Incarceration and Racial Disparities 2010

A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF “RACIAL” INEQUALITIES

DAVID BOIKE

CMTY111 M-W 3:30

“Incarceration” Defined:  Incarceration is the state of being imprisoned or

confined.  Incarceration can be imposed if the nature of a crime is that in which the suspect must be held against his will by the government, while they are awaiting trial.  Incarceration is given, by a judge, as part of a sentence in a court of law, and its length depends on the severity and nature of the crime.

Different Facilities for Incarceration:  State prisons and local jails for adults convicted in

state courts.  Federal prisons for persons convicted in federal courts.  Various types of residential institutions (for example, training schools) for juveniles found delinquent in juvenile courts.

Just the Facts:  The United States has nearly 2,000 separate prison

facilities.  The United States currently has nearly 2.6 million inmates residing in federal and state facilities.  The United States leads the world in inmates per capita, at 748 per every 100,000 citizens, or nearly 1% of the total population.

Famous United States Facilities:

Louisiana State Penitentiary – 5,218 Inmates

San Quentin State Prison – 5,127 Inmates (634 on Death Row)

An overview of the U.S. Population in 2010

U.S. Prison Population:

Along Ethnic Lines:  Blacks have the highest

ratio of life sentences per inmate.  Blacks have the highest ratio of “three time offender” convictions per inmate.  1 in 8 Black men will spend time in prison.

Along Ethnic Lines:  Hispanics are convicted

at a ratio of 2 to 1 when compared to whites.  Hispanics are the largest growing ethnicity is regards to Federal convictions.

But for the White Population…  Only 1 in 23 Whites will

spend any time in prison.  Convictions of whites are repealed (reversed) at a rate of almost 5 to 1 compared to blacks, and almost 3 to 1 compared to Hispanics.

History of Incarceration Rates in the United States:

Changes in the trend:  The 1970’s and 1980’s brought a change in political and

judicial policy.  The Federal Government, in response to the growing threats of drugs, enacted two major forms of legislation that are still prevalent in today’s society.

Effects of Policy Change:

Basics of the new Policies:  1971 – The War on Drugs  At a press conference, President Nixon states that he

believes drug abuse is “public enemy number one”.

Basics of the new Policies:  1973 – The Establishment of the DEA (Drug

Enforcement Agency)  The DEA is a Federal agency, that works with state and local law enforcement to monitor, arrest, and assist in the conviction of persons violating drug laws.

Basics of the new Policies:  1984 – The Sentencing

Reform Act  Enacted into law a set of minimum mandatory sentences for many drug related convictions.  Took away federal and state judges authority to analyze mitigating and extenuating circumstances, and apply those findings into the sentences.

Basics of the new Policies:  1984 – The Sentencing

Reform Act  Crack Cocaine vs. Powder Cocaine  Adjusts the legality of different amounts of possession and their subsequent sentences.

Searching for an Explanation:  Mounting effects of

oppression and discrimination.  Lack of access to good, solid education.  Vicious cycle of discrimination and lack of opportunity.

Educational Discrimination:  While schools are no longer

officially segregated, injustices in the quality and location of housing predetermine the quality of inner city schools.  College degrees are increasing at a rate of almost 2 to 1 when comparing between Whites and Blacks.

Occupational Over/Under Representation:

 Blacks are under-

represented in regards to managerial and professional jobs.  Blacks are overrepresented in lowerpaying blue collar jobs, and service labor work.  The unemployment rate for blacks in 2006 was more than twice the rate of white unemployment.

Housing Discrimination:  Blacks are disproportionately

confined to inner city housing.  Blacks are more likely to live in sub-standard public housing than any other ethnicity.  Inner city and poorly funded urban areas have higher crime rates, and subsequent targeting by police forces.

How the Cycle Works: Lack of Quality Education

Lack of Career Prospects Lower Paying Jobs

Life of Crime/Reliance on Welfare

Limited Ability to Find/Afford Adequate Housing

Other Speculations:  Black Identity

Development (Tatum).  Black teens attempt to create an identity within their peer group.  Black teens reject things that seem “white”.  Black teens search to associate with cultural stereotypes.

Reversing the Trend: A Success Story  Urban Prep (Englewood

Academy) – Chicago, IL  All Black male, public school.  Founded in 2006, when the freshman class had 4% of its students reading at a 9th grade level.  Stresses basic principles of integrity, accountability, and selflessness.

Reversing the Trend: A Success Story  2010  Urban Prep

(Englewood) graduates all of 107 of it’s seniors.  All of the 107 seniors are accepted to over 72 colleges and universities around the nation.

Summary:  Laws have been shaped in the United States to be in    

favor of promoting the welfare of the majority. Blacks are chronically disadvantaged in nearly all aspects of valued resources within a society. Negative stereotypes of minorities in help produce unequal distribution of resources. Unequal distribution of resources cyclically leads to lack of opportunity. But….

Accountability  In the eyes of the U.S. Judicial System, a person is

accountable for their individual actions.  The idea that the color of your skin, or the neighborhood you grew up in, predisposed you to commit a crime…doesn’t cut it.  The best way to stay out of prison or jail, no matter the color of your skin or the location of your housing or school is…  Don’t commit a crime.

Bibliography:  Tatum, B. (1997) Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting

Together in the Cafeteria? New York: Basic Books  Aguirre A. & Turner J.(2009) American Ethnicity: The Dynamics and Consequences of Discrimination (6th Ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.  http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=74944    

58 http://www.justice.gov/05publications/05_3_a.html http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/ http://www.urbanprep.org/about/pdf/Urban_Prep_Year_In_Rev iew_2008_to_2009.pdf http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/cron/

Bibliography:  http://www.bop.gov/  http://www.reuters.com/article/2007/11/19/us-usa-prisons   

idUSN1841666120071119 http://www.sgc.wa.gov/PUBS/SPR%20Report.pdf http://www.justice.gov/dea/history.htm http://newsone.com/nation/associatedpress3/congressvotes-to-change-crack-vs-cocaine-sentencing-laws/ http://www.sentencingproject.org/template/index.cfm