Racial Bias in the Criminal Justice System
Implicit racial bias is a historical problem that affects American society. Racial biases are hidden in the mind of most Americans and only emerges consciously in a provoking environment. Although racial bias is against American law, it has continued to thrive in the criminal justice system. That is quite ironic as criminal justice should be the one to guard the law and not to break it. Racial injustice has permeated all levels of American jurisdiction, from arrests made by the police to incarcerations. Research on the issue indicates that the problem has been exacerbated in the present era, where many minority groups have remained in low socioeconomic class. This paper engages research to provide the potential causes and consequences of racial bias in the American criminal justice system.
A study by Drakeford and Jeanine (52) reveals disproportionate arrest and confinement the juveniles with African American identities. A comparative ratio of the minority versus non-minority groups was eight to one by 2004. Further, the study indicates that by 1999 about 34% of the juveniles accounted for were from the minority groups (Drakeford and Jeanine 53). The study reveals one of the causes of the high rate of incarcerations for the minority juveniles to be racial. In particular, the juveniles of African American descent are unfairly targeted by the criminal justice system. That has led to a disproportionate increase in the number of juveniles arrested. The consequences of the biased penal system are that justice is perverted, and many juveniles are unfairly treated even when they are not necessarily wrong.
Another study by Barnes and Ryan (2018) investigates the mechanism to lower racial inequalities for adults being arrested in America. The study identifies the cause of bias for the black adults arrested in America to be inequality practices witnessed in the schools’ disciplinary actions. Further, the inequalities at the school level perpetuate the disparities in arrests made at the adult level. The consequences of the practice are that it creates a disengaged minority group of African Americans right from the school. That is detrimental to society. The research proposes that if the racial inequities can be addressed at the school level, it would translate to a more just system in arrests made. As a result, the consequences would be much lesser.
According to Banks et al. (2006), American society is already racially unequal, and perpetuating the injustices that are racially inclined is a natural process. That is the case as racial inequality exists in people’s minds and hearts. Additionally, the research finds that the central cause of the racial problem started when the injustice was legal. Thus to remove the mentality from society is a lengthy process, although racial segregation has already being declared illegal. This study alludes to the problem of the racial injustice that is rampant in the American criminal system. It suggests that the cause is the original ideology that allowed racial prejudice in American society. The consequence of the practice is that the issue is deeply engraved in their mind, and to reverse that requires radical change.
Najdowski et al. (2015) identify substantial levels of disparity in the criminal justice system. The study identifies the stereotyping of African Americans by the police as one of the leading causes of racial injustice in the penal system. Additionally, the study finds that American police tend to treat blacks as criminals. That has instilled fear and anxiety among the blacks whenever they are dealing with the police. As a result, the police tend to be suspicious that the blacks are engaged in wrongdoing. The situation has worsened with time as more minors are being arrested just on suspicion and, at times, being prosecuted for no wrongdoing. These are just some of the grave consequences of stereotyping African Americans.
Clemons (2015) investigates the extent to which racial injustices have permeated the justice system. The research highlights a cause for the racial injustice in the criminal justice system to be the racial bias founded in the justices. The Supreme Court judges in America were found to express racial injustice subconsciously. A comment made by chief justices John Roberts in 2007, “the way to stop discrimination based on race is to stop discriminating against the race,” reveals the gravity of the issue in the court systems. Moreover, the study finds that the court has permitted racial injustice through the conscious notion regarding bias. As a result, justice has not been achieved for minorities through such impediments. That is just one of the consequences.
All in all, racial justice is a severe societal problem that was rooted when racial injustice was allowed in America. The practice has exacerbated over time and permeated every social system in America. In particular, the criminal justice system has been dramatically affected by injustice. The causes of racial injustice identify from various research work are prejudices engraved in the mind and hearts of the people, which are expressed consciously, stereotyping of the black Americans by the police, inequities in punishment of school kids, unfairly targeting the black community, and a biased court system. These factors have gravitated to the issue and led to serious harm to the minorities.
Work Cited
Drakeford, William, and Jeanine M. Staples. “Minority confinement in the juvenile justice system: Legal, social, and racial factors.” Teaching Exceptional Children 39.1 (2006): 52-58.
Barnes, J. C., and Ryan T. Motz. “Reducing racial inequalities in adulthood arrest by reducing inequalities in school discipline: Evidence from the school-to-prison pipeline.” Developmental psychology 54.12 (2018): 2328.
Banks, R. Richard, Jennifer L. Eberhardt, and Lee Ross. “Discrimination and implicit bias in a racially unequal society.” California Law Review 94.4 (2006): 1169-1190.
Najdowski, Cynthia J., Bette L. Bottoms, and Phillip Atiba Goff. “Stereotype threat and racial differences in citizens’ experiences of police encounters.” Law and human behavior 39.5 (2015): 463.
Clemons, John Tyler. “Blind injustice: The Supreme Court, implicit racial bias, and the racial disparity in the criminal justice system.” Am. Crim. L. Rev. 51 (2014): 689.