NCJ Number
138040
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (1992) Pages: complete issue
Editor(s)
Z G Standing Bear,
R C Monk
Date Published
1992
Length
90 pages
Annotation
Five articles examine significant issues in both macro and micro aspects of crime, race, and criminal justice.
Abstract
Drawing from Sartre's and Foucault's concepts of the civilizing eye, the first article discusses a paradox that involves race relations and criminal justice, using the Willie Horton ad campaign of the 1988 presidential election as an illustration. The second paper examines the social, cultural, and biological realities of the popular and scientific uses of the terms "race" and "ethnicity" and then considers the significance of "social distance" in the criminal justice context, which often involves blacks, Hispanics, and other nonwhite minorities. The third study reviews statistics on the prevalence of indigenous peoples' representation in the Canadian correctional system and assesses the correctional policies and programs that affect these people. In the fourth study, the race-specific analysis of homicide rates and macrostructural variables among U.S. central cities found differences in the factors that influence homicide rates in predominantly white central cities and predominantly black central cities. The final study tested the ability of the Blaus' theory -- that racial/ethnic economic inequality is a source of violent crime -- to explain variation in black homicide rates within Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas. Article tables and references