Law & Order Politics
The Criminal Justice System in the US.
Context
Most people have come to view the government institutions that compose the criminal justice system as politically, economically, and racially neutral.
However, activists and academics who either challenge and/or study social systems and networks that reproduce inequality argue that the criminal justice system has grown considerably in the last 50 years in response to social movements and economic issues of the 1960s.
Debate
Imagine you’re discussing incarceration with someone you know, and this person argues that the criminal justice system is neutral, and merely reacts to crime.
According to this person, the reason the criminal justice system is so large today is because crime increased.
Goal
Write an essay explaining how the criminal justice system grew through Law & Order politics, which was a reaction to the socio-political crises faced by elites and created by popular social movements. In other words, explain how prisons grew because they resolved a political crisis for elites; being tough on crime was politically profitable.
Then, connect this history to current events and conditions. How is Law & Order politics still shaping our society and politics today?
