American prisons show a trend of disparity among the minority inmate population. The disparity occurs especially among minorities due to high crime rates within their communities, primarily due to social isolation and the way the justice system operates. Why are minorities more likely to be incarcerated? Is it because of lack of education, poverty, social and economic isolation or is it because of racial profiling? Racial disparity in the criminal justice system is widespread and threatens to call into question whether our justice system is fair and effective. According to the National Report Series Juvenile Justice Bulletin (1999): African Americans make up 13% of the general U.S. population, but account for 28% of all arrests, 40% in prison, and 42% on death row. Caucasians make up 67% of the total US population and 70% of all arrests, but only 40% are incarcerated and 56% are on death row. Native Americans and Hispanics are also overrepresented in the criminal justice system. American prison and prison systems are defined by a racial disparity in the inmate population. Mauer & King's (2007) study found the following: The national incarceration rate for Caucasians is 412 per 100,000 residents compared to 2,290 for African Americans and American prisoners. 742 for Hispanics. These figures mean that 2.3% of all African Americans are incarcerated, compared to 0.4% of Caucasians and 0.7% of Hispanics. (p. 5) Based on facts from the publication “National Council on Crime and Delinquency” presented by Hartney & Vuong (2009), the overall arrest rate of African Americans was twice as high as the arrest rate in the Caucasus. .... half of the document ...... NATIONAL COUNCIL ON CRIME AND DELINQUENCY www.nccdglobal.org/sites/default/files/publication_pdf/Kamalu, NC, Coulson-Clark, M., & Kamalu, KM ( 2010). Racial disparities in sentencing: Implications for the criminal justice system and the African American community. Afr. J. Criminology and justice. Stud., 4, 1-15.Mauer, M., & King, R. S. (2007). Unequal justice: State incarceration rates by race and ethnicity (pp. 1-23). Washington, DC: Sentencing Project. Snyder, H. N., & Sickmund, M. (1999). Minorities in the Juvenile Justice System: 1999 National Report Series – Juvenile Justice Bulletin. Walker, S., Spohn, C., & DeLone, M. (2011). The Color of Justice: Race, Ethnicity, and Crime in America. Cengage Learning.Weich, R., & Angulo, C. (2002). Racial disparities in the American criminal justice system. Rights at risk: equality in an age of terrorism, 185-218.