Criminal Justice Students’ Perceptions and Awareness of Racism and Discrimination

Abstract

The recent focus on the controversial deaths of minorities at the hands of police officers has led to increased attention on racial bias among the law enforcement community. However, this focus does not extend to criminal justice students. Instead, research examining undergraduates’ racial attitudes focuses on the general student body. In addition to reviewing literature related to criminal justice students’ attitudes toward a variety of criminal justice and social issues, the current study used multiple regression analyses to examine racial and gender differences in a Southwestern University’s criminal justice students’ perceptions of and sensitivity to racism. Findings from the study indicate that male criminal justice students in the sample and White criminal justice students are more likely to have lower perceptions of racism than their female and non-White counterparts, respectively. Additionally, findings for criminal justice students’ sensitivity to racism suggest that White male criminal justice students’ sensitivity to racism only statistically significantly differs from non-White females with White males more likely to be less sensitive than non-White females. Furthermore, the current research provides a benchmark for research related to criminal justice students’ perceptions of racism and discriminatory practices and their attitudes toward minorities. Results, study implications, recommendations, and future research are discussed.