Defining Racism and the Difficulties of Proving Discrimination

Essay by Anonymous UserCollege, UndergraduateA+, November 1996

download word file, 3 pages 3.9

Downloaded 292 times

Defining Racism and the Difficulties of Proving Discrimination

Our group is taking the position that the perception of the criminal justice system as being racist is a myth. Since this assertion can be interpreted in many ways, it is necessary to specify what it means and does not mean.

First, we are going to explain that there is racial prejudice and discrimination within the criminal justice system, in that there are individuals, both white and minorities, who make decisions, at least in part, on the basis of race. We do not believe that the system is characterized by prejudice and discrimination against minorities 'systematic.' Individual cases appear to reflect racial prejudice and discrimination by the offender, the victim, the police, the prosecutor, the judge, or prison and parole officials. But conceding individual cases of bias is far different from conceding pervasive racial discrimination.

There are studies that argue that the evidence at most decision points fail to show any overall racial effect, in that the percentage outcomes for minorities and whites are not very different.

There is evidence, however, that some individual decision makers (for example, police officers, judges) are more likely to give 'breaks' to whites than to minorities. it appears, however, that there is an equal tendency for other individual decision makers to favor minorities over whites. This 'canceling out effect' results in studies that find no overall racial effect. It is important to note that though racial discrimination has occurred numerous individual cases against minorities and whites, there is no systematic bias against minorities.

Second, if one defines racism as a conscious attitude or conscious behavior by no evidence that most individuals in the system make decisions on the basis of race. In short, the definition of racism often predetermines the answer to the question 'is...