Labeling and crime Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Labeling and crime - Research Paper Example These difficulties notwithstanding, this particular analysis will seek to engage the reader with a broader understanding for how labeling of individuals contributes to the pervasive levels of crime that are oftentimes found within certain demographics. As with so many of the questions concerning causality, the analysis will seek to understand how labeling and societal definitions of expectation impact upon the way in which individuals within groups tend to understand the environment within the world around them. Accordingly, rather than tackling the impact of societal â€Å"labels† throughout the criminal justice system, the essay will instead focus upon the way in which racial/ethnic labels tend to reinforce or create unnatural constraints that define the behavior and expectations of individuals within the system. With regard to the segregation into distinct neighborhoods, this a sociological construct that has existed since the dawn of time. Taking the United States as an example, it can be seen that since the United States was ultimately a nation that was founded upon immigration, the power of this influx of â€Å"new† people into the United States created a need for a high level of housing space for them to live (Peterson & Krivo, 2012). Naturally, as Italians, Irish, Polish, and a litany of others began to arrive in a foreign land, they found themselves at a distinct disadvantage; oftentimes not speaking the language and having few if any opportunities. As a function of this, and the level of rejection that they received by clannish groups of more established Americans, ghettos began to pop up all over the nation. Looking further back in history, the freedom from slavery created a situation in which tens of thousands of African Americans moved North in search of a better life and m ore equality (Plumm & Terrence, 2013). Sadly, this search oftentimes led to a dead