Inequality In The Criminal Justice System Research (Research Proposal Sample)

Inequality in the criminal justice system
Name
Institution
Inequality in the criminal justice system
Statement of objectives
Do African American stereotypes play with the racial profiling by the law enforcement? Is there structural inequality in our justice system? Today, when we read the newspapers or watch the news, we can note that they portray most criminals as Hispanics or African Americans. The objective of this research is to establish the extent of inequality in the justice system, especially for African-American and Hispanic people. The study seeks to answer the following questions: Do African American Males commit more crimes than their White counterparts? Does the criminal justice system treat them fairly? What factors lead to the involvement in offenses by the African American males? The research will help answer these questions to finally find out if the black people commit more crimes than the whites and whether racism plays a bigger role in the justice system than we perceive.
Literature review
There are more African American males are incarcerated and arrested more than the White or Hispanic men. The Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2010 shows that the black imprisonment rate was 3166 per 100,000 black males in the United States. It also indicates that they are, in fact, incarcerated seven times more that the Whites. The Sentencing Project website, on the other hand, reports that if the current trends go on, one in three African Americans could expect to spend time in prison or jail (Kerby, 2012). Most of the population in correctional institutions contains Hispanics and Blacks. It also suggests that even when arrested without conviction, they still face the consequences that accompany the process. These include benefits from the government for the poor, problems with getting education and jobs and getting housing.
In addition to this, there seem to be disparities in drug sentencing in the African American community. The war on drugs in America is a war on the poor and the minorities (Kain, 2011). Kain reports that sixty percent black males go to jail on more drug related charges which are fourteen times higher than Whites. The National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) states that fourteen million and three million blacks use illegal drugs. However, the African-American males are more likely to be sent to prison than White men. The shocking truth is that the blacks serve a lot more time in jail on drug-related charges than the Whites do for violent delinquencies. In this research, however, there is no proof of blacks selling or using more drugs than the Whites. It is easier for the police make arrests in the black neighborhoods than trying to find drug deals in the White communities.
Racial profiling, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is a discriminatory practice by the law enforcement targeting individuals for crimes based on their religion, race or ethnicity (ACLU, 2012). It also states that racial profiling disregards our constitution directly. The organization says that profiling makes people live in fear in certain areas and has made some communities appear suspect. African American citizens are more likely to be stopped by the police that the Whites. Rushing found out that the black communities were over-policed. He shares an experience where he noticed that there were police cars stationed after about one hundred meters. In the book, he shares a story where he rode along with a police officer in the black community (Rushing, 2011). He stopped more African-American than white people for over speeding. Stereotypes exist that black males are less intelligent, violent, aggressive, thieves and most of their activities include sports and sex, even in our criminal justice system. Recently, there have been cases of the reckless shooting of black people by police officers which have led to protests on the streets and social media.
Rushing, in one of his books, writes that he wants law enforcement to stop racial profiling (Rushing, 2011). He also states that black Americans are eight times more likely to be questioned by the police that the Whites. He says that this problem is due to the weak social and crime policies enacted, which essentially legalize discrimination. When incarcerated, African American citizens continue to encounter racism and prejudice in the prison and court system. Moreover, Blacks are more likely to face longer sentences than their White allies. Kerby reports that these jail terms are 10 percent longer that the Whites', even for similar crimes. In addition to this, he states that they lose most of their fundamental civil rights and face disparities with wages after their release from prison (Kerby, 2012). Structured inequality continues to be problem in the justice system and continues to be the subject of outrage, especially in the affected community
Subjects for study
This research concentrates mostly on several neighborhoods, courts and prisons in Atlanta. The reason for this is to focus the research on specific areas instead of collecting data from many states, which would be challenging and expensive to gather. The study focuses on respondents from different backgrounds so as to provide fair results and does not concentrate on getting any single or multiple representations.
Methodology
Questionnaires. The research will be carried out in prisons, courts, and some neighborhoods in Atlanta. Based on the specified sampling, prisoners, police officers, and court officials will voluntarily fill questionnaires. The participation in this research will be voluntary to avoid a situation where respondents give their answers inaccurately due to the fear of facing repercussions. The surveys contain a broad range of questions which will help achieve the research objectives.
Interviews. The study will use personal and archival interviews as a method of data collection. The researchers will gather Archival data from journal articles, newspapers and political documents such as legislations and policies. The qualitative data collected through interviews will include perspectives of stakeholders on the criminal justice system in Atlanta. These respondents include community advocates and l...