Racism and the Application of Criminal Justice: Is it the Lawmakers or Criminal Justice Administrators?

The bouncing blame-game is a common theme among criminal justice administrators and law makers, and the game seems to be working in favor of the lawmakers.  As most laws are enacted they usually apply to all of the citizens, with the exception to enhanced penalties for prior crimes or other ridiculous crimes that no one has a sense of compassion for, the law makers have won the “competition” against the law enforcers.   Nevertheless, there are plenty of issues that can divert the attention away from the cops, attorneys, and correctional officers, and in turn slap the face of the policy makers with a hand of disgustingness.  This piece attempts to figure out where to start a new blame-game, or possibly takes the role of making both parties look wrong in their legal contrivances.

As aforementioned, the lawmakers in most cases pass policies that are to be enforced by the entire gamut of criminal justice professionals.  Therefore, the blame of racism, prejudiced thinking, and the overwhelming amount of offenders who enter the system can be put on the enforcers, and rightfully so.  It is not the legislators who are walking around arresting, sentencing, and housing an enormous amount of people -- people who are in most cases the minorities in the United States -- especially African Americans or, more precisely, indigent African Americans -- seriously, America?  Yet the question of bias law making does have merit.  Even with the common interest of protecting all of the citizens in this country, the laws do have a tendency to be geared toward the communities that engage in these illegal activities more so than the white suburbia that mostly makes up the Caucasian Nation (United States).  Question: If the laws were made and applied equally, as they should be, then how do you explain strange criminal procedural laws such as the crack cocaine and powder cocaine sentencing plans?  I don’t care if the laws/sentencing have been changed by a Fair Sentencing Act, it still existed -- which makes my blog chock-full of merit.  Given that law enforcers have to enforce the law, and be unbiased -- or should I say “unbiased” -- in their reasoning, the blame of botched justice, racist tendencies, and prejudiced policy making is the legislative authority’s fault.  It’s a unique duality.  Rubbing elbows and one-eyed winks definitely takes place, and it’s probably done by the wealthy or middle-class White people.  Another example of botched enactments can be noticed in the sentencing guidelines for fraudulent welfare practices.   Are the middle-class or wealthy utilizing food stamps, Medicaid, or Mother’s in Need of Assistance programs?  No, they are not.  Abuse of social welfare is not a good thing, especially when it is done by some nut-ball who takes advantage of a person who relies on the services for basic survival.  Although many of the cases that do not make headlines in newspapers or other media devices are the cases of poor people -- people who are legitimately indigent.  Usually for using some other person’s social services without permission because their struggle of everyday living is impossible to overcome -- let’s fine them and send them to jail; again, you can’t be serious, America? But you are…sociopaths.  This unique procedural law is tuned toward the indigent, and when the criminal justice system becomes involved -- which it is -- the arresting, sentencing, and imprisonment of socioeconomic minorities is evident.  Why does the system attack the disenfranchised?  Why do we allow the rich or powerful to exploit the poor, or more specifically all of the minorities in this country?  Laws/Policies in this country, as well as the enforcement of them, has turned into a system that is attempting to eradicate the lower division of society.  But if this is ever completely accomplished the wealthy or middle-class will no longer have anyone to blame for crime.  So, will they start arresting each other?  Will the wealthy start to call the middle-class the "takers" of society and wage on a war on them?  Scary questions to pose.      

Overall, the blame-game falls mostly on the law enforcers, but this is because they are the people who arrest, sentence, and warehouse people.  However, the policy makers are the one’s passing these silly laws, so the guiltiness of both parties is plausible to suggest -- big problem in this country.  A bigger problem is fixing this application of authority, you can’t blame the enforcers for adhering to a law and doing their job, but you can blame the lawmakers for giving them no choice but to enforce crappy policies.  Or can you?  Wrap your brain around this issue, and if you figure something out please let me know.  I’ll go to my state’s legislative house and various local police departments to inform them.