StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Racial Minorities, Minority Ethnic Groups, and Sentencing in America - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
Instructor Date Racial Minorities, Minority Ethnic Groups, and Sentencing in America. In the 1950s, there were a significantly large numbers of prisoners and suspects mostly incarcerated on the basis of race or color. Unfortunately, the trend continued from 1950 up to the 21st century…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.9% of users find it useful
Racial Minorities, Minority Ethnic Groups, and Sentencing in America
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Racial Minorities, Minority Ethnic Groups, and Sentencing in America"

Racial Minorities, Minority Ethnic Groups, and Sentencing in America. In the 1950s, there were a significantly large numbers of prisoners and suspects mostly incarcerated on the basis of race or color. Unfortunately, the trend continued from 1950 up to the 21st century. The prisoners and the suspects are from the minority racial and ethnic minorities. According to Walker (Walker, 130), ethnic and racial controversies persist to be the center of the major challenges facing the police force of United States.

For example, 1991there was a prominent incidence that went down between the police and an African American civilian known as Rodney King. The police chased Rodney at a high speed and when they caught up with him they brutally beat him. A civilian on the highway took the video of the police beating Rodney. The video tape found its way to the major broadcasting stations and was aired to the public. Despite the airing of the video tape, the police officers involved were cleared of the charges. Clearing of these officers brought about riots that in Los Angeles until the officers were convicted for abuse of civil rights by the federal court.

In 2005, police officers from New Orleans fatally shot African American civilians. The New Orleans police department had cleared the officers who shot the civilians and closed down the case. The federal government only brought this case in 2010.Clearly this shows that there is a major difference between the major ethnic groups in United States. Walker (walker, 133) makes an observation that in 2001, the police fatal shootings had a significant difference in some major cities. Some cities were eight or seven times higher than other cities as reported by the Washington Post.

The black community comprises of about fifty percent of the jail population and more in blacks are represented in the confinement institutions (Walker 150). Most of the suspects are confined for drug abuse, break-ins and illegal holding of fire arms. Some of these suspects are not guilty when they are arrested but rather because they are from the African American Community. When the black civilians are arrested they are denied bail. Most of the African Americans are remanded before trial, which may affect the results of the investigations.

The reasons for arresting suspects are attributable to various factors that exist in the American justice system. The major factors causing conflicts between the police and ethnic communities from colored races is the fear of empowerment of various the ethnic communities. Civilians tend to report crimes to the police if they believe that the police will be more willing to work with them to change the evils of the community. The ethnic groups that report to the police believe that they hold some powers in the political government.

The community with no political or government power will normally shy away from reporting crimes. The political power and cohesion with the community affects the way the police deal with different ethnic groups. Walker (133) notes that the poor treatment of ethnic groups which are powerless in the American society extends from their economic and political discrimination. Another factor that leads to differential treatment of various ethnic groups by the police is the blanket reliance on prior records held by the police departments and the justice system.

Police will normally react in different ways when dealing with various communities. These records unfortunately tend to victimize the black community more hence their high likelihood of incarceration. The African American and Hispanic communities have been associated more with violence and drug abuse. The police will always focus their objectives for fighting crimes by making operations such as traffic crackdowns on drug traffickers; gang activities and people being out of place. All these operations are targeted towards the ethnic minorities in, particular the black community.

The police are more likely to act in a retaliatory manner, engage in beating and shooting when dealing the minority groups perceived to be the faces of crime (Walker, 154). Social classes also make a difference in the attitudes of the police and way the police deal with each community (Walker 136). The attitudes of the police are more likely to be negative against racial minorities and ethnic minority. The community has associated the African Americans and the Native Americans such as Hispanic communities and Indians with poverty.

Police perceive the African Americans living in major cities of the United States with low income status to be the reason behind a rising wave of crimes in the cities. The middle class and low income earners from major cities in the United States argue that race affects the way the police deal with civilians. The white middle class living in the city on the other hand argue that the police treat them better regardless of the their class. The young women and adults tend to have a positive relationship with the police unlike men.

At times the police will neglect some crimes because they do not have adequate resources to deal with such crimes in the Native American lands (Walker 141). Riots have always seemed to work in the face of the justice system. However, the justice system in the United States needs to change in order to accommodate every citizen irrespective of race or color. Proactive steps need to be taken to ensure problem oriented policing and community policing. The police departments and the justice systems need to respond to the concerns of the community by laying down laws that will reduce the misconduct and corruption of the police officers (Walker 168).

Everybody in the police department should be made to adhere to the law on employment discrimination upon employment without exception. The death penalties should be revised to reduce the impact they have on ethnic minorities and racial minorities. Works Cited. Walker, Samuel. , Cassia Spohn & Miriam, Delone. The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America .Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2009. 5th Ed. Print.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Racial Minorities, Minority Ethnic Groups, and Sentencing in America Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1432388-write-a
(Racial Minorities, Minority Ethnic Groups, and Sentencing in America Essay)
https://studentshare.org/history/1432388-write-a.
“Racial Minorities, Minority Ethnic Groups, and Sentencing in America Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1432388-write-a.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Racial Minorities, Minority Ethnic Groups, and Sentencing in America

Poor and Minorities in the Criminal Justice System

There are also some evidences that reveal that discriminations are available in questions like who will be arrested and who will enter into the system, but not in the judgment of terms of sentencing.... In the presence of these informal sources it is evident that the African Americans are the most discriminated ethnic society living in the US.... hellip; The most significant problem associated with the fact is that the poor and minority people are discriminated by the criminal justice system of US....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Unfair Treatment of Minorities in the Criminal Justice System

with a view to establishing the thesis that minorities, Blacks and Latinos, are discriminated against at every stage within the criminal justice system - the racial minorities are charged with more serious crimes, have less opportunity to plea-bargain, are convicted more frequently, and receive harsher sentences when compared with Caucasians in similar situations.... ccording to Coramae Mann, racial discrimination is endemic to the United States; it permeates the criminal justice system and all other American institutions, resulting in the unjust treatment of racial minorities....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Racial Inequality Issues

The concept of racism may be conscious or subconscious and is expressed in actions or attitudes initiated by individuals, groups, or institutions that treat human beings unjustly because of their skin pigmentation.... This paper "Racial Inequality" discusses the many aspects of racial inequality and political oppression experienced by ethnic minorities on a national and global scale....  All British citizens enjoy lawfully guaranteed equality but the equalities regarding equal access and opportunities for ethnic minorities are unquestionably lacking....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Racial Disparity In Sentencing

This essay "Racial Disparity In Sentencing" concentrates on racial disparity in sentencing in courtrooms today is a very real issue and needs be addressed with measures that will fundamentally change the judicial system and the structure of sentencing in such a way that racial disparity in sentencing can be eliminated.... (Mauer 2004) Racial disparity in sentencing in courtrooms today is a very real issue and needs to be addressed with measures that will fundamentally change the judicial system and the structure of sentencing in such a way that racial disparity in sentencing can be eliminated....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Racism of Decades Past

It resides within the walls of government buildings, courthouses, and educational facilities and, ough it is constantly present during policy formation and implementation, during trials and sentencing, and during curriculum development and funding initiatives, the power of this form of racism is that it has worked its way into the very foundations of every institution, becoming entrenched in every process until it has been rendered invisible.... An example of systemic racism is the “model minorities” theory which posits that certain ethnic groups are more likely to become successful due to genetic qualities that are particular to their culture....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Ethnic minorities in USA and UK jail

This ratio is clearly observable in the prisons of United States of america.... Thirdly, disproportionate conviction can be a major reason behind sentencing minority group prisoners for longer imprisonment.... Around 27 percent of the prison population in Wales and England identify themselves as belonging from ethic minority groups.... The persons belonging from different ethnicities and minority groups have higher tendency to commit crimes....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

Minorities are Over-represented throughout the Criminal Justice Process

“Discriminatory impact can be shown in patterns of police abuse, arbitrary arrest, incarceration, prosecution, and sentencing” (Human Rights Watch, 2001).... ldquo;Ostensibly race or descent-neutral laws can have a disparate impact on vulnerable minorities or even majorities as a consequence of prosecutorial discretion, or sentencing policies, or the nature of the law itself” (Human Rights Watch, 1981).... Minority members whether racial or ethnic are vulnerable groups who too often face persecution, subjective imprisonment, offensive treatment by law enforcement, and unequal treatment in the court system....
6 Pages (1500 words) Coursework

Comparing the Numbers of Black Men in College and in Jail

Black men have the lowest graduation rate of all ethnic/gender groups.... and how laws are biased against black men and other minorities as is the educational system.... hellip; Racism breeds a lack of opportunity for minorities and is the reason about as many black men are in prison as they attend college today.... and how laws are biased against black men and other minorities as is the educational system....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us