Ethical Considerations in Criminal Justice Issues

Ethical Considerations
Student Name
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Ethical Considerations
America remains the most racially diverse nation in the world. The gains in economic prosperity have, however, not been universally shared across society, hence some segments of the population have been marginalized. The marginalization of minorities, especially African Americans vivid in the criminal justice system. The US criminal justice system is the largest in the world. The US leads in the rate of incarceration more than any other nation. The rate of arrest and incarnation is proportionally high among African Americans. For instance, while Black youth make up 15% of all the US children, they account for 35% of juvenile arrests annually (Johnson, 2015). By creating and perpetuating policies that permit racial disparities to thrive in the criminal justice system, the US continues to mistreat Blacks. The overrepresentation of African Americans in the criminal justice system suggests that they are more likely to commit a crime, get arrested, and be incarcerated than any other group in the US. Hence, Blacks are overrepresented not because they are higher offenders but because they are over-targeted by the officers in the system. Predictive policing predicts that individuals are likely to commit a crime in a particular area and mobilizes resources towards the specific point, hence arresting more individuals in the respective areas.
The problem-solving model needed to address the over-presentation of African Americans in the criminal justice system is the SARA model, an acronym for scanning, analysis, response, and assessment (Police Executive Research Forum, 2000). Scanning entails identifying the recurrent issues of concern. The individual concerned then develops on broad goals they wish to achieve, then prioritize the critical problems. It also identifies the data collected and selects an issue for examination. In analysis, one tries to identify and understand the events accompanying the issue. The consequences of the problem to the community are also identified. Individuals consider the frequency of the problem and extrapolate how it is likely to occur. In response, people brainstorm for interventions. They choose a solution among many alternatives. The chosen plan is then implemented. Lastly, an assessment is meant to establish whether or not the plan was implemented. Here, people determine if the goals were achieved. They identify new strategies needed to make improvements.
The SARA model would be used to address the overrepresentation of African Americans in the criminal justice system. Analyzing the issue would assist in demonstrating its seriousness. For instance, the revelation that despite Blacks being a minority group in the US, they are incarcerated at about five times the rate of white Americans. Data collected on the high rate of...