Colorblind Indigenous and Black Disproportionality Across Criminal Justice Systems

This book uses settler colonialism, critical race, and tribal critical race theories to examine the relationship between settler colonialism and Indigenous and Black disproportionality in the criminal justice systems of the English-speaking Western liberal democracies of the UK, USA, Canada, and Australia. It argues that the colonial legacies of the respective countries established a set of subjugating strategies that continue to manifest today in criminal justice disproportionality. Erroneously thought of as a concluded historical event, the modern manifestation of the subjugating strategies is embodied in punitive law enforcement actions disproportionately targeting Indigenous and Black bodies. This book examines how we got to this point in history, opening the door for a discourse on how we might untether the respective criminal justice systems from their colonial practices in the name of social justice. Finally, the book offers educational opportunities for sociologists, criminologists, social workers, criminal justice reform advocates, and other stakeholders.

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. From settler colony to nationhood.- Chapter 3. Black people in Canada, the U.K., and the U.S.- Chapter 4. The criminal justice systems of Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S.- Chapter 5. How law enforcement in Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. interact with indigenous and Black people.- Chapter 6. Law and order and the alternate explanations of disproportionality.- Chapter 7. Situating settler colonialism, ethnicity, race, and punishment.- Chapter 8. Comparing and contrasting ethnic and racial disproportionality in the criminal justice systems of Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S.- Chapter 9. Untethering settler colonialism and the criminal justice system and possibilities for a more equitable system.- Chapter 10. What would a decolonized criminal justice system look like in the respective nations?

Bryan Warde is a professor in the social work program at Lehman College of the City University of New York, USA. He is a licensed clinical social worker with a PhD in social welfare. Colorblind is Dr. Warde’s third book.