Racial Disparity - Research Paper Example

Racial Disparity The last decades, significant efforts have been made for securing human rights in the international community. However, in most cases the relevant initiatives have failed to achieve the goals of their planners. As a result, inequalities in societies internationally have been increased. Racial disparity is just an aspect of the above phenomenon. Racial disparity, or else racial discrimination, is a term included two elements: ‘a) differential treatment on the basis of race that disadvantages a racial group and b) treatment on the basis of inadequately justified factors other than race that disadvantages a racial group’ (Blank, Dabady & Citro 2004, p.3). Even if it could be considered as one of the social problems of modern societies, racial disparity has caused severe concerns to governments worldwide mostly because of the following facts: the problem seems to be continuously expanded, i.e. there is no sign of limitation or even standardization; also, the phenomenon has been already developed at such level that threatens the stability of the society. Racial disparity is a critical social problem in countries worldwide. The problem is mostly reflected in the barriers faced by black people or people belonging in minorities when trying to enter the job market (The Independent 2008, NBC Washington 2011); the health care treatment provided to black people and people in minorities also reveals the existence of racial disparity (McNeil 2011). In criminal justice also, cases of racial disparity can be identified. Indeed, black people and people in minorities are most likely to be arrested for crimes of various types; moreover, people in this category are more likely to be convicted – compared the white people who have committed the same offences. In Illinois ‘19 percent of black defendants charged in 2005 were sentenced to prison after being charged with a low-level drug possession felony’ (Di Benedetto 2011); the percentage of white people charged for the same crime was just 4% (Di Benedetto 2011). It should be noted though that the failure in managing racial disparity is not reflected just in the punishment imposed on offenders; it seems that criminal behavior is increased in black people and people belonging in minorities, a fact which shows the lack of measures for equally controlling crime across society. In a research developed in 2008 “10.1 percent of all blacks reported using illegal drugs compared to 8.2 percent of all whites” (Di Benedetto 2011). Racial disparity is an important social problem; however, its limitation would require an integrate plan of action; the introduction of changes in the criteria of sentencing would not be adequate for reducing the number of minorities in courts and prisons. However, the development of effective measures for achieving the above target would require the identification, primarily, of the causes of racial disparity, as reflected in various social activities and specifically in the criminal justice system. Various causes have led to the increased presence of minorities in criminal activities. Commonly, the access of people belonging in minorities to educational programs is quite difficult; even if they are given such chance, their potentials to continue a long-term educational plan are quite limited (Lawrence 2009). In this way, they are not informed on the actual consequences of a crime, not only for them but also for the community and the victim. Therefore, they are likely to be involved in criminal activities, having the impression that these activities are just an option of life, a common social phenomenon that would not severely affect their life. The above perception is further promoted by the fact that minorities do not have access to health services or to the job market (Lawrence 2009). In this way, they often consider the crime as a tool for living, not just as an action opposing the legal and social rules of the particular society (Lang 2007). In other words, the barriers faced by minorities in all their social activities have a critical role in the involvement of minorities in criminal actions. In accordance with Carmichael (2010) the increase of criminal activities among minorities would be explained by referring to their conditions of living; it is explained that these people are not treated equally with white people – a problem which can be observed in all aspects of their life, including housing, health services and education (Carmichael 2010). The relationship between the racial characteristics of offenders and their treatment from the criminal justice system is explained in the Graph 1 – Appendix. It is made clear that under the influence of social beliefs, as promoted through the media; the operation of criminal justice system can become problematic, being far from promoting fairness and the protection of the interests of the public. It is in the above context that racial disparity has become a fashion, being considered as partially justified under the influence of statistics on crime, which, however, do not reflect the actual causes of the problem. Under these terms, the decrease of black people in courts and jails would require the introduction of certain measures. These measures should be primarily reviewed as of their feasibility taking into consideration the current political, social and economic conditions of each particular society. The support of these schemes by the government is a prerequisite for their success. In the report of Newman (2009) reference is made to an initiative taken by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency; the above authority suggested the use of ‘Racial Impact Statements’ as a tool for controlling racial disparity. These statements aim to show the level and the nature of impact of criminal justice policies on black and minorities – reference is made to the social costs of the particular policies (Newman 2009). The above tool has been successfully incorporated in the criminal justice system of certain states, for instance in Connecticut, Wisconsin and North Carolina (Newman 2009). The effectiveness of the specific tool would be evaluated in the long term – by reviewing the statistical data related to the involvement of minorities in crimes and the treatment of this group of people by the criminal justice system. From a similar point of view, MacKenzie (2006) suggested that the limitation of racial disparity could be achieved only through the review and the update of existing sentencing system in accordance with the principles of the ‘Justice Model of Sentencing and Corrections’ (MacKenzie 2006, p.10), which focuses on the fairness of sentences, meaning that the conditions of the social and the personal (of the offender) environment are taken into consideration before deciding on a particular sentence. The above problem is reflected in the criteria used by judges when having to decide on the sentences imposed on black offenders: for example, it has been revealed that ‘minority defendants are sanctioned more severely if their victim is white rather if their target is a fellow minority group member’ (Siegel 2011, p.630). In accordance with Gibson (2008) the effective update of existing criminal justice system would include the following measures: a) the changes of sentencing rules so that ‘the punishment fits the crime’ (Gibson 2008, p.21), b) the development of schemes for ‘ensuring the access to the justice for all’ (Gibson 2008, p.21) and c) the introduction of rules for ensuring the protection of ‘human, information and democratic rights of offenders’ (Gibson 2008, p.21). The promotion of these measures could also help towards the reduction of minorities in courts and jails, under the terms that the mission of justice would be made clearer to the public while fairness and equality would be promoted through all processes of the criminal justice system. The above measures would be particularly valuable in states where the application of the rules of criminal justice system – referring to the federal penal rules – is problematic, mostly because of the increased power of governors to intervene in the sentencing process (Lawrence 2009). The specific issue is also highlighted in the study of Cole & Smith (2007); in the above study emphasis is given on the need for increase of fairness and equality in the criminal justice system. It is also suggested that the ‘tough crime-control policies’ (Cole & Smith 2007, p.46) as applied today, are reviewed and updated since they tend to affect mostly poor people. The introduction of community programs that would respond to the housing, education and employment needs of people is suggested as an effective measure for controlling crime – instead of developing tough crime-control measures and sentences (Cole & Smith 2007, p.46). Indeed, the development of alternative plans of action, along with the reform of the criminal justice system, could help to decrease the number of minorities in courts and jails – within a short period of time. The introduction of schemes for helping the minorities to enter the job market would be a potential method for addressing the problem more rapidly (Siegel 2005). These schemes could be developed at the level of the community with the active participation of locals, either employees of the community or volunteers. In this way, the performance of these schemes could be monitored more effectively and changes could be suggested, where necessary, in order for the performance of these schemes to be improved. Also, the development of programs for educating parents on the needs of their children would be another scheme of such type (Sung & Gideon 2010). Parents should deal more with the communication problems of their children – as a result of racial disparity. In any case, they should ask for the help of professionals in handling these problems. The participation of the parents in programs that emphasize on the aspects of the above problems and the solutions available – meaning especially the behavior of parents towards their children but also the advice given to children for handling racial disparity events. At the same time, the current form of the educational system would be reviewed; changes should be made so that minorities to have equal chances to education (Lang 2007), a fact which would help to the limitation of their social exclusion. In this way, minorities would be less likely to participate in criminal activities of various forms. Racial disparity has been proved to be a severe social problem. The rapid expansion of the problem worldwide can lead to the assumption that the measures taken up to now for its confrontation are not appropriately designed or implemented; the failures of these measures are reflected in the significant increase of black people in jails worldwide. The update of existing criminal justice would be just part of the plan for the limitation of the problem. The above plan should be combined with the provision of social support to the specific groups of people. The support of this kind would be preferably developed in the context of the community, where it is easier to identify the actual needs of individuals – having to deal with fewer cases of such characteristics. The measures suggested above, for handling the problem, are just indicative. Different measures, or alternative initiatives, could be introduced taking into consideration the local social and political conditions. 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Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. McNeil, D. (2011, January 13). “Broad Racial Disparities Seen in Americans’ Ills. The New York Times”. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/health/14cdc.html?_r=1 NBC Washington. (2011, February 14). “D.C. Food Workers Survey Reveals Low Pay, Racial Disparity”. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/business/D_C__Food_Workers_Survey_Reveals_Low_Pay__Racial_Disparity.html Newman, N. (2009, January 15). “Racial Impact Statements: Addressing Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice Systems. Progressive States Network”. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://www.progressivestates.org/news/dispatch/racial-impact-statements-addressing-racial-disparities-in-criminal-justice-systems Oliver, P. (2011, February 5). “Racial Disparities in Criminal Justice”. University of Wisconsin. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~oliver/RACIAL/RacialDisparities.htm Siegel, L. (2011). Criminology. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Siegel, L. (2005). Criminology. Belmont: Cengage Learning. Sung, H. & Gideon, L. (2010) Rethinking Corrections: Rehabilitation, Reentry, and Reintegration. London: SAGE. The Independent. (2008, February 16). “Fashion is racist: insider lifts lid on ‘ethnic exclusion’”. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/fashion-is-racist-insider-lifts-lid-on-ethnic-exclusion-782974.html Read More