|
Week 12 and 13 Questions Minority Over Representation Return to Week 12 and 13 Assignments 1) Describe racial profiling as used by police officers. In brief, law enforcement officers, or agencies,
have determined what they believe to be the profile of an offender.
They use this profile to stop people who they believe match the
profile. For example if the officer or the agency believes that
African-Americans who are aged 19 to 24 (who are wearing gang
colors) transport or sell illegal drugs, the officers will stop
people who are African-American fitting that profile.
2) Are African Americans over represented in the justice system?
The brief answer is yes. They are over represented in all areas of the criminal justice system, except for lower level sentencing options where they are under represented in some areas or communities. The African-American population is approximately 12% of the population in the US and is between one quarter and one half of the prison population, by example. The causes are many and possible causes are explored in this section. 
|
