Racial Bias in Law Enforcement – What It Means for You
When considering the criminal justice system it is not hard to find information and statistics to support the idea that the system has unfairly discriminated against individuals of color. Hispanics and blacks are behind bars at rates that are disproportionate to whites. In addition, inner city communities that are populated by mostly African-Americans are over policed and statistically black people are more likely to be stopped by police and frisked. In addition, people of color often receive harsher punishments than white people who have committed the same crimes.
Research Shows Reason for Alarm
Pew Research Center has recently conducted a survey called “Behind the Badge.” This research included views from 8000 law enforcement agents. According to the research the national issues regarding racial bias and law enforcement are currently at a crisis point in the United States.
Considering the recently reported deaths of black Americans during their encounters with police, this tension is not all that surprising. While police killing black people has been going on for many years, it is only in recent years through the use of technology that more attention has been given to these issues. This higher amount of attention has led to backlash in the form of protests across the country.
General Public Opinion and Police Opinion are at Odds
Through the research provided it was found that 68 percent of police officers think the protests they are seeing are motivated by anti-police bias. Only 10 percent of the officers surveyed think that the protests are motivated by a desire to hold them accountable for the actions that they take.
Perhaps more telling is the fact that 75 percent of police personnel believe that the fatal encounters that are prompting demonstrations are isolated incidents and that they are not part of a more deeply rooted issue.
On the other hand, 60 percent of the general population think that the fatal encounters that are being protested are part of a larger and deeply rooted issue. A quality Criminal Lawyer Miami has to offer understands these statistics and knows that there is a problem with the way that people of color are treated throughout the justice system.
What Does Racial Bias Mean for You?
If you are a person of color and have been charged with a crime it is important to hire a Criminal Lawyer Miami has to offer to help. The statistics for people of color convicted of a crime do not inspire trust and even though there are some people who do not see a deeply rooted issue when it comes to the disproportionate numbers of people of color behind bars compared to whites, the facts do not lie regarding whether this is happening in America.
Stroleny Law: Criminal Defense Attorney handles a variety of criminal law cases, so call now if you have any questions.
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