The Criminalization of Black and Latino Communities

This research examines how the black & Latino low income families are greatly affected by social barriers that interfere with their education, employment, and housing, as well as biased policing and racial profiling. The main focus of this research is on racism and socio-economic disadvantages. For example, higher rates of arrests, convictions, mass incarcerations, social disparities, and over-policing in low-income neighborhoods. According to Rios, Burkhardt, and Molina (2017), the criminal justice system often frames crime in ways that justify inequality and punishment instead of focusing on fairness and justice. We specifically discussed how the criminal justice system impacts the Black and Latino community. Our research will look at the past, the problems today, and how we can make things better for the future. From a sociological perspective, we learn that power is not shared equally in society. According to conflict theory, the people in power create rules that help them stay in control (OpenStax, 2016). In the criminal justice system, this can be seen in how Black and Latino people are treated unfairly. They are more likely to be stopped by police, arrested, and punished more harshly than others. This shows how power is used to keep certain groups down instead of helping everyone equally. There have been some changes, like Proposition 36, which helped reduce long prison sentences for people who committed nonviolent drug crimes, but problems like racial profiling (judging someone by the color of their skin) and biased policing are still happening. This matters because no one should be imprisoned just because of their race. To make things better, we need new rules that stop unfair treatment and make sure everyone is treated fairly in the legal system. If we don’t fix this, many communities will keep getting stuck in a cycle of poverty, being treated unfairly, and being watched too closely by the police, but if we make real changes, like fair laws, less punishment and more help, and more support for communities. We can build a justice system that works for everyone.