Introduction In the criminal justice system workers strive to treat everyone equally regardless of their race, religion, cultural background and gender, however sometimes the equal treatment regardless of gender does not occur. These unequal treatments occur; when an officer feels sorry for a woman who cries at a traffic stop in which they would have issued a ticket had this person been male, a woman receives the do not do this again rather than citation or summons, or the courts sentence a woman to a lesser sentence that would have garnered a male a much harsher sentence for an identical crime. As Robert Livingston (2001), proposed this bias may be unintentional and the individuals practicing this behavior may be unaware they are behaving …show more content…
We are held to social norms some of these norms can interfere with law enforcement work. Instances of these norms can be witnessed at any academy I remember while I was at the Security Forces Academy at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio Texas, the first day of the academy the instructor came up to my group using profanity and everyone recoiled at the language, some avoided eye contact or sought to leave the formation. The social norm of not using profanity in front of others as a standard of being a good person is a social norm we all expect to follow. There are social norms of expected behavior when men are interacting with women examples are: that men are to be the protectors of women, that women are subservient to men, and that women are not capable of being criminal minded. These norms lead to officers unintentionally acting in a typical social norm towards someone of the opposite gender. Officers may feel the need to protect a women from greater consequences such as excusing poor driving behaviors because the women acts in the social norm way of crying which makes a male officer feel the social obligation to protect the women because she is displaying proper social behavior in exchange for protection from a ticket. Livingston (2001), emphasized that individuals are most likely unaware that they are conducting this type of transaction in behaviors; between the law enforcement officer and the individual they are conducting the social norms exchange between both parties. When a woman refuses to engage in the bartering of expected social norms in exchange for better treatment from officers then tend to treat the women harsher according to Visher (1983). The decision to treat a female harsher because she chooses to not conform to social norms is discriminating behavior and should be
When it comes to race within law enforcement, male police officers still question whether women can handle the dangerous situations and physical confrontations that officers may be confronted with, while it is shown that most police women have easily met the expectations of their superiors. Indeed, studies have found that, in general, male and female officers perform in similar ways. In addition, research has found that most citizens have positive things to say about the work of police women (Worden,
Social Strain Theory and criminal offending are seen by most theorist as a way of understanding what could be the causes of youth committing crimes. Theorist are very concern if social strain theory really does have the answer to why this is happening, but they also believe that the result may be inconclusive, because of all the different variables and independent variables that could be used in their research. We will take a look at this theory, and see if they and ask our participants from the state of Georgia inner-city neighborhoods a few question that they will supply their own answer to, and then ask them an open-ending question face to face and ask them to choose the answer that best state why they might commit a crime or not. If we are able to understand the results then we hope we can implement it into policy. And by incorporating it into policy, then we might be able to design a strategy that will help LEOs or other agencies to reduce youth offending, deter criminal acts and future crimes. Lastly, so with the implementation of social strain theory into the policy and the evaluation of the data, discussion and the questions we can create a foundation for further research studies to build on our results.
There are three significant issues concerning law enforcement, namely enacting the law, police discretion, and assessment of criminal behavior. Different entities create and enact laws that are specific for the societies those laws represent.
In an article titled “Police Injustice: How the Court Fails”, it shows how different people are treated unfairly by things like race. “Countless studies have shown that when police officers have the discretion to apply an enforcement tool to anyone, they will disproportionately apply it to young black and Hispanic men; police officers, like the rest of us, are affected by implicit biases that make them more suspicious of the young than the old, of men than women, and especially, of blacks and Hispanics than
There has been an ongoing debate as to whether or not race and ethnicity have a bearing on an individual’s treatment in the criminal justice system for many years. I will be arguing that race and ethnicity do in fact, have a bearing on one’s treatment in the criminal justice system. I will be backing up my position on this topic by providing evidence from five scholarly articles.
From discrimination to prejudice, from explicit bias to implicit bias, from Jim Crow laws to the current American criminal justice system, there have been many changes, but the outcome has essentially remained the same: racial discrimination. Racial discrimination is treating someone differently only due to one’s race. Although it is said to be illegal in current times,it is still implemented through new techniques such as the modern criminal justice systems. Michelle Alexander discusses in her book, The New Jim Crow, how the current criminal justice system and mass incarceration are a viable analogy to “Jim Crow.” The analogy is apparent through the laws, historical examples, and current affairs as well.
This research paper is on racial discrimination in our criminal justice system. Criminal justice professional is held to a higher standard and they are expected to make ethical decisions when dealing with the public. However, there are few who will be unethical in their jobs and forgot their oath of office. This paper will show the different type of racial discrimination in our criminal justice systems, particularly to individuals who deal directly with the courts, jail and the public. Racial discrimination isn’t just black against white, racial discrimination is also against Hispanic. I will discuss some of the issues with unethical cases involving the Criminal Justice System.
Not all decisions are directed through the lack of resources. There are times when political considerations or aspirations take the forefront of the criminal justice system. For instance, when an administrator of the police decides to do a crackdown on what are known as, public order crimes due to complaints from the citizens. Employees of the criminal justice system also make decisions based on what their own personal morality or values dictate. It is through these particular decisions that may make the criminal justice system look unjust in the eyes of some observers as fair in the eyes of others. It all depends on their individual perspectives besides their own individual circumstances.
It would be foolish to assert that gender plays no role in the criminal justice system, just as it would be equally foolish to say that race plays no role in this system either. Covington and Bloom cite the work of Kivel (1992) in reminding all that "Where sexism is prevalent, one of the gender dynamics frequently found is that something declared genderless or gender neutral is, in fact, male oriented. The same phenomenon occurs in terms of race in a racist society, where the term "race neutral" generally means white" (2003). The criminal justice system reflects the needs of men and the values of men in a highly patriarchal society; the issue becomes more complicated when some scholars argue that women should fight for equal rights in all areas of life, including the criminal justice system, arguing that while equal treatment might hurt women in the short run, in the long run, it's the best policy for women (Covington & Bloom, 2003). On the other hand, opposing groups argue that women are inherently different from men and that insisting on equality will always create a situation where women lose out (Covington & Bloom, 2003). This debate creates an uncertain situation about how women should be treated in the criminal justice system and whether gender should play a role accounting for differential treatment.
When many people think of serial killers, the image that comes to mind is that of Theodore Robert Bundy. There had been serial killers before Bundy, but because he was good looking and socially adept, he challenged the conceptions that people had about the appearance of evil. Up until that point, many people were convinced that bad or evil people would appear different from other people. Bundy made people aware that the most evil and dangerous members of society could not be detected by appearance alone.
The criminal justice system is the set of agencies and processes established by governments to control crime and impose penalties on those who violate laws. The system is not one single criminal justice system in the United States but nevertheless many similar, individual systems. How every particular system works in each area depends on who is in charge of the city, county, state, or federal. Different authorities have different laws, agencies, and ways of managing criminal justice processes. There are two primary systems which are, state, criminal justice systems handle crimes committed within their state boundaries and the federal, criminal justice system handles crimes committed on federal property or in more than one state. Most criminal
Moral issues within law enforcement, the courts and the corrections system have made it complex and difficult to navigate fairly throughout the criminal justice system. Enforcement strategies, court practices and the incarceration rates have created discrimination towards minority groups. Carelessness and unintentional actions are moral issues. The criminal justice system has failed to account for operational procedure which creates the perception of discrimination.
When the criminal justice system was established, the main objective was to create neutrality and fairness between the sexes. Even though people might believe that there is no such thing as ‘stereotyping’ in the criminal justice system, it is quite obvious that women are constantly being look down upon because of their sex. In general, women tend to be treated like fragile objects that could break at any moment; the truth is that women can be strong and courageous just like men. Society stereotypes women and the criminal justice system is no different.
Though the concept of social injustice is universal in nature, the experience varies with each person. Factors like a person’ race, or gender can further influence the severity of the injustice; victims caught in the overlap between discriminations often go unrecognized by the law and society. Many people recognize the names Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Tamir Rice as African Americans who were murdered by local police. But names like Michelle Cusseaux, Tanish Anderson, and Meagan Hockaday often receive less feedback even though they are also murdered African Americans. The only distinction between the sets of names is gender. Even within racial injustice, discrimination is present between genders as some cases get national
Criminal Justice in general terms refers to the agencies of government charged with enforcing law, adjudicating crime, and correcting criminal conduct in the society. The criminal justice system is essentially an instrument of social control used by the government. Society considers some behaviors so dangerous and destructive that it either tries to strictly control their occurrence or outlaws them outright. It is therefore, the job of the agencies of justice to prevent these behaviors by apprehending and punishing transgressors or deterring their future occurrence.