...The Myth of a Racist Criminal Justice System By William Wilbanks The name of the book that I read was The Myth of a Racist Criminal Justice System by William Wilbanks and was published in 1987. It talks about the myths of having a racist criminal justice system. In this book the author does not believe that that the criminal justice system is racial but believes at times there is racial prejudice and discrimination within the criminal justice system that goes both ways between blacks and whites. According to the text this book is written in the belief that many aspects of the question "Is the criminal justice system racist?" have not been addressed by Criminologist. This book is intended to fill that void of not knowing. Wilbanks wrote this book basically to give us a better understanding of how sometimes what looks to be racism in the court system really isn’t but is looked at that way because of a high difference in number in the black/white ratio involved negatively in the court system. The book was written from a more general point of view in order to give a neutral understanding to both parties as to why the court systems are looked at to be racist but really aren’t.. The author also gives very interesting arguments of proof to back up his beliefs. There was a part in the book where Wilbanks says, “Thus the question of whether the criminal justice system is racist must not be confused with that of whether blacks commit crimes at a higher rate than whites because...
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...crimes, other sociologists such as Neo Marxists and investigations into racist institutions such as the MacPherson report believe that official statistics are not a true representation of the level of ethnic crime and is socially constructed. Official statistics show there is a high level of ethnic minority crime in society for example blacks are five times more likely to be in prison than a white person. Left realists Lea and Young argue that statistics highlight that Black men are committing more crimes due to racism in society which is marginalising black people for example racism has led to high levels of unemployment amongst ethnic minority groups hence leading to poverty and poor housing situations. Lea and young believe that the Medias etherises on consumerism leads black men to feel relatively deprived as they are not able to maintain the goals of society via legitimate means hence they turn to delinquent subcultures as a means of gaining rewards through illegitimate means. This also links to Merton’s strain theory. However Neo Marxists criticise official statistics representation of ethnic minorities and crime, claiming that they are socially constructed and don’t reflect reality. Gilroy argues that Black crime is over represented in official statistics and is in fact a myth created by racist stereotypes. For example victim surveys rely on people’s memory to identify the ethnicity of the criminal, however people tend to rely on their stereotypical typifications, often...
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...According to official statistics, there are significant ethnic differences in the likelihood of being involved in the criminal justice system. Specifically, black people are over-represented in the system. In this essay I will talk about the reasons for these differences. One of the reasons for the differences in crime statistics is put forward but left realists Lea and Young (1993), they argue that the statistics do, in fact, reflect real life differences. Left realists see crime as the product of relative deprivation, subcultures and marginalisation. They argue that racism has led to the marginalisation and economic exclusion of ethnic minorities, who face higher levels of unemployment, poverty and poor housing. This means that these minorities then get things they cannot usually get by illegitimate means. Delinquent subcultures are made especially by young unemployed black males; this produces higher levels of utilitarian crime, such as theft and robbery, as a means of coping with relative deprivation. Furthermore, because these groups are marginalised and have no organisations to represent their interests, their frustration is liable to produce non-utilitarian crime, such as violence and rioting. Lea and Young also acknowledge that the police often act in racist ways and that this results in the unjustified criminalisation of some members of minority groups. However, 90% of crimes are reported by the public, not police, therefore it is unlikely that the police do not...
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...RACISM IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM By Nichole Griffith Advised by Professor Chris Bickel SOC 461, 462 Senior Project Social Sciences Department College of Liberal Arts CALIFORNIA POLYTECHNIC STATE UNIVERSITY June, 2012 © 2012 Nichole Griffith Table of Contents Research Proposal ............................................................................................................................1 Annotated Bibliography ...................................................................................................................2 Outline..............................................................................................................................................6 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................7 Research ..........................................................................................................................................8 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................................29 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................31 Research Proposal The goal of my research is to expose the racism in the criminal justice system that is so hidden. I want to show how racism contributes to the huge number...
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...Classic noir films reinforce the myth of the private eye; a hard-boiled detective, able to restore order, solve the crime, and ensure justice prevails. Chinatown challenges this myth, reversing genre and stylistic conventions through the protagonist Jake Gittes, a private eye unable to control the crimes his sleuthing unveils. Gittes dresses stylishly in crisp white suits, differing from the trademark trench coat and fedora of his stylistic predecessors, and enters the film with an air of confidence. However, Gittes’ plush chambers and immaculate suit mask an essential vulgarity, betrayed Gittes pleasure in the racist joke about Chinese love-making (Spicer 2001, p.139). Although Gittes is a competent detective, he is forced to confront his own limitations, failing to protect the victims of the narrative and watching helplessly as the criminal remains at large. “As saviour and restorer of the moral order, he is a complete washout, a genre first” (Hirsch 1999, p.151). However, while less capable and...
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...Are African American Males Victims of the Criminal Justice System? Institution Tutor Name Date Table of Contents Chapter One 3 Chapter One Introduction The United States of America is credited to have the largest criminal justice framework globally, as at 2011, seven million people were under various programs within correctional facilities and programs. Among these people, 2.2 million were incarcerated in federal, state as well as local correctional facilities. Such incarceration rates dwarf the rates of all other countries globally. However, its magnitude is not void of challenges. The criminal Justice System is ailing form a vast array of challenges. Of importance to us with regard to this context is racial disproportionality within the criminal Justice system. By definition, racism is the perception that inherent differences between various racial groups consequently lead to the superiority of certain races and discrimination of other groups. This is the perception that great men such as Booker. T. Washington, as well as Martin Luther King, fought against during the 1960’s in a bid to end racism. For years these men under the African- American Civil Rights movement advocated for equality for all leading to the ‘end’ of racist perceptions. Today, the belief that their efforts halted racism stands to be questioned, on further examination of this subject it is eminent that racism is still existent in the twenty- first century. Racism has simply found ways...
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...|Department of Law and Criminal Justice Studies |[pic] | | | | |ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET | | |STUDENT NAME |Nkiruka-Rebecca Elliott |STUDENT No |ELL11053447 | | | |PROGRAMME | |(highlight correct subjects) | |MODULE NAME: | | | |Victims and Victimology | |MARKER’S NAME: |Rashid Aziz...
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...suffering social deprivation and those living in deprived urban communities. Higher crime rates therefore might reflect these factors rather than greater criminality arising from ethnicity itself. The evidence on ethnicity and crime In 2008, the Ministry of Justice reported that, compared to white people, black people were: (1) More likely to be arrested for robbery (2) Three times more likely to be cautioned by the police (3) Three and a half times more likely to be arrested (4) More likely, to be found guilty, or receive custodial sentence (5) Five times more likely to be in prison Asians compared to white people were: (1) Twice as likely to be stopped and searched (2) More likely to be charged and face court proceedings than to receive a caution (3) More likely to receive custodial sentence if found guilty (4) More likely to be arrested for fraud and forgery Sociological explanations of black criminality Neo Marxist Approach: Gilroy argues that crime by black people, was a form of political action (1970s), representing a culture of resistance to oppressors in the form of police racism and harassment. He denies there was greater criminality among black people than whites, suggesting this was a myth created by negative stereotyping by the police, who saw ethnic minorities as untrustworthy. Lea and Young pointed out that most crimes are reported by the public, not uncovered by the police. The fact that Asian crime rates are, in general, similar to...
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...Ethnicity Stephen Lawrence (racial murder) Victimology Victimisation = when you make someone a victim, stop and search, police making people criminal. Official Statisitics. · Black people make up 3.5% of the population but make up 11% of the prison population. Unfair Treatmeant and Racism Reiner 2000- Canteen culture amongst the police, including: suspicion, macho valuse and racism. victimology - victim bias Insitituational racism - Describes any kind of system of inequality based on race. Phil Scraton and Kathryn Chadwick, apply this idea to the way that black people are treated as 'muggers' is conirmation of the assumption that immigrants belong to a culture of criminality. They argue that this view is prevalent in media coverage and political commentaries. They also argue that and ideological construction of black criminality have influence differential policing and discriminatory punishment in specific neighbourhoods. They argue that criminalisation goes hand in hand with marginalisation. That policing and the targeting of particular communities have marginalised black people. Legitimate Opportunity- American Dream+ Illigitimate Opportunity- Merton MacPherson Report (1999) Police institutionally racist Waddinton 2004 - published in the british journal of criminology argues that the police do stop s proportionately higher number of blacks compared to whites. However, he argues that there are more ethnic minority youths out at night in inner cities and that...
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...Two reasons why crime and deviance are in all societies: - No everyone is equally socialized into norms and values. Some are likely to be deviant. - Diversity of lifestyle and values. Different groups have their own subcultures with distinctive norms and values. Some may see deviant acts as normal. > Durkheim says in modern societies there is tendency towards anomie. The rules for behaviour become weaker and less clear-cut. This is because modern societies have a complex division of labour meaning individuals become more different from each other. Crime is more likely. Positive functions of crime – it also performs two positive functions Boundary maintenance - produces a reaction from society, uniting members in disapproval of criminals and reinforcing their commitment to shared norms and values. Adaptation and change – all change starts with an act of deviance. There must be scope to challenge existing norms and values and this will seem deviant in the short run. Criticisms - Durkheim says society requires deviance to function properly but states no way of knowing how much is the right amount. - Functionalists see crime in terms of its function. Crime may not exist to fulfill these functions. - Functionalists look at how functions of crime serve society as a whole and ignore how it might affect different groups or individuals within...
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...Social Inequalities and the Law In “Real Rapes and Real Victims: The Shared Reliance on Common Cultural Definitions of Rape,” the authors argue that myths and stereotypes about rape and rape victims abound (Stewart, et al, 1996). Such misinformation can have a “dramatic” impact on the victim including the experience of the rape victim, shaping how she comes to accept an assumed definition of reality that colors her own experience. The most common dilemma in rape cases is victim blame. In fact, victim blame is part of what Stewart et al (1996) mean when they say, “…as a consequence of the reliance on cultural myths and stereotypes of rape, the victim accepts a definition of reality that shapes her own experience.” According to Schaafsma (Rape Advocacy Program), “The genteel idea of womanhood sets women up to be perfect rape victims - those who don't know how to fight back because they've never been taught how.” In today’s world of liberated women, society questions how these women can be victimized through rape or any other type of violent crime for that matter. According to a November 2005 UK poll (Sexual Assault Research), “…a third of people believe women who flirt partially responsible for being raped.” Settings of the “classic rape portrayal” are often the means according to which rape victims decide to report the rape. In a 2003 study of rape victims, DuMont, Miller, and Myhr established that women who did not resemble the mythologized “real victim” were as likely as...
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...Crime and Deviance AN INTRODUCTION TO CRIME AND DEVIANCE Definitions * Crime- An act which breaks the criminal laws of society. * Deviance- refers to the behaviour which is disapproved of by most people in society and which does not conform to society's norms and values. TOPIC 1: FUNCTIONALIST, STRAIN AND SUBCULTURAL THEORIES Durkheim's functionalist theory: * Socialisation and Social control are two key mechanisms which allow social solidarity to occur in society. The inevitability of crime: * Functionalists see too much crime as destabilising society. * They also see crime as inevitable and universal- Durkheim, 'crime is normal... an integral part of all healthy societies.' * There are two reasons why C&D are found in all societies; 1.Not everyone is equally effectively socialised into the shared norms and values. 2. Different groups develop their own subculture and what the members of the subculture regard as normal, mainstream culture may see as deviant. * Durkheim also discusses that in modern societies there is a tendency towards anomie (normlessness). The diversity of modern societies means that the collective conscience is weakened, and this results in higher levels of C&D. The positive functions of crime: * For Durkheim, crime also fulfils two important functions; boundary maintenance and adaptation. * Boundary Maintenance- In Durkheim's view, the purpose of punishment is to reaffirm society's shared rules and reinforces...
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...03-Banks.qxd 1/30/04 4:52 PM Page 57 3 Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System ETHICAL BACKGROUND It is generally agreed that discrimination based on ethnic origin is morally wrong and a violation of the principle of equality. The equality principle requires that those who are equal be treated equally based on similarities, and that race is not a relevant consideration in that assessment (May and Sharratt 1994: 317). In other words, it is only possible to justify treating people differently if there exists some factual difference between them that justifies such difference in treatment (Rachels 1999: 94). Equality is a nonspecific term that means nothing until applied to a particular context. Thus, in a political context, equality means equal access to public office and equal treatment under the law, and equal treatment extends to equality in terms of job hiring, promotion, and pay. Race refers to groups of persons who are relatively alike in their biological inheritance and are distinct from other groups (American Anthropological Association 1997: 2). Ethnicity is a cultural phenomenon referring to a person’s identification with a particular cultural group (Hinman 1998: 403). Race is socially constructed, and the notion that persons “belong” to a particular race was developed in the last century based on the belief that there was a biological basis for categorizing groups of people. Biologically, however, the term race has no meaning, yet society...
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...my previous intro criminal justice course, and picked the topic because I was interested in the subject. The most important thing I learned when researching this topic was that of the sentencing disparity between crack and cocaine and how that disparity affects minorities more than it does whites. This semester, and being allowed to research this topic on my own has made me change my opinion on this topic, however in a weird way. Prior to this assignment, I was against mandatory minimums 100%, but after doing the assignment, I can see now how a mandatory punishment could be a good thing for people. Say for example treatment became the new mandatory minimum for a drug addict, that could really help a lot of people out. I believe that mandatory minimums could be a good thing if instituted fairly and with the right solution to the problem in mind, rather that throwing everyone in jail as is the status quo now. Doing this assignment and being able to see the topic of mandatory minimums in a different light have helped change my opinion on the subject towards one I believe is a better...
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...on the myth that in America, anyone can do anything if they have talent and a willingness to work hard. The implicit corollary is that if you end up poor, it is your own fault because you aren’t smart enough, you didn’t work hard enough, or both. Research suggests otherwise. A number of factors that play important roles in determining the life outcome of the individual are completely beyond the control of the individual. These factors include task commitment, positive reinforcement, good social skills, access to opportunity, good health, and good luck (Comer, 1997). Most government policy at the state and federal level, including long-term incarceration and the lack of social support systems, has been established based on the myth that the individual alone is responsible for his or her life outcome. My firm belief is that this is not true (Comer, 1997, 2000; Comer, Ben-Avie, Joyner, 1993), and that a primary responsibility of government is to provide opportunity to the disenfranchised. By rethinking criminal policy and sentencing, and by instituting broad social support and public works programs, the government will begin to repair its relationship with urban black communities and will move the United States closer to a realization of the American dream. The foundation the government will use to repair the relationship it has with its urban black citizens should be a series of straightforward changes in laws and sentencing guidelines that are directly linked to the criminal justice...
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