Racial Disparities in Incarceration Rates Term Paper

A discussion on the racial over representation of minorities involving incarceration rates in the American criminal justice system.
# 150509 | 1,454 words | 3 sources | APA | 2012 | US
Published on Feb 28, 2012 in African-American Studies (Racism) , Criminology (Criminal Justice and Corrections) , Ethnic Studies (General)


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Description:

This paper examines how racial disparity in the correctional department involves a great difference in the racial makeup of the racial population. In other words there will be a large population of minority offenders while there is a smaller nonminority population. It looks at how there are many possible causes for the current racial disparities challenge being faced by the correctional system in just about every state in America and how the believed causes for these disparities involve every aspect of the criminal justice system from first contact with police to the sentence received by the offender.

From the Paper:

" Police officers find that the problem is not the actions of the police but failures of society to provide equal opportunities for the minority which would provide them with the tools to avoid a life of crime and become productive members of society. Because most crime occurs in lower class areas and these areas are made up with a majority of minorities there are bound to me more minorities coming into contact with law enforcement. In order for racial profiling to be a genuine problem it would need to be assumed that all police officer engage in discriminatory behavior and do not have the good judgment to select criminal suspects based on their suspicious behavior.
"The actions of the members of the court also come into question when there is a large minority population being incarcerated in America's jails and prisons. Because the prosecutor plays such a pivotal role in the justice process the overrepresentation of the minority currently being incarcerated must be in part due to the actions of the prosecutor. In the criminal justice system a majority of criminal suspects that come into contact with the criminal justice system will be offered a plea deal by prosecutors. In fact over 90% of all criminal cases are settled through a plea deal. "

Sample of Sources Used:

  • Lane, C. (2010). The Death Penalty and Racism. Retrieved February 17, 2012 from http://www.the-american-interest.com/article.cfm?piece=901
  • Thomas, P. (2008). U.S. Prison Population Hits All-Time High: 2.3 Million Incarcerated. Retrieved February 17, 2012 from http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=5009270&page
  • Wagner, P. (2001). Racial Disparities in the "Great Migration" to Prison Call for Reassessing Crime Control Policy. Retrieved February 17, 2012 from http://www.prisonpolicy.org/articles/upr100701.html

Cite this Term Paper:

APA Format

Racial Disparities in Incarceration Rates (2012, February 28) Retrieved June 05, 2023, from https://www.academon.com/term-paper/racial-disparities-in-incarceration-rates-150509/

MLA Format

"Racial Disparities in Incarceration Rates" 28 February 2012. Web. 05 June. 2023. <https://www.academon.com/term-paper/racial-disparities-in-incarceration-rates-150509/>

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