Criminal Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Criminal Justice - Essay Example Disparity and Discrimination Disparity and discrimination are two of the most commonly used terms in the criminal justice system. Both terms are often mixed together when they are used in the context of criminal justice system. However, disparity does not always involve the factor of discrimination when it comes to the decisions made by a court. Some people believe that the factor if discrimination does not exist in the criminal justice system. One must understand the difference between disparity and discrimination in order to know whether discrimination actually exists in the criminal justice system or not. The concept of disparity is based on some legal or lawful factors, such as, crime history and mental health of a criminal, whereas, discrimination is based on sex, race, social status, and religion of a criminal. By definition discrimination is an act of favoritism or unfairness based on the race or nationality of the criminals. There are three main forms of discrimination in the criminal justice system, which include institutionalized discrimination, systematic discrimination, and contextual discrimination.