Project 2: Institution Analysis

Institution: Criminal Justice System

Focus: Systemic/Institutional Racism

Mehek Desai
Dr. Alvarado
Sociology 1
5 February 2017
History of Racism in the Criminal Justice
System
Discovery of America
Oppression of Native Americans
Slavery of Africans
Post-Founding of the USA
Discriminatory laws made against African-
Americans, ensuring enslavement
Oppression of Native Americans by the US
government
After slavery was abolished, segregation laws
were put in place
Current Issues: Racial Profiling
Racial Profiling
Deep-rooted problem in the US since as
early as the 18th Century
Surge in post-Civil Rights movement racial
profiling Black people are more likely than
whites to be arrested and targeted by cops
and become victims of police brutality
Source:
The Washington
Post
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics
Current Issues: Mass Incarceration
Mass Incarceration
5x increase in jail/prison population since
early 70s; during the prison boom, African-
Americans were about 7x more likely to be
incarcerated.
Inequalities of race and class produce high
rates of imprisonment of Black people with
little schooling.
Prison Industrial Complex has also led to an
increase in incarceration of the Black
population.
Viewpoints: Society
Increase in awareness of mass incarceration
and racial profiling leads people to condemn
such forms of systemic racism.
Ex: the Black Lives Matter movement calls
for an end to systemic racism.
Variance in ideology can mean variance in
opinion.
Ex: a racist person, such as a KKK member,
might not actively shun racial profiling and
mass incarceration of African Americans,
and might even encourage it.
Viewpoints: Institution
An institution is composed of various components.
The same can be said of the criminal justice
system in the US. These components have a
different niche in the institution, and might thus
view their roles differently.

Ex: While a policeman who might have

contributed to racial profiling (the issue at hand)
in a situation, many other components of the
system might act to bring about justice; the
prosecution in a trial might attempt to fix this
flaw in the institution.
Viewpoints: Sociological Perspectives
From a functionalist point of view, everyone has a
role to play in a society; not only do racial profiling
and mass incarceration interfere with that, they
upset the balance of the society.

These forms of systemic racism go hand-in-hand

with Marxs conflict theory, in that social order is
maintained by those who have access to certain
resources (such as privilege, education, social
connections, etc.), which puts those who dont have
such access in a disadvantageous position in
society.
Room for Improvement: Why?
As evident in the issues, institutional racism
is disadvantageous for those who are
targeted by the institution: the impoverished,
the under-educated, under-privileged. African
Americans, who are economically
disadvantaged, are therefore exploited by the
criminal justice system due to their
circumstances and the color of their skin. This
gives an undue benefit (and possibly a false
sense of supremacy) to the Whites.
Room for Improvement: How?
The best way to improve the system is
through education. Knowledge opens doors to
different modes of thinking, different
perspectives on a massive amount of
subjects, thereby instilling valuable lessons,
etc. Additionally, the access to knowledge
and increased awareness means that people
can demand change.
Works Cited
Black Lives Matter protest, Toronto, July 2015 / Jalani Morgan
Fredricksen, George M. "The Historical Origins and Development of Racism."PBS.
PBS, 2003. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.
Hurwitz, Jon. "And Justice for Some: Race, Crime, and Punishment in the US
Criminal Justice System." Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue
Canadienne De Science Politique 43.2, Diversity and Democratic Politics (2010):
457-79. JSTOR. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.
Rushing, Keith. "Dissecting the Long, Deep Roots of Racial Profiling in
America."The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 04
Feb. 2017.
Siddiqui, Samana. "A brief history of racism in the United States."A brief history
of racism in the United States | SoundVision.com. Sound Vision Foundation , n.d.
Web. 04 Feb. 2017.
Weich, Ronald H., and Carlos T. Angulo.Justice on trial: racial disparities in the
American criminal justice system. Collingdale, PA: Diane Pub., 2000. Print.
Weissmann, Jordan. "A Key Obamacare Enrollment Number Just Came Out, and
Its Ugly."Slate Magazine. The Slate Group, 03 Feb. 2017. Web. 04 Feb. 2017.
WESTERN, BRUCE, and CHRISTOPHER MULLER. Mass Incarceration,
Macrosociology, and the Poor.Annals of the American Academy of Political and
Social Science, vol. 647, 2013, pp. 166189. www.jstor.org/stable/23479100.