The Impact of the Civil Rights Movement on Crime and Criminal Justice - Coursework Example

The workforce behind criminal justice is getting diverse in American society. The social structure of American society has a major impact on the relationships that exist between ethnicity, crime, and race. The human rights movements and the criminal justice system have portrayed American society as one full of inequalities between economics, ethnicities, and race. The main reasons for the civil rights movements in America have been consistent in poverty and minority myth associated with the poor.

The criminal justice system has associated the crime rates with the poor societies in America. Mostly, the civil rights movement has been the root of issues in the crime war. Civil rights movement in America has had an impact on the judgment of actions and the magnitude of crimes. There has been the issue of crime war in American society. Inequality is often associated with criminal activities. The differential association, social strains, cultural conflict, routine activities, and social disorganization are often associated with crime.

The criminal justice system has often associated ethnic minorities and race to the poor with the highest rates of crime. In the 1880s the African –American community was associated with almost all crimes. If an African-American man was found committing a crime, he was sentenced to jail without a jury present. No African –American could sit in the jury because they had no voting rights. Seats in the juries were for only those Americans who had voting rights. This meant that only the whites could seat on the jury because they were the only Americans with voting rights.

When an African-American was convicted of a crime in the nineteenth and twentieth century, he could spend longer jail periods and do more work than the whites. In prisons, the African –American convicts could be leased to employers who would in turn pay the state for their labor. Many of the whites in the nineteenth century were never convicted for extrajudicial killings and lynching they performed on the African-Americans. However, during the uprising of civil movements in the nineteenth century, the criminal justice system changed significantly.

The black community formed the American Civil Rights Movement of 1955-1964 that fought for equality and end to racism. The civil rights Act of 1964 saw the seating of African –Americans in the jury. Also, the whites who committed crime were sentenced to jail depending on the magnitude of the crime.The civil rights movement in American society was characterized by riots and disobedience. The civil rights movement used boycotts such as the bus boycott of Montgomery of 1956. The movement was also characterized by sit-ins aimed at ensuring the equality of all Americans in the eyes of Justice.

The civil rights movement had both positive and negative impacts on American society regarding crime. The civil rights movement has seen the improvement of American jails. The Congress, in response to the civil rights crusade enacted legislation that would eventually bring reforms within the American prisons. As a result, living standards within the American prisons have been improved and the prison system does not favor any citizen imprisoned. Stojkovic et al (363) note that reforms in the prison department during the twentieth century were attributed to the civil rights movement .

the changes were a result of the civil society asking about the prison living conditions and the processes of jailing civilians. The civil rights movement has brought about major changes in the criminal justice process and systems. The civil rights activists have often questioned whether the criminal justice system is capable of restoring social order, maintain law and order and rehabilitate and control offenders without discrimination. Innovations have been integrated into the criminal justice in the twentieth century due to challenges from civil society.

 In 1967, the National Advisory Commission on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals was established to oversee the importation of change in the prison system. According to Emsley and Louis (218), the Civil Rights Movement often questioned the manner in which the policemen treated the black community.