HISPANICS CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Hispanics Criminal Justice

Hispanics Criminal Justice

Introuduction

America is a nation of immigrants, with a population composed of a wide diversity of people with different ethnic, racial, and national backgrounds. Some groups have been in this country for centuries, while others have lived in the United States for only two or three generations, and some groups have just recently arrived. Many came voluntarily; others came by force. Even for those who have lived in the United States for many generations, country of origin and ethnic background remain important sources of identity. In America, crimes of foreign-born and recent immigrants have always been an issue. Historically, the most recent immigrants have tended to be singled out as more criminal than natives. Thus, in the early part of the twentieth century, when immigration into the United States was dominated by Europeans, the criminality of white ethnic immigrants (in particular the Italians and the Irish) was a major concern.

In 2000, Latinos (or Hispanics) totaled around 34 million, a huge increase from 22.4 million in 1990. Like African Americans, Hispanics (who can be classified as belonging to different races) as a group are relatively powerless (politically, culturally, and economically); they have been (or are) seen as “different,” often threatening, problematic, or deviant; they have been subject to discriminatory laws and regulations, prejudice, and negative stereotyping; they have been (or are) the focus of public fear and violence; and they have been (or are) the targets of political campaigns.

On average, they are less educated, more likely to be unemployed, poorer, and less healthy than the non-Hispanic population. It should be noted that there are huge differences among the different Latino groups; some are wealthier and better educated than the rest of the United States (Cubans), whereas others rank at the bottom of the scale (Mexicans). People of Mexican origin are numerically the largest Hispanic group; this is also the group that has attracted much of the public fear (related to the influx of undocumented aliens from Mexico) and allegations of crime.

Discussion

It is difficult to know the exact amount of criminal involvement of Hispanics in the United States. Victim surveys show some slight differences between Hispanics and non-Hispanics. A large proportion of criminal victimization is intra-ethnic (i.e., Hispanics victimizing other Hispanics). Arrest statistics do not include information on ethnicity. Prison statistics do distinguish between Hispanic and non-Hispanic inmates, but there are large variations in classification procedures, as well as a large percentage of “unknowns,” which make these statistics of questionable utility. In 1990, 10.4 percent of all Latino males were either on probation, on parole, or in prison.

About 3.1 percent of Hispanic males age twenty-five to twenty-nine were in prison in 1999, compared to 1 percent of white males and 9.4 percent of non-Hispanic black males. Hispanic inmates are incarcerated disproportionately for drug-related offenses. In 1999, 325 Latinos were on death row (10 percent of inmates with a known ethnicity). Although there is not much research in that area, the studies that exist have shown that ...