Introduction
Since courts are supposed to be neutral and protect everyone’s rights, there has been significant controversy about racial discrimination in the legal system. Racial prejudice is a topic of discussion and controversy among critics and academics(Nembhard, 2021). As a result, people of color have had to bear the brunt of racism and other forms of discrimination.As the most racially diverse country in the world, the United States has certain underserved communities(Axel-Lute, 2022). Depending on the context, this might indicate blatant racial prejudice or represent the influence of elements that aren’t directly tied to race. It is also possible that these inequities are caused by race-based judgments that are left unprotected by institutions or individuals(Cooper, 2021). Structural racism may lead to racial inequality if it is sustained by long-standing disparities in the treatment of people with characteristics associated with race, such as poverty (Thanem, 2019). Discrimination based on ethnic or racial heritage is considered unethical and violates the concept of equality.Individuals should be treated equally based on their commonalities rather than their socioeconomic status or race, according to the standards of the equality principle. Racism in the judicial system will be the focus of this paper thus show that racial inequities in our judicial system are structural and deep rooted in the system thus the need for changes to be made.
Racial Profiling Policy
Certain police officers’ racial prejudices hamper the criminal justice system, leaving minorities to suffer and comply with antiquated judicial precedents. Deterrents to nonwhites are available in the criminal justice system. The treatment of ethnic minorities captured or unlawfully held is now a prominent topic in the media(Torres, 2019). The public has recently been aware of police mistreatment and deaths of minorities, whether justified or not.Even though whites constitute a bigger proportion of the population, as seen in the table, a disproportionately significant proportion of blacks have been killed by police officers.
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. constitution protects every citizen from unreasonable searches and seizures. The stop and search policy have been utilized hence being used to discriminate the minorities(Nembhard, 2019). This form of policing is carried out in impoverished neighborhoods, and it significantly increases the likelihood of meeting criminal activities in these areas.Community policing may be an effective way to train police officers how to work with a wider variety of people and so begin to break the systemic loop of bias and unjust treatment that exists(Antonia, 2022).
Proactive policing is related to community policing in that it is more about getting out on heavy patrol; on foot, by motorized vehicle, or on bicycles; and creating linkages within the community to enhance not just the relationships between residents and police, but also the image of police. Participating in basketball games with children in the areas they patrol, handing out free ice cream coupons to children, creating trust, and being more available are all little steps that may add up to major outcomes(Torres, 2019). In policing, there are numerous rules, but there is also a lot of discretion; nonetheless, no matter how you look at it, police officers work on a force continuum. The procedure is repeated, first with verbal directions, then physical coercion (directed movements/joint locks), nonlethal force (pepper spray and taser), and lastly lethal force (firearms).
Officers are allowed to operate one rung above the individual they are apprehending.All that discretion implies is that police officers are not prepared to deal with every potential circumstance and must make decisions on how to manage and deescalate the situation on their own(Antonia, 2022). What can be done to address this situation? When viewed in this light, it seems to be rather hazardous; the idea of a police officer not knowing what to do in the most dangerous of scenarios while yet being an armed officer of the law is quite terrifying.Simulator or simulation training for police personnel may aid in the improvement of law enforcement performance as well as the saving of lives(Torres, 2019). It is possible to continuously improve the efficiency of police throughout the country by drilling through and repeating a vast array of options on an ongoing basis during one’s career (rather than simply during a semester-long academy). This, in conjunction with sensitivity and diversity education, has the potential to improve the police side of the United States criminal justice system(Mackenzie, 2015).
Despite the fact that black on black violence is on the increase, it is a common fallacy that blacks murder one other at a higher rate than individuals of other races(Tonry, 2019). Because of the way crime is measured, this mistake is likely to be stigmatized(Warde, 2013). In recent years, there has been an alarming increase in police brutality and shootings against members of the black community, with a number of apparent events around the nation calling for change. If police enforcement personnel had had more awareness and sensitivity training before to their deaths, the current murders may have been averted. Racial profiling sits on the thin line between criminal and civil rights, and racial bias is clearly destructive for people of color in high-crime areas of inner-city communities throughout the United States when police officers arrive on the scene. Considering that white people constitute the bulk of the population, it would seem reasonable that more white people would be imprisoned than black people, however this is evidence of latent prejudice within our judicial system as they remain the most incarcerated(Thanem, 2019).
Race prejudice in the court has developed because of the denial of race imbalance. According to Cooper’s concept, many individuals are unable to accept that the system is biased against minorities because they do not feel comfortable discussing how to fix it. As a result, the stated problem has increased tremendously as a result of this lack of attention(Cooper, 2021). In reality, it may be argued that policy and widespread racial prejudice have resulted in an unfair system. The two minority groups that have encountered racial inequalities in post-conviction punishment are black and Hispanic Americans(Antonia, 2022). With history as a backdrop, it is feasible to assert that our forefathers’ views have been handed down down the generations.
In the United States, a large portion of the labor force was made up of people from the African American and Hispanic groups. In addition, their culture and socioeconomic status made them seen as criminals (Thanem, 2019). Violence and gang-related crimes were suspected in both neighborhoods. Racial prejudice in post-sentencing convictions has been addressed, although the focus has been on the individual’s race and pre-existing opinions. It has become more apparent over time that recognizing the root causes of prejudice is essential to fixing it. There is no beginning or end to the inequalities that exist, despite the fact that they are cumulative.
Policies that can address institutional Racism
Public faith in law enforcement must be restored before civil rights charges can be brought and investigations completed by the Department of Justice. We can’t even have a sense of basic balance and institutional fairness without a judicial system that acknowledges everyone equally. A special state prosecutor should be appointed by each state, either via the Governor’s office or the State Assembly, in order to avoid conflicts of interest with local law enforcement. It is easier for a special prosecutor who does not depend on the police for information and witnesses in other cases to side with police. There is also a lower likelihood that grand juries will be called to support the police version of events.
Ending the provision of military-grade equipment and weaponry for use in local enforcement is a matter of urgency. This armament and the training in its usage are simpler for police to see community people as enemy combatants the more common this weaponry and training is. One example of the military mentality in local police lexicon is the use of the term “civilians” by officers to refer to members of the public. A better understanding of our local police agencies and the regulations and procedures they follow can help us hold them responsible for their actions. The resources required to make this equipment may instead be used to finance community development initiatives aimed at strengthening, securing, and holding people responsible. The Marshall Project website provides easy access to information on military equipment allocated to the area where you reside. You’ll be better equipped to ask for details on the equipment, the plans for its usage, and the degree of officer training, now that you’ve read this.
For the sake of public safety, civilian review boards must be given more authority, including the ability to issue subpoenas, compel witness testimony, conduct independent investigations, hold administrative trials, and issue sanctions that are not subject to police department or chief approval. If these boards are to be fully financed and independent of the police department, they must be nominated by municipal councils, mayors, and/or a direct vote. By lowering their budgets and staffing, as has occurred in the past, these bodies have been rendered ineffective in carrying out their responsibilities.
The public’s expectation of police accountability must be raised to a new level. The use of dash and body cameras should be used to provide an additional layer of protection for the communities that the police engage with. In addition to providing valuable evidence and indicating the need for more police training in correct procedure and conduct, these videos may assist officers become more self-aware and reserved in their actions.
Complaints and suggestions for ways to improve community policing should be handled by civilian review boards or community police review committees that include members of the community. The police-community interaction must be reimagined as a path toward progress. As a counterbalance to officers not feeling held to account by the communities they serve, the community must have a sense of control over police operations. Demilitarizing the structure and bringing the community directly involved in how policing should be carried out in their/our communities, where broken relationships and flawed policies too often result in the feeding of mostly black and brown youth into the prison pipeline, is the goal of creating a more horizontal structure.
Legislators should place a high value on fostering interpersonal connections, encouraging community healing initiatives, and empowering local communities to take charge of their own destiny. Many police agencies will have to diversify and educate their officers more, and there will be more community policing and citizen review boards as a result. Even a modest cut in military expenditure might free up funds for other purposes, such as promoting more transparency and fostering more peaceful and resource-rich communities.
Institutions and systems like law enforcement must be held to account as part of any effort to improve socioeconomic conditions. In order for this responsibility to succeed, it must be both immediate and long-term, ensuring that the required, lasting, and significant change is advanced and eventually won. All of us must take a hard look at our own personal accountability and ask ourselves whether or not we are doing enough to stop the dehumanization and criminalization of people of color, including those of Indigenous descent, in law enforcement and the criminal justice systems.
The prosecution and defense have a role to play in the selection of a jury. However, black American jurors are almost never included in the process. The fact that many black Americans are given the title of “black American state defenders” should be noted at this point. This often works against them, particularly when it comes to jury duty. The influence of the prosecutor’s office, coupled with the prosecutor’s ethnicity, makes it practically hard for the defense to recommend and add jurors of African-American heritage to the panel(Torres, 2019). The fact that both the prosecution and the defense must resort to racing in order to win a case is alarming and illustrates the point, according to some.
As the most racially diverse country in the world, the United States has certain underserved communities. The criminal justice system’s handling of people of color and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds is a key component of this marginalization (Torres, 2019). Disparities in representation in the criminal justice system based on race and ethnicity have a variety of negative repercussions, including increasing public mistrust and decreasing the system’s capacity to protect the public. When the percentage of a given racial group in the criminal justice system’s leadership is greater than the proportion of that group’s members in the general population, there is a racial imbalance (Mackenzie, 2015). Law enforcement’s focus on particular neighborhoods, differing degrees of criminal activity, and unfavorable attitudes that marginalize some groups are all possible causes of this inequality. Many individuals in the system are aware of this problem, but only a small number of people have made any attempt to fix it.
The criminal judicial system in the United States is the biggest in the world, according to some estimates. According to 2017 data, the number of people held in jails, federal prisons, and municipal prisons in the United States was around 6.7 million people (Nembhard, & Robin, 2021). The United States has the world’s highest imprisonment rate. These staggering figures conceal the racial imbalance in the US criminal justice system, particularly for African Americans. As a result, if they are found guilty, their chances of serving long jail terms are significantly raised. Six times as many African-American people are detained as whites and Hispanics, who had just 3.3 possibilities of being imprisoned (Mackenzie, 2015). For every three boys born in 2019, one may expect to spend his whole life in jail, and for every six Lations, one must spend his entire life in prison, whereas for whites, one in every 17 white boys will spend their entire lives in prison (Nembhard, & Robin, 2021). Interestingly, racial discrepancies among women are less pronounced than among males, despite the fact that they are nonetheless widespread.
People of African, Asian, “Mixed,” and “Chinese” descent were overrepresented in the criminal court system as defendants in 2019, according to Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics (Torres, 2019). Largely as a result of the fact that members of various ethnic groups made up a much higher proportion of those detained. It also lasted throughout the various stages of incarceration, including the incarceration process itself. According to the Ministry of Justice, these three ethnicities are collectively known as “BAME.” Offenders from racial or ethnic minorities seem to get lengthier prison terms. BAME people’s underrepresentation is, according to Mackenzie (2015), directly linked to racial inequity. Overrepresentation may point to two kinds of issues: those who are more likely to be arrested and those who are more likely to perform criminal acts. Target policing and institutionalized media, where the media shapes public perception, are two major reasons why these persons are more likely to be arrested than the average person (Nembhard, & Robin, 2021). Structural influences include varied degrees of inequality, the sorts of welfare states, neoliberalism and the ways in which criminals are punished based on their crimes and the severity of their penalties.
Due to racial disparities, people of color are underrepresented in the criminal justice system in the United States. Racial inequality is unfair in the United States criminal justice system because of the disparity in treatment given to men and women in similar circumstances. Depending on the context, this might indicate blatant racial prejudice or represent the influence of elements that aren’t directly tied to race(Thanem, 2019). It is also possible that these inequities are caused by race-based judgments that are left unprotected by institutions or individuals. Structural racism may lead to racial inequality if it is sustained by long-standing disparities in the treatment of people with characteristics associated with race, such as poverty.
The practice of “targeted policing” is one of the key reasons of underrepresentation of people of color in the criminal justice system. This is because of the injustices that have been meted against them, they opt not to join the forces as they would also be considered as betrayers (Warde, 2013). Predictive policing usually focuses on catching criminals in certain locations, thus the resources of a policy are devoted to catching criminals in such areas. Predictive drug enforcement, for example, causes “historically over-policed regions to become progressively disproportionate,” according to Tonry (2019). Targeted regions are designed using algorithms and software. As a result, the police’s attention is attracted to a certain region, rather than to other areas of the city. First and foremost, structural causes include socioeconomic levels, ideologies, and attitudes to criminality(Tonry, 2019). Even when their clients are innocent, the majority of public defenders deal with prosecutors outside of court. Those public defenders who are overburdened and resigned to the reality that the system will always be against them find it simpler to give up.
Conclusion
Since its founding, race-based discrimination has been common in the United States’ criminal justice system, and evidence of this can be found throughout the system. This short examines racial inequality at every level of the criminal justice system, with the goal of demonstrating how each decision point in the system affects the next, producing a cycle of disproportionate outcomes for people of color. Since its founding, race-based discrimination has been common in the United States’ criminal justice system, and evidence of this can be found throughout the system.
It is vital to acknowledge the racial foundations of the criminal justice system in order to make significant improvements. To address racial imbalances, quick and focused attention must be given to their causes and consequences. To make genuine progress toward a more racially fair system, it is vital to get a thorough understanding of the racial and ethnic differences in state prison populations, as well as the policies and practices that contribute to these disparities. It is vital to acknowledge the racial foundations of the criminal justice system in order to make significant improvements. To address racial imbalances, quick and focused attention must be given to their causes and consequences. It is important to have awareness of the discrepancies as well as the underlying policies and practices that generate these disparities in order to make significant progress toward a more racially fair system.
References
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Warde, B. (2013). Black male disproportionality in the criminal justice systems of the USA, Canada, and England: A comparative analysis of incarceration. Journal of African American Studies, 17(4), 461-479.
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