CRM J 205 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 12 Lecture 1 August 21 W E B Du Bois Sociologists historian and civil rights activist Graduated from Harvard First African American to earn a doctoral degree Lecture 3 August 26 The Innocence Project Nationwide organization Concerned with litigation and public policy Goal Exonerate individuals who have been wrongfully convicted of criminal acts Primary tool is DNA evidence Over 300 people in the U S have been exonerated due to DNA evidence Some of these individuals were on death row Founded in 1922 On average the individuals were exonerated served 13 years in prison for crimes that they did not commit Eye witness identification played a curtail role in the convictions of many of these individuals What is race Traditionally race was defined by biological differences such as skin color and physical features Intermarriage and evolution have caused the definition to change Many regard race as being a social construct Political culturally dominant groups define race The U S census Bureau allows individuals to self identify their race ethnic group Heather MacDonald Discrimination is a myth according to MacDonald of the Manhattan institute MacDonald suggests that the high incarceration rate of African Americans is due to higher involvement in criminal activity not discrimination MacDonald s research is based on imperial findings and careful statistical analysis therefore must be taken seriously However statistics can be interpreted differently Experts disagree on how data should be interpreted Was she right or wrong In the field of criminal justice or any other social science research methodology is essential She neglected several important points in which she should have listed as limitations of her research Lecture 4 August 28 Disparity vs discrimination Disparity Simply means that there is a difference It does not necessarily involve discrimination although it can Example this class The majority of the students in this class are somewhat similar in age There are no children Discrimination Defined by the text as a difference based on differential treatment of groups without references to an individual s behavior or qualifications Discrimination can be based on many factors including Race Gender Sexual orientation Discrimination and the Law Discrimination is illegal when it violates the law According to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution Nor shall any state deny to any person within it s jurisdiction the equal protection of the law Lecture 7 September 6 Victimization 2 categories National Crime victimization survey Primary source or scholarly data regarding victimization Annual statistical data Household victimization and personal crime Household any crime that can occur against the household Personal Crime that happen against the person theft rape etc African Americans are more likely to be victimized Individuals who identify as 2 or more races they re more likely to be victims of violent crime Who are the victims Individuals who reside in urban areas are more likely to be victims of crime Suburban residents are the second most likely victims Individuals living in rural communities are the least likely to be victims Victimization Homicide African American males are most likely to be victims In 2008 15 of the population was African American However 47 7 of all homicide victims were African American Attitudes toward police 88 of Americans express that they have confidence in the police Surveys have found that attitudes in regard to public attitudes toward the police have been stable for the last 30 years Lecture 8 September 11 A contextual approach The textbook takes a contextual approach to studying police and racial ethnic minorities by utilizing four specific contexts Variations by racial ethnic groups Variations by police departments Variations within each racial and ethnic group Variations by department units policing strategy or crime prevention The police and change Due to immigration the demographics of the United States are rapidly changing This presents a challenge for police departments Between 1980 and 2008 the Hispanic population doubled Many new US residents don t speak English and aren t too familiar with our laws and police procedure Lecture 10 September 13 5 different types of tribal law enforcement 1 Agencies funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs BIA 2 Federally funded but operated by the tribe under an agreement with the BIA 3 Operated and funded by the tribes themselves 4 Operated by tribes under the 1994 Indian Self Determination Act 5 Operated by state and local governments under public law