however, allows to stop and search without any reasonable suspicion. The Section One of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, similarly, allows to stop and search for any prohibited items as such, however, this act allows the police to search however, only if there are reasonable grounds for suspicion for possession of those

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