a “two-tiered” criminal justice system

[GoodTaste]

The phrase "a “two-tiered” criminal justice system" gives me the impression that the entire justice system in the state is criminal. I am not sure the impression is the correct understanding of the English.

Does "a “two-tiered” criminal justice system" refer to the justice system is not only criminal, but it also has two tiers that act illegally?

===================

The Anchorage Daily News with contributions from ProPublica
The Anchorage Daily News, in collaboration with the nonprofit outlet ProPublica, won the prestigious public service award for a yearlong investigation of sexual violence in Alaska. The series, led by the reporter Kyle Hopkins, uncovered a “two-tiered” criminal justice system in the state, in which rural communities, disproportionately populated by Indigenous people, had limited or no access to law enforcement and four times as many sex offenders as other areas in the United States, per capita.

-From New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/04/...-prize-winners.html?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes

 

[emsr2d2]

No, it means that the criminal justice system deals with people from rural communities (which are disproportionately populated by indigenous people) differently (more harshly) than those from other areas. It is perceived that there are two tiers of treatment within the system.

 

[Tdol]

Does "a “two-tiered” criminal justice system" refer to the justice system is not only criminal, but it also has two tiers that act illegally?

More that the system is not fair- the rich and powerful have better access to justice than those from poorer backgrounds, especially minorities as they are more concentrated in the poorer and more sparsely populated regions. Justice is meant to be blind (impartial), but it is not distributed equally. (I am looking at the text, and not making a statement about the justice system)

 

[emsr2d2]

Apologies, I missed the first sentence of the quote so I hadn't clocked that it was about sexual violence, rather than all areas of criminality. I also read "law enforcement" to mean "the criminal justice system" in general, which didn't help.

So yes, it's more about a two-tier system within society and then criminality as a subset.