How to Bypass the Criminal Justice System in Minority Neighborhoods

Organization in racial and ethnic communities is scanty and it needs to be changed so that criminal justice practitioners stop abusing their authority and targeting minorities for their (criminal justice practitioners) own  empowerment.  The organization needs to happen on two-fronts, such as a strong and constant formal social movement that addresses criminal justice practices and an informal system of organization that teaches the members of a community how to bypass the prejudiced actions of the criminal justice professionals.  First, the formal organization will be presented.  Racial and ethnic civilians need to develop a constant public protestation about the biases that are abundant in their neighborhoods.  More specifically, the effort that goes into Black Lives Matter and the alike protests ought to be delivered with other messages about criminal justice prejudices as well.  The content can be easily found.  That is, there is a plethora of statistics – other than police brutality and police-based homicides against minorities – that show how biased the police officers, courtroom people, and correction personnel are and have been for an extended duration in the United States.  Drug arrests, drug laws, gun policies, recidivism rates, sentencing disparities, and the constant investigation work in minority communities all serve as example of the other major biases that minorities in the United States are subjected to.  Bringing these issues into the public spotlight in a routine effort would decrease the biases that the criminal justice professionals are responsible for.  Shifts should be developed by the minority community so that members of these communities can still concentrate on their employment and familial priorities.  More specifically, day and evening public demonstrations ought to be configured so that the protestations are not viewed as a fad or something that is not of significant importance.  Juveniles, young adults, and senior citizens should be included in these events too.  Public demonstrations are better than media creations and professional presentations because they cause people to comprehend how important the aforementioned social issues are. 

Of this, more media developments should be created and delivered to members of the minority community, other civilians who are not directly living in the impacted areas, and law enforcement community in the areas and outside of the immediate jurisdictions.  This would also raise proper awareness about the above-mentioned issues and simultaneously let the viewers know the depicted social issues are not something that can be ignored.  As many lawful processes that can be produced to present the problems should be utilized so that a proper understanding about the issues are undergone.  Again, this should also be done on a routine basis.  Massive distribution of these materials should be a team effort and include communication processes so that the social problems are adequately depicted and a proper representation of the community. 

Regarding the informal system that needs to be generated, this is a structured system that will be more effective than the above-mentioned formal processes if it is properly administered. This informal system of activism includes configuring an underground justice system within minority communities that includes well-regulated processes that are overseen by older and more wiser members of the community.  The more matured members of the community serve as the informal law enforcers when criminal activity arises and dispense justice according to the desired values that the community decides to embrace.  This underground panel of informal law enforcers should also be responsible for being positive role models for everyone in the area – especially for the youth.  Punishments that are dispensed should be accepted by all members of the community.  Moreover, police officers should only be called for serious offenses and other issues that are of significant harm.  With this being stated, any criminal activity that does not include serious harm, death, or threat of life should be handled by the community and the police department in the jurisdiction should be shunned until they begin treating minority communities as if they were the police officers’ neighborhoods or other well-liked communities.  Shunning the police, and not communicating with them in any fashion, would cause such an enormous disruption in the patrols and investigations that the police departments would be forced to conform to the desires from the communities that are routinely targeted by the law enforcement officers.  By not making eye contact or greeting them, as well as other forms of social isolation, the shunning would transition into a negative internal feeling about their work and appreciation from citizens and, in turn, force police officers to speak up about criminal justice reform, racial and ethnic profiling, and other issues that are related to criminal justice and minority communities.  Communication between members of the community, known errants, and the informal law enforcers should be done without the use of electronic communication due to the reliance on electronic surveillance by law enforcers in the United States. 

Once the informal system is fully active and ongoing for several months, the police departments will notice that members of the community are no longer speaking to them and that citizens do not want them around.  This, again, will instill an appreciation for the desired fair crime control methods that are wanted by the minority community members.  In turn, all law enforcers – not only police officers – will be required to change their behaviors if an informal legal system is properly administered in the targeted neighborhoods.                     

                              

                                               Source:  Public Domain