Construction of Crime in the United States Criminal Justice System
Constructed Aspects of America’s Criminal Justice System Used to Control and Exploit People with Less Power
One aspect of the CJ system constructed by a powerful group to exploit and control those with less power is the mandatory minimum sentencing on drug offenses. White leaders have been at the forefront of promoting racial biases and laws that exploit people from the minority population, resulting in preferences and adverse outcomes among the minority populations. President Richard Nixon instigated the beginning of the war against drugs in the 1970s, pursued by President Ronald Reagan, targeting black neighborhoods (Alexander and West, 2012). Similarly, former U.S. President Donald Trump signed “three executive orders promoted by the White House under the heading ‘Law and Order'” (Pitzer, 2017). Instead of protecting citizens and maintaining order, the laws were meant to study crimes, particularly those involving the black community. Thus, leaders and politicians from majority racial groups use their power to influence the criminal justice system into exploiting those from minority racial groups.
Majority groups have constructed the aspect of mandatory minimum sentencing on drugs to exploit and control their minority counterparts in several ways. The war on drugs and mandatory minimum sentencing on drug offenses has led to various legal discrimination practices, such as denied voting rights and the right to search and arrest. The law has been used to incarcerate blacks and Latinos who possess insignificant drugs, leading to more opportunities for being charged with a criminal offense that warrants mandatory minimum sentencing. Alexander and West (2012) state, “black men have been admitted to prison on drug charges at rates twenty to fifty times greater than white men” (p. 7). The black and Latino communities are at a higher risk of being charged with drug offenses because they are more prone to being stopped and searched on assumptions, leading to more arrests on minor charges, which may escalate to drug offenses. The disproportionate persecution and arrests of blacks demonstrate the extreme injustice of the system towards this population group. Because of this inequality, many people suffer whose families can break up and relatives do not see each other for many years.
A recent event showing the constructed aspect of the criminal justice system is the United States v. Johnson case in 2019. Johnson, a black man, was subjected to a warrantless stop and search of his property on assumptions of possessing drugs. The police found insignificant traces of drugs in the car, leading to his arrest and mandatory sentencing without sufficient evidence to convict him of dealing with drugs and possessing a firearm illegally. According to Sagalyn (1965), law enforcers “are told that it is a sign of civilization to be able to control aggressiveness so that it does not harm others” (p. 549). Since the defendant showed signs of aggressiveness, he raised suspicion, which warranted a stop and search regardless of not having a legal document issued to search his property. The majority group has ensured that they control election results by giving laws that exploit the black community, creating a cycle of imprisonment, poverty, and denial of fundamental rights as ex-felons.
What Kind of a Criminal Justice System Does America Deserve?
Americans deserve a criminal justice system that is equitable, fair, and just to all citizens regardless of their social status, gender, and race. Throughout history, the United States has been operating on two criminal justice systems, affecting people from minority group. The first system caters to the majority population, people with influence, and the wealthy, while the second system forms the poor and minority groups such as blacks, Hispanics, and Latinos. The poor experience wrongful convictions and harsh penalties in the system, while the wealthy and influential pull strings that allow them to commit crimes without consequence. The disparity in the justice system has led to the underrepresentation of minority groups in many social, economic, and religious sectors, leading to racial inequalities.
The criminal justice system upholds a public notion that the system is responsible for protecting society and every citizen’s constitutional rights regardless of race, age, gender, and socio-economic status. However, legislative and executive laws influenced by majority groups are constructed to prevail over the rights of people of color. Pitzer (2017) states, “The rhetoric of law and order has been used to intimidate black Americans, limit voting rights, and hobble the influence of minority religions” (p. 3). Americans have lived with a justice system that undermines, exploits, and oppresses the ordinary citizen while the majority groups benefit from the exploitation, gaining more influence.
When the war on drugs was initiated, most people believed in the government’s effort to eradicate drug trafficking and substance abuse in the United States. However, the move aimed to increase incarceration rates among poor black neighborhoods, creating racial disparities in imprisonment rates. “A few years after the drug war was declared, crack began to spread rapidly in the poor black neighborhoods of Los Angeles and later emerged in cities across the country” (Alexander and West, 2012. p. 5). The drug war benefitted the government by generating more funds to aid in the battle, while the black community was overwhelmed by mass incarceration for drug offenses. Further, the move garnered much public and legislative support, leading to illegal harassment and unfair convictions among black people.
Americans need a judicial system that affords all individuals substantial constitutional rights as citizens and victims of crime to uphold their responsibility of protecting and serving all individuals. In this regard, the judiciary must be reformed in such a way as to be able to administer fair justice and not be biased against the many. Its current position is disastrous for many innocent people. Fairness will obscure the systematic concerns over racial disparities in the prison populations, which mainly consist of people of color. According to Sagalyn (1965), “responsible law enforcement officials have also recognized the urgent need for more and better training in police-community relations” (p. 550). Since people commit crimes for various reasons, the policing department needs to understand people from their point of view and situation to find appropriate ways of handling them. Therefore, laws are fundamental in the United States if the legal system sets appropriate steps toward creating a just society.
Question 3: Entertainment Portrayal of One Race as The Offenders and The Others as Victims
An example of entertainment that portrays one race as the offender and the other as the victim is The Hate U Give, a film directed by George Tillman Jr. In the film, the producer portrays people from poor black neighborhoods as victims and white people as offenders. The film revolves around Starr Carter, a black girl whose childhood is shattered by the brutality of a white law enforcement officer (Tillman, 2018). It demonstrates how the white community disregards the lives of people of color and can subject them to cruelties regardless of age. The entertainment show is socially responsible since it highlights issues that ethically affect society.
Crime and the Media
Crimes interest people because they contain elements of mystery that people are curious about. Crime is a universal topic that people use to better understand breaking the law (Case, 2013). Thus, the media is used to create exciting and sensational stories attracting viewers. They capitalize on scenes of violence because of people’s curiosity for it. An example is the George Floyds murder in 2020 which sparked universal interest in racism and crime (Silverstein, 2021). The media took the opportunity to advertise international brands and sensitize the public on racist practices that have impacted society. The effects of depicting crime in the media can affect how people perceive violence. If the news often talks about the war, then the audience can more easily accept the brutality over time.
Media Manipulation of Crime
The media manipulates crime narratives by framing stories to promote the desired agenda. Offensive images are damaging and can affect criminal justice by manipulating public opinion. An example is BBC News on Ukraine which shows how a Russian missile hit Ukraine, leading to destruction, death, and injuries among Ukrainians (BBC News, 2023). The images depicted emotional scenes that can evoke empathy and anger toward Russia as an adversary, which gives the republic a bad public reputation.
The Intersection Between Crime, Media, Public Opinion, and Politics
Media influence, public opinion, and politics can escalate or decline crimes. An example of a policy made through media coverage of crimes is the changes in policing and racial justice resulting from media coverage of the Black Lives Matter movement (“Black Lives Matter”, 2020). Likewise, crime media can be used for political interests, affecting public opinion. For example, there were cases when the police exceeded their powers, and people took to the streets with the slogan “Defund the Police” to influence the situation. However, some politicians began to use the media to present the protesters as radical groups and deprive them of support (Cobbina-Dungy and Jones-Brown, 2023). This made the movement less significant as a result, as it was marginalized.
Media Stereotyping in Film and its Effects on Society
Stereotyping affects societal expectations of the group behaviour when they make contact and expect the individual to act as portrayed in the films. For instance, Whites are portrayed as heartless and more privileged than black people in “The Hate U Give” (Tillman, 2018). The concept has led to prejudice and negative perceptions regarding all white people as manipulative and overprivileged regardless of their characteristics. People can distance themselves from stereotyping by practicing empathy.
Race and Social Class in Media
Race is universal, and people are attracted to their kin more than social identity. For instance, the Black Lives Matter media coverage affected people worldwide, where blacks from other regions joined the movement, creating racial solidarity (McDonough School of Business, 2020). Non-whites are portrayed as self-absorbed individuals without remorse and empathy for humanity. Their portrayal has not changed in recent films, while the description of people of colour is changing from victims to influential individuals.
Mythologies, Images, and Realties of Street Crime
Many myths surround the concept of street crimes, particularly drug dealing. People think drug dealers hail from minority groups such as Blacks, Hispanics, and Latinos. The narrative and mythologies are pushed forward by media depictions of drug crimes in films and television shows. Case (2013) argues that “the media constructs and reinforces a mythology about crime, especially as it pertains to the race and social class of the criminal” (pg. 242). People who push these mythologies belong to the majority groups who want to disassociate from illegal activity. The mythology aims at demonstrating that people of color are more involved in criminal activities than whites, making them bad people in a fair society. Further, the media and organizations pushing for the narratives aim at creating “fear and distrust of minorities, especially males, that is not restricted to the white population” (Case, 2013. pg. 242). Thus, they can have the upper hand with the criminal justice system while their colored counterparts face suspicion and wrong convictions regarding drug dealing.
The images depicting drug crimes often involve people of color with distinct dressings and physical features. According to Harris et al. (2020), President Trump’s “prevailing narrative is that Latinx are drug dealers, gang members and lawbreakers” with typical features of being “black” with “short hair, dark skin, tattoos, baggy clothing” (p. 132). The images portray people of color as drug dealers and their white counterparts as victims, influencing decision-making in the justice system. In media portrayals, “the offender is more often non-white, and the victim is more often white, regardless of the parties’ situations and interactions” (Case, 2013. p. 244). Therefore, myths and images of drug crimes have painted people of color as the primary culprits of drug dealing, making Whites more socially responsible and crime-free.
Despite the mythologies and images, the reality is different about people in drug crimes. White is equally or more involved in drug crimes than people of color. According to Alexander and West (2012), whites are likelier to engage in crime and drugs than people of color. Despite media depictions, the false assumptions may mislead society, creating fear and discrimination between races. Assuming that everyone who fits the media description of a drug dealer can lead to misinformation and wrongful convictions, which affects the fairness of the criminal justice system. Thus, it is significant to understand the realities and mythologies to ensure all criminals are contained while protecting the innocent.
There are certain common stereotypes and established public opinions about people of every race. In this way, the public can form a false opinion for themselves about crime and how a higher rating of violations of the law is formed. More important is how the law enforcement system reacts to it. Justice should be one of the main principles that must be observed in order to establish the rule of law. Creating myths about which people are prone to crime and which are not can lead to disastrous consequences that will turn into racism and hatred.
References
Alexander, M., & West, C. (2012). The new Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness. New York: The New Press.
BBC News. (2023). Ukraine War: Crimea oil tank set ablaze by reported drone strike. [Video file]. Web.
Case, P. (2013). Questioning assumptions about race, social class and crime portrayal: An analysis of ten years of law and order. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 2, 240-256. Web.
Cobbina-Dungy, J. E., & Jones-Brown, D. (2023). Too much policing: Why calls are made to defund the police. Punishment & society, 25(1), 3-20. Web.
Harris, K., Armenta, A. D., Reyna, C., & Zarate, M. A. (2020). Latinx stereotypes: Myths and realities in the twenty-first century. In Nadler, T. and Voyles, C. Stereotypes: The incidence and impacts of bias (128-144). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, an Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.
McDonough School of Business. (2020). Black lives matter: From protests to lasting change – business for impact. Georgetown University. Web.
Pitzer, A. (2017). The bitter history of law and order in America. Web.
Sagalyn, A. (1965). Preservation of law and order: A fundamental function of government. Notre Dame Law Review. Web.
Silverstein, J. (2021). The global impact of George Floyd: How Black Lives Matter protests shaped movements around the world. Web.
Tillman, G. (2018). The hate U give. Twentieth Century fox. Web.
United States v. Johnson, No. 17-10252 (9th Cir. 2019). Justia US law (United States Court of Appeals for The Ninth Circuit 2019). Web.