CJA/344 Version 3

Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice

CJA/344 Version 3
Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice
Search the Internet for an example from the past 2 years of a
contemporary cultural diversity issue in criminal justice.
Create a short training for criminal-justice-system employees
that will improve the relationship between the criminal justice
system and the community, based on the example you selected.
Create a 10- to 15-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation of
your proposed training.
Include detailed speaker notes
Format your presentation consistent with APA guidelines.
Cultural Diversity Training
Introduction
Cultural diversity within the Criminal Justice System
Why is it important?
What are some of the ramifications of it?
Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman
What happened? Why did it happen? What could have been done to avoid it?
Sanford Police and the investigation
What went wrong? Why did they feel such tension with the community?
Mending and improving the relationship between the Sanford
Police Department and the community
Cultural Diversity in the Criminal Justice
System
Cultural diversity allows new ideas and creative thinking

Allows policy and procedure changes to assist with fair treatment of all
individuals regardless of gender, race, religion, etc.

Recognizing different people have different experiences of the same event
based on cultural differences

Example: Trayvon Martin and George
Zimmerman
Sanford Police Department
Sanford Police Investigation:
What went wrong?
Door-to-door canvasing was not thorough enough
Officers canvased the area, though did not do follow up reports for the neighbors that did
not give an initial statement.
Found no eye witnesses who saw the fight begin
Sanford Police could not find any witness to the altercation between Zimmerman and
Martin the night of the murder. Noises and yells were heard, no eye witness to tell how
the altercation happened.
Only took one photo of Zimmermans injuries, which was taken at the police
department on a cellphone and not uploaded until days later
Sanford Police didnt take pictures of Zimmerman at the Police Department. Pictures
were taken at the scene, on a cell phone, and not turned in until days later
Possible misconduct and alteration of the pictures


Sanford Police Investigation:
What did they miss?
The vehicle Zimmerman was driving the night of the incident was not
inspected or taken into evidence

Zimmerman was able to return home, without investigators obtaining
Zimmermans clothing or the weapon the night of the incident

The police did not test Zimmerman for drugs or alcohol used that night
Community Reaction
The Martin/Zimmerman trial made national news, bringing out the
worst in many.
Riots began all over the U.S, seeking justice for Trayvon Martin and
prosecution for his murderer.
The nation cried out for Zimmerman to be arrested for his crimes
Sanford Police took the calculated risk to let Zimmerman walk free,
knowing the public opinion on the case.

Sanford Police took a lot of abuse for their choices, with such a
profile case, they lost the respect of the community, in which they
needed to thrive off of.

Chief of Police was put under fire based on the investigation, and
later resigned
Resignation was originally denied, later on being fired.

How do you Mend the Relationship
Recognizing the gaps within law enforcement
Were the gaps from the police force?
If so, it is the job of the police force to go back through training
Main focus would be the gaps that started the incident.

Reviewing policies and procedures of police departments
Updating any out of date procedures
Replace them with effective ones.
Address the gaps within procedures

Review citizen complaints
Addressing the most critical ones

How to Mend the Relationship:
Community
Restore Community Policing
Get the community involved in helping to change the police department
Giving the community a better sense of being involved in how their community will be handled.

Address any cultural differences between police and community
Survey the community, figure out any continuous problems.

Make the changes count
Dont say you will change if you dont plan on changing

References

1.Cultural Diversity in Contemporary Policing: Understanding Why We Care. (2001,
Winter). Texas Highway Patrol Association Magazine, (), .
Retrieved from http://www.cjcenter.org/trcpi/doc/articles/cdp.pdf
2.Limbaugh, S. (n.d). Cultural Diversity in Criminal Justice. Retrieved from
http://voices.yahoo.com/cultural-diversity-criminal-justice-7719510.html
3. CNN. (2013). Ex-Sanford police chief: Zimmerman probe 'taken away from
us'. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/10/justice/sanford-bill-lee-
exclusive/