Panel I: Racial Differences vs The Criminal Justice System: Majority Class Members' Perceptions of Minority Class Members as Potential Offenders

Abstract

Racial bias, and perception of individuals who are "different" in a negative light, became widely accepted as norm in modern culture; hence, is currently ingrained in our fabric through learned social behavior. Although these "differences," include discriminations by gender and class, it is most damaging in the form of discrimination by racial background. In a social context where one finds bias, discrimination, and prejudice, one also finds disparity within the criminal justice system. In its most insidious version, it plays out at whites harboring negative perception against blacks. This gives rise to negative social consequences among members of the minority. Sadly, these consequences can be self-fulfilling prophecies. They include minority members: 1) who experience unequal income status, 2) being viewed as being less reliable, 3) who are inattentive to their social responsibilities, and 4) viewing them as persons who are likely to (particularly blacks) engage in violent behavior and criminal activity. This paper examines the factors that fuel those negative consequences, and perpetuate them. We then propose measures that will ameliorate these conditions.