Relationship Between Race And Crime

Between age, gender, race, and social class I feel that race and social class are characteristics that influence criminal activity the most. The relationship between race and crime has been very controversial. Minorities hold more negative views of the police and criminal justice system than most Caucasians. They are also more likely to be perceived as racially motivated and to be victims of police brutality. African Americans represent approximately 12.6 percent of the population, yet they account for 28 percent of the arrests in the United States. Criminologists suggest that this statistic may be due to the practice of racial profiling. Racial profiling refers to the act of using race to determine whether a person is likely to have a committed

The statistic was developed from over 148 hours of police videotape. Furthermore, minorities tend to be poorer and may live in areas where crime is more frequent. These areas also tend to attract more police surveillance. In my opinion crime is more prevalent in areas where there is poverty because there is no “money.” Sometimes there are people who will do anything and everything just to get a dollar. The Theory of Anomie and the Social Disorganization Theory are reasons as to why race and social class influence criminal activity. The Theory of Anomie suggests that criminal activity results from an offender’s inability to provide their desired needs by socially acceptable or legal means; therefore, the individual turns to socially unacceptable or illegal means to fulfill those desires. The Social Disorganization Theory proposes that poor neighborhoods with weak social institutions have higher rates of

Some families may fall into poverty and need public assistance because a family goes to prison. It costs about $30,000 per year to incarcerate a single inmate, which is significantly higher than what most states report. The federal government also reported paying almost $26,000 per inmate in federal facilities in 2008, and the community corrections center costs were estimated at nearly $24,000 per inmate; however, neither figure includes “social costs.” It amazes that it can cost so much money for someone to be housed in jail or