8-1 Project Three Cultural Awareness in Criminal Justice Keith Strege Jr From: chebet@nonprofitorganizer.org To: Civilian Accountability Office Subject: Small Efforts, a Big Difference Good afternoon, Firstly, I would like to express my gratitude for providing me with this chance and for asking me back for such a worthy cause. As a Victim Advocate, I have seen numerous injustices in our communities over the years. I understand what it takes to raise awareness about issues like lack of cultural understanding. Because of a lack of cultural understanding, things have become tough for all parties concerned, and it is now time to adjust. I have included an evaluation and potential solutions that might assist the Criminal Justice Professional go ahead and create strong relationships with their own communities and/or the communities they contact regularly. Attachment: On a daily basis, cultural differences impact our interactions and comprehension of the individuals we encounter. They have a big say in how people interact with law enforcement. Culture is best characterized as a collection of people's ideas, values, and beliefs, or a person's way of life. The values and beliefs of many civilizations differ greatly. The capacity to perceive and comprehend those distinct cultures have different values and beliefs is referred to as cultural competency. Cultural competency is required of everyone working in the judicial system, as well as when addressing community-police interactions. Through direct or indirect interaction with criminal justice practitioners, a culture's opinion on the criminal justice system is developed. We must not allow assumptions and unconscious prejudice to influence our perceptions and judgements as criminal justice professionals while working with cultures that are different
from our own. Stereotypes are preconceptions based on what we have heard or been taught rather than firsthand experience. Making the presumption that everyone in a particular culture is the same is also part of it. Assume that all Asian-Americans are studious just because of their race. When someone is biased without recognizing it, it is called implicit bias. This type of bias is impacted by our cultural experiences, like our parents' shared opinions or a long-held belief. These two characteristics have the potential to cause widespread misunderstandings, as well as risk to citizens and the criminal justice system. Various culture's view and experience our legal system in separate ways. Asian- Americans, for instance, have a favorable view of the United States' criminal justice system. They have had very few bad encounters with police officers if any at all. Because of their image as the "Model minority" and the belief that they never cause problems, police do not relate Asian- Americans with crime. People of color and Hispanics, on the other hand, have a poor view of police officers and other criminal justice professionals. Consider how African Americans see the criminal justice system. Officers treat black Americans unjustly; they believe they are exposed to excessive force, and they believe oppression is at the root of the problem. Excessive force against racial minorities has been reported on several occasions, although