Race, Ethnicity, and the Spatial Dynamic: Toward a Realistic Study of Black Crime, Crime Victimization, and Criminal Justice Processing of Blacks

• NCJ Number: 125850
• Journal: Social Justice Volume: 16 Issue: 4 Pages: 35-54
• Author(s): D E Georges-Abeyie
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 20 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Theoretical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A review of current criminological and criminal justice theories that explain the dynamics of black criminality, victimization, and criminal justice processing demonstrates their lack of a social ecological perspective, their mistaken focus on the formal decision in the processing of blacks and their assumption that blacks constitute an ethnic monolith.

Abstract

On the contrary, blacks manifest various ethnic identities as well as different rates of criminality and criminal victimization which can be attributed to "social distance" or the degree of closeness pursued in interactions with members of a certain social group. Many factors contribute to social distance; this concept helps differentiate between race and ethnicity. A significant factor in the criminal justice processing of blacks is spatiality, the reality of which is racial segregation in urban areas. The concept of slum or ghetto morphology is important because of the site and situational advantages associated with the slum's residential zones which influence the perception of threat, fear, and anxiety. Crime rates can vary with different black ethnic groups, exercising different internal community control mechanisms, as well as with the extent of black ethnic heterogenity operating within various residential zones. Ethnic diversity can also affect the success of formal and informal Neighborhood Watch programs as well as decisions to assist neighbors involved in criminal incidents. Because the U.S. criminal justice system is more a process of interrelated but distinct entities, legally sanctioned decisions involving blacks cannot be predicted; however, this does not mean there is an absence of prejudice or racism in the delivery of justice. Many low-income blacks are alienated from the agencies of the criminal justice system because of the racial and ethnic composition of the agents as well as the petit apartheid practices that this population faces on a daily basis. 5 notes and 83 references.