Racism in Criminal Justice System - Essay Example

Racism plays an essential role before the criminal reaches the day of sentencing in the court. Various publications speak on profiling and actuarial methods which unwillingly get people into the system. Though these are two major components of the discriminatory acts that exist within the criminal justice system, it does not begin with these institutionalized methods. It is the laws and crime control policies that create discrimination in the system. It has been witnessed that in some instances these laws and policies are set in favor of the white people and opposition to the black ones. The involvement of the government is also essential in such situations. It is their responsibility to finish racism with the criminal justice system so that every citizen could live a peaceful life. Government should also make sure that every citizen gets equal rights.

Racial prejudice means mistreating a person because of his color or community. For example, a Chinese American was jailed and tortured by the police because he was caught killing chickens in the backyard. Just because he could not speak English and was not fully aware of the laws, no efforts were made to explain the laws to him. This shows that racism does exist.

According to you what should have been done in that situation? One possibility was to arrange a meeting between the police chief and other senior members to discuss how the newcomers to the community were affecting law enforcement. It is better to attempt to explain the laws to the newcomers so that such incidents could be avoided in the future. The American citizens should put in efforts to communicate and work out with the police to help the newcomers so that they could be given proper education regarding the rules and regulations. This attempt could certainly produce a positive change at the institutional level.

It is quite true that we can never be entirely free of racial prejudice. Therefore we should have the ability to identify and address racism because it results in the unearned privileges of some and imposes unfair limitations on others. The economic stability of a group of people is closely linked with racism and unless it is studied thoroughly, a community-building effort will not reach its full potential.

Racial prejudice and racism have been commonly practiced in the U.S. by people with European backgrounds against various other groups, such as African-Americans or Latinos (Silas, 10). However, racial prejudice and racism also lead to tensions between people of non-European descent, for example, the tensions between African Americans and Asian Americans. As the U.S. becomes more diverse and people all over the globe more educated, we must make certain efforts to reduce hostility which creates differences in our physical traits and other aspects.

No matter what culture you belong to, it is quite obvious that you've seen the results of racial prejudice and racism, even if it is not aimed at you directly. The results of racial discrimination can be seen almost everywhere.  It is found in many different areas of society such as the media, in the workplace, in neighborhoods, at school, and in fact, in every area of daily life.

It is found that police decisions are sometimes influenced by racial origin to make an arrest. In case of minor offenses, police officers acquire racial behavior to decide whether to arrest a person or not. They take a close look at the way the offender is talking to them and whether he is showing them respect or not. These things look illogical but unfortunately, they do happen in police departments. Decisions made by the police are highly influenced by the color and cast of the offender. They were more likely to arrest, threaten, or use force against suspects in minority neighborhoods.

African Americans are shot by the police in big numbers. These encounters do not take place in case of major crimes only. They are shot dead even if the nature of the crime is not that critical such as the snatching of a mobile. This is because the police believed that blacks were highly involved in armed incidents that involved shootings. On the other hand, white Americans were spared for the crimes they commit. They are not only spared but also treated politely by the policemen. This concept is quite strange but it does happen in America.