Disparity And Discrimination
Disparity and Discrimination
Emily Fouse
University of Phoenix Online
CJA 423 Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice
07/14/2008
Disparity and Discrimination
When a person thinks of the criminal justice system, there are many thoughts that may come to mind. In this paper, disparity and discrimination are going to be discussed. The meanings of the two words are going to be explained and than it will also be shown where the two words play a part in the system.
Disparity will be the first word discussed. The definition as provided by the American Heritage Dictionary says that disparity means the condition or fact of being unequal as in age, rank, or degree. What this means to the system is that not everyone involved in the system are going to be equal (Houghfton Mifflin Company, 2005). When a person enters the court room for example, there are going to be many different people responsible for doing different jobs. There is going to be the judge, this is the person that is going to sit and listen to all of the information provided by all parties in order to decide innocence or guilt. The judge is the highest power in the court room. There are also going to be lawyers, one for each side. These people are well educated and are a step down from the judge as in ranks. There are going to be police officers, a bailiff, and a court reporter and so on. Each person just mentioned is not going to be as high in the ranks as the judge or the lawyers.
Disparity also plays a role within the police departments and departments of corrections. Within the police department, the chief is the important person. Following the chief of police, the ranks fall as follows, deputy chief, inspector, captain, lieutenant, sergeant, detective, and police officer. In that list, the ranks go down one by one. Even though each rank is lower then the one before it, it does not mean that the job of the officer is any less...
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