Critique of Criminal Justice System
In simple terms, the criminal justice system refers to a set of legal institutions entrusted in enforcing criminal law following a well-defined set of procedural rules. These institutions include state and local public agencies that deal with the crime problem (Harr et al., 2011). There are separate military, federal, and state criminal justice systems in America and with each state having different systems for adults and juveniles. However, there have been several critiques surrounding the criminal justice system based on race and inequality.
Article One: Racial and Criminal Justice
The Impact of Non-Minority Population on the Criminal Justice System (correction)
The article explains how American criminal justice equally treats both Americans and African Americans in court proceedings and sentencing. However, after critically examining the article and seeing African Americans’ treatment in courts, something seems to be wrong. First, black American faces discrimination in judicial proceedings and sentencing; facing more prolonged hearings and sentences than the whites for the same crime category by white judges (Johnson et al., 2015). For example, a white judge under the influence of his bases imposes a harsh punishment on an African American without weighing the evidence presented in the court; this is a form of direct discrimination. It is very disappointing to see a very learned judge imposing a judgment based on racial biases. Such judgment has led to the separation of families whereby their innocent members are taken to prison to serve jail sentences for crimes they didn’t commit.
Furthermore, racial discrimination on the minority groups has led to frequent collusion between the blacks and the criminal justice system because they opt to use demonstrations to fight for their rights. In recent years in the United States, the shooting of African Americans has increased at a high rate, calling for many people to protest these shootings. Recently, Fyod, a black American, was killed by a white coup in broad daylight even after peacefully surrendering to the police with his hands above his head. The incident followed peaceful protest by blacks and human rights activities for a couple of weeks. The family of Fyod lost a family member and a dad who is very cruel since he had committed no wrong. Therefore, the article seems not to shed a lot of truth on how the criminal justice system practices a lot of racial discrimination.
The Consequences of Community and Law Enforcement Tensions and Conflict
Racial discrimination will always have several consequences to the community, law enforcement tension, and conflict. First, the community, especially the African American community, will feel less inferior, leading to hatred between the Blacks and the whites (Johnson et al., 2015). In America, the whites and African Americans lack a good relationship making the two parties to the extent that when a white man identifies a black man walking in their neighborhood, they refer to the back as a criminal and even call police officers to arrest him.
Additionally, studying the article, the author noted that police officers at no point arrest suspect based on color, which seems to contradict. America, police officers are known to make an arrest based on the person’s color in question. For example, a white man walking in the street at night is not suspected of anything, but a black man is regarded as a criminal. Furthermore, research has shown that traffic officers tend to focus more on black drivers, whereby they are stopped and thoroughly searched while the white drivers are not stopped at any point. Such actions led to conflict between the blacks and the police officers since the blacks feel their rights are undermined.
Means of Resolving Issues Straining Relations between Selected Social, Cultural, Ethnic and Racial Groups and Criminal Justice
Racial discrimination is significantly affecting the relationship between the community and the police agencies based on social, ethnic, and cultural context. Due to race discrimination, there cannot be peace among the named groups, which leads to constant conflicts. After critically studying the article, there can be several means that resolve these issues affecting these groups’ relationship. One, resolving these issues, should start from within, meaning from the police and legal department. Therefore, the police officers have to publicly admit that they are using more force on African Americans than whites.
By admitting their mistakes and apologizing to the blacks, the police officers’ hostility and the blacks will come will end. Second, whites should support blacks when they are protesting demanding equal rights. Even though several whites support the blacks, the support is not the same when it comes to white leaders. Hence, white leaders need to join hands with the African American leaders in ending racial discrimination, leading to a healthy society and enhancing a safe culture between the whites and the blacks.
Assess Criminal Justice Practices and Security Challenges to Identify Creative Solutions.
The police agencies hold the most significant percentage in racial discrimination, raising essential questions calling to serious scrutiny of police misconduct. Therefore, there should be increased use of special prosecutors to investigate police misconduct. Mainly prosecutors rely on police officers to make an arrest, interrogate and investigate suspects and testify at trails. Therefore, when a police officer arrests a person because of his race and presents false evidence to the prosecutors, it will lead to the sentencing of an innocent man. With special prosecutors’ inclusion, such incidents shall be avoided, and the bias police officers will face the law.
Method for Overcoming Resistance to Resolve Troubled Relations between Criminal Justice Organizations and Particular Communities.
The primary method of overcoming resistance and resolving the troubled relationship between the two parties is that the criminal justice organization reaches a consensus on the values that guide their organizations. These values must embrace liberty and the protection of individual life. Additionally, the values must adopt the measures necessary in maintaining a stable and peaceful society and the relationship between the two parties.
The article fails to offer substantial evidence on how criminal justice in the United States is protecting African Americans since there have been many concerns on how the blacks are discriminated against in all legal entities, especially the police agencies.
Article Two: Inequality in the Criminal Justice System
The article focuses on how African Americans are discriminated in every aspect of their lives from sentencing, work-related matters, policing, and legislation. After critically studying the article. The author gives an example of a recent hearing of Mississippi’s case, where an African American death row inmate’s conviction was repeatedly dismissed out for prosecutorial misconduct (Shelden & Brown, 2013). The incident led the Supreme Court Justice Brett to point out the necessity of taking a hard line against inequality facing African Americans to preserve the community’s confidence in the fairness of the criminal justice system. If the citizens stop believing in the justice system, the systems automatically stop working.
The Impact of Non-Minority Population on the Criminal Justice System
The whites’ being the non-minority population has a significant impact on America’s criminal justice system. The criminal justice systems tend to favor the whites a lot, leading to increased crimes in the region. The reason being when the police officers put all the efforts n investigating and associating the black with crimes, will create a channel for white criminals to continue performing illegal acts. The drug business in America thrives at a high rate because the cartel leaders are whites (Shelden & Brown, 2013). Since the police are concentrating on arresting the blacks, the white continues to carry on with their illegal business. Therefore, leading to increased cocaine supply in American because those conducting the business are not a “threat to the community.”
Another impact is the misuse of power by the whites in charge of criminal justice systems such as police officers and judges. The minority groups, such as the disabled and women, especially the blacks, are treated are facing inequality in the hands of whites. The article gives an example of how an African American woman who worked as a security guard was sentenced three years in prison by a white judge for searching a bag belonging to an American woman. Such an act demonstrates the highest form of inequality because if it was a White solder searching a black woman, it could not have have been an issue.
The Consequences of Community and Law Enforcement Tensions and Conflict
There are several consequences to the community affected by these forms of insecurity, which ruins their life completely. According to the article, the inequality deepens the social disadvantages that have resulted from racial disparities. Studies have shown that despite both the whites and blacks sharing the same criminal history or low level of schoolings, the African Americans and other minority groups are less likely to get employed 12 months after prison. Furthermore, the minorities who are employed get paid less than the whites making the blacks struggle to meet their needs since the economy is the same for both the whites.
Unequal treatment between the whites and the blacks have created a lot of law enforcement tension and conflict (Sheldon & Brown, 2013). The minority groups feel as if their rights are being undermined and call for the government to take action on these criminal justice agencies leading to conflict between the government and law enforcement agencies. Therefore, law enforcement agencies feel undermined by the government, making them continue harassing the blacks as a way of revenge.
Means of Resolving Issues Straining Relationship between Selected Social, Cultural, Ethnic and Racial Groups and Criminal Justice
One significant way of resolving the relationship between the named groups and criminal justice is by helping the minority group be affected by inequality. The article suggests that to resolve this issue, the government should chip away the police department’s root cause. The government has dismissed the corrupt and biased solders who are ruing the lives and families of blacks and other minority groups. The government should help the affected minorities by revisiting those blacks sentenced for crimes they didn’t commit. By doing this, there will be a restoration of trust in the judicial systems.
Assess Criminal Justice Practices and Security Challenges to Identify Creative Solutions
Inequality on minority groups has raised a lot of concern, especially with human rights activists and civil rights departments in the United States. Due to these qualities, there is a security challenge, especially on the minority groups because they feel insecure, and the people are supposed to offer protection and against them. Therefore, the government should implement implicit bias training for law enforcement officers and local police responsible in federal task forces. The presence of implicit bias has enhanced disparities among minority groups in access to and equal healthcare treatment in the criminal justice system.
Developing methods for Overcoming Resistance to Resolving Troubled Relations between Criminal Justice Organization and Particular Communities
The principal method that can help resolve the troubled relationship between criminal justice organizations and the affected communities is the government, and the Community Relation service should implement innovative approaches to deal with a deadly problem. The dissemination of information through training, publications, and conferences will help resolve this resistance and boost the relationship between the two parties.
The article provided great insight into how the criminal justice system has continued to treat the minorities unequally and deprive them of their rights and freedom to expression and fair hearing. Furthermore, the article has provided solutions are resolving these inequalities and calls for the government to take action on the bias police officers and judges.
References
Harr, J. S., Hess, K. M., & Orthmann, C. M. (2011). Constitutional law and the criminal justice system. Cengage Learning.
Johnson, D., Farrell, A., & Warren, P. Y. (2015). Deadly Injustice: Trayvon Martin, race, and the criminal justice system. NYU Press.
Shelden, R. G., & Brown, W. B. (2013). Criminal justice in America: A critical view. Allyn & Bacon.