Article Information
The article looks at the degree to which race influences police arrest decisions and examines two possible racial biases arrests, which include, victim-directed that examines whether police respond equally to black and white victims of crime. Suspect-directed bias examines whether blacks are more likely to be arrested than whites. Analyses however indicate that police are more responsive to white victims of crime as the findings highlight the need for equitable administration of justice.
Introduction
This article is about the influence of race on police arrest decisions raising concerns over equity of police decision making. A further analysis on the implications of police discretion in the justice system highlights the fundamental concern, with the influence of sex, race, and age on decisions to arrest (Douglas et al., 1984). However, the decision is usually expected to be independent of the status characteristics of the suspects.
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Theoretical Framework
The researcher uses race and police arrest decisions to analyses the influence of potential for bias in police arrest decisions. In this regard, distributive justice should be the norm while applying the law uniformly to both the Negros and the Whites (Douglas et al., 1984). Police arrests should be based on bureaucracy and professionalism which should always guide the operational philosophy that should guide the discretionary decision making of the organization.
Results
The researcher found out that, blacks are more likely to be arrested than whites in both a proactive and reactive encounters in urban police departments. In citizen-initiated encounters, police arrested twenty-eight percent of black suspects and only twelve percent of whites (Douglas et al., 1984). A similar racial differentiation was discovered in police-initiated encounters. Further, white police arrested twenty one percent of black juvenile they encountered compared to only eight percent of white juveniles (Douglas et al., 1984).
Personal Notes
The article concludes that police have appeared to invoke the law selectively, with more punitive treatment directed at offenders encountered in lower status neighborhoods which is usually occupied by the blacks. Disciplinary differential enforcements occurs only in encounters without complaints, however, race is not usually the axis around which such discrimination revolves. The association between race of suspects and the chances of arrest is basically attributed to the larger proportion of blacks residing in lower status neighborhoods.
References
Douglas A. Smith, Christy A. Visher, Laura A. Davidson, Equity and Discretionary Justice: The Influence of Race on Police Arrest Decisions, 75 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 234 (1984)
