Criminal Justice System Analysis

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The Criminal Justice System is made of three main components; police, corrections, and the courts, which play a role in maintaining a proper and functional system. These three core functions have their own limitations and use of discretion. At times discrimination occurs within each individual function. Policing is law enforcement, which is the backbone and gatekeepers to The Criminal Justice System. This is where discretion is used the most. Indeed, discrimination can start with policing, and that is what stands out to the eye of the public. To apprehend the community, we must be aware of how minorities, policing, and society interact. It is important to realize what the community thinks and feels to be able to make society a preferable place …show more content…
Society has to understand that a function of law enforcement is to ensure that all citizens comply with the law. The police have to find a way to make sure that society is motivated and encourage people to cooperate voluntarily with the police (Weitzer and Brunson, 2009). Most likely people will help the police when they help the police when they feel as if they are receiving a respectful and fair treatment. “Legitimacy is a judgment people make about the status of an organization itself as a legitimate authority and is an internalized belief that authority does their job well and therefore is entitled to be obeyed”, Murphy and Cherney(2012). Therefore; if minorities feel they can trust they will be more likely to comply with the law. However research shows that minorities are more likely to say they receive unfair treatment, and show less trust with legal authorities. “The criminological literature reveals that black people hold the most negative views of legal authorities”,(e.g. Skogan 2005; Bowling et al.,2003). African Americans “blacks” are targeted more in the community; they face high discrimination with The Criminal Justice System. It is understandable that they would have a negative impact amongst authority …show more content…
The findings within their research stated, while small-scale, suggest that some groups will not cooperate with institutions if they question the legitimacy of the laws they enforce. Such a finding, however, does not imply that police need to utilize harsh and insensitive methods to achieve cooperation when dealing with ethnic minorities who question our underlying system of laws and rules. Indeed, they came up with the idea that police needed to examine whether laws and policies are being used against minority groups in a sense that disengagement and undermines the law’s legitimacy. Society knows that the police cannot directly shape policy or laws. “However, we suggest that policing approaches that not only aim to treat citizens more politely and fairly, but also acknowledge potential biases in the law by providing different community groups with an opportunity to shape decision making and the style of policing that they desire in their own neighborhoods may be a way that police can more effectively shape minorities’ willingness to engage with the police and help them combat crime in their communities” (Murphy and Cherney, 2012).
Minorities Representation Does race matter? Yes, race matters and does a major impact on community policing, how police do their job and the interaction with minorities.

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