By Ed Prince
Executive Director, Wa. St. Commission on African American Affairs
They say justice is blind but if you ask any African American of any age group or economic status their thoughts on the justice system and they will tell you real life stories about how they or someone close to them has been wronged by our justice system. I have had conversations with mothers and fathers who say that as their children age they work overtime to prepare them for their interactions with the system.
At the Commission we hear from citizens all over the state who have had negative interactions with the justice/law enforcement system and the one thing we are consistently told is that law enforcement and the courts unfairly target and harshly punish African Americans.
The Washington State Supreme Court Minority and Justice Commission recently released an updated report on the perceptions of justice, and this report confirms everything that we have known as a community. Following are some of the data points:
11% of Caucasian respondents report disrespectful treatment from the police at least once. 62% of African Americans report such treatment.
65% of respondents of this survey believe that if two people are charged with identical crimes that they did not commit the African American person would be more likely to be found guilty.
68% of African American versus 44% of Caucasian view the police as disrespectful.
60% of African Americans versus 40% of Caucasians are likely to describe the courts as unfair.
These numbers don’t tell us as a community anything we didn’t already know or experience. However, the fact that the courts are involved in this type of self-reflection is very important. My hope is that because our state’s highest court is looking at this, that we will see a larger conversation take place that makes its way into our law enforcement agencies and our lower courts.
If you are interested in seeing a copy of the report you can contact the Commission on African American Affairs at (360) 725-5663 or you can contact the Minority and Justice Commission at (360) 705-5327
