The stigmatization of African-Americans has caused terrible harm in many areas, and only exacerbates the perceived "problem."
T]hirty years of forced removal to prison of 150,000 young males from particular communities of New York represents collective losses similar in scale to the losses due to epidemics, wars, and terrorist attacks -- with the potential for comparable effects on the survivors and the social structure of their families and communities. (Roberts, 2004)
By destroying African-American communities and social networks on a massive scale, law enforcement officials are contributing to the very problems they purport to be fighting.
The mass imprisonment of African-Americans further spreads and entrenches the notion that African-Americans are somehow incapable of conforming to the larger society's rules and regulations. The more common the prison experience becomes in African-American life, the more normative it becomes in both African-American and majority White culture. Roberts underlines the terrible effects of this process of normalization:
Disorganized communities cannot enforce social norms because it is too difficult to reach consensus on common values and on avenues for solving common problems. Because informal social controls play a greater role in public safety than do formal state controls, this breakdown can seriously jeopardize community safety. Todd Clear found that... "When incarceration reaches a certain level in an area that already struggles for assets, the effects of imprisonment undermine the building blocks of social order." The mass movement of adults between the neighborhood and prison impedes the ability of families and other socializing groups, such as churches, social clubs, and neighborhood associations, to enforce informal social controls. (Roberts, 2004)
The wholesale imprisonment of African-American adults, and soon-to-be adults, has the effect of undermining productive social development. The hundreds of thousands of individuals who are taken out of the cultural and social landscape cease to contribute to their society and social group in any positive fashion. Additionally, they furnish a negative example about the meaning of growing up, and of the importance of adult responsibility. As well, the prevailing belief among African-Americans that the huge incarceration rates are, in fact, unavoidable - the result of White prejudice - becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy i.e., there is no need to attempt to live otherwise - all other efforts...
criminal justice and American culture. Specifically it will discuss jail time served by Blacks, Hispanics and whites, and the lawyers who prosecute them. The statistics indicate that African-American men, especially between the ages of 25 to 29, are incarcerated at a higher rate than either Hispanics or whites. There are several factors that are associated with these statistics, including where these young men grow up, their income, and their
In that regard, Agnew's version of strain theory no longer explains the marked difference in male and female homicide rates, simply because it downplays the importance of the types of strains described by Merton. Whereas Merton's strains were associated more with the types of failures more likely to be experienced by males, Agnew's strains included many types of strains that, at least arguably, could be said to plague females
" (Weinstein, 2003) This range is dependent upon the charges that are brought against the defendant in the criminal case as well as "some aspects of the conduct underlying the charges." (Weinstein, 2003) Judges are legally required to "impose a specific sentence is subject to the exercise of discretion in two areas" which are those of: 1) the judge makes the determination that the sentence must be within the Guideline range;
Other Implications If the issue of pant sagging is not addressed, it will lead to public dissatisfaction, especially from people who have raised concerns. It will also continue the implications on black men as being disrespectful gangsters, or as Cosby says (middle class blacks who are disrespected and despised gangsters, whose egregious behavior is sagging pants). It will also continue the implication that the black represent some unified community which is
Does the criminal justice system discriminate? Provide support your position with reference to the various components of the process, and give an explanation for either why the system discriminates, or why it appears to discriminate. Yes, the criminal justice system discriminates. African-American males are overrepresented in every part of the criminal process, though there has been no good evidence to show that they actually engage in criminal behavior at rates
African-American Incarceration African-American Race and the Criminal Justice System: The Effect on Black Communities Racial Disparities and Incarceration Recent studies have shown that race is a factor in the criminal justice system. For example, a study analyzing statewide sentencing outcomes in Pennsylvania for 1989-1992, found that, net of controls: (1) young black males are sentenced more harshly than any other group, (2) race is most influential in the sentencing of younger rather than
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