ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the contemporary issues in the criminal justice system, but only those issues that are relevant for social work practice. It discusses the great deal of intersection between these contemporary issues and special populations that require a range of social work services at micro, meso, and macro level of practice. One source of racial disparities is the implementation of different law enforcement procedures in racial and ethnic minority communities than non-minority communities. Social workers should be aware that residents living in racial and ethnic minority communities, particularly those characterized by high crimes rates, may themselves be fearful of crime and insist that police provide an increased presence. Police misconduct only affects the individual(s) and police officer(s) involved it also affects their families and communities as well as society. The phenomenon suicide-by-cop is a phrase used to refer to a situation that occurs when an individual intentionally follow a police officer’s orders to put down a weapon.
