Inequality and Criminal Justice

Question: Discuss about theInequality and Criminal Justice. Answer: Introduction Inequality is common a term, which is known to everyone, and is used frequently in the daily life. Every other person, irrespective on the country or locality they are in, has faced one or other form of inequality. Criminal justice system is not untouched by this menace of inequality. It has been often covered in various media sources that the criminal justice system, of a number of countries, also has to face this problem of inequality. In the following parts, the intersection between the inequality, as well as, the criminal justice, has been elucidated. In Canada, the matter of race and crime is amongst the most controversial issues. It has been often argued that the intersection of race, along with the lower class position is the reason behind the apparent disadvantage which is faced by a number of minority groups, especially in their dealings with the justice system, which contains the law enforcement, the courts, as well as, the corrections. The Toronto Star, in October 2002, started the publication of a whole series which contained articles on the theme of race and crime (Kwok 2008). The arrest data analysed by the Toronto Star, which was collected from the Toronto Police Service, clearly showed that the number of black people was way higher and they were highly over represented, especially in some specific offending categories which included serious violence, possession of drugs, and trafficking of drugs. This analysis revealed by the Toronto Star showed that the overrepresentation patter of the black people in the arrest data was consistent with the ideology that the law enforcement of Toronto was engaged in the racial profiling of the suspects. Further, the Toronto Star maintained that the people belonging to the minority groups were treated in a harsher manner, as compared to their white counterparts, after the arrest had been made (Kwok 2008). The Toronto Police vehemently denied all of the allegations made by the Toronto Star, regarding the racial bias. The Police Chief, the President of the Police Association, and even the Mayor denied that the Toronto Police was engaged in racial profiling (Kwok 2008). Though, the police failed to produce any concrete data which would support their statement. Inequality occurs in cases of racial profiling as the people of such groups faced a disparity in custom searches in border-crossings and at airports, stop-and-search practices, rise in patrolling of police in the neighbourhoods of minority and even sting operations which are targeted towards the specific ethnic or minority groups (Wortley and Tanner 2015). Not just in Canada, such incidents are prominent in the other countries also. For instance, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act in England make it necessary for the police to keep a record in writing about the racial background of such who have been subjected to the stop and search by the police (Wortley and Tanner 2015). And the statistics from 1997-1998 also revealed that a higher number of black people were stopped and searched as compared to Asians or Whites (Wortley and Tanner 2015). The same bias is present in the United States (Rosich 2007). This inequality is not confined to the race and ethnicity, it preludes gender too. The data provided by the Sentencing Commission of the US examined the interaction of the effects of race and gender over the sentencing outcome in the federal court, for the male, as well as, female lawbreakers (Doerner 2015). The findings based on this data clearly indicated that in comparison to the male offenders of the same category, the female offenders, throughout the ethnic, as well as, racial categories, received the sentences with less severe outcomes, even when the contextual, legal, as well as, extralegal factors were controlled. Even this study highlighted that the Black males received longer sentences and that the Hispanic makes were more prone to be incarcerated, in comparison to the White male offenders. Though, contrary to the expected results, the White females, as per the findings of the above data, were more prone to be incarcerated, in comparison to the Hispanic, as well as, Black females, plus they received a lot longer sentence in comparison to the latter group (Doerner 2015). The key quality for a criminal justice system to succeed is its fairness. If any unfairness is administered in the justice, the legitimacy of the system would be lost in the eyes of the general public, and the respect for the laws would be dispensed. A number of researches have determined that there is discrimination and inequality amongst the gender, and race of the people (Grossman and Roberts 2011). The above parts were able to highlight this inequality in the justice system of not only Canada, but countries like UK and US. And from this analysis, it can be concluded that there is indeed an intersection between the inequality and the criminal justice system. References Doerner K. Jill. 2015. The Joint Effects of Gender and Race/Ethnicity on Sentencing Outcomes in Federal Courts. Women Criminal Justice 25(5): 313-338. Grossman G. Michelle, and Roberts V. Julian. 2011. Criminal Justice in Canada: A Reader. Toronto: Nelson Education. Kwok Siu-ming. 2008. Daily Struggles: The Deepening Racialization and Feminization of Poverty in Canada. Toronto: Canadian Scholars Press Inc. Rosich, Katherine J. 2007. Race, Ethnicity, and the Criminal Justice System. Washington, DC: American Sociological Association. Retrieved November 09, 2016 (https://www.asanet.org/sites/default/files/savvy/images/press/docs/pdf/ASARaceCrime.pdf) Wortley Scot, and Tanner Julian. 2015. Discrimination or Good Policing? The Racial Profiling Debate in Canada. Our Diverse Cities. Retrieved November 09, 2016 (https://www.metropolis.net/pdfs/WortleyTanner_e.pdf)