Criminal Justice Inequalities

3. Discuss some of the inequalities that exist within our criminal justice system. Deviance is defined by breaking social norms, which includes minor offenses, such as not swearing in front of children, and more serious deviance, like murder. Deviance that is perceive as dangerous to social structure is labeled a “crime” and is punished by societies. Each society defines deviance differently based on what their values are. Values are culturally defined standards that people use to decide what is good and bad which serve as guidelines for members of society. Ultimately, what and who a society defines as deviant is reflective of the beliefs of those in power within a society. Our criminal justice system was created to protect citizens against
Race is a socially constructed category of people based on the physical traits of this group. Ethnicity is based on a shared cultural heritage. Caucasian Americans typically have more prestigious jobs than African Americans and are more educated. Financially, Caucasian American families make an average 58 percent more than African American families. This is due to many factors. Historically, African Americans were brought to America by force and had no capital or family support when they got to America. If we compare this to Chinese American, a “model minority”, they immigrated to America of their own free will, often bringing with them skilled trades, money, and families. After slavery was abolished, many laws were enacted to keep African Americans suppressed socially, known as Jim Crow laws and were abolished only about 40 years ago. Furthermore, as previously discussed, African Americans are disproportionately arrested and convicted, which leads to an increase in single parent households. These and many more factors are responsible for the disparities of social class among white and black
Gender is the cultural values tied to how males and females should behave. Sex is based on ones biological makeup. In our society, men generally have more power and resources than women, which creates inequality. If we look back historically, this is derived from the patriarchal nature of our society. It used to be the norm that men would work to earn a living and women would be in charge of running the household. Though this is shifting, our society’s gender roles are still shaped by these ideas. Gender roles are the attitudes and activities associated with each sex. For example, women are still more frequently the primary caregivers of children and generally are responsible for more of the “domestic” housework, such as cleaning and cooking. Because of this, women are more likely to have custody over children after a couple splits. Men typically are also paid more than women on average. These two factors combined result in women a greater rate of poverty in women than