Racism and Criminal Justice

Paper Summary:

The paper describes the racist activities of the Klu Klux Klan in the past, and goes on to show that race continues to be a contentious point in the world of criminal justice in the US. The paper addresses the practice of racial profiling and argues that the very idea that individuals of certain minority groups are more suspect because that group has a higher percentage of criminal records is ludicrous, simply because crime in America is tied as much to poverty as it is to race. The paper asserts that police officers are people just like anybody else and will be guilty of racism like anybody else. However, the paper believes that because police officers have such an important responsibility, it is even more important that they guard against letting their personal bigotry affect their job performance.

From the Paper:

"Racism has been a problem in the United States since it was created. This is the natural result of so many different types of people trying to live together. People naturally see others with different religions, customs, cultures, skin colors as strange. In the criminal justice system, these types of assumptions about other people can be especially dangerous. The image of justice being blind, represented by a blindfolded woman with scales in her hands, is a noble one but not entirely accurate. Looking over the history of the American justice system, injustice has sometimes been the rule of the day. This is particularly true in the South, where thousands of lynchings against black people went unpunished through the late nineteenth century and early half of the twentieth century."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anderson, W. (2001, August/September) The Roots of Racial Profiling: Why Are Police Targeting Minorities for Traffic Stops? Reason Online, http://www.reason.com/news/show/28138.html
• Bureau of Justice Statistics, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm.
• Halsall, P. (1997) Herbert Spencer: Social Darwinism, 1857. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/spencer-darwin.html
• MacDonald, H. (2003) Are Cops Racist? Chicago, IL: Ivan R. Dee Publisher.
• Wade, W.C. (1998) The Fiery Cross: The Klu Klux Klan in America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

More papers on Racism and Criminal Justice:

• Book Review # 111961 : "Racism and Criminal Justice"
• Comparison Essay # 111369 : "The American Courts And Criminal Justice System"
• Research Paper # 70789 : "The Criminal Justice System"

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