The extent of crime in the white community and ethnic minorities is a continued object of public scrutiny. Official sources create a multifaceted picture of crime and its relation to race. The general public keeps to a belief that nonwhite individuals are more likely to engage in a crime than their white counterparts. Simultaneously, whiteness continues to play one of the key roles in the development of cultural and racial prejudices in the criminal justice system.
The current state of crime in the United States suggests that race remains an essential factor of criminal justice in America. The most recently published data provides statistical insight into crime and its relation to race in 2008. According to Anonymous, 69.2 percent of all arrests in 2008 affected white people (305). 58.3 percent of arrestees for violent crimes were white, too (Anonymous 305). Of all arrestees for murder, 49.7 percent were white (Anonymous 305).
Among arrestees for forcible rape and robbery, whites constituted 65.2 and 41.7 percent, accordingly (Anonymous 305). 63.3 percent of those arrested for aggravated assault were white (Anonymous 305). The situation with burglary and robbery was no better: 67.4 percent of arrestees for property crimes were white, followed by 66.8 percent of white arrestees for burglary (Anonymous 305). The prevailing majority of those arrested for larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, and arson were white (Anonymous 305). The most frequent causes of arrests among white adults were drug abuse violations and driving under influence (Anonymous 305).
In the meantime, black adults were mostly stopped and arrested for drug abuse problems and simple assaults (Anonymous 305). In this situation, it is at least surprising to know that, in 2009, white men in the U.S. were six times less likely to be incarcerated than their black counterparts: Bureau of Justice Statistics claims that Black males were incarcerated at a rate of almost 4,800 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents, compared with only 708 white inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents (BJS). The rates of incarceration among white female offenders did not exceed 91 per 100,000 U.S. residents in 2009, compared with 333 incarcerated Black female offenders per 100,000 U.S. residents (BJS).
Even though the rates of incarceration in America decreased 0.2 percent in 2009, racial disparities in sentencing and incarceration continue to persist (BJS). The United States has the world’s highest rate of incarceration – 762 incarcerated per 100,000 US residents, compared with 152 per 100,000 residents in the UK (Human Rights Watch). In 2007 alone, almost 11 percent of African-American males between 30 and 34 of age were incarcerated in the U.S. (Human Rights Watch).
The picture of crime in the white community is uneven. Statistical data suggest that whiteness remains one of the dominant factors in sentencing decisions in the U.S. Criticism aside, the rates of sentencing and imprisonment in the white community are remarkably low, compared with the rates of “white” homicides, burglary, and aggravated assaults. White individuals face low risks of stops and searches by police. The mere division of crimes into “white” and “nonwhite” has far-reaching implications for sociology and justice.
Undoubtedly, race does play its role in the crime situation, but the reasons behind these crime differences are difficult to explain. Possibly, white communities in both countries have better opportunities to meet their life goals without committing a crime. The University of Maryland writes that racial integration could reduce the existing racial gap in crime and incarceration in the U.S., but the exact effects of racial integration on the crime situation are yet to be discovered. The most probable causes of racial inequality in criminal justice lie within the system itself. Probably, it is high time criminal justice professionals reconsidered their attitudes toward crime, to ensure the objectivity and fairness of sentencing decisions.
Works Cited
Anonymous. Crime in the United States, 4th ed. Bernan Press, 2010.
BJS. “Number of State Prisoners Declined by Almost 3,000 During 2009; Federal Prison Population Increased by 6,800.” Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2010. Web.
Human Rights Watch. “US: Prison Numbers Hit New High.” Human Rights Watch, 2008. Web.
University of Maryland. “Violent Crime ‘Race Gap’ Narrows, but Persists in the US”. PsychOrg, 2010. Web.