Psychological Explanation of Racial Prejudice Analysis Assignment Sample

Individuality and The Prejudiced Personality

Introduction to Psychological Explanation of Racial Prejudice Analysis

Meta theoretical analysis was proposed by Reynolds & Turner (2006). It helps to construct a reflective analysis of Organization Theory (OT). It analyses three different aspects- historical development in the OT, present condition and future prospects. Here, I shall reflect on the racial prejudice on the police investigation and bias crime in Australia. The recent incidents regarding the death of a pregnant aboriginal woman and her unborn child have created huge pressure on the police authority of NSW. Hence, this reflective analysis may help to understand the situation and it may guide for a solution.

Discussion on Psychological Explanation of Racial Prejudice Analysis

Historical Development

Crime Rates (2020) mentioned that during 2001 and 2017, almost 2500 cases were reported in Australia which is linked to racial biases. The Bias criteria in Australia is set by an organization named as BCU. These 2467 cases are identified as biased cases by the protocols and standards of BCU. However, there are different bias standards mentioned by the BCU. For example, among 2,467 cases 760 cases are biased crimes, 649 cases are biased incidents and 1058 are suspected biased cases. A suspected biased case is something which is not completely recognised as a biased incident but there are traces of bias link. 

Therefore, it can be said that racial prejudices in police custody is not a new subject but it has been present in the system. I believe that the bias condition occurs due to the psychology of people. The human mind learns from the past and creates a dogma. For example, the global terrorism incident has gone up for the last two decades. Majority of the terrorism activities are performed by Muslim jihadis. Hence, common people often consider a Muslim as a criminal race. However, there is no proper logic behind this dogma (Webber, 2019). Before the 1980s, the Muslims were present in the world but there was no terrorism activity. The same concepts can be applied in this reflective analysis to measure the importance of racial prejudice in the police investigation. There are several reasons for this historical development.

As per the Weetra et al. (2016), 2.0% people of Torres strait islander (TSI) community are involved with a narcotic activity that 1.3% of non-aboriginal peers. The Torres strait people are often known for their loose temper. Hence, these people rage in public. Hence, their acts of violence are more highlighted than non-aboriginals. The TSI people are 1.2 to 1.3 times more alcohol consumers than non-aboriginals (Weetra et al. (2016). Therefore, the rate of crime is often more for these people.

Present State

Australia is a nation rather than a country. However, the sovereignty of the nation is under threat due to racial prejudice. In 2018, a woman was walking from the street and someone stole her purse. She screamed and the police came. The police ran towards the direction where the thief had escaped. The police saw an aboriginal man standing at the road and presumed him to be the thief. This is the perfect example of racial prejudice in police activity. Later, CCTV footage proved that the man was not guilty but the police authority never asked for an apology (A picture of bias crime in New South Wales. 2020). As per the Aboriginal Legal Services of West Australia (ALSWA), punitive bail conditions are imposed on the TSI people in most cases (Sullivan et al. 2019). Hence, their bail policy becomes inflexible (Hopkins, Taylor & Zubrick, 2018). I completely agree with ALSWA as the police have stolen the present identity of these people based on their historical identity.

It is not only the race that influences bias in Australian crime investigation. At present, racial bias is in second place. The religion bias has ranked top in the list.

Over 35% of the biased crimes in Australia are targetting racial discrimination. I often realise that some non-aboriginal people, at present, avoid the colony of aboriginals (Dudgeon et al. 2017). They presume these areas to be a crime-prone zone. I learned that non- aboriginals avoid making friendships or relationships with aboriginals due to their criminal dogma. If a person gets killed, the aboriginal friend of the person is always targeted by the family and police. This is a very unreal situation that Australia is passing by.

Reflecting on The Future Prospects

These actions will draw some serious consequences. Revolt shall be an option that aboriginal people will come up with. Skerrett et al. (2018) mentioned that revolts come in two ways, one is violent and the other is non-violent. In violent revolt, massacre happens. Aboriginal people are mostly less qualified and high tempered people. The current cultural gap will create wrath in these people. The pressure will be increased and suddenly a small incident will trigger the fire on these mounds of gunpowder.

These people will choose for a violent option (or this can be a racial prejudice statement). In any case, the sovereignty of the nation will be lost completely. The future can be seen in the USA. A black man was brutally killed by the police. This incident has triggered a new campaign named “Black lives matter” (Adams et al. 2020). In future, if this continues, Australia may witness the same type of revolt.

Conclusion and Recommendations on Psychological Explanation of Racial Prejudice Analysis

From the given analysis and reflective learning, it can be concluded that racial prejudice has succumbed to the Australian policing policy. Predetermined crime investigation policy and provoking a cultural barrier between the people will call for a revolt in future. It will destroy the national reputation of the country and create a split among the people. For a diverse country, it will be a shame. However, it can be avoided by considering the following recommendations.

• Hiring more police officials from the aboriginal community can help in two ways. At first, it can reduce the crime intention of the aboriginal community and it can bridge the gap between the non-aboriginal and aboriginal community. Also, it can create trust among the public when served by the aboriginal people.
• Creating public awareness among the non-aboriginals to promote harmony and fraternity.
• Creating public awareness among the aboriginals to avoid drugs and alcohol to build a better reputation up.

References for Psychological Explanation of Racial Prejudice Analysis

Adams, M., Canuto, K., Drew, N., & Fleay, J. J. (2020). Postcolonial Traumatic Stresses among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. ab-Original, 3(2), 233-263.

A picture of bias crime in New South Wales. (2020). Retrieved from https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/index.php/mcs/article/download/6402/7157?inline=1

Crime Rates. (2020). 3414.0 - Guide to migrant statistical sources, 2011 (Edition 2). Retrieved from https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3414.0main+features372011%20(Edition%202)

Dudgeon, P., Bray, A., D'Costa, B., & Walker, R. (2017). Decolonising psychology: Validating social and emotional wellbeing. Australian Psychologist, 52(4), 316-325.

Hopkins, K. D., Taylor, C. L., & Zubrick, S. R. (2018). Psychosocial resilience and vulnerability in Western Australian Aboriginal youth. Child Abuse & Neglect, 78, 85-95.

Reynolds, K. J., & Turner, J. C. (2006). Individuality and the prejudiced personality. European review of social psychology, 17(1), 233-270.

Skerrett, D. M., Gibson, M., Darwin, L., Lewis, S., Rallah, R., & De Leo, D. (2018). Closing the gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth suicide: A social–emotional wellbeing service innovation project. Australian psychologist, 53(1), 13-22.

Sullivan, E. A., Kendall, S., Chang, S., Baldry, E., Zeki, R., Gilles, M., ... & Cullen, P. (2019). Aboriginal mothers in prison in Australia: a study of social, emotional and physical wellbeing. Australian and New Zealand journal of public health, 43(3), 241-247.

Webber, C. (2019). Psychology and Crime: A Transdisciplinary Perspective. SAGE Publications Limited.

Weetra, D., Glover, K., Buckskin, M., Kit, J. A., Leane, C., Mitchell, A., ... & Brown, S. J. (2016). Stressful events, social health issues and psychological distress in Aboriginal women having a baby in South Australia: implications for antenatal care. BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 16(1), 1-12.

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