Why Minorities Are Overrepresented In the Criminal Justice System

Why Minorities Are Overrepresented In the Criminal Justice System
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Introduction
Racial and ethnic disparities have plagued the American criminal justice system for decades. Hispanic and Black persons have a greater likelihood of being arrested and imprisoned in their lifetimes than whites. Several studies suggest that minorities are more likely to engage in criminal activity than their white counterparts. Despite this, some studies show that minorities are underrepresented in the criminal justice system, particularly when it comes to criminal conduct. Until yet, research has failed to explain this discrepancy in results. In this study, I will look at ethnicity and the overrepresentation of minorities in the criminal justice system. In addition, the paper will demonstrate my view that no policy can clearly explain the disparity in ethnic representation in the criminal justice system.
Overrepresentation of Minority Groups in the Criminal Justice System (CJ)
In my estimation, Blacks make up 36% of the 1.5 million inmates, although they make up just 12% of the population of the United States. A study was done by Burch (2015) on the sentencing results for white and black men in Georgia. According to his findings, which were based on Georgia Department of Corrections inmate records (GDC). Race and skin color models and race-only models showed that among first-time offenders, Blacks received sentences roughly 4% greater than their White counterparts when relevant legal criteria such as the sort of a crime were taken into account. The socioeconomic level was controlled for both race and skin color representations. The average alteration between Blacks and Whites was 5.5%. According to Burch (2015), the average sentence granted to Whites for their first infractions is around 270 days less than that handed to Blacks. Upon reading the study's data, I now know that 37% of those incarcerated in local facilities are African-American, while 36% are housed in federal or state facilities. This illustrates how disproportionately represented the criminal justice system in the United States is.
According to Liberman and Fontaine (2015), individuals of color are overrepresented in all elements of the criminal and juvenile justice systems, both as offenders and victims. More than any other ethnic group, African-Americans are particularly vulnerable to the devastation caused by overrepresentation. One in 106 white men incarcerated, one in 36 Latino/Hispanic men incarcerated, and one in 15 black men incarcerated in the United States. More than any other ethnicity or race, Black males aged 20 to 34 had the highest rate of imprisonment by gender: 1 in 9 men. In light of this, I've concluded that confinement tends to be concentrated among low- and middle-income Black males. Ethnic and racial groupings are undoubtedly implicated in juvenile and adult crimes. More Hispanic, Black, and Native American kids are engaged in severe crime than White teens. Gangs for Hispanics, communal disadvantages for Blacks, and social relationships among Native Americans contribute to statistical differences between minorities and white people. Compared to Native Americans, Hispanics, and Blacks, Asians are less suspected of criminal conduct. Hispanics, Blacks, and Native Americans all exhibit similar levels of aggressive behavior.
In my view, every factor of the American criminal justice system is disproportionately impacted by black males. For example, black males are targeted for racial profiling, prosecution, sentencing, police brutality, abuse, and the death sentence because of their race. This is just one example. In principle, the American criminal justice system attempts to safeguard and maintain the rights of its citizens. People of various backgrounds agree that the legal system protects their fundamental rights, particularly minorities. When it comes to how much protection one receives, Whites have a distinct perspective. Because of the present criminal justice system, law enforcement might use racial features to motivate their actions. Government authorities, for example, have used the color of a person's skin to target them for arrest, prosecution, imprisonment, and execution as a means of enforcing the law. Law enforcement officers' acts and inactions have harmed the belief that all people have equal rights.
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