Essay --

With a topic as frequently discussed as racial discrimination within our criminal justice system, there are many opinions and theories as to why our correctional facilities are populated with the type of inmates that are housed within. Fortunately, it has not been proven true that our criminal justice system is run in a racially discriminating manner, rather debated and analyzed in many lights. Discrimination is prohibited, as a matter of constitutional and statutory law, in a wide range of settings (Banks, Eberhardt & Ross, 2006). Who is it that teaches us who to be afraid of within society? Who are the â€Å"bad guys† that we should avoid? How many times do our parents tell us during our childhood to avoid certain people and places? Examples being a stranger with a van, neighborhoods to avoid late at night and other precautions that shape the way we think and believe as we grow of the dangers within our society. These same precautions that we are accustomed to during our ch ildhood become embedded into our minds throughout adolescence and leading into adulthood. How do our parents determine who the â€Å"bad guys† are that we ought to avoid? If our own parents are raising us to distinguish between individuals, are they possibly raising us in a racially discriminating way? If that were the case, then who are we to criticize our criminal justice system for possibly doing the same? Criminologists generally agree that young people are more likely to commit crime than old people, men more than women, city dwellers more than country folk, the poor more than the rich, and the minorities more than whites (Cole, 1999). Logically, there is no one criteria of who can be immediately classified as the â€Å"type† of person that would commit crimes and the... ...e to look for and apprehend individuals. As Cole (1999) explained, police departments must be willing to disclose to the public the demographics of their enforcement tactics. If society is not aware of why the police is going after the individuals they are, society is left to assume their own reasons which more often than not leads to the thought of racial discrimination. Racial discrimination is not a just way to run a criminal justice system nor any other aspect of our free communities. As a country, the United States has come a long way and as a nation has given us the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Until there is concrete proof that the criminal justice system is being run on a racial basis, it would behoove us to trust those in charge and continue following the laws in place to make the best possible example for others within our society.