CRM 322 Lecture Notes - Racial Profiling, Sexual Orientation, Public Knowledge
Document Summary
Occurs when a discretionary decision maker treats a group or individual differently from others for no justifiable reason. Sexual orientation, race, national origin, economic status etc When one has discretion, prejudices and perceptions of groups can influence their decision making. If these views include prejudicial attitudes toward groups, and such prejudices affect decisions, those groups may not receive the same protections as other citizens. This becomes even more of a problem when the police occupational culture reinforces prejudicial views of groups of citizens. The system of laws and punishment, the courts that administer the laws and the corrections systems that makes decisions regarding the liberties of those convicted all have been described as agencies that systematically discriminate against minority groups. Studies show that civil rights complaints against police are correlated to the percentage of minorities in the population. Some studies report that poorer african americans, hispanics and pocs have more negative interactions with police.
