Theory and Philosphy

Racial inequality is growing. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a manner that is massively and pervasively biased. My research will examine the U.S. criminal justice policies and how it has the most adverse effect on minorities. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, out of a total population of 1,976,019 incarcerated in adult facilities, 1,239,946 or 63 percent are

The argument that racial disparities in drug arrests is more likely to reflect racially biased policing than racial differences in the use or distribution of drugs is not persuasive at all. Studies show that arrest rates for blacks have been substantially higher than the rates of whites for decades. However, there is no scientific proof that blacks possess, use, and sell drugs more than or at higher rates than whites. From 1980 through 2006 the arrest rates for blacks increased by 271% and 135 percent for whites (Spohn & Belenko, 2015).

Racial disparity in the criminal justice system is widespread and it threatens to challenge the principle that our criminal justice system is fair, effective and

Additionally, African Americans and other minorities are more likely to be arrested by policemen due to their race. Many government officials believe race is tied up with crime, and they make assumptions based off the color of the offenders skin (Jost 7). In the twenty first century, one out of fifteen people incarnated were African Americans (Miller 1). Not only are minority adults more likely to be arrested, but also minority children targeted by police officers (“Justice on Trial” 4). Even though studies have shown that caucasian and minority youths have been dealing drugs at the same rate, African Americans and other minorities are more likely to be arrested for the crime (“Justice on Trial” 4).

A distortion of Drug Cartel protocols of racial profiling that caused considerable disparities in the criminal justice system. Facilitated government containment strategy and mass incarceration of surplus people (Williams) using drug Cartel laws to incarcerate Black and Hispanic people due to the differential treatment of Blacks and people of color by the police (8).” Data suggests that racially profiled Blacks detained and investigated by the police occurs more frequently in poor black urban neighborhoods than middle class and more affluent areas where a lot of drugs also occurs.

A number of studies have found law enforcement, juvenile justice system personnel, victims, and witnesses are influenced by conscious and subconscious racial and ethnic bias (Henning, 2013). Some laws disproportionately target communities of color. Harsher punishment for crack cocaine than powder cocaine is one example of such laws. Schools with higher numbers of youth of color more frequently have zero tolerance discipline policies, which contribute to disproportionate school-based arrests (Education Under Arrest, 2011). In addition, youth of color are concentrated in under resourced, under invested-in communities (Hoytt et al,

Even though both races use drugs at roughly the same rates, African Americans are 13 times more likely to be incarcerated because of drug crimes than whites. (Dumont et al., 2013). The implemented sentencing policies such as the mandatory minimum and three strikes laws that tried to combat the war on drugs, contributed to the racial inconsistency in incarceration rates. The alteration of policies, prosecution, and sentencing caused the growth of incarceration rates, which dramatically increased the concentration of African Americans (Pettit and Sykes, 2015). The inequality of the racial discrepancy in incarceration rates between African Americans and whites needs to be addressed by the state

Racial inequality in the criminal justice system is a belief that through research and statistics is a structural inequality that exists at different levels noted throughout the system stemming from those convicted and those convicting. According to literature published by the Leadership Conference, the nation’s premier civil and human right coalition, “racial inequality is growing, not receding. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a manner that is massively and pervasively biased. The injustices of the criminal justice system threaten to render irrelevant fifty years of hard-fought civil rights progress” (Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, 2011). In today’s

In the United States the criminal justice system does not always create policies that affect everyone equally. There are many policies that seem to target a specific group of people, whether this is intentional or not is beside the point. The important thing is to change the criminal justice system in order to stop race disparities. Marc Mauer in his lecture speaks of the reason for the disparity between races when it comes to the incarceration rate, as well as steps that can be taken in order to elevate, and or stop the disparity in the criminal justice system. Other topics that Mauer covers are the impact that policies can have on a specific group in the United States, and the overwhelming disproportion when it comes to drug arrest, and the people who get arrested.

Aside from the issue of crime in general, juvenile delinquency has become more and more of an issue in our present day society. Due to this unfortunate fact, many theoretical explanations of crime have evolved over the years to help researchers, law enforcement agencies, and society as a whole better understand why juvenile delinquency and crime in general has gotten so out of hand. These crime theories also attempt to explain what leads or increases the likelihood of those individuals who commit crime to do it. Recent statistics reveal that juvenile delinquents are becoming younger and the types of crimes they commit are beginning to be more violent. Criminal offenses such as physical and sexual assault, property crimes, hate crimes, bullying

For example, street credit may drive one individual to commit certain crimes in order to maintain a certain image or keep or improve status. The labeling theory is also mentioned in this part of the chapter. The next part of the chapter addresses crime and the sociological theories behind it. The book defines crime as, “any act that violates a formal normative code that has been enacted by a legally constituted body” (162). The first theory introduced is the strain theory which explains that excessive deviance is a by-product of inequality. The second is the broken windows theory which explains how social controls can make minor acts spiral into severe crime (163). The last theory is the opportunity theory which says that those who have opportunities will be more likely to commit crimes than those who have less (164). The remainder of the chapter talks about the different types of crime (violent, property, white-collar,consumer, hate,etc.) and provides statistics about crime in the United States and the globalization of crime as

General theory of crime and delinquency focuses on how certain risk factors have an effect on crime, answers why criminals offend, describes how crime occurs when constraints are low and when motivation from crime is high and how certain life domains have reciprocal effects. One of the most leading

Criminal racial inequality is the sentencing of a person based upon the color of their skin or their ethnic background.The Huffington post describes criminal injustice as “The biggest crime in the U.S. criminal justice system.” If a person has been given the responsibility to support their country through paying taxes, working, and making sure their children are educated, they should have the right of freedom in the court of law. A report made by the Department of Justice states, “blacks and Hispanics were approximately three times more likely to be searched during a traffic stop than white motorists.” The evidence of this report shows the essence of inequality within the everyday routines of law enforcement officers. Depending on the morals of that specific police, one of the opposite nationality or race may be more harshly convicted than those of the same skin color. A second study conducted in New York City revealed that, “ blacks were more likely

most is the relationship between race and income levels and the involvement of the criminal

The main cause of crime is complex. Most people today believe that poverty, parental neglect, low self-esteem, alcohol and drug abuse are all associated on what causes people to commit crimes, but that would be too easy. Crime is committed for a multitude of reasons so only having one theory or reason would simply be insufficient. Crime can be conceived due to four different factors on an individual: Developmental, Psychological, Sociological, and Economic factors. Developmental life-course factors focuses on human development and how that persons own and social factors interact in different ways and at different development stages to influence individual opportunity for criminal behavior. Psychological factors are often learned through experiences and who the individual associates with. Control and primary groups are huge impacts on how psychological factors are developed and acquired through an individuals life. Most sociological ideas stress the relationships of social structures and social conditions, while the economic factor is mainly concerned on how comitting a criminal offense is influenced by incentives of the crimes.