The article raises the up-to-date topic of the sharp increase in the crime rate in the United States. The numbers are exceptionally high among African Americans and Latinos who did not have the opportunity to graduate from high school and get a decent job. The legal system built of racial prejudices prevents an adequate and fair investigation, establishing the cause-and-effect connections of the crime and finding the perpetrators.
The article explains various researches that show that black and Hispanic people have a much higher risk of going to prison for illegal activities than white criminals. The police have a remarkably low level of productive cooperation with society and remain strongly dependent on common stereotypes about ethnicity and skin color. Rates of detention and imprisonment are also strikingly different: black men are 3.4 times more likely to receive urgent inspection and further conviction (Phelps, 2017, as cited in Pettit & Gutierrez, 2018).
All criminal cases are purely individual, but mentioned research data unequivocally reveals the dysfunction of the legal system in terms of ethnic equality. The article also raises a severe topic of the tight connection between living standards, education, and crime rate. Emigrants, refugees, low-paid workers, and people accidentally affected by the acute financial crisis are highly vulnerable and more at risk of becoming criminals. The social system should be more focused on supporting the vulnerable strata of society to provide education and comfortable working conditions with sufficient rewards.
The article provides a deeper look at the acute rise in crime and violence and recognizes potential emerging matters. The difficulty may lie not only in the prejudice of the police towards certain groups of people but also affect the entire current image of society. To decrease the crime rate, it is worth providing all segments of the population with a high-quality standard of living and a decent education. It would help to explain to people their values and find an appropriate place in society.
References
Pettit, B., & Gutierrez, C. (2018). Mass incarceration and racial inequality. The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 77(3-4), 1153-1182.
Phelps, Michelle S. (2017). Mass probation: Toward a more robust theory of state variation in punishment. Punishment & Society, 19(1), 53-73. Web.