Systemic racism in the criminal justice system

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Sociology
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Systemic Racism in the Criminal Justice System
The justice system has been affected by cases of systemic racism in the past decade. Recently, Black Lives Matter movement highlighted how blacks were being targeted by white police officers across the country. The Fergusson incident was never an isolated case, illustrating the existence of systemic racism in the justice system. The prisons department has indicated that more blacks and other younger minority races are the majority in the US prisons. The revelations support findings that blacks are likely to engage in crime that whites. However, the study failed to take into consideration the economic conditions and literacy levels among different races. Blacks have over the years felt neglected and hated in the society, fueling social discord among different races among the US populace (Roberts 261). Donald Trump’s euphoric win has sent jitters across all undocumented residents, demonstrating that the Trump’s supposed policies risk destroying thousands of people’s lives across the nation. Systemic racism implies continuous discrimination against people of colour across all facets of the society. The constitution initially discriminated against blacks, by describing that blacks were the property of the whites. Racial bias against blacks has been entrenched in the US, illustrating that more prisoners are blacks, yet blacks are the minority population in the society. Moreover, federal laws limiting people to vote due to their previous crimes has also affected blacks more than other races.

The instances illustrate the existence of systemic racism in the society. The essay evaluates the causes and consequences of the vice in the society.
Inequitable Resources
People of colour are likely to experience systemic racism due to their inability to access funds to defend their cases in the courts. Statistics reveals that majority of blacks and other minority races are from low-income families and likely illiterate thus depend on menial jobs to feed their families (Cunneen 340). Lower cadre workers are paid below the minimum wage since some are undocumented residents in the nation. Wealthy parents can provide medical and counseling help to their children, upon realization of their delinquent behaviour at an early stage. However, impoverished families are unable to offer similar treatment to their children. Moreover, recently released data indicates that more than 40% of low-income families are primarily people of colour. Similarly, most shanties in the USA are occupied by blacks and other minority races. Furthermore, residential areas occupied by people of colour have inadequate health and educational facilities. The police department has admitted that more arrests are made in low-income areas than other regions. Moreover, conditions laid during the justice process are out of reach for low-income families. The courts set high bail for suspects, implying that families from low-income families are unable to raise funds to meet the conditions. Furthermore, the jury may require that the defendant is given bail if the family has a telephone at home and also whether the suspect will be offered legal education while out on bail. The conditions are expensive for low-income earners to fulfill, thus the high rate of systemic racism in the society.
Legislative Actions
Legislations on illegal drugs and incarceration have primarily been enacted after inconsistent incidents in the nation. The federal government and states have implemented laws that favour incarceration more than other alternative solutions. However, research indicates that imprisonment has a lesser impact in treating criminals than other alternative practices. The fight on drugs has resulted in high incarceration rates among people of colour. However, legislation both at the state and federal level are partly to blame, due to their insistence for mandatory sentencing for drug offenses. The federal government in 1980 imposed mandatory 5 or 10 imprisonments for suspects caught with crack coke, leading to the incarceration of thousands of black since the law came into place (Mumola & Karberg 2006). The laws were amended in 2007 to include coke powder, though the disparities still exist. Sociologists have explained that people of colour are addicted to drugs and are forced to deal in drugs to replenish their addiction. However, most professional drug dealers are whites and deal with powder coke, an expensive drug, unlike crack coke. Studies undertaken in the recent past have indicated that more than 17% of drug sellers are engaged in the trade to get money to buy drugs for their use. Imperatively, half of the current inmates meet the criteria set by the American Psychological Association on drug dependence, which requires treatment unlike being incarcerated. Three-strike legislations enacted across the nation and over-reliance on incarceration, have led to increased systemic racism in the criminal justice system.
Racial Bias
The judicial system has been accused of racial bias, especially while dealing with cases involving people of colour. The police have been accused of racial profiling in policing across the USA. The Fergusson incident and the Texas incident involving a Muslim minor are classic examples of racial profiling in the society. The society has been blamed for using racial slurs and homophobic gestures directed against people of colour, illustrating that the problem is entrenched in the society (Rocque 300). The judges and prosecutors have widely relied on studies undertaken to show the prevalence of crime among different races, to sentence criminals, demonstrating racial bias within the justice system. The US Supreme Court sentenced a Hispanic to death rather than life imprisonment, for being Hispanic, thus dangerous to the society. Furthermore, independent evaluations of cases filed in Texas have revealed more than 8 cases were ruled based on racial bias. The recent presidential campaign was clouded by allegations of racism, especially due to Trump’s rhetoric on deporting immigrants from the USA. Consequently, racial bias has led to an increase in systemic racism in the US justice system.
Government Surveillance
The government has been accused of singling people of colour for surveillance, in contravention of their privacy. The Federal government has increased surveillance across the nation due to increased incidents of terrorism in the society. The New York Police Department was in 2011 exposed for singling Indians, Lebanese and Pakistan individuals for surveillance to their ancestral origins. The revelations revealed the government’s attitudes against people of colour and illustrated perception of racism in the society. Similarly, most states have focused their attention on low-income areas, the majority being minorities living in the area (Jackson 4). Recently released data indicates that the government employs more patrol cars and surveillance cameras in minority areas than other places. The revelations imply that the government employs racial bias against people of colour across the nation.
Costs of Systemic Racism
Systemic racism has led to the unjust incarceration of people of colour for crimes requiring lesser punishment. The assertions illustrate that minorities have been significantly affected by the process. Sociologists agree that since systemic racism is inherent in the society, minorities are likely to resist arrest or flee upon seeing law enforcement officers. Recently, the police have been accused of shooting blacks regarded as harmless, based on their gut feeling of the person’s colour. The Fergusson incident led thousands to demonstrate across the nation in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign. Institutional racism has forced blacks to use uncouth means to limit the effects of racism in the society. Sociologists agree that such incidences instill fear among minorities and are unlikely to report crimes committed against minorities (Feagin 4). The assertions reduce the impact of the law in acting as a deterrent to committing a crime.
Systemic racism has also reduced the opportunities available for blacks to seek justice. The high degree of plea incidences during pretrial on cases involving minorities shows the lack of alternatives available for minorities. Public defenders have shoe-string budgets and are required by law to represent all low-income earners. However, the enormous number of suspects seeking the services of public defenders forces the lawyers to look for simpler ways to seek justice for the victims. The challenges lead to a mistrial for suspects and failure of the justice system to ensure equity in the judicial process.
Systemic racism has forced the government to incur high expenses in supporting prisons and educating the masses on appropriate tools to ensure justice is upheld in the nation. The prisons department gobbles more than $100 billion annually on prison costs. Moreover, the government continues to incur costs in educating the masses on the effects of systemic racism while ignoring the legislation and policies that continually entrench racism in the society. Conclusively, systemic racism is a problem in the criminal justice system. Inequalities, racial bias, and legislative blunders have increased systemic racism in the society. Fear, high costs and failures of the criminal justice system are the primary consequences of systemic racism in the society. Therefore, systemic racism is existent in the criminal justice system.
Works Cited
Cunneen, Chris. “Racism, discrimination and the over-representation of Indigenous people in the
criminal justice system: Some conceptual and explanatory issues.” Current issues in
criminal justice 17.3 (2006): 329-346. Print.
Feagin, Joe. Systemic racism: A theory of oppression. Routledge, 2013. Print.
Jackson Jr, John L. Racial paranoia: The unintended consequences of political correctness: The
new reality of race in America. Basic Books, 2010. Print.
Mumola, C. J., & Karberg, J. C. (2006). Drug use and dependence, state and federal prisoners,
2004 (pp. 1-12). Washington, DC: US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs,
Bureau of Justice Statistics. Print.
Roberts, Dorothy E. “Constructing a criminal justice system free of racial bias: an abolitionist
framework.” Colum. Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 39 (2007): 261. Print.
Rocque, Michael. “Racial disparities in the criminal justice system and perceptions of legitimacy
a theoretical linkage.” Race and Justice 1.3 (2011): 292-315. Print.