Critical Analysis Of Racial Disparity In The Criminal Justice System In Canada

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Canada is a nation known for its multicultural society. In such a diverse nation many would believe equality would exist. However it does not; and it is evident in the Criminal Justice System in Canada. The racial disparity in the Criminal Justice System is the result of bias treatment of certain individuals based on their race. The selective prosecution of visible minorities, immigrants and Aboriginals has been recognized as a racial inequality and corrupted the Criminal Justice System. The unequal treatment of immigrants and Aboriginals within the justice system has become evident through various forms. Canada`s colonial past has greatly influenced the judicial system and it seems obvious that race plays a factor in many of the facets of …show more content…

This paper will illustrate a brief summary of two chapters and give a critical analysis of the readings. In addition I would conclude the paper by briefly discussing my opinion on the readings.

In the featured novel “Crimes of colour: racialization and the criminal justice system in Canada” the authors, Wendy Chan and Kiran Mirchandani illustrate their view points of Canada`s Criminal Justice System and how race and crime are connected. The first chapter, “From Race and Crime to Racialization and Criminalization,” addresses the connection that ‘race’ in Canadian Criminal Law is not really defined but rather it is viewed as a ‘trait’ possessed by individuals and groups (12). The authors want to argue the shift from “race” to racialization and “crime” to “criminalization”. They want to focus on the process of race and “highlight the historical influences of colonization and conquest in shaping the ideological frameworks developed around categories of race” (12). This concept of racialization allows one to understand racial meanings and other social forces like political, economic, religious factors. Also defines groups that were not previously defined as ‘races’ are now are able to consider the various

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