Introduction

The jail population in the united state has been increasing every year. However, the rate at which the blacks are incarcerated as compared to their white counterparts is worrying. Despite the blacks being the minority among the American population, they form 60% of all the inmates in the country. If this trend continues, then it is clear that one in every fifteen blacks will be in prison as compared to one in every 106 white Americans (Blumstein, 2009). The topic becomes important because the United States makes about 5% of the world’s population and holds up to 25% of the world prisoners.  With this in mind, it is possible to conclude that the blacks form the largest part of the population living behind the bars in the world.

The prevalence of racial disparity in the American justice system is real. The trend confirms that black Americans are at higher risk of being arrested and convicted as compared to their white counterparts. In fact, it is believed that one in every three black males expects to land in jail in his lifetime. It is also worth noting that the prevalence of this segregation exists across both genders. Although male blacks constitute the majority of prisoners, the white females seem to be more favored by the justice system as compared to their black counterparts.  It will, therefore, be prudent to understand the underlying factors that contribute to the over-representation of the black Americans in the Americans judicial system.

Literature review

There have been major studies regarding the composition of the jail population in the United States over the years. The jail population has increased from 330,000 in 1972 to the recent population of over 2.2 million.  This rate is much higher as compared to other countries such as Canada, Russia, France, and Japan just to mention a few (Alexander & West, 2012). The increase in jail population coincides with the increase of the black men living behind bars in the United States. Most of the black inmates are from the poor inner cities and rural communities. As a result of the over-representation of the black men in the American judicial system, many studies have tried to explain the term racial disparity in the prison population (Lyons, Lurigio, Roque & Rodriguez, 2012). Some studies have defined racial disparity as the higher proportion of the population in prisons as compared to the general population. For instance, the blacks in America forms only 13% of the whole populations in America while the white are 67%. In contrast, the blacks comprise almost 60% of the prison population.

Although the disparity exists in all American states, some states have even worse cases of racial disparities in the judicial system. For instance, in thirteen states and federal systems, the black population serving life sentence is over 60 per cent. Louisiana and Georgia, for example, has 73.3 and 73.9 respectively of the blacks serving life sentences. Overall, the federal system has 71.3% of the prisoners serving life imprisonment as blacks.  From previous studies, the increase of incarceration cases among the blacks has been as a result of disparate treatment of the blacks at every stage of the criminal justice system. There are racial concerns in stops and searches, arrests, prosecutions, taking plea and sentencing. The sentencing policies in the American judicial system fail to cover the interests of the black men adequately. It has been noted that black defendants face substantially severe charges as compared to their white counterparts.

The prevalence of the racial disparities in cases of incarceration is as a result of combined societal factors such as education, economics, policing decisions, drug laws, discrimination and treatment interventions. In some instances, the black youths are exposed juvenile justice system and wreck havoc in their underprivileged communities (Blumstein, 2009). Black teenagers are exposed to jail life at tender ages thus introducing them to career criminals. As a result, the number of black men behind bars will always be on the rise. It has been concluded that disparities in sentencing are evident especially among the blacks is predetermined before adjudication.

Other studies have concluded that black males have been disproportionately detained in juvenile and other correctional facilities in the United States. The study asserts that black men are incarcerated at nearly six times as compared to the whites. With this trend, the study claims that it will be easy for a black man to serve in prison than serving in the military or complete a degree program at the University. The federal systems have invested more in the incarceration of the blacks than it has invested in the promotion of higher education. As a result, the number of black males arrested between 1986 and 1991 increased to 78% while the arrests of young whites during the same period declined to 34 per cent (Lyons, Lurigio, Roque & Rodriguez, 2012). After arrests, racial disparities persist throughout the judicial system since most of the blacks will be detained even prior adjudication.

It is also prudent noting that most of the incarceration cases are not related to high criminal offenses. However, most of the blacks in prison are related to drug cases. The war on drugs initiative introduced in 1986 was the major contribution to the black incarceration in the American prisons. Most of the black males are arrested during the major crackdowns intended to fight drug and substance abuse in the country (Alexander & West, 2012). The federal system had harsh treatment for drug-related offenses where the offenders of such crimes would be subjected to five-year jail term. As a result, the number of black Americans in the prisons increased. The cases are even more prevalent in low-end estates and inner cities where the blacks (Walker, Spohn & DeLone, 2012).

Theoretical framework

This research work will involve intensive investigation to unearth the underlying factors that bring about increased cases of incarceration by the blacks. The research will involve the use of different variables used in the research process. There are so many cases of police stops and searches among the blacks as compared to the whites. In the research, the behaviors of the individuals, police officers and those officers in the judicial system have been significant in the racial profiling in the judicial system (Alexander & West, 2012). It will be the obligation of his research process to identify reasons why police would stop and search more blacks as compared to the whites. Why some police exhibits more disproportionate towards the blacks as compared to others. Identifying the states that racial segregation is higher as compared to others and also determines the role skin color in influencing major decisions.

Hypotheses

The objective of this research is to understand the prevalence and causes of racial disparity in the United States judicial systems.  It is prudent noting that the number of black population in the prison is alarming, and it is imperative understanding the underlying factors that bring about such cases. Could the color of the skin be the reason behind the ever increasing incarceration cases among the blacks? The blacks have been targeted and criminalized by the judicial system in the United States for a long time (Blumstein, 2009). Throughout the research process, we will understand why racial profiling at the judicial system has prevailed over the years.

The process will also involve studying the history of crime in the United States and whether or not racial profiling has been the major cause of the increased incarceration among the blacks. The research will explain the racial disparities in the judicial system through conducting a qualitative research. It is worth asking ourselves the question that whether or not the black Americans commit more crimes than any other races or racial profiling is the reason behind the ever increasing number of blacks convicted in prisons. My hypothesis is that I will prove that racial discrimination in the criminal justice has brought about the increased cases of incarceration among the blacks as compared to the whites.

Methods

Previous studies have indicated conflicting opinions towards the causes of high incarceration among the blacks as compared to the white counterparts. For the purpose of this research, it will be essential to develop a questionnaire that will help in the collection of quantitative data. A questionnaire will be administered to several black defendants in most correctional and rehabilitation centers across the states. The questionnaires will be distributed to all the major prisons of the judicial system. This questionnaire will consist of several questions designed to capture essential data for identifying correlations between blacks and the judicial system in the United States.

These questionnaires will seek to understand the detainee’s personal demographics. Essential information regarding the first arrest experience, family background, drug and control use, criminal history and social, economic status of the defendants will be addressed by the questionnaire. The sample of the detainees to be involved in the filing of questionnaires will be random. This will enable the research process to be objective and gather as much information as possible (Blumstein, 2009).  A total of 200 respondents will be required to fill the questionnaire across the major prisons and correctional facilities in the juvenile system.

The collection of data will be carried out by a team of ten qualified professionals in the field of research. I will also be actively involved in data collection to ensure that we each to as many respondents as possible and thus the reliability and the validity of the information are not compromised. The team will also comprise of several translators to ensure that language barrier does not hamper the effectiveness of the research process. It will also be essential to engage prison officers who will offer guidance to the team on when and how to conduct the research in the prisons. I will have to convince the management of these facilities that the intention of the research is only for educational purpose. The data collected during the research process will strictly be confidential and total participation will be required of both the research team and the inmates (Walker, Spohn & DeLone, 2012). The participation of the defendants will be voluntary, and the researchers are not expected to force anyone to participate in the research process. Gathering information from willing respondents will lead to effective and productive research process.

This methodology will be advantageous in several aspects. For instance, the research process will be able to gather information from a large population of voluntary defendants. It is also worth noting that the research method ensures that there is equal participation of inmates across all ages, gender, educational levels and different social class. The presence of translators in the research process will also add to the strengths of the research methods. This is because the issue of language barrier will be adequately addressed by the translators. It will, however, be prudent noting that some of the participants in the research process may be reluctant in providing some information that is instrumental to the research process. Information regarding household income and other sensitive family matters would prove difficult for the detainees to release.  Some of the inmates have low literacy levels and thus making it difficult for the researchers to get desired information.

Sample

The research process will be concerned with unearthing the causation resulting from the racial profiling in the judicial system. In the process, we will take samples from different prisons and correction centers in the country. Choice of the sample will be random, and only voluntary respondents will be allowed to participate in the research process. It is the hope of the research team that all the essential information will be collected within the stipulated time and budget that are also essential considerations in the research process (‘No equal justice: race and class in the American criminal justice system’, 1999). The researchers will direct the questions from the questionnaires to the respondents and take notes from the responses. Translators will be essential in bridging language barrier that is likely to occur during the research process. It is the intention of the research to determine the different stages at which the profiling is at its peak. Comprehensive research questions will be administered to the selected sample to ensure that the research objectives are adequately addressed.

After collecting essential information from the sample size, the researchers will analyze the information with use of tables and charts. The use of tables and charts will make it easy to interpret the data and better understand the causal relationships involved in racial profiling in the judicial system (Walker, Spohn & DeLone, 2012). Calculation of means, media and other averages will also help in interpretations of essential information such as household income and ages at which defendants experience their first arrests.

Results

After the survey, a total of 200 detainees were involved in the research process. The interviewed blacks were 115, 48 Hispanics and 37 whites.  From this observation, it is clear that the number of blacks in the judicial system is significantly high as compared with other Americans. From the survey, the age differences were as follows; between 14 to 15 years were 13 detainees, 16-17 years old were 80, between 18-24 were 96 while those over 24 years were only 11. Additionally, the research also revealed that the highest level of education achieved by the convicts for the first arrest was as follows; 2% elementary school, 36% middle school, 57% high school and the rest 5% had at least achieved post high school education. The data also revealed most of the detainees with post high school education were the whites while most of the blacks and Hispanics had only acquired high school education. It is also worth noting that the data also indicates that most of the detainees had been arrested for more than three times and more so for the blacks.

The survey also indicated different ages upon which the detainees experienced their first arrests. From the data, the results were as follows; 7% experienced their first arrest at the age of 12 years, 20% of the detainees experienced their first arrest between 12-13 years, 30% of the inmates 14-15, 27% 16-17 years old while the remaining 16 percent experienced their first arrest after celebrating their eighteenth birthday. Further analysis of the results indicated that most of the defendants arrested below the age of twelve years were the blacks and Hispanics as opposed to the whites. This is a clear indication that black men are subjected to the federal judicial system at an early age as compared to their white counterparts (‘No equal justice: race and class in the American criminal justice system’, 1999). The interview also concluded that most of the inmates in American prisons were unemployed. The unemployment rate among the blacks is quite high, and this indicates that unemployment rate correlated to the crime rate. The data also confirms that most of the detainees were from underprivileged communities living in inner cities and low-end states.

From the study, it is wise noting that most of the detainees (64%) experiencing their first arrest resided with their mothers as heads of households. 4% of the detainees resides with their fathers while 18% of the detainees resides with both parents. The rest of the inmates resided with their grandparents and other family members. This indicates that the inmates involved in crime are those that lack parental guidance from both parents. The blacks also claimed that they had been victims of sexual and verbal abuse before the first arrests. This is contrary to their white counterparts who had never experienced such kind of mistreatment in their homes. In essence, the research indicates that the blacks experienced abuse in their homes as compared to the whites.

The results of the survey also indicated that the arrests were related to drug and substance abuse. More than 50% of the sample population indicated that they were either in alcoholism or drug abuse at the time of their first arrest. Cocaine, alcohol, and marijuana are the most abused substances in the United States and the blacks are the people most involved in drug abuse. It is, however, imperative noting that some of the detainees were not involved in drug and substance abuse but also found their way in the prisons. Most of the defendants interviewed in the research process identified money as the main reason that brought about their first arrest. Others cited peer pressure and thrill as other reasons that resulted in their first arrests. The blacks, for instance, were arrested due to money related offenses most related to drug trafficking and peddling in the states.

Results of the survey also indicated that most of the first-time offenders were charged with felonies and non-violent felonies.  The blacks, for instance, were indicated that most of them were charged with felonies while only a few failed to give a response. Apart from the Hispanics and the blacks, the whites did not relate their convictions to racial profiling. Most of the black respondents also indicate that they never got a bond out of jail and were trialed in court (‘No equal justice: race and class in the American criminal justice system’, 1999). The number of dismissed cases among the blacks was also slightly lower as compared to their white counterparts. This survey also indicates that different people had different opinions on the level of satisfaction derived from the legal representation.  It is worth noting that more than 50% of the blacks from the sample population were not satisfied with legal representation. The whites and the Hispanics have a certain level of satisfaction derived from the legal representation.

Discussion

From the research findings, it is evident that poverty, education, area of residence and family structure are some of the contributors that lead the majority of people in jail. In most cases, the blacks residing in low-end states and inner cities such as Liberty City, Opa-Locka, and Overtown are some of the states with high crime rates and contribute more to the prison population in the country. This explains the high incarceration rate among the blacks as compared to the white (Monell, 2013). Most blacks reside in these low-end cities where punitive police enforcement is the order of the day thus leading the majority of them behind bars. Although the high level of policing is intended to enhance safety among the citizens, it has also resulted in the blacks being disproportionately arrested and incarcerated.

It is worth noting that the level of household income also contributes significantly to the number of blacks in the criminal and judicial system. The population living in low-income neighborhoods accounts for most of the people in the prisons. The financial constraints of these detainees take its way to the corridors of justice since most of them fail to finance the much needed legal representation.  Though there is public defense system, it is always overburdened and in most cases leads to less satisfaction to the defendants. From the survey, the blacks’ response was that they were not satisfied with the legal representation offered by the public defenders.

It is also worth noting that black youths living with incarcerated parents are more likely to engage in defiant behaviors likely to land them in jail. It is evident that people brought up by parents who spent time behind bars have high chances of also getting to jail. The issues of drugs and poverty should be adequately addressed to reduce cases of incarceration among the blacks. The federal government will also be required to put in place legislations that will promote equality in the judicial system. It is also the obligation of the government to provide equal employment opportunities for all the citizens including the blacks. From the survey, it is evident that most of the people behind bars are as a result of money issues (Monell, 2013). People with reasonable income do not engage in criminal activities. It will also be wise for the state to address other cases of racial discrimination experienced in the country.

References

Alexander, M., & West, C. (2012). The new Jim Crow. New York, N.Y.: New Press.

Blumstein, A. (2009). Race and the Criminal Justice System. Race Soc Probl, 1(4), 183-186. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12552-009-9022-2

Lyons, T., Lurigio, A., Roque, L., & Rodriguez, P. (2012). Racial Disproportionality in the Criminal Justice System for Drug Offenses: A State Legislative Response to the Problem. Race And Justice, 3(1), 83-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2153368712468861

Monell, J. (2013). Book Review: Hispanics in the U.S. criminal justice system: The new American demography. Race And Justice, 3(4), 358-361. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2153368713505623

No equal justice: race and class in the American criminal justice system. (1999). Choice Reviews Online, 37(01), 37-0616-37-0616. http://dx.doi.org/10.5860/choice.37-0616

Rocque, M. (2011). Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System and Perceptions of Legitimacy: A Theoretical Linkage. Race And Justice, 1(3), 292-315. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2153368711409758

Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (2012). The Color of justice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

 
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