The struggle between American values of equality and freedom and the actual reality of the social, economic, and political structures has historically proven difficult. Stratifying institutions have existed through history to keep power and privilege in the hands of the wealthy majority (white males) and fights to keep the disadvantaged group (minorities, blacks, low income) oppressed and controlled. The powerful have created institutions that contain policies and procedures to benefit only the chosen class and/or race and continue the cycle of disparities. A major way the system has kept social control is through mass incarceration. This is a problem worth our attention because it allows racism, inequality, and the cycle of poverty to persist while the system profits off the disadvantaged. This essay will explain the social antecedents and the institutional policies that have led to mass incarceration and how mass incarceration is a macro-institutional level problem. Mass Incarceration America's incarceration rates are among the highest in the world and show no signs of slowing its growth. Since the 1980's incarceration has grown from 300,000 individuals to over 2 million in 2007 (Alexander, 2010). The majority imprisoned are African American men, Latino's, and low-income individuals. As many as one in three African American men have been convicted of a serious offense (Wakefield, 2010). The system of incarceration encourages the persisting cycle of minorities and low-income individuals in prison and poverty by limiting the disadvantaged person’s opportunities even more. Once an individual has been convicted of a crime, they automatically lose resources and chances to succeed outside of incarceration. Depending on the time s... ... middle of paper ... ...ration allows the powerful to keep their authority and resources and hides their real motivation. Once convicted individuals are released, they no longer have the right to vote. This keeps the angry opposing voices quiet and allows little room for changes in the political parties that would be in minorities’ interest. Conclusion In conclusion, the issue of mass incarceration can only be fully explained by the planned policy changes and institutions, and not by individual level behavior. It is a socially stratifying structure that provides materialistic advantages to the leaders and oppresses disadvantaged groups from succeeding and speaking out successfully, establishing itself as the new caste system. The level of mass incarceration will continue to grow until the racism, stigmas, and encouraging policies are changed to reflect the citizens’ rights and interests.
The US Justice Department statistics 2003 and onwards demonstrates significant disproportion in the incarceration rate of minority African American and Hispanic men between the ages of 25 and 29 years as compared to the rate associated with White men of the same age. Bell (2007), proposes that as minority groups grow in numbers within the dominant group they will experience greater equality. However, rate of incarceration among minority males remains alarmingly high and as compared to their White counterparts. As with health care there are racial disparities that will influence outcomes when an individual is brought before the criminal courts. Additionally, there is significant correlation between a person’s level of education and the likelihood of his involvement in criminal activities. Studies and statistics have shown that among male high school dropouts there is high incidence of unemployment, low income and rate of illicit drug use as compared to men with degrees from four year colleges. Further to this, although the rate of school dropout and even arrest is not significantly different across the race lines, literature alludes that African American men have a higher rate of conviction for the same crime committed.
Land of the Unfree: Mass Incarceration and Its Unjust Effects on Those Subjected To It and American Taxpayers
Every civilization in history has had rules, and citizens who break them. To this day governments struggle to figure out the best way to deal with their criminals in ways that help both society and those that commit the crimes. Imprisonment has historically been the popular solution. However, there are many instances in which people are sent to prison that would be better served for community service, rehab, or some other form of punishment. Prison affects more than just the prisoner; the families, friends, employers, and communities of the incarcerated also pay a price. Prison as a punishment has its pros and cons; although it may be necessary for some, it can be harmful for those who would be better suited for alternative means of punishment.
The majority of our prison population is made up of African Americans of low social and economic classes, who come from low income houses and have low levels of education. The chapter also discusses the amount of money the United States loses yearly due to white collar crime as compared to the cost of violent crime. Another main point was the factors that make it more likely for a poor person to be incarcerated, such as the difficulty they would have in accessing adequate legal counsel and their inability to pay bail. This chapter addresses the inequality of sentencing in regards to race, it supplies us with NCVS data that shows less than one-fourth of assailants are perceived as black even though they are arrested at a much higher rate. In addition to African Americans being more likely to be charged with a crime, they are also more likely to receive harsher punishments for the same crimes- which can be seen in the crack/cocaine disparities. These harsher punishments are also shown in the higher rates of African Americans sentenced to
Throughout the semester, we have discussed many different issues that are currently prevalent in the United States, specifically those related to racial discrimination. One specific issue that I have developed interest and research in is that of institutionalized racism, specifically in the form of mass incarceration, and what kinds of effects mass incarceration has on a community. In this paper, I will briefly examine a range of issues surrounding the mass incarceration of black and Latino males, the development of a racial undercaste because of rising incarceration rates, women and children’s involvement and roles they attain in the era of mass incarceration, and the economic importance that the prison system has due to its development.
The United States has a larger percent of its population incarcerated than any other country. America is responsible for a quarter of the world’s inmates, and its incarceration rate is growing exponentially. The expense generated by these overcrowded prisons cost the country a substantial amount of money every year. While people are incarcerated for a number of reasons, the country’s prisons are focused on punishment rather than reform, and the result is a misguided system that fails to rehabilitate criminals or discourage crime. The ineffectiveness of the United States’ criminal justice system is caused by mass incarceration of non-violent offenders, racial profiling, and a high rate of recidivism.
Nationwide, blacks are incarcerated at 8.2 times the rate of whites (Human Rights Watch, 2000).” This difference in proportionality does not necessarily involve direct discrimination; it can be explained by a number of combined factors. Correctional agencies do not control the number of minorities who enter their facilities. Therefore, the disparity must come from decisions made earlier in the criminal justice process. Law enforcement, court pre-sentencing policies and procedures, and sentencing all have a direct effect on the overrepresentation of minorities in the correctional population.
Disproportionate Incarceration of African Americans The disproportionate numbers of African Americans in the prison system is a very serious issue, which is not usually discussed in its entirety. However, it is quite important to address the matter because it ultimately will have an effect on African Americans as a whole. Of the many tribulations that plague Americans today, the increase in the number of African American men and women in prisons is unbelievable. It would be nave to say that the increase is due to the fact that more African Americans are committing crimes now than before.
Mass incarceration has put a large eye-sore of a target on the United States’ back. It is hurting our economy and putting us into more debt. It has considerable social consequences on children and ex-felons. Many of these incarcerations can be due to the “War on Drugs”. We should contract the use of incarceration.
According to statistics since the early 1970’s there has been a 500% increase in the number of people being incarcerated with an average total of 2.2 million people behind bars. The increase in rate of people being incarcerated has also brought about an increasingly disproportionate racial composition. The jails and prisons have a high rate of African Americans incarcerated with an average of 900,000 out of the 2.2 million incarcerateed being African American. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics 1 in 6 African American males has been incarcerated at some point in time as of the year 2001. In theory if this trend continues it is estimated that about 1 in 3 black males being born can be expected to spend time in prison and some point in his life. One in nine African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 are currently incarcerated. Although the rate of imprisonment for women is considerably lower than males African American women are incarc...
Many would argue that the reason why the incarceration rate for African Americans is sustainably higher compared to white American is because of economic situations, and because of past arrest patterns. While it is true that the economic opportunity someone has will affect their decisions, this argument doesn’t fully explain the real reason of why the rates are higher. To fully understand the reason why one must look back on America’s history and how African Americans were treated. The past arrest patterns do not explain why the gap continues to increase, however it is clear that the past arrest patterns is more an indicator of institutional racism that exists in this country. One study found that African Americans believe the reason for the high incarceration rates is becau...
Alexander (2010) suggests mass incarceration as a system of racialized social control that functions in the same way Jim Crow did. She describes how people that have been incarcer...
Mass incarceration did not occur in light of significant increments in wrongdoing but instead given a system of strategic decisions that the country has made. A similar straightforward answer will address the system question of how to stand up to the adverse effect of mass imprisonment on communities of shading (Mauer). Making this stride decreasing mass incarceration will efficiently affect these communities since they have disproportionally experienced the increments in captivity. Furthermore, for any individual who may stress, there is no proof to propose that a move far from the abnormal state of incarceration, which portrays the United States more than some other country on the planet, will bring about a considerable increment in wrongdoing. Another essential approach to address the issues for communities of shading is to lessen the own racial and financial isolation that keeps on causing problems for social life in the United States. In fact, going for this objective will put more noteworthy difficulties on policymakers and people in general alike. At last, an ideal approach to lessen the security outcomes and the impacts of increased cases of imprisonment and their resulting pessimistic has implications for people of shade is to decrease the rate of individuals being jailed and to make an all the more equitable
Wormith, J. S., Althouse, R., Simpson, M., Reitzel, L. R., Fagan, T. J., & Morgan, R. D. (2007). The rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders: The current landscape and some future directions for correctional psychology. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34(7), 879-892.
Today, a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality, and incarceration traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities. And many aspects of our criminal justice system may actually exacerbate these problems, rather than alleviate them.