Discussion Board Question:

As a criminal justice practitioner, why is "perception" important?

Please respond to both answers from your classmates. write a 4-8 sentence response to there initial post.

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1. Eden Rodriguez

"Perception is reality" that is the answer you will probably get if you asked someone in the Army what perception is. Perception can be our own realities, but is it the real truth? Is perception something we should establish probable cause on? Is perception something we should base our sentencing on? According to Dictionary.com perception is defined as immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities. Perception can be a catalyst to discrimination, prejudice, and alter your sense of reality.

"Perception not only creates our experience of the world around us; it allows us to act within our environment." stated by Kendra Cherry in her article What is Perception? Perception clouds our judgement and experience, for example, the famous quote "ignorance is bliss" by Thomas Gray. Our knowledge of a situation or topic may be little to none, making our perception of a problem miniscule, however when one becomes aware of these problems it can be enough to spark change. Perception is important to understand in our line of work so we can learn to look at things in more than one perspective. When we understand how our communities work then reality doesn't seem black and white, the grey starts to shine. What are some ways perception has clouded your judgement? What are some ways you found to use your perception to be useful?

2. Sara Sparks

Perception plays a role in the criminal justice field in a wide range from how we view crime scenes to how our colleagues see us to how judges review facts from each side of a case. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary perceiving is to attain awareness or understanding about something (Merriam-Webster, 2021). An example of this in the criminal justice field would be how some people believe that police officers can do more harm than good in certain situations while other people believe they do their best to protect and serve how they see fit. Perception will always be apart of any job but it's specifically important as a criminal justice practitioner because it is used in almost every aspect of our work. You have to have knowledge and understanding to make informed decisions because you might be responsible for a person, a group of people, or a community.