Introduction
The government created the criminal justice system to punish undesirable conduct in individuals and compensate or reimburse the affected victims by ensuring the perpetrators are exiled from society. It utilizes law enforcement, the courts, and correctional facilities to achieve this goal (Myers). In recent years, there has been increased public awareness of injustices within the system and a call for reform. As a response, several changes have been instituted to increase police accountability to ensure equal justice before the law. However, numerous systematic issues still need to be addressed, particularly regarding drug possession, convict re-entry, the coronavirus epidemic, and gender biases.
Police Accountability
One of the factors that has influenced public demand for police reform is the rise of online social movements such as Black Lives Matter. The movement sparked a surge in conversation on how the police deal with the Black community. Research has found that they are more likely to be targeted for random police stops, frisking, and subsequent arrests. Certain interactions between police and Black civilians could even have lethal outcomes, such as the murder of George Floyd after a police officer kneeled on his neck and cut off his airway for almost nine minutes (Hill et al.). Since then, police have had to take accountability for their actions for harmful and foul misconduct. Many states now allow deadly force only at the last resort or prohibit it completely (Subramanian & Arzy). Officers must intervene if a colleague uses excessive force and report it to supervisors (Subramanian & Arzy). While these policies restrict police brutality, they do nothing to address the mindset that enables officers to commit such violent acts against minor offenders. Law enforcement needs to set up mandatory educational programs and nonviolent de-escalation training to improve the quality of police responses.
Unjust Punishment
One government initiative that has significantly influenced the incarceration of black males is the U.S. war on drugs. When it comes to drug possession, blacks have higher chances of being arrested compared to their white peers (Chase 15). In recent years, various states such as California and Washington D.C. have passed laws that legalize the use of recreational marijuana. This reform has the capability to improve future racial disparities in correctional facilities by reducing the number of black civilians unfairly targeted for suspected drug possession. However, while this reform could be beneficial for the future, it does nothing to combat past and current racial disparities in drug possession sentencing. If they have chosen to legalize it, states need to erase previous marijuana convictions and release prisoners incarcerated for marijuana offenses.
Racial Disparities
Since police accost black civilians at a higher frequency, they also make up the disproportionate majority of incarcerated inmates and usually receive longer sentences compared to their white peers. Black people account for 12% of the general adult population, but 33% of prisoners; whites make up for 64% of adults compared to 30% of prisoners (Gramlich). It is commonly acknowledged that criminal justice has a systemic bias against immigrants, blacks, and Latinx populations, and this permeates not only racial profiling by police but also prosecutors’ decision to pursue a longer sentence or even the death penalty. The criminal justice system needs to find ways to combat implicit or explicit racial biases at all its levels, including law enforcement, prosecution, and sentencing.
Re-entry programs
It should be noted that the biases of the criminal justice system continue to affect individuals even after they are released from prison. Formerly incarcerated individuals undergo many problems when it comes to employment and housing facilities. There has been a high rise in unemployment cases amongst people who have served time in incarceration facilities because of institutionalized prejudice against criminal records (Fuggett). Some states also restrict the right of former felons to vote and access key elements of civic life. As a result, two-thirds of released felons return to a life of crime and receive a new sentence (Fuggett). These difficulties have increased with the current coronavirus pandemic. Jurisdictions have instituted new reforms to provide smooth re-entry of former convicts into the community and helping them get jobs, proper housing, and transportation. However, it is also important that the government does not neglect former convicts when it assembles Covid relief packages to ensure access to healthcare.
Increasing Prison Space
Prison populations are also uniquely affected by the coronavirus epidemic due to overcrowding and lack of resources. The criminal justice system should focus on increasing prison space to prevent the spread of disease. Another proposed solution is releasing low-level offenders early to decrease the population. However, since these decisions are made haphazardly at the last moment, most released convicts are not provided with adequate support or even enrolled in Medicaid programs. Families are wary of accommodating them because of the epidemic, and it is even more difficult to find a job because of the coronavirus-induced economic crisis. Therefore, building more prisons with increased space is the optimal solution to control the epidemic and prevent inmates from being released without proper social support.
Gender Bias
Another issue that is rarely addressed is gender bias in the criminal justice system. On one hand, since the system is dominated by male chivalry, women are subjected to unfairly sympathetic treatment from the police and the court system. They are more likely to receive lenient punishment compared to their male counterparts for committing the same offenses. If the police arrest a woman, she is more likely to receive a warning instead of being charged (“UNODC Gender in the Criminal Justice System”). On the other hand, the system is less likely to believe women who are victims or witnesses of domestic violence and sexual assault. In addition to racial discrimination, the criminal justice system needs to tackle gender biases to ensure that the law is uniform for all citizens regardless of gender.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the American justice system has made a few steps in the right direction but still has a long way to go. Online social movements such as Black Lives Matter have increased the visibility of certain issues within the system, such as racial discrimination and brutality within law enforcement. However, there are also several problems related to the coronavirus epidemic, drug possession, gender bias, and prisoner re-entry into regular life. At a fundamental level, we need to reorient our mindset so that the purpose of justice is to prevent crime rather than simply punish offenders. For that, former prisoners should be treated as humans and provided adequate support to ensure they do not commit crimes again. The justice system can be the key to the development and improvement of society.
Works Cited
Chase, Robert. Caging Borders and Carceral States. The University of North Carolina Press, 2019.
Fuggett, Sarah. “Reentry Reforms Are More Critical Than Ever Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic.” Center for American Progress, 2020, Web.
Gramlich, John. “The Gap Between the Number of Blacks and Whites in Prison is Shrinking.” Pew Research Center, 2020, Web.
Hill, Evan, et al. “How George Floyd Was Killed in Police Custody (Published 2020).” The New York Times – Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos, Web.
Myers, Lisa. “The Three Pillars of the Criminal Justice System.” Northwest Career College, 2018, Web.
Subramanian, Ram, and Arzy, Leily. “State Policing Reforms Since George Floyd’s Murder.” Brennan Center for Justice, 2021, Web.
“UNODC gender in the criminal justice system.” United Nations: Office on Drugs and Crime, 2018, Web.