Stereotypes and discrimination within PSA's algorithms have created many issues for American citizens.
by Marcella Synder, 2021
Race plays a huge factor in drug and alcohol related arrests. Among misdemeanor and felony drug and alcohol related arrests, Latino and Black persons are more likely to serve time in jail for these offenses, whereas white people are much more likely to receive a citation and pay fines. Minority groups have a higher involvement in the criminal-justice system, but account for only a small portion of the US population. The high number of minority involvement in the criminal-justice system has no correlation to the group's use of drugs and alcohol overall. Although it is unclear why minority groups are more prevalent in drug and alcohol related arrests, we can assume this is from lack of resources, generational poverty, and the influence of their surrounding network. A network is a set of social ties that link people to each other. A social group is people who regularly interact with one another on a basis of behavior, sharing a common identity. If people of a minority group are born into poverty or grow up in an impoverished area, they may begin to adapt the behaviors of those around them, or even if they do not participate in these behaviors, they may fall into a stereotype applied to the area and people who surround them. For example, if a white boy from a well-known family from a wealthy part of town gets caught smoking weed, his criminal punishment would probably result in a fine because he has a good stereotype around him. People might make excuses for him that he is just a troubled boy from a good family. If a black boy from the housing projects gets caught doing the same thing, he would most likely get a more severe punishment because of the social group and community that surrounds him.
Sources
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-Giddens, A., Applebaum, R. P., & Carr, D. (2021). Chapters 6. In M. Duneier (Ed.), Introduction to Sociology (Seagull, Vol. 12, pp. 1–855). essay, W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
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