Title of Abstract

A Study of Sociological and Political Theories Ingrained into the United States Justice System

Submitting Student(s)

Connor KellyFollow

Faculty Mentor

Two WU mentors, Jennifer Disney, Ph.D.; Michael Lipscomb, Ph.D.; disneyj@winthrop.edu; lipscombm@winthrop.edu

College

College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Faculty Mentor

Jennifer Disney, Ph.D.; Michael Lipscomb, Ph.D.

Abstract

The history of the United States of America is based upon racism and power. Early on in our colonial development, a workforce needed to be established, and with that came along indentured servitude and furthermore slavery, codified in the very founding of our Constitution. These historical ties to servitude have led to many of the problems that the United States is facing today, with polarization and other issues of abuse of power within the government and more specifically within law enforcement agencies. To look into the ties between power and its abuse, it is important to look at the sociological and political theories that have laid the groundwork for the thoughts on these issues at hand, and to see what impact, if any, these different political and sociological theories have had on the criminal justice system, specifically policing. To what extent have these theories led to racial injustices and other disparities within policing? To what extent do these theories help us understand racial injustices and other disparities within policing? This article offers an examination of several important political and sociological theoretical constructs and how they play a role within everyday life for many Americans and their interactions with law enforcement. The goal of this study is to gain not only a qualitative but also a quantitative understanding of the ways in which the implementation of theories can influence police behavior and discretion.

Additional Fields About Your Abstract

Please check this if you understand.

Course Assignment

PLSC 490 - Disney and Lipscomb

Start Date

1-1-2021 12:00 AM

This document is currently not available here.

COinS
 
Jan 1st, 12:00 AM

A Study of Sociological and Political Theories Ingrained into the United States Justice System

The history of the United States of America is based upon racism and power. Early on in our colonial development, a workforce needed to be established, and with that came along indentured servitude and furthermore slavery, codified in the very founding of our Constitution. These historical ties to servitude have led to many of the problems that the United States is facing today, with polarization and other issues of abuse of power within the government and more specifically within law enforcement agencies. To look into the ties between power and its abuse, it is important to look at the sociological and political theories that have laid the groundwork for the thoughts on these issues at hand, and to see what impact, if any, these different political and sociological theories have had on the criminal justice system, specifically policing. To what extent have these theories led to racial injustices and other disparities within policing? To what extent do these theories help us understand racial injustices and other disparities within policing? This article offers an examination of several important political and sociological theoretical constructs and how they play a role within everyday life for many Americans and their interactions with law enforcement. The goal of this study is to gain not only a qualitative but also a quantitative understanding of the ways in which the implementation of theories can influence police behavior and discretion.