Mismeasurement of Crime: Unfair Treatment of African Americans - Essay Sample

Introduction

The main argument in the article mismeasurement of crime is that violence in urban America has been understood as a behavior of the black men, women, and their children. Crime unamerican has been, for many years, used to define the African American community.

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The article presents how, over the year, African Americans have been subjected to unfair treatment by racists police officers, prosecutors, and even prison officials. These statistics indicate the black people have been viewed as murdered and robbers as painted by the press because of their color. This has been promoted by the belief that black people are naturally criminals and thus should be treated as suspects.

Another evidence of the racial discrimination in the justice system due to the beliefs about black people is the huge population of African Americans in prisons. This has been contributed by the notion that crime is only committed by these minority groups and has been referred to other sectors.

My reaction to this is that certain groups of people can be greatly affected by the stereotypes that have been created within their societies. In this case, black people have been considered criminals because people have constantly heled that they are violent, and that is their behavior. The result of this is many of them being imprisoned because such beliefs criminalize. I have also been amazed at how such habits have infiltrated the justice system and made it difficult for people of color to get a fair trial.

In Search of White Crime

The main argument in the article in search of white crime is very common, and the belief that blacks are the majority of offenders is not true. This article seeks to debunk the popular belief that white criminals do not get arrested and that they are not the majority in committing crimes.

Even though statistics indicate that many whites commit crimes, there is little from the media to associate them with a crime. This is skewed focus on black crime by a journalist is what has contributed to the little concern for the white crime, which is still very rampant.

Another reason why white crime is not taken seriously is because of how scholars defined this kind of crime. According to criminologists, white crime is committed by respectable people, and thus not much is labeled about this kind of crime. This description has made it easy for white criminals to get lighter sentences, unlike their black counterparts, because white crime is not that racially labeled.My reaction to this is society has failed to deal with crime objectively but based on race. A crime is a crime regardless of the person who commits it, and for that reason, race labeling should be abandoned. Bias within the media seems to be very influential in creating these differences, and they should focus on constructive journalism instead.

Mass Incarceration

The main argument on the growing mass population of inmates on death row and how the approach to crime has contributed to an increase in prison numbers. Due to legal challenges, many inmates have not faced lethal injection, and as a result, the number of people in prison has continuously grown.

Evidence of this is growth in the prison population is in a large number of inmates taking education seriously. Many of the inmates use this platform as an opportunity for them to learn about the free world and learn more about new things.

Blacks as a minority also find themselves as the majority in prison, and this is evident in the segregation. Education, however, seems to unite all races. They all interact peacefully with little problem. Massa incarceration breeds gangs that shape the lives of prisoners.

My reaction to this is that education is the key to everything prisoners must learn about things that would benefit them in case they are released.it is through learning that even frustrated inmates can free their minds and learn to deal with their situations.