Race, Crime and Criminal Justice Danielle SSU Inconsistencies Between Whites and Minorities: Police Brutality, Sentencing Disparities, and My Opinions on Reform Race, Crime and Criminal Justice Danielle SSU

Police and the African American Community African Americans encounter more incidents with law enforcements than anyone other minority group African Americans are more likely to live in areas of higher crime rates and low income neighborhoods Therefore police officers highly patrol these areas Throughout this course I have learned a lot of new aspects to the criminal justice system, especially when it came to racial disparities. I have now become more educated on the fact that police officers are more prone to patrol in neighborhoods that are populated with minorities. Which in my eyes is unconstitutional to patrol based on race; however, they are able to do so because they express that the areas in which they are locating themselves are low income neighborhoods with high crime rates. The only reason they have high crime rates is because there are more police officers patrolling those areas then in neighborhoods with “lower crime rates;” this data is flawed.

Fairness by Police Officers According to societal perception of police fairness, when asked if they thought African Americans were treated less fairly than whites in their community the answers varied tremendously What percentage said yes: Whites: 37% Hispanics: 51% African Americans: 70% What interested me when discussing this slide, was now much lower the white percentage was when answering the question of whether African Americans are treated fairly when approached by police officers. I was not intrigued because I thought they were being dishonest; in fact I believe it is because whites have a lot less experience with watching firsthand how African Americans are treated. For example, research shows that whites get pulled over less than African Americans; therefore whites would not be able to express the reality of unfairness because it is not experienced directly.

Analysis of Racial Disparities The racial disparities in the criminal justice system between colored individuals and whites is astronomical It has been shown that: Blacks are more likely to be confronted by law enforcement And to experience excessive use of force There are a higher number of colored people are in jails and prisons Sentencing lengths are much harsher and longer for those of color When one thinks about a criminal they think about a black man, who lives in the ghetto wearing baggy clothes and is uneducated; however what most people don’t know is that in fact whites are committing crimes at a higher rate. As we have discussed multiple times throughout the semester, when surveying a classroom based on a picture and what one thinks is happening or has happened, people of color are stereotypes to have committed a crime (even though in the photo he had simply finished working out and was wearing a sweatshirt with the hood up). Therefore we can come to the conclusion that, there is not a racial just justice system because people see color and that determines punishment; we do not have a colorblind society, and that is what is causing such intense disparities.

Police Brutality Against African Americans African Americans experiences with police officers is more prone to be associated with conflicts and police brutality Police Brutality: use of excessive force (as stated before) African Americans are killed by law enforcement more than Whites The ratio is 3:1 Video: Excessive use of force https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPKvwtn5dsk This video in particular, upset me when watching because the man (who was African American) was expressing his rights and obeyed the officer by handing over his identification; however, when he didn’t real comfortable getting out of the car, the officers broke the window, tasered the man and proceeded to yank him out of the car and handcuff him. In my opinion, I have experienced through these videos that the officers get angry and react very quickly, and my biggest concern and question in regards to this is whether the officers reply so hastily because they use biases and stereotypes of African Americans being aggressive and threatening as an excuse to respond so defensively.

Sentencing Disparities Crimes are committed more frequently (especially drug related crimes) by white males, yet there are more American Americans/minorities in jail and prison than there are whites. It has been reported that of the African American population the expectancy rate of imprisonment is: 1 in every 3 males 1 in every 18 females This portion of the course was very shocking to me because it made me realize that out of every person I see each day, I have encountered multiple people who have or will be incarcerated without even consciously thinking about it. It is a terrifying and outrageous reality of life. As a community it is important that we acknowledge these issues and set forth a way to resolve them; otherwise our “free nation” literally contradicts itself with racial disparity and unconstitutional issues.

My Opinion for Reform We as a nation need to change the way minorities are treated by law enforcement I think the first step in doing so is to hire more minorities to become police officers Another opportunity for change in law enforcement could be: Holding mandatory group discussions on how to interact differently to each situation It may also be beneficial for police officers to take anger management classes To lowers the chances of excessive force It will take a lot of time, effort and patience, but I think these are great first steps in the key to change and success. We cannot live in a society where these issues exist, it is unconstitutional and unequal for all men and women (especially those of color living in a low income neighborhood).

Reference List Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (1996). The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America (6th ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth Pub. Co. Youtube.com (2014). Unnecessary Police Brutality against Black Family (children in car). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPKvwtn 5dsk