It demonstrates that racism is still very real and that people continue to be treated based on the color of their skin. It was one of “the most visible uses of force by police in this country`s history “and put the issue of police brutality on the national agenda. The king beating set off a chain of events that enflamed racial, ethnic, and social tensions in Los Angeles. It caused six days of riots and rebellion, calls
Contrastingly whites are underrepresented. However such statistics do not tell us whether members of one ethnic group are more likely than members of another ethnic group to commit an offence in the first place; they just tell us about involvement in the criminal justice system. For example differences in stop and search or arrest rates may be due to police racism, while differences in rates of imprisonment may be the result of courts handing down harsher sentences on minorities. There are other sources of statistics to reveal link of ethnicity and offending. Victim surveys ask individuals to say what crimes they have been victims of.
High Crime in Urban Areas Travis E. Heath SOC 305 Crime & Society Timothy Knox 5 November 2012 Abstract Crime and our criminal justice system affect everyone in the United States in one way or another, weather you are a criminal or the victim. Impoverished urban areas with a large minority population are disproportionally impacted. Through my research I discovered that a higher number of violent and drug related crime occur in theses areas. I also found that studies show that people within minority groups are more likely to suffer hasher punishment for similar crimes committed by non-minority groups. In this research paper I will analyze the break down the officially recognized races in the US, crimes specifically relate to these urban areas that are not present in more rural and suburban areas, finally how are crimes handled both at the judicial and executive levels in poverty-stricken communities as opposed to upper class communities.
This classification makes sense because if crime is caused by terrorists; terrorist will cause crimes. If the majority of minorities are in prisons, then people of color will end up in prison. On the opposing side of racial profiling, many minorities feel that it is a form of racial discrimination that only hurts the good image law enforcement upholds. For example, the California Highway Patrol has recently been taken to court for the misuse of racial profiling. Therefore, a compromise must be made because it would be ideological to believe that there can be a government that bans the use of racial identification.
Whether one turns on the television, reads the newspaper, or notices a park bench, ethnic minorities are the prime focus of crime related ads. Ethnic Minorities are played off as the villain. These ads vilify ethnic minorities and help promote racial inequality in today’s ever increasing media circle. "Racial Profiling" refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin, as defined by the American Civil Liberties Union. Racial profiling is only continued by the racial stereotypes that are portrayed in the media today.
These systematic disparate treatments contribute to a dysfunctional community and lead to the socioeconomic destruction of the African American family infrastructure.” (Coulson-Clark, et. all, 2010) Because racial profiling, discrimination, and the disparities within the criminal justice system seem to always be a topic of concern, the best way to understand what is happening is to research the problem to gain a better perspective and point of view. The need to find the reason behind the higher numbers of
Society has a misconception that a typical criminal is a young black working class male. Statistics show that black people count for 2.8% of the population in the UK but 11% in prison. Furthermore, Asians make up 4.7% in the UK but 6% in prison terms. The question is asked if a racist police force is behind such different statistics. Moreover, further statistics show that black people are seven times more likely and Asians twice as likely to stopped by police compared to their white counterparts.
Most recently, many have opted to support the decision makers and law enforcement officers involved in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases. However, several still continue to condemn the final verdict of these two cases and wonder how such violent acts committed by police force have served no justice. As a nation, we have come a long way from racial discrimination and inequality; but why do we continue to witness such significant disparities within the American Justice System? Rates of incarceration between African Americans and Hispanics as opposed to Caucasians vary greatly. How many legislative experts within the U.S. justice system are African Americans compared to Whites?
Experimental research suggests that these racial depictions of criminality have an impact on White viewers, who are more likely to believe a perpetrator is Black even when no picture of a suspect is shown (Gilliam & Iyengar, 2000), and they are more inclined to believe a Black suspect is guilty, deserving of punishment and likely to recidivate (Peffley, Shields, & Williams, 1996). Television dramas about crime and criminal justice are extremely popular. Many crime dramas take real news stories and turn them into works of fiction, a tactic commonly referred to as the ‘‘ripped from the headlines approach’’ made famous by the television series Law and Order (Britto, Hughes, Saltzman, & Stroh, 2007). This can blur the line between fiction and reality and may create the perception that rare and particularly heinous crimes are common. Most prior research, however, has found little relationship between consumption of crime dramas and opinions about crime and criminal justice, such as attitudes about the police (Callanan & Rosenberger, 2011; Dowler & Zawilski, 2007; Eschholz et al., 2002).
But African American is also more likely to arrested for other crimes. Hispanic and African American are slightly more likely than Whites to be convicted of violent crimes, while Whites are more likely to be convicted of property crimes like burglary, larceny, and car theft. But the leading violent crime that lands African Americans in the prison is robbery, while the leading violent crime for Whites is rape or sexual assault, and Hispanic are mostly for gang and drug related crimes. (The American