Contemporary Cultural Diversity Issues

In Criminal Justice

By: Mimi Harvill, KJ Eberle, Jesse Palmer, & David Nettles

AGENDA• Review the criminal justice system’s response to public perception

• Discuss whether the criminal justice system discriminates

• A contemporary issue or event related to each of the two topics to support your arguments

PUBLIC’S PERCEPTION

Factors contributing to public perception:

•Professional Discourse•Economic Impact•Psychological Aspects•Mass Media

RESPONSE TO PUBLIC PERCEPTION

Actions taken:•Federal task forces to monitor race based sentencing•States task forces ensuring racial and gender fairness•Florida- Standing Committee on Fairness & Diversity

FORDISCRIMINATION

Hartford, Connecticut Police Department

• Hiring Minorities• Filling in the gap • Public perception

Building stronger ties between the agency and the community

AGAINST DISCRIMINATION

Equality for hiring

• Age, race, gender• Background should not have grounds• Performance

CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES

Brian Nichols33 years old and 6 feet tall

(Montaldo)

Cynthia Hall51 years old and 5-foot-2 inches tall

(UPI)

CONTEMPORARY EXAMPLES

Plaid Shirt

neimanmarcus

7 for Mankind Jeans

neimanmarcus

AFRICAN AMERICANS AND DISCRIMINATION

• Criminal Justice System as a whole (Agree or Disagree)

• Individual people within the criminal justice system (Agree or Disagree)

QUESTIONS?

REFERENCES

Dobryninas, A., Giedraitis, V., & Cesniene, I. (2012). On Perceptions of Criminal Justice in Society1. Sociologija : Mintis ir Veiksmas, 31(2), 222-

238,285-286. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/docview/1317919076

Fox News. (2005, March 29). Affirmative Action Has Mixed Results for Cops . Retrieved from Fox News:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,151748,00.html#ixzz2S3NVGukg

Matyszczyk, C. (2013, April 27). Undercover cops' devious new method to stop iPhone theft . Retrieved from CNET: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-

57581748-71/undercover-cops-devious-new-method-to-stop-iphone-theft/

Montaldo, C. (n.d.). Brian Nichols: Atlanta Courthouse Killer. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from Crime/Punishment:

http://crime.about.com/od/current/a/brian_nichols.htm

National Center for State Courts. (2012). Gender and Racial Fairness. Retrieved from http://www.ncsc.org/Topics/Access-and-Fairness/Gender-

and-Racial-Fairness/State-Links.aspx

Neiman Marcus. (n.d.). Shopping. Retrieved May 1, 2013, from Neiman Marcus: http://www.neimanmarcus.com

UPI. (2008, September 22). Judge rejects delay appeal in Nichols case. Retrieved from UPI: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/22/Judge-rejects-delay-

appeal-in-Nichols-case/UPI-74751222100843/

Tangel, W. A. (2013). The Police Chief Magazine. Retrieved from http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine