Racism in Criminal Justice - Essay Example

The expression implies that the core problem of the racist criminal situation can be seen through the imperfection of the criminal justice system as such; however, it is still a question of whether the criminal injustice which exists in the present system can be the reason for the justification of the crimes committed by the representatives of ethnic minorities, and it is not the subject of the present work. The criminal justice system should be looked at through the prism of racial disparity, its basic notions, and its causes, which will lead us to the relevant conclusions as to the roots of higher crime rates within ethnic minorities.

First of all, to understand the essence of the problem, it is necessary to define what racial disparity is in the criminal justice system and how it is seen through the system of criminal justice in the UK. 'Racial disparity in criminal justice system exists when the proportion of a racial/ ethnic group within the control of the system is greater than the proportion of such groups in the general population.'1(Davis, 1998) There are various causes of such disparity and there are also different levels of criminal activity included into this notion; the law enforcement in particular communities carries different emphasis, the same as legislative policies and decision making in the criminal justice system differ based on the different level of racial disparity.

The broad discretion of the justice process is often exercised by justice practitioners connected with the issues of race in the criminal justice system. The results of the illegitimate (unwarranted) racial disparity can be seen through the different (dissimilar) treatment of people by the criminal justice system when it comes to their race; it means that the people representing ethnic minorities are treated in a dissimilar way in comparison with the whites. In some cases it involves open racial bias, but is it the reason for the more strict judging of those who come from ethnic minorities, for the same crimes committed by whites for which these whites receive less severe punishments This question is yet to be answered through the work.

For now, it is understood that racial bias is not involved in all cases, and it is often that the reasons for the dissimilar treatment only indirectly relate to race; even based on this assumption it may be implied that the impact of the present criminal justice system on the criminal situation within the ethnic minorities is not always determining and may often be fair and just. The racial disparity in the criminal justice system of any country can be seen through the four principal aspects: the problem of racial disparity is built at every stage of the criminal justice system; the criminal justice continuum is connected with this issue starting with the arrest through parole, and thus it is not possible to say that racial disparity is the result of one certain agency's activity; in case we conclude that racism bias is a serious problem within the criminal justice system, it will mean that the total system should be changed and not only its separate parts.