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prisons has received much attention in recent years, but the disproportionate representation of minorities is not limited to adult prisons. It is also found among youth confined in secure juvenile facilities. The crimes for which racial minorities and whites are imprisoned also differ; blacks and Hispanics were much more likely than whites to be imprisoned for drug offenses. This disparity is noteworthy since drug offenses constitute a larger share of the growth in the state prison system today. (Bonczar, 2003) states that there also are substantial racial and ethnic differences in the “lifetime likelihood of imprisonment.” If incarceration rates remain the same, one in three black males born in 2004 will go to prison during their lifetime, compared to one in six Hispanic males and one in seventeen white
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There should be certain policies and practices adopted that can reduce unnecessarily high rates of incarceration while also helping to advance public safety. Level the playing field, and invest in high school completion. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that there is a dramatic difference in the risk of incarceration for persons who do not complete high school. Research by Bruce Western and Becky Pettit shows that 68percent of African American male high school dropouts had served time in prison by the age of 34 (Western & Pettit, 2010). Consider this: African Americans make up an estimated 15 percent of drug users, but they account for 37 percent of those arrested on drug charges, 59 percent of those convicted and 74 percent of all drug offenders sentenced to prison. Or consider this: The U.S. has 260,000 people in state prisons on nonviolent drug charges; 183,200 (more than 70percent) of them are black or Latino (Blumstein, …show more content…
National Bureau of Economics, (2011). A test of racial bias in capital sentencing. Cambridge: National bureau of economic research, Harvard institute of economic research.
Blumstein, Alfred. (1982). On The Racial Disproportionality of United States’ Prison Population. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminal Law and Criminology, 73, pp. 1259-1281
Blumstein, Alfred. (1993). Racial Disproportionality of U.S. Prison Population Revisited. University of Colorado Law Review, 64, pp. 743-760
Bonczar, Thomas P. (2003). Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
Brooks-Gunn, J. and Duncan, G. (1997). "Effects of Poverty on Children," The Future of Children: Children and Poverty. Summer/Fall 1997, 55-71.
Evans, G.W., and Schamberg, M.A. (2009). "Childhood Poverty, Chronic Stress, and Adult Working Memory," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(16): 6545–6549.
Harrison, Paige M. and Allen J. Beck. (2006). Prisoners in 2005. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
Krivo, L. J., & Peterson, R. D. (1995). Extremely disadvantaged neighborhoods and urban crime. Social Forces, 75,
There should be certain policies and practices adopted that can reduce unnecessarily high rates of incarceration while also helping to advance public safety. Level the playing field, and invest in high school completion. A growing body of evidence demonstrates that there is a dramatic difference in the risk of incarceration for persons who do not complete high school. Research by Bruce Western and Becky Pettit shows that 68percent of African American male high school dropouts had served time in prison by the age of 34 (Western & Pettit, 2010). Consider this: African Americans make up an estimated 15 percent of drug users, but they account for 37 percent of those arrested on drug charges, 59 percent of those convicted and 74 percent of all drug offenders sentenced to prison. Or consider this: The U.S. has 260,000 people in state prisons on nonviolent drug charges; 183,200 (more than 70percent) of them are black or Latino (Blumstein, …show more content…
National Bureau of Economics, (2011). A test of racial bias in capital sentencing. Cambridge: National bureau of economic research, Harvard institute of economic research.
Blumstein, Alfred. (1982). On The Racial Disproportionality of United States’ Prison Population. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminal Law and Criminology, 73, pp. 1259-1281
Blumstein, Alfred. (1993). Racial Disproportionality of U.S. Prison Population Revisited. University of Colorado Law Review, 64, pp. 743-760
Bonczar, Thomas P. (2003). Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
Brooks-Gunn, J. and Duncan, G. (1997). "Effects of Poverty on Children," The Future of Children: Children and Poverty. Summer/Fall 1997, 55-71.
Evans, G.W., and Schamberg, M.A. (2009). "Childhood Poverty, Chronic Stress, and Adult Working Memory," Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(16): 6545–6549.
Harrison, Paige M. and Allen J. Beck. (2006). Prisoners in 2005. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
Krivo, L. J., & Peterson, R. D. (1995). Extremely disadvantaged neighborhoods and urban crime. Social Forces, 75,