“Some of the structural things that we’ve gotten wrong in America, is we’ve incentivize arrest, incarceration and conviction of people.”
Justice Fellowship President, Craig DeRoche, shares the truth about our broken justice system and offers hope for future changes that will bring about justice and redemption for our society as a whole.
Craig discusses the harsh reality of people who are being targeted for arrests in America today.
“Arresting and locking up more people that’s the metric that we care about – not justice as the metric. A lot of policies were passed and a lot of behaviors, where people would target the folks that couldn’t defend themselves.”
Craig points out that a law officer’s job performance is based on their level of arrests and convictions. He shares an example,
“In New York City, where they’re literally stopping and frisking people based on how they looked, more than a half a million people a year on the sidewalk with no warrant, no other reason.”
These policies and incentives have created ethnic, racial and socioeconomic tensions around the country. Craig reiterates this flaw within the criminal justice system,
“You’re incentivizing the police to target people based on how they looked. Naturally, the police were gravitating toward people that looked like they couldn’t put up a fight or defend themselves.”
“In America, with over 97% of all arrests never going to trial. We have created a system where once you are arrested you are essentially pushed into a situation where it’s a negotiated situation; not necessarily justice meted out by your peers through a jury system and sentencing by a judge.”
Craig says the system has moved away from what we think it is, or what we see on prime-time television. He elaborates on this issue from a socioeconomic standpoint.
“Whether it’s a Caucasian, Hispanic or African-American person the criminal justice system, those that are there are by and large on the lower end of the American socioeconomic scale. That’s who is targeted.”
“Because of the population of minorities in America that are on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, they are disproportionately represented in the ranks. This speaks poorly of America in so many ways, including; of course, the race issues, but it’s kind of a horrifying thing that we are preying on and targeting the least of us.”
We are reminded that there are policies in the criminal justice system that are creating unjust behaviors and adverse effects. They need to be addressed in order to bring about justice and change in the United States.
