Introduction
The issue of the poor, minorities and justice has remained as a source of controversy in the American society. With the country having witnessed high levels of segregation and discrimination on the basis of gender and race among other identity parameters, this issue remains debatable in the American justice system.
The interplay between minority groups and the justice system has significant impact in shaping the perception of people towards the system and how these people are likely to feel secure and acceptable in the wider society. This paper discusses theses relationships and possible ways of ensuring fair justice for the poor and minority.
Law enforcement vs. minority groups
The relationship between law enforcement agents like the police and minority groups has always sparked criticism and drawn the attention of many people. The two parties are known to relate in a hostile manner, limiting the efficacy in service delivery to minorities in the society.
From history, the American legal order tolerated and sustained discrimination, segregation and sustained slavery for a long period of time in history. By the fact that police officer were to uphold the order, shaped police behavior, attitude towards minorities and overall relationships between the two.
The nurtured pattern therefore indicates that minorities are entitled to fewer civil rights, are to be always under police control and that it is not the responsibility of police officers to offer complete protection against crime. As a result, minorities were left powerless and at odds with the police due to their minimum recognition.
In addressing the conflict between law enforcers and minorities, police reforms are essential. Coupled with learning, police officers would be trained and taught the need for equality in law enforcement. Additionally, such reforms would allow people minorities to understand their rights to be protected by the police.
Additionally, the issues of minorities and the justice system with reference to the pretrial process, trail and adjudication, sentencing and the death penalty are real and detrimental to the entire system. Although the justice system is mandated to apply law during legal and judicial processes, many of the laws have disproportionate impact on minorities. Their rights during rulings and trials are reduced, making them more vulnerable to death penalty and harsh court verdicts.
Additionally, race and social class are key players in most criminal justice processes in the United States. There is wide-spread inequality in the criminal justice system which impact several spheres of life. The determining factors for those who are jailed and incarcerated are employment and education. As are a result, an individual found guilty of committing a crime causes the entire family to suffer.
There is huge disparity between Whites, Blacks and the increasing population of Hispanics. Therefore race and social class determine the impact of the criminal justice system with favoritism and disparity taking center stage.
New Jim Crow
As a cited in “The New Jim Crow”, the history of minorities is strongly linked the emergence of drug business in the American society in the 20th century. This period saw many Black youths arrested and jailed for long periods while White drug dealers were left to go free. Cases of drug usage were common in not only in campuses and campuses but in the entire American culture. Many drug kingpins lavished in their marijuana business as Black youths were rounded and imprisoned for more than ten years.
To make matters worse, these youths paid dearly to the society; after being arrested for these years, their rights were taken away. For instance, they were not allowed to vote, faced massive discrimination against employment and housing. All these aspects of discrimination and social injustices resembled the Jim Crow laws.
As a result of the war on drugs, incarcerations related to drug offenses have tremendously increased by 1,000 percent from the year 1980. This has majorly been triggered by incentives given to law enforcing agencies through grants and political gains and then jobs that are created when prisons are constructed.
On the other side, continue to suffer, facing illegal searchers by police officers, racial profiling and shakedowns. Although research indicates almost percentage of drug users and dealers among all races, African American adds up to 90 percent of convicts.
Prisoners in U.S
From prison research around the world, it has been found the United States has the highest number of prisoners compared to Chinese and Russian jails combined. This is attributed to a number of reasons, some of which revolve around racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.
For instance, black males have the highest probability of finding themselves in prison. While this likelihood is represented by 16%, white males have a 2% probability of going to jail. This disparity has seen thousands of male and female Black Americans end in jail unlike other countries which do not have such discriminatory rules.
Another major cause is long sentences given to criminals. Unlike in China and Russia, first time drug offenders are sentenced to a minimum of five years in prison. Additionally, the War on drugs contributed the rise in the number of prisoners after President Nixon authorized a crackdown on the drug business.
According to recent statics, there are approximately half a million prisoners convicted of drug offenses compare to 40,000 in 1981. The solutions for these factors include implementation of reforms in the criminal Justice System to reduce the sentence period. Additionally, other ways of dealing with drug offenders need to be introduced in order to cut down on the number of people landing in jail.
Victimization and race
The highest number of victimization cases in the United States was reported between 1993 and 1998 with American Indians leading in the number of sustained violence. Statistically, out of 1000 American Indians, 119 suffered victimization (Rennison, 2001). This rate was viewed to be double the number sustained by black people and almost four and a half times among Asians.
With regard to murder, black people have the highest risk than all other American inhabitants. On the other hand, the American Indians experience the highest violence including simple and aggravated assault and serious crimes compared to other races in the country (Rennison, 2001).
High victimization among minorities is caused by a wide range of factors. Firstly, marital status plays a major role in determining victimization level. Statistics indicated that between 1993 and 1999 married American Indians experienced then highest number of victimization than any other category of races.
Secondly, the place of residence also determine victimization rate with American Indians leading among people living in urban areas (Rennison, 2001). According their rate was twice that of Blacks and Whites. The level of income is also associated with the level of victimization. American Indians experienced the highest level of victimization. The nature of housing also influences the level of victimization among different groups.
Within “owned houses”, American Indians are more victimized than black and white people, at a rate of approximately three and a half higher. The same trend is observed under rented residence. The impact on low socio-economic communities of cutbacks in police and low salaries for police would lead to exploitation of people. Low salaries for police officers would also result into corruption and high level of crime as they get discouraged (Rennison, 2001).
Strain and conflict theory
Strain theory has commonly been used in explaining criminal cases like age, sex and community. According to this theory, societal structures have the potential of triggering citizens to commit crimes. This theory has been developed by theorists like Emile Durkheim, Robert Merton and Albert Cohen among others.
Additionally this theory describes societal structures as processes at a given level in the society that determine the manner in which a person perceives his or her needs. If these structures are inadequate, they may shape an individual’s view over means and possible opportunities.
In this case, “individual” refers to frictions and struggles in satisfying their needs. On the other hand, the conflict theory focuses on competition among social groups. According to advocates of these theories, powerful members of higher groups lead as law makers and gain dominance. In explaining crime, these theorists argue that, due to differences in classes, legislation is controlled by a few, who may not easily face the law compared to lower class members.
Juvenile Justice System
Juvenile Justice System has continuously been used to draw a line between juvenile and adult criminals in the United States. However, the line has been differently drawn in various places and for different reasons. This was historically influenced by England’s common law, which was a key instrument in the governing of American colonies. William Blackstone is highly regarded for his contribution. One of the programs commonly incorporated in juvenile delinquency prevention is education.
Youths are taught how to avoid crime in schools. Recreation also allows youths to spend their time free away from crime. Community involvement programs also allow a harmonic social environment. This is done through establishment of boy and boy scouts. Bullying prevention programs are common in junior high schools to help students cope with cases of bullying in learning institutions (Lawshop, 2011).
References
Lawshop. (2011). Juvenile Delinquency Prevention. Einstein Law. Web.
Rennison, C. (2001). Violent Victimization and Race, 1993-98. U.S. Department of Justice. Web.