Racial disparity in the criminal justice system.
Executive summary
This paper addresses the issue of racial disparity in the criminal justice system. The number of cases of shootings, arrests, and arraignment of black people and people of color is continually rising. This paper provides a suitable solution to the racial disparity by expanding the number of people of color in the workforce of law enforcement agencies. The expansion has several benefits, such as reducing shootings, arrests, and fair trials for all persons, despite their color or race. This solution’s negative impact is that it may lead to the overrepresentation of the black community and other people of color, such as Latinos, thus creating even more racial inequality in the criminal justice systems.
Racial disparity in the criminal justice system is a concerning and worrying trend. The majority of people behind bars in the criminal justice system are mainly blacks and Latinos. Racial disparities not only happen during the sentencing period but traverse right from arrest to prosecution. The racial disparity occurs principally because of the notion and stereotype that blacks and Latinos often involve themselves in criminalized behaviors and because their socio-economic activities and neighborhoods they live often depict them as criminals. This stereotype has led to the arraignment and even death of many innocent people of color. Therefore, racial disparity is an important issue that requires immediate actions that will reduce racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.
This proposal propositions the expansion of minority group members within law enforcement agencies such as police agencies and courts. The racial disparity occurs due to the lack of representation of the minority groups in the respective agencies. This proposal, therefore, recommends the increase of blacks and Latinos in police agencies and courts. Expanding the number of minority group members in law enforcement agencies leads the proportionality in demographic profiles and the population. Their expansion creates fairness in instances such as arrest.
For instance, White police officers often arrest black people based on racial profiling and believe that they are always up to mischief. The same applies to sentencing. It is common for black people and Latinos to receive long and harsh sentences instead of their counterparts who are White. Increasing the number of minority group members in the agencies assures all offenders of free and fair trials. The expansion also prevents malicious arrests based on color and race.
The implementation process of the proposal begins from the recruitment process of workers in the enforcement agencies. The recruitment process should ensure all representatives from all ethnic and racial groups, both minority and majority groups. Equal representation calls for free and fair criminal justice systems, such as arrests and sentencing. The recruitment of minority groups will curb the underrepresentation of black people, especially in states such as Text, California, the New York Metropolitan, and the District of Columbia. These states have recorded and reflected the most cases of racial disparities in their criminal justice systems.
The expansion of the number of minority groups had several advantages and disadvantages. The most significant advantage is that the plan will decrease racial discrimination in criminal justice systems. The reduction in racial biasness creates a consequence trail of events such as reducing shootings on black people by black people. The plan will also decrease unnecessary arrests that occur due to racial profiling. The plan will also lead to fair and fair trials for all persons. Courts will also significantly reduce racial biases during prosecution, thus fair sentencing. There will also be equal sentences for both White people and people of color, with none receiving heavier and longer sentences than the other.
The proposal’s negative consequence is that it may lead to the overrepresentation of black people in the law agencies, dipping down the number of other races and communities. The overrepresentation thus terminates the objective of the proposal of having racial equality in law enforcement agencies. In conclusion, law enforcement agencies should avoid racial disparities at all costs. The primary objective of law agencies is to provide justice for all. Therefore, the system should be fair to all persons despite their race, ethnicity, and color.