Exploring Racial Differences in System Treatment and Criminal Justice Involvement

Exploring Racial Differences in System Treatment and Criminal Justice Involvement PDF Author: Jaeok Kim
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Corrections
Languages : en
Pages : 122

Get Book Here

Book Description

Exploring Racial Differences in System Treatment and Criminal Justice Involvement

Exploring Racial Differences in System Treatment and Criminal Justice Involvement PDF Author: Jaeok Kim
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Corrections
Languages : en
Pages : 122

Get Book Here

Book Description


Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System

Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System PDF Author: Joan Petersilia
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 182

Get Book Here

Book Description
This 2-year study compared the treatment of white and minority offenders at key decision points in the criminal justice processing of approximately 1,400 male prison inmates in California, Michigan, and Texas. Study data came from the California Offender-Based Transaction Statistics which tracks offender-processing from arrest to sentencing, and the Rand Inmate Survey which yielded data from self-reports of approximately 1,400 male prison inmates in California, Michigan, and Texas. Prior research on discrimination in the criminal justice system produced controversial and contradictory findings. Section II discusses the problems with this research and briefly describes the data and methodology. Section III describes the workings of the criminal justice system and identifies racial differences in case-processing revealed in some of the data. Section IV analyzes more of the data for racial differences in crime-commission rates and the probability of being arrested. Section V looks at racial differences following the imposition of a court sentence. Section VI explores racial differences in offender characteristics, specifically: crime motivation, weapon use, and prison violence. Section VII summarizes the findings and presents the conclusions of the study. Although the case-processing system generally treated offenders similarly, there were racial differences at two key points. Minority suspects were more likely than whites to be released after arrest; however, after a felony conviction, minority offenders were more likely than whites to be given longer sentences and to be put in prison instead of jail. There were no statistically significant differences that implied discrimination against minorities in corrections.

The System in Black and White

The System in Black and White PDF Author: Michael W. Markowitz
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313025045
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 311

Get Book Here

Book Description
In a collection of compelling contributions to the study of the nexus between race, crime, and justice, noted scholars in the field critique many long-held assumptions and myths about race, challenging criminal justice policymakers to develop new and effective strategies for dealing with the social problems such misunderstandings create. In sections devoted to criminological theory, law enforcement, courts and the law, juvenile delinquency, and gender, contributors endeavor to dispel myths about African-American involvement in the criminal justice system. In so doing, a number of important facts are established about the race/crime nexus. For example, in an analysis of criminological theory, it is concluded that race, as a singular social factor, has not been adequately represented in existing paradigms. The subject of police profiling of African-Americans reveals an evolution of court decisions that have marginalized, rather than liberated, African-Americans since slavery. Each contributor challenges both the reader and the criminal justice system to develop meaningful strategies for addressing the racism that still pervades our system of justice. A chapter on women of color in prison makes a compelling argument that such institutions often represent safer environments than the life on the streets women leave behind. This persuasive volume will be of interest to undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty in Sociology, Criminal Justice, policy development, African-American and Women's Studies.

Racial Divide

Racial Divide PDF Author: Michael J. Lynch
Publisher:
ISBN: 1881798860
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 301

Get Book Here

Book Description
This anthology provides a balanced assessment of whether the American criminal justice system is guilty of bias in its treatment of racial and ethnic minorities. Contexts in which this question is explored include: policing and perceptions of police, sentencing, prison populations, racial profiling and forensic sciences.the diverse theories on disparities in the criminal justice process;evidence of racial prejudice in policing;African-American citizens' and police officers' perceptions of police bias;disparities in sentencing;differential sentencing patterns among juvenile drug offenders;minority overrepresentation in the prison population;the application of the death penalty;racial profiling of white customers in retail stores;misuse of race and racial identification in the forensic sciences;residents' proximity to environmental hazards and enforcement of environmental regulations

Building a Black Criminology, Volume 24

Building a Black Criminology, Volume 24 PDF Author: James D. Unnever
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 0429757441
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 408

Get Book Here

Book Description
In light of the Black Lives Matter movement and protests in many cities, race plays an ever more salient role in crime and justice. Within theoretical criminology, however, race has oddly remained on the periphery. It is often introduced as a control variable in tests of theories and is rarely incorporated as a central construct in mainstream paradigms (e.g., control, social learning, and strain theories). When race is discussed, the standard approach is to embrace the racial invariance thesis, which argues that any racial differences in crime are due to African Americans being exposed to the same criminogenic risk factors as are Whites, just more of them. An alternative perspective has emerged that seeks to identify the unique, racially specific conditions that only Blacks experience. Within the United States, these conditions are rooted in the historical racial oppression experienced by African Americans, whose contemporary legacy includes concentrated disadvantage in segregated communities, racial socialization by parents, experiences with and perceptions of racial discrimination, and disproportionate involvement in and unjust treatment by the criminal justice system. Importantly, racial invariance and race specificity are not mutually exclusive perspectives. Evidence exists that Blacks and Whites commit crimes for both the same reasons (invariance) and for different reasons (race-specific). A full understanding of race and crime thus must involve demarcating both the general and specific causes of crime, the latter embedded in what it means to be "Black" in the United States. This volume seeks to explore these theoretical issues in a depth and breadth that is not common under one cover. Again, given the salience of race and crime, this volume should be of interest to a wide range of criminologists and have the potential to be used in graduate seminars and upper-level undergraduate courses.

Justice on Trial

Justice on Trial PDF Author:
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 0756701228
Category : Crime and race
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Get Book Here

Book Description
The U.S. has made significant progress toward ensuring equal treatment under law for all citizens. But in one arena -- criminal justice -- racial inequality is growing, not receding. Our criminal laws, while facially neutral, are enforced in a massively & pervasively biased manner. The injustices of the criminal justice system threaten to render irrelevant 50 years of hard-fought civil rights progress. This policy report examines the systematically unequal treatment of black & Hispanic Americans & other minorities as compared to their similarly situated white counterparts within the criminal justice system. It reviews the effects of such unequal treatment on these groups & on the criminal justice system.

America Becoming

America Becoming PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309172489
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 523

Get Book Here

Book Description
The 20th Century has been marked by enormous change in terms of how we define race. In large part, we have thrown out the antiquated notions of the 1800s, giving way to a more realistic, sociocultural view of the world. The United States is, perhaps more than any other industrialized country, distinguished by the size and diversity of its racial and ethnic minority populations. Current trends promise that these features will endure. Fifty years from now, there will most likely be no single majority group in the United States. How will we fare as a nation when race-based issues such as immigration, job opportunities, and affirmative action are already so contentious today? In America Becoming, leading scholars and commentators explore past and current trends among African Americans, Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans in the context of a white majority. This volume presents the most up-to-date findings and analysis on racial and social dynamics, with recommendations for ongoing research. It examines compelling issues in the field of race relations, including: Race and ethnicity in criminal justice. Demographic and social trends for Hispanics, Asian Americans, and Native Americans. Trends in minority-owned businesses. Wealth, welfare, and racial stratification. Residential segregation and the meaning of "neighborhood." Disparities in educational test scores among races and ethnicities. Health and development for minority children, adolescents, and adults. Race and ethnicity in the labor market, including the role of minorities in America's military. Immigration and the dynamics of race and ethnicity. The changing meaning of race. Changing racial attitudes. This collection of papers, compiled and edited by distinguished leaders in the behavioral and social sciences, represents the most current literature in the field. Volume 1 covers demographic trends, immigration, racial attitudes, and the geography of opportunity. Volume 2 deals with the criminal justice system, the labor market, welfare, and health trends, Both books will be of great interest to educators, scholars, researchers, students, social scientists, and policymakers.

Mad Or Bad?

Mad Or Bad? PDF Author: Melissa Thompson
Publisher: LFB Scholarly Publishing
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 214

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Thompson explores the process through which criminal responsibility is constructed and reproduced on the basis of race and gender. While feminist literature points to constructions of female offenders as "mad" and male offenders as "bad," this research do not support this perspective. Instead, major findings include strong and consistent evidence that African American defendants are less likely to receive psychiatric evaluations to determine mental status at the time of the offense. This implies that criminal justice officials have racial perceptions about the causes of crime; consequently, African American defendants may be portrayed as "normal" criminals who are held to a different level of responsibility than non-African Americans. Each chapter concludes with review and research questions to facilitate class use." --Book Jacket.

Privilege and Punishment

Privilege and Punishment PDF Author: Matthew Clair
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069123387X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Get Book Here

Book Description
How the attorney-client relationship favors the privileged in criminal court—and denies justice to the poor and to working-class people of color The number of Americans arrested, brought to court, and incarcerated has skyrocketed in recent decades. Criminal defendants come from all races and economic walks of life, but they experience punishment in vastly different ways. Privilege and Punishment examines how racial and class inequalities are embedded in the attorney-client relationship, providing a devastating portrait of inequality and injustice within and beyond the criminal courts. Matthew Clair conducted extensive fieldwork in the Boston court system, attending criminal hearings and interviewing defendants, lawyers, judges, police officers, and probation officers. In this eye-opening book, he uncovers how privilege and inequality play out in criminal court interactions. When disadvantaged defendants try to learn their legal rights and advocate for themselves, lawyers and judges often silence, coerce, and punish them. Privileged defendants, who are more likely to trust their defense attorneys, delegate authority to their lawyers, defer to judges, and are rewarded for their compliance. Clair shows how attempts to exercise legal rights often backfire on the poor and on working-class people of color, and how effective legal representation alone is no guarantee of justice. Superbly written and powerfully argued, Privilege and Punishment draws needed attention to the injustices that are perpetuated by the attorney-client relationship in today’s criminal courts, and describes the reforms needed to correct them.

Communities in Action

Communities in Action PDF Author: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309452961
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 583

Get Book Here

Book Description
In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.