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Andrea Doctor

Cultural Diversity in the Professions

Section B

Professor Reutter

June 13, 2010

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Introduction

America has a very diverse culture. This is a nation that is highly cosmopolitan. Culture

can be defined as the sum total of behavior of a group of people, tradition, transmitted from one

generation to another (Tamu.edu,2010, par.1). The American culture, however, include the

White, African American and Hispanic. The three cultures have different experiences especially

in the law system in America. From criminal prosecution to convictions to time served in prison

and sentences, the three races have a different story to tell. The African American men top them

all in ‘rubbing shoulders with the law’. They are followed by the Hispanic men and the least is

the White men. Statistics from the U.S. justice department reported that in 2003 there was about

10.4 percent of all African American men aged 25 to 29 were incarcerated, 2.4 percent Hispanic

men and 1.2 percent White men. This shows a great disparity in the number of incarceration in

America with the African American men having almost ten times that of the white men in the

same country. Apart from crimes we also have racial influences in the rates of incarceration in

America. This is as a result of the perception society holds and the fact that racism is in the

society, discriminating on the minority groups, especially the African American men. In this

paper we will look into issues to do with racial disparity in incarceration, criminal justice

systems and, structured inequalities and, a recommendation for correcting the situation as it is as

of today.

Racial disparity in incarceration and sentencing

Racial disparity exists in the justice and criminal justice when ethnic or racial proportion

within the control of the system is greater than that of the population. Such disparities may be as

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a result of factors like differing criminal activity levels, emphasis on particular communities,

decision making and legislative policies by criminal justice practitioners exercising discretion in

broad terms in the system (Morton, 2008, p.1). Racial disparity in the system results from

dissimilar treatment of similarly situated people that is based on race, involving overt racial bias,

and influence of other factors indirectly associated with race (Morton, 2008, p.1)

The system of prison and jail in America is defined by a deep rooted racial disparity in

the population of people incarcerated (Mauer and King, 2007, p.4). Apart from crimes we have

the discretion of policy makers and practitioners in decision making relating to arrests,

convictions and imprisonment rates, regardless of the offence committed. Again, regional

differences in the incarceration policies also bring about the disparity (Mauer and King, 2007,

p.10)). However, the racial disparity is brought about by the fact that more African American

men do commit certain crimes more often than white men (Sagepub.com, 2007, p.245). Part of

higher rates in incarcerating more African American men is as a result of higher chances of being

searched, arrested, and charged with crime and, the issue of racial profiling being politically

charged (Sagepub.com, 2007, p.246).

There is also evidence to support disparity in sentencing of African American men where

they receive stiffer sentences than the White men who commit the same crime(s) (Sagepub.com,

2007, p.246). Sagepub.com, 2007 continues to observe that in drug felonies whites are less likely

to be convicted than African American men in state courts. Many studies in the federal level

found evidence of direct discrimination against minorities linking race and severity in sentencing

(Sagepub.com, 2007, p.247).

The Hispanic men also face similar discriminations in the U. S. though the discrimination

is less than that faced by the African American men for the same crimes. A comparison of the

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White men and Hispanic men incarceration reveals presence of ethnic-based disparities similar to

that of the African American men and White men (Mauer and King, 2007, p.12). They too are

considered to be part of the minority and as a result they face discrimination.

From many findings there is evidence that African American men are the most

incarcerated as a minority group in America. This is so because they are more prone to

committing certain types of crime than their fellow counterparts, white men and Hispanic men.

This, however, is not true in all cases. There are evidences that even the white are more prone to

committing other forms of crime than the African American men and the Hispanic men too. The

injustice in the judicial system is what in many vases results to their large numbers in

incarceration than any other race in America.

Another contributor to the case of racial disparity is the ‘race neutral’ policies. The

intersection of races in policing and sentencing produces highly disproportionate rates of

incarceration for offences considered to be of low-level (Mauer and King, 2007, p.17). This may

see offenders in the rural areas being more harshly discriminated for similar crimes because the

majority of the population there are the whites, unlike in urban areas where people of color are

densely populated (Mauer and King, 2007, p.17).

Criminal justice systems in America

America adopts a capitalist economy and so most of the values are in line with

capitalism. As a result we have the issues of race, class and gender deeply entrenched in the

whole system including that one of criminal and justice. Aspects of crime and incarceration are

shaped significantly by race, gender and class in America. Differences in types of crimes

committed and the resulting treatment by law enforcement and the system of justice show

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biasness in the system (Sagepub.com, 2007, p.276). The system views African American men,

Hispanic men as a minority group(s). This group is seen to threaten the existing distribution of

political power and rewards derived from the economy as well as public safety. As a result, the

system of justice employs coercive social control method, imprisonment, against the minority

group(s) (Sagepub.com, 2007, p.277).

In many states in America the White men are favored to the other two minority groups in

the same crimes. The system of justice favor them in the manner that they are sent to local jails

where the time period is far much shorter than time served in state prisons, thereby suffering the

severe outcomes of incarceration like family separation, and reduction of employment prospects

for the ‘victims’ (Mauer and King, 2007, p.15).

Legislative decisions are a major factor that brings about disparity. Many of these laws

have a disproportionate impact on the minority communities and could have been eliminated

before they were enacted (Morton, 2008, p.7). Laws such as the war on drugs amongst others do

not favor the minority groups at all, as they prove to be harsher on them (Morton, 2008, p.7;

Mauer and King, 2007, p.16).

Overt racial bias is also present in the justice and criminal justice. The fact that racism

exists in the society it is difficult to eliminate it in the system too. Racism increases bias which

can be shown, amongst other things, policies of crime and justice (Morton, 2008, p.9).

Bias takes many forms in the system of justice. The interaction in all the stages from

policing, the courts and in prisons communicates a lot of bias. Identifying with people who share

certain similar qualities like looks, values and perception is common in the criminal justice

system. The connection between the judge and the prosecutor to the defendants will contribute

the outcome of the sentencing (Morton, 2008, p.9). Much of the research done in recent times

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reveals that belief and racist attitudes still exist (Morton, 2008, p.9). In many cases these

identifications are based on race as the two will share a similar background ‘prescribed’ by

culture. The outcome will be discrimination of people belonging to the minority groups in the

system of criminal and justice.

Structured inequality

Structured inequality in America emanates from race bias (Conyers, 2002, par.7). The

whites are more favored compared to the other minority groups in America.

In America we have the white men being favored to African American men and the

Hispanic men. This is evident in the whole government system and also at communal levels.

Resource allocation is one factor that brings about inequality in the American system. The issue

of class comes to life here. The minority groups are considered to be of low-income class. They,

therefore, are likely to rely on public defense systems that are overburdened and to live in

communities whose access to treatment alternative sentencing is very limited (Mauer and King,

2007, p.18). This will translate to low standards in education for the minority groups as

compared to the whites. This will reduce their chances to be in a position to influence the

policies which govern them. As a result we find more of the white community being involved in

the policy making and law enforcement in the U. S.

The majority in number of police and the jury in the courts will favor the privileged in the

society. Since the majority, in many cases are the white it means that the decisions will favor

them more compared to he minority groups. A good example is in the case of low-level crimes

that see the minority groups face harsher sentences than their white counterparts in rural areas

where the majority are the whites (Mauer and King, 2007, p.17)

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Another form of inequality discrimination is the use of background checks and records of

crime to stigmatize the minority groups. This also results to employers banning or refusing to

recruit such people with criminal records. This puts the minority groups in an awkward situation

so that they can not be able to secure jobs or trade permits (National hire network, 2007, p.3).

This inequality in many cases affects the minority groups as they are the most people who are

associated in crime. Again, they are the minority in the systems and so it will be hard for them to

convince the majority to obtain jobs and work/ trade permits.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Cultural diversity is an issue that can be viewed from many perspectives. From a negative

perspective, in a state that is highly cosmopolitan, it is seen to be doing more harm than good and

especially to the minority groups. In America culture is associated with racism and this

stereotype has creped into the systems of justice. The minority groups face harsher penalties than

their fellow white counterparts for the same crime. The policies and laws in the system of justice,

as well as the practitioners of the law, are highly biased and subjective. Most of the laws are

there to favor the white majority in the American system. The decision makes and law enforcers

also tend to lean to favor the white men and for the minority groups, African American men and

the Hispanic men, discrimination is the order of the day. Research has revealed that the minority

groups are big in number in prisons and serve more severe sentences than their white

counterparts. The Africa Americans men are the most affected. The system has a perception of

relating the African Americans men with crime and as a result they are commonly arrested and

locked away in state prisons. The low class statuses they are associated with also puts

discrimination to them and deprive them equal opportunities in resource allocation and power in

the American society.

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A recommendation would be to re-look into the laws and decisions made for governing

and enforcing the law in America to include equal rights and treatment, allocation of the scarce

resources and opportunities. This way the nation would not have mixed reactions from people of

different races and it would also maintain the human capital, those associated with crime, being

discriminated by being banned from work or being denied trading permits due to their

backgrounds and crime stigmatization. There should also be strict guidelines and stipulations’

regarding the way justice is administered regardless of race. The government should also take it

upon itself to protect the minority groups as all are its citizens despite the differences in views

and perceptions.

The policy makers should have interest in the reduction of disproportionate rates in ways

which coincide with the promotion of safety to the public. This may also include reviewing the

sentencing options and allocation of resources to the community equally so as to reduce

structural inequalities in the U. S.

Lastly, the involvement of politics as a way to inculcate discrimination to those who are

of the minority groups should stop. The government/ law should have policies to mitigate such

advances because politically charged motives are very strong and should only be used in positive

and constructive agendas for the benefit of the whole society. The government should educate

people through civic education on the dangers of ethnicity and encourage cultural exchange

programs between the whit majority and the other minority communities so as to inculcate the

values of accommodation and appreciation between people of diverse cultures. This would go a

long way in changing stereotype perceptions of associating other people with bad acts, class just

because they come from a different community. This is so because we have African American

men and Hispanic men who are successful and not criminals.

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References

Conyers, J. E. (2002). Racial Inequality: Emphasis on Explanations.

The Journal of Black Studies, 3(2). Retrieved April 20, 2010

from Questia website:

http://www.questia.com/pm.qst?a=o&se=gglsc&d=5001926772

Mauer, M., & Ryan, S. K. (2007). Uneven Justice: State Rates of Incarceration

By Race and Ethnicity. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from Sentencing Project

Website:

http://www.sentencingproject.org/doc/.../rd_stateratesofincbyraceandethnicity.pdf

Morton, K. (2008). Reducing Racial Disparity in the Criminal Justice System:

A Manual for Practitioners and Policy Makers. Retrieved April 20, 2010,

from The Sentencing Project website:

http://www.sentensingproject.org/doc/.../rd_reducingracialdisparity.pdf

National Hire Network. (2007). Unchaining Civil