CRM 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Racialization, Circular Reasoning, Siege Mentality
11 Dec 2014
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Document Summary
In many ways, relations between the police and racial-minority communities can be seen as the flashpoint, the means to gauge the general climate of racial bias and discrimination in canada. The attitudes of the police are a reflection not only of the current social perceptions of minoritized groups but also of the historical attitudes of the white dominant majority. Within the context of the criminal justice system, which reflects the interests and values of the dominant society, the police contribute to the criminalization of marginalized individuals by selectively perceiving and responding to deviance. All of these dimensions of policing culture contribute to the culture"s resistance to change. This point is particularly powerful in culturally pluralistic and racially diverse countries such as. Canada, the united states, the united kingdom, and australia, where white police officers still represent the norm (henry and tator, p. 154). This, then, reinforces the need for more policing.
