Criminal Law
Introduction
The concept ‘petit apartheid’ refers to the “everyday insults, slights rough or unnecessary questions, stops and searches of blacks, and brutal treatments”. It posits that this treatment on the black people has a cumulative impact on every stage of proceedings in criminal justice. Petit apartheid includes daily casual, or hidden interactions between the minorities and the police such as stop and search law enforcement practices which may result or may not result in an incarceration or a criminal justice proceeding (Zatz &Mann,1998).
This concept has been explored theoretically and in terms of the activities which might fall within the definitional scope. The focus is attitudinal factors that may influence policing or other decisions within the system, which are culturally biased actions and beliefs stretching to rough treatment, insults, lack of civility facing black suspects, the objectivity and quality of judicial instructions to a jury when an African American is being tried and other discretionary deeds within the system.
Access to the criminal justice system is the ability to frame or shape it, both in its understanding and meaning. While the aspects which usually determine the power to shape justice, are not static, in general, access to justice has been held by individuals the whites, males, and religious authorities. In administering justice, these individual have traditionally used their ability to strengthen their dominant position and hamper the ability of powerless individuals to further their interests. It is this advantageous position which allows the prevailing individuals to maintain a system of inequality fortified by the law, which protects their prosperity while forcing the less fortunate to appeal to problematic approaches to enhance their social status resulting from lack of access. This is evidenced in the case of petit apartheid where there is racial discrimination in the delivery of criminal justice amongst the white and the African Americans.
Manifestation of petit apartheid
In considering racial discrimination within the criminal justice system, various decision-making points have been isolated and examined including police interaction and arrest, bail, conviction, jury selection, and sentencing.
Police officers are trained to seek out criminal in the society, leading them to minority neighbourhoods. However, the minorities tend to be less affluent resulting in a high density of population. This high population density causes more gatherings of individuals, low supervision of young ones, and a consistent struggle for possession of limited public space.
The problem, which arises as a consequence of these practices, is that police fall a prey to rational colour discrimination. Since they tend to arrest more blacks being the minorities, for drug abuse they seem to believe that they are using drugs often. However, when they enter white areas with the intention of offering protection and enter black areas with the intention of making an arrest what is expected?
For most offences, which have been charged, the judges and prosecutors have a broad discretion on whether the defendant is eligible for a bond release. The courts may use factors such as the dangers posed to the society and the possibility of fleeing, in making such decisions.
Research studies show that race is not a basis of bail applications once the danger posed and prior trial appearance history has been taken care. However, race has an influence on the decision to grant bail. Alboneti (1997) reveals that white defendants with similar background, income and education as their black counterparts were more likely to be granted a bail release. However he also states that the overall danger posed and possibility of fleeing is greater for the white defendants. This research study states that it is impossible to assure that judges will stop considering race in determining bail applications.
Is there any trace racial prejudice in jury selection procedure? Historically, racial discrimination in jury selection procedure has been entrenched by laws. That can be witnessed in Strauder v. West Virginia, where the court pins down the statute limiting the jury service to white men. Since mid-1930s, the Supreme Court has made rulings which have made it impossible to exercise racial discrimination in the selection process. Defence lawyers and prosecutors have been enabled to apply peremptory challenges to excuse potential jurors without giving an explanation or account to the court. Therefore, It is still practical to apply peremptory challenges in exercising racial discrimination.
In the aggregate, black individuals tend to be convicted less than the white individuals and no evidence on racial discrimination at the point of convicting a criminal exists.
However, racial disparities in conviction have arisen from disproportionate representation of the minority groups in officially processed criminal conduct. Some concern has been raised that race cumulatively affect convictions by interacting with other aspects such as arrest, to influence decisions.
Racial discrimination on criminal justice system has also been witnessed in the disparities in imprisonment. Black inmates with long sentences in federal or state institutions were incarcerated at a much higher rate compared to the white counterparts.
Racial discrimination does occur at some times in the criminal justice system. Racial origin may play an influential role to the decision process about making an arrest. Police treat minority suspects distinctively, at times to the extent that they may be perceived guilty until proven innocent. Campbell (1974), being a black officer, realized the stark contrast in policing, in different districts. She says that while she was working with a senior officer in some new district they conducted a vehicle search of a white male individual, in which the officer informs the subject the nature of the search and request permission to conduct it from him. She asserts that she had never witnessed a situation like that, argues that the officer has a right to search the car. She explains that the difference is attributed to insufficient knowledge on the population and police disinformation spread. Jackie Campbell portrays of racially motivated policing as a culture reinforced by the minorities that are the African Americans and the officers. In some of the districts, she earlier worked; black motorists raise their hands above their heads when an officer approaches while the white motorists do not subscribe to such protocol.
In her view, the white officer’s preserve petit apartheid by acting consistently with the 4th amendment rights or since these amendment rights take a back seat to other issues perceived to be of immense importance. Jackie further states that while African American officers accept these ignominies due to the pressure to abide by the majority way of thinking. The minority citizens, on the other hand, accept this fate since they lack knowledge on their constitutional rights as she states.
Conclusion
The debate about petit apartheid in the criminal justice system remains unresolved. While most research suggests an absence of systematic racial discrimination, there is an agreement among researchers that acts of discrimination occur at specific decision-making points, and some argue that informal and hidden forms of discrimination takes place both within and outside the system. Majority opinion supports arguments that acts of discrimination occur and that they may perhaps be deeply rooted in cultural and social attitudes toward other races. These may express themselves in complex and nuanced ways that are difficult to capture within research strategies. Associated with acts of discrimination is the issue of the public perception of the workings of the criminal justice system. Regardless of the conclusions of research studies, there is a widespread belief among minorities that the system discriminates against them and is, therefore, unjust. To counter this perception, those exercising decision-making powers within the system must act ethically and strive to eradicate any suggestion of racial bias and discrimination from their decisions.
References
Albonetti, C. A. (1997). Sentencing under the federal sentencing guidelines: Effects of defendant characteristics, guilty pleas, and departures on sentence outcomes for drug offenses, 1991–1992. Law & Society Review, 31, 789–822.
Campbell, J. (1974). Working the beat alone: An African American police officer’s perspective of Petit Apartheid. In J.J. Bonsignore, E. Katsh, P. D'Errico, R. Pipkin & S. Arons (Ed.)Before the law; an introduction to the legal process (pp.15-21). Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Mann, C.R. & Zatz, M. S. (1998). Images of color, images of crime. Los Angeles: Roxbury Publishing Company.
