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Racism and law enforcement essay
Racism in the modern day american criminal justice system
Racism in the modern day american criminal justice system
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Recommended: Racism and law enforcement essay
James Queally and Joe Mozingo on the article “Feds fault San Francisco police for violence against minorities and recommend 272 reforms” explains how law enforcement is racially biased towards minorities. Queally and Mozingo support their claim by mentioning the rise of police brutality against Blacks and Latinos and describing the type slurs used when law enforcement are referring to minorities amongst their fellow colleague. The authors’ purpose is to show the reader the type of way law enforcement is unfair to people of color and different cultures. The authors write in a serious tone to those seeking to end police brutality.
Racism, along with a prevailing American ideology of individualism and limited government, helps explain why white citizens and legislators give so much support to controversial police shooters and aggressive police tactics and so little to criminal sand poor people.” (Hirschfield). Many Americans believe that police shootings are due to lack of the police officers knowledge and skill. Clearly, the shootings are due to a ongoing problem of racism in our country and not simply police skill. This could change people’s opinions around this topic because it provides the real reason why there so many shootings.
According to a report by the state of Washington, the answer seems to be no. For those convicted in trafficking drugs, offenders are almost always charged with the most serious (in the case of multiple charges). Usually, in order to facilitate a plea, the charges will be reduced. Whether or not the defendant pleads guilty at the trial is one of the most important elements in sentencing. Circumstances of the arrest are just as important.
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
America is a national melting pot. However, the nation is haunted by its evil history of the oppression of an entire race of people, known as American slavery. Even though this systematical form of oppression through slavery has been ridden, racial tensions in the nation are still prominent. Systematic oppression is apparent today through the police force, whose actions at times exhibits racial bias and targeting. Instances of racial hate crimes have occurred on multiple accounts throughout history.
On September 26,2016 the first presidential debate commences between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. One of the topics that was extensively debated on was the Criminal Justice system and the issue of systemic racism in this country. Donald Trump took the stance of Law and Order in order to solve the issue that are prevalent in our society today. In contrast, Hillary Clinton approach was one of Criminal Justice Reform. By analyzing the candidate’s responses in relation to outside reliable sources we can the verify which running mate is truthful.
Centuries of institutionalized racism have created inequality throughout various aspects of American life - from education to employment opportunities, housing, healthcare access, and criminal justice. The movement emerged as a response to widespread incidents of violence targeting unarmed black people, particularly those killed by law enforcement officers. These acts often went unchecked due to the biased systems favoring white suspects over black ones during investigations by unethical people.
The killing of a young African American Michael Brown by white police officer Daren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri on August 9, 2014 shed a light on something that had long been ignored by the white population of the USA, the obvious inequality between black and white individuals in the criminal justice system. This racial bias is no longer based on explicit racism which was outlawed by the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, instead it is influenced by implicit racial bias present in all aspects of the criminal justice system resulting in implicit assumptions that lead to quick and prejudice judgments based on negative stereotypes by the actors of the criminal justice system especially law enforcements which lead the uneven usage of “stop and
It sad to see that more than half of the young men in our American cities are under the control of the criminal justice system. Where’s the justice when our system automatically demotes them to a permanent second-class status, and challenges their chances of happiness and freedom. When minorities from the justice system are released, they are harshly discriminated against. This discrimination does nothing but regenerates a cycle of imprisonment. With the world at their backs, the result usually ends up with repeated behaviors that places them back into the system.
One of the greatest challenges law enforcement are facing is providing effective policing for minority communities. Some factors that prevent minorities from gaining access to justice or being taken advantage of certain criminal justice services are language barriers, racial stereotyping, and cultural differences. Since the 30 's and 40 's, and even during the 60 's, civil rights activists damaged the police-minority relations in the United States, believing that police only interest are protecting white communities. A big explanation of why there 's a poor police-minority relations in the United States is racism on the part of the individual officers. Many minorities in the United States have continued to complain about being treated more harshly than whites and the Department of Justice believes that racial profiling and police discrimination will continue to be a big problem.
For years now there has been a lot of controversy involving the looming question: Is the criminal justice system racist? Racism is prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one 's own race is superior. Ever since the Trayvon Martin case of 2012, the justice system has been in a complete downfall including all of the police brutality cases since then also. According to sources, 1 of every 4 African American males born this decade are expected to go to prison in their lifetime. Census Bureau reports that the U.S. is 13 percent percent black, 61 percent white, and 17 percent latino.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, departments that serve less than 2,500 people are 84.4% white and departments that serve millions are 53.4% white (as cited in Fifield, 2016). Notably, Over the years, a lack of diversity within law enforcement has become a pertinent issue. Notably, the underrepresentation of minorities within law enforcement influences the relationship between communities and law enforcement by engendering distrust with law enforcement. To say nothing of, underrepresentation of minorities have had many people question whether departments mirror a diverse community. Nevertheless, with that being said, underrepresentation of minorities have generated tension and distrust between communities and law enforcement and many believe that police department need to mirror the race composition within their cities.
To live in a country like the United States in 2016, you will face several conflicts involving racism. There are several anti-racism movements out there in the media, such as #OscarsSoWhite and #BlackLivesMatter. These movements are a result of social injustice and inequality in the justice system. People see this as a form of racism. Racism is a huge problem in America recently.
According to the article Racism and Police Brutality in America, “Whites believe that Blacks are disproportionately inclined to engage in criminal behavior and are the deserving on harsh treatment by the criminal justice system” (Chaney 484). The justice system has unfortunately followed this idea. The African American race has been a minority in the legal system in the past; however, it has been much worse as of 2015. Some individuals assume it is acceptable to refrain from acknowledging this fact. Racism is an issue in the midst of police brutality, and it should be resolved.
In suggesting this method, I incorporated a firm belief in officers creating an increased ability to understand and engage with the diverse array of people that they are paid to serve and protect when a significant amount of knowledge and comprehension of cultural diversity is provided to them. Furthermore, I articulated that this approach would have a positive impact as it would reduce inequality within the criminal justice system and aid officers in their willingness to deliver justice to people from all walks of life. While the textbook did not confirm my approach was correct, I still feel as though a more thorough educational process would help to alleviate this specific social problem. In addition, this chapter did reaffirm my assumptions about many minority groups being subjected to institutionalized racism within the criminal justice system. This facet of the system was unveiled in the discussion on “carding” and the textbook provided a few answers to this problem, including a recount of the police board passed resolutions that manifested in April 2013.
